Generator or Inverter for residential use?

saflyfish said:
Ive been looking at the two options.The quietest genny you can get for the power i need is the honda eu65is inverter gen at R60k.Its a 6.5kva unit with 5500W.Im in a complex so cant have a noisy gen.
Ive phoned a few inverter supply companies and they reckon about R40k for a similar inverter unit with batteries.
I need to run the following:
1 x 12000 btu split unit aircon,non inverter (new ac)
10 x overhead energy saving bulbs at 14w each,not led
2 laptops and chargers
Fibre line,fibre router so we can work on laptops and have internet
2 x 32" full hd led tvs and two dstv decoders

Price aside when we run into stages 3 to 8 the gap between sheds can be as short as 2 hrs.I believe the batteries take 6-8 hrs to fully charge.
So im undecided as both have advantages and disadvantages.
Any advice,suggestions greatly appreciated.
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Honda is great, but solar is better, less maintenance and constant. Maybe just get a seperate setup so you can plug in your electrics when needed. Thats off grid, but you can run extension like you would with a generator.

I know of friends thats rewired their lights to run off solar, and have a second room all solar.
 
Corelli said:
Honda is great, but solar is better, less maintenance and constant. Maybe just get a seperate setup so you can plug in your electrics when needed. Thats off grid, but you can run extension like you would with a generator.

I know of friends thats rewired their lights to run off solar, and have a second room all solar.
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That's similar to what I did for my old man, the entire upstairs lights are on solar with a few plugs on a small inverter. The rest of his house (and mine) runs off the generator.
 
AchmatK said:
Voltage is all over the place with the only time it's stable is when there is loadshedding and the inverter manages the voltage then its a constant 220v.View attachment 1438887View attachment 1438889
Click to expand...

Similar here. Except my inverter keep it at 231v.
There some dips, but thats my wife just using the washing machine during the day even if there loadshedding. No ****s given.

Screenshot 2022-12-10 at 13.32.54.png

Screenshot 2022-12-10 at 13.33.04.png
 
Tinuva said:
Similar here. Except my inverter keep it at 231v.
There some dips, but thats my wife just using the washing machine during the day even if there loadshedding. No ****s given.

View attachment 1438929

View attachment 1438931
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Remind me again what inverter you have.

The sunsynk is really good and we don't change our behaviour. This is with AC running and making coffee or using the dishwasher or microwave and even the 4kw geyser sometimes.

The sunsynk doors keep the voltage at 220v no matter what we throw at it.
 
AchmatK said:
Remind me again what inverter you have.

The sunsynk is really good and we don't change our behaviour. This is with AC running and making coffee or using the dishwasher or microwave and even the 4kw geyser sometimes.

The sunsynk doors keep the voltage at 220v no matter what we throw at it.
Click to expand...
Goodwe 5048es

Got it before sunsynk was added to cape towns allowed list
 
Has anybody added external fans for the 8kW Sunsynk? I want to see if I can make the internal fans come on less frequently because they are a bit noisy. I am planning to mount 120mm fans next to the inverter with a duct to reduce it to 80mm (same size as on the Sunsynk) and just blow air over the existing fans. This should keep the temperature inside the inverter down a bit longer than without the fans on, and if the inverter needs more cooling the fans can still come on. I will leave a gap between the duct and the inverter so that there is always freasha ir available for the internal fans.

I got some cheap PC fans but the airflow is not great, only 43 CFM (https://www.takealot.com/deepcool-xfan-120mm-case-fan-non-led-black/PLID15202103). There are other PC fans that can do 50% more.

But then I also saw these 220V fans (https://www.takealot.com/fan-hongbo...cabinet-axial-fan-air-cooler-fan/PLID73723831). They don't give airflow though. Will this deliver more airflow than the 12V fan? It will fit on the same duct so I can change it out, just wondering if it is worth buying over the DC fan?
 
furpile said:
Has anybody added external fans for the 8kW Sunsynk? I want to see if I can make the internal fans come on less frequently because they are a bit noisy. I am planning to mount 120mm fans next to the inverter with a duct to reduce it to 80mm (same size as on the Sunsynk) and just blow air over the existing fans. This should keep the temperature inside the inverter down a bit longer than without the fans on, and if the inverter needs more cooling the fans can still come on. I will leave a gap between the duct and the inverter so that there is always freasha ir available for the internal fans.

I got some cheap PC fans but the airflow is not great, only 43 CFM (https://www.takealot.com/deepcool-xfan-120mm-case-fan-non-led-black/PLID15202103). There are other PC fans that can do 50% more.

