Here's 250k, design an off grid system

RonSwanson said:
OK, then an 8K SS with maxed out panels on the MPPTs would be minimum.
You may want to consider a Solis inverter plus some panels at the pump, and then you can rig it to pump unused solar capacity to the Aux when it's not pumping water, great for overcast days.
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That sounds like a good idea! With the woodworking equipment for example, it's just a hobby so I can def wait for sunny days, but I was thinking of maxing out the solar panels and then hopefully drawing mainly from them while working. The way I'm seeing it is that the panels themselves are almost the cheapest part of the system. The batteries are sort of to fill in the gaps and run the house at night. Does that sound reasonable?
 
kolaval said:
I hope your property is secure, it sounds like you're advertising take aways
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Having reliable electricity makes this a given, lights, alarms and electric fences can all operate without the need for silly piddly little 7 Ah LA battery backups.
 
Harmonic said:
That sounds like a good idea! With the woodworking equipment for example, it's just a hobby so I can def wait for sunny days, but I was thinking of maxing out the solar panels and then hopefully drawing mainly from them while working. The way I'm seeing it is that the panels themselves are almost the cheapest part of the system. The batteries are sort of to fill in the gaps and run the house at night. Does that sound reasonable?
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Very reasonable. Your baseload at night will usually determine the size of your battery bank, mine is 280-400W (quite high) and I get by with 10.5k of battery which takes me to around 45-50% SoC before the panels kickstart the MPPT in the morning.
In your case you want complete off-grid, so you will probably need to triple that (because overcast weather), and 5-6x Hubble AM-2 will give you around 30K. As you have stated, you have a suitable genny (which I assume is a diesel unit of around 15-20K) which can also fill in the gaps 3-4 times per year (and as a test to ensure that the system is still functional).
 
Harmonic said:
If you had 250k to play with and had the below constraints, what would you buy?

Constraints
  • Budget 250k
  • Max instantaneous load, 7kW
  • Average usage per day, 10kWh with 70% of this used during daylight hours
  • No grid backup
  • Resiliant in the case of a panel, battery or inverter failing
  • The system has gas geysers, water heating doesn't need to be considered
  • Pumping water is not required
  • A suitable generator has already been acquired, but design wise, more minimal generator usage is desired
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250k would be way overkill for that.
 
itareanlnotani said:
10kW panels
8kW Sunsunk
20kWh battery

CoC + Signoff. 250k

I honestly wouldn't bother with redundancy for the inverter.
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Think about what you just said here.


Read OP's constraints properly
Harmonic said:
If you had 250k to play with and had the below constraints, what would you buy?

Constraints
  • Budget 250k
  • Max instantaneous load, 7kW
  • Average usage per day, 10kWh with 70% of this used during daylight hours
  • No grid backup
  • Resiliant in the case of a panel, battery or inverter failing
  • The system has gas geysers, water heating doesn't need to be considered
  • Pumping water is not required
  • A suitable generator has already been acquired, but design wise, more minimal generator usage is desired
Click to expand...
 
Harmonic said:
If you had 250k to play with and had the below constraints, what would you buy?

Constraints
  • Budget 250k
  • Max instantaneous load, 7kW
  • Average usage per day, 10kWh with 70% of this used during daylight hours
  • No grid backup
  • Resiliant in the case of a panel, battery or inverter failing
  • The system has gas geysers, water heating doesn't need to be considered
  • Pumping water is not required
  • A suitable generator has already been acquired, but design wise, more minimal generator usage is desired
Click to expand...
Victron system would be more appealing for a total off grid system best to have each component separated instead of in one box, so that there is a better designed redundancy if something had to die or fail. Loosing a hybrid inverter in an off grid system would mean the panels connected to that inverter would be lost also.