But then I also saw these 220V fans (https://www.takealot.com/fan-hongbo...cabinet-axial-fan-air-cooler-fan/PLID73723831). They don't give airflow though. Will this deliver more airflow than the 12V fan? It will fit on the same duct so I can change it out, just wondering if it is worth buying over the DC fan?
Click to expand...
I had to go to communica today for some MC4 connectors and picked up a sonoff basic while I was there. Now I just need to get the fan. I was thinking of something along these lines:

Safeway 15cm Mini Desk Fan - Clicks

clicks.co.za clicks.co.za
 
furpile said:
Has anybody added external fans for the 8kW Sunsynk? I want to see if I can make the internal fans come on less frequently because they are a bit noisy. I am planning to mount 120mm fans next to the inverter with a duct to reduce it to 80mm (same size as on the Sunsynk) and just blow air over the existing fans. This should keep the temperature inside the inverter down a bit longer than without the fans on, and if the inverter needs more cooling the fans can still come on. I will leave a gap between the duct and the inverter so that there is always freasha ir available for the internal fans.

I got some cheap PC fans but the airflow is not great, only 43 CFM (https://www.takealot.com/deepcool-xfan-120mm-case-fan-non-led-black/PLID15202103). There are other PC fans that can do 50% more.

But then I also saw these 220V fans (https://www.takealot.com/fan-hongbo...cabinet-axial-fan-air-cooler-fan/PLID73723831). They don't give airflow though. Will this deliver more airflow than the 12V fan? It will fit on the same duct so I can change it out, just wondering if it is worth buying over the DC fan?
Click to expand...
DC fans IMHO are better (more efficient), and it is easier to control their speed (and thus noise). That said, 48V DC (which is what you have got there) fans are more of a specialty, and therefore cost more.
 
vaakseun said:
This post has certainly aged liked fine milk.
Click to expand...

Take that, optimistic outlook.

Funny enough I'm currently working in a certain country located at the horn of Africa, and even here the power is more reliable than what Eskom can produce...

Looking back at SA from afar is definitely different than dealing with the shyte whilst in SA, and makes me reconsider my future in SA even harder.
 
RonSwanson said:
DC fans IMHO are better (more efficient), and it is easier to control their speed (and thus noise). That said, 48V DC (which is what you have got there) fans are more of a specialty, and therefore cost more.
Click to expand...
DC-DC boost buck converters are cheap though. Better to add one of them and 12v fans.
 
wingnut771 said:
What about 4 x 12V fans in series?
Click to expand...

You can probably get away with it but its not ideal. Chances are the resistance won't be exactly the same on all fans so the one with the highest resistance will run a bit hotter and increase its resistance further and run a little hotter still.

How much it will affect the fans life depends on a number of things. You can probably build some safety into the circuit with zener diodes or just buy spare fans etc. or go the boost buck way.
 
Speedster said:
I had to go to communica today for some MC4 connectors and picked up a sonoff basic while I was there. Now I just need to get the fan. I was thinking of something along these lines:

Safeway 15cm Mini Desk Fan - Clicks

clicks.co.za clicks.co.za
Click to expand...
The problem is the inverter fans are only 80mm so that is the only place you can get air into it. Not sure how you will get that big fans airflow into the inverter housing?
RonSwanson said:
DC fans IMHO are better (more efficient), and it is easier to control their speed (and thus noise). That said, 48V DC (which is what you have got there) fans are more of a specialty, and therefore cost more.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I will first use the 2 12V fans I have and get it working off a 12V power supply to see the effect. If it works I can get better fans if needed. I am also thinking of added a mesh in front of the new fans because the inverter fans already have a bit of buildup on them and I am not sure if you can get to them to clean them. So blowing filtered air into it will also help.
 
B-1 said:
DC-DC boost buck converters are cheap though. Better to add one of them and 12v fans.
Click to expand...

wingnut771 said:
What about 4 x 12V fans in series?
Click to expand...
I bought a very cheap 12V power supply from Takealot that I am going to use. It is rated for 2A although some review say they only get to 1,4A or so. But the PC fans use a lot less than that so it is good enough. Luckily there is a wall plug next to the inverter that is also powering the Solar Assistant module.
 
furpile said:
The problem is the inverter fans are only 80mm so that is the only place you can get air into it. Not sure how you will get that big fans airflow into the inverter housing?

Thanks, I will first use the 2 12V fans I have and get it working off a 12V power supply to see the effect. If it works I can get better fans if needed. I am also thinking of added a mesh in front of the new fans because the inverter fans already have a bit of buildup on them and I am not sure if you can get to them to clean them. So blowing filtered air into it will also help.
Click to expand...
The inverter has three fans below each other. I figure having this blow in their general direction should already help a lot.
 
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