Victron MultiPlus-II 48/5000/70-50 4000W Inverter/Charger X 2
BlueSolar MPPT CAN 250/70-Tr 70A X 2
Victron Cerbo GX X 1
Hubble Lithium AM2 5.5kWh 51V Battery X 4
Canadian Solar 540W Super High Power Mono PERC HiKU with MC4-EVO2 X 16
Mounting
Cabling, Breakers and so on
Installation and COC

All of the above will not be more than R 250K depending who you decide to go with and when you do get quotes. Always ask for a redundant system if you are going to be Off-Grid

Did a similar build for a farm in Zim, would of been more happier with a R250K budget, than a 75K budget. Borehole pump 55m depth filling a 5000L Jojo tank which are used to supply water to the animals on the plot and house hold of 2 people, borehole pump power draw is 600w. Only Runs between 8am and 3pm or till full, pump supplying after the Jojo is 400w, projected used in the evenings was 2 hours that the pump will be used running. household load and exterior lights at night between 300w and 500w peak usage. Total with the pumps came to R53K excluding the shipping. 4.8kwh Lithium bank gets them throughout the night and still has a 20% SOC left. Jojo is filled up by 11am depending on usage. On first install of everything. System took 2 days to fill up due to it only being allowed to run a certain time.
 
Snyper564 said:
This is why ppl are scammed over and over again

View attachment 1310934


View attachment 1310936
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How can people not see this as a scam :mad: ESPECIALLY someone who posts on myBB????????????

Poster should be permanently banned, God forbid his suggestion comes up in some innocent person's Google search.

EDIT: Reported the obsidian86 post - his irresponsibility really pisses me off :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
Last edited:
ADrunkTeddyBear said:
Think about what you just said here.


Read OP's constraints properly
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I did, and I still say its not necessary.

I can put my money where my mouth is. I have no grid connection. I am offgrid.
I've been a solar user longer than pretty much anyone on the forum here except for Arthur (who doesn't seem to post anymore).

Inverters rarely go bad. Not saying that they don't, and it can't happen, but it is fairly unlikely. Unlikely enough that I wouldn't make a concerted plan for it anyway. If you really really really have a concern, then spending another 33k on another 8kW Sunsynk is viable if something does go bad, and you can't get another replacement for a while.
 
DuracellBunny said:
Victron system would be more appealing for a total off grid system best to have each component separated instead of in one box, so that there is a better designed redundancy if something had to die or fail. Loosing a hybrid inverter in an off grid system would mean the panels connected to that inverter would be lost also.

Victron MultiPlus-II 48/5000/70-50 4000W Inverter/Charger X 2
BlueSolar MPPT CAN 250/70-Tr 70A X 2
Victron Cerbo GX X 1
Hubble Lithium AM2 5.5kWh 51V Battery X 4
Canadian Solar 540W Super High Power Mono PERC HiKU with MC4-EVO2 X 16
Mounting
Cabling, Breakers and so on
Installation and COC

All of the above will not be more than R 250K depending who you decide to go with and when you do get quotes. Always ask for a redundant system if you are going to be Off-Grid

Did a similar build for a farm in Zim, would of been more happier with a R250K budget, than a 75K budget. Borehole pump 55m depth filling a 5000L Jojo tank which are used to supply water to the animals on the plot and house hold of 2 people, borehole pump power draw is 600w. Only Runs between 8am and 3pm or till full, pump supplying after the Jojo is 400w, projected used in the evenings was 2 hours that the pump will be used running. household load and exterior lights at night between 300w and 500w peak usage. Total with the pumps came to R53K excluding the shipping. 4.8kwh Lithium bank gets them throughout the night and still has a 20% SOC left. Jojo is filled up by 11am depending on usage. On first install of everything. System took 2 days to fill up due to it only being allowed to run a certain time.
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More parts = more things to go wrong imho.

The Victrons are mostly solid units - I have 4, I would still say get a Sunsynk though.

Victron has come a long ways since the buggy mess of 10 years ago, where advertised features just didn't work right. They're still a bit painful to admin though - firmware updates and flashing is not as seamless as other solutions.
 
itareanlnotani said:
More parts = more things to go wrong imho.

The Victrons are mostly solid units - I have 4, I would still say get a Sunsynk though.

Victron has come a long ways since the buggy mess of 10 years ago, where advertised features just didn't work right. They're still a bit painful to admin though - firmware updates and flashing is not as seamless as other solutions.
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I get you, but for completely off grid systems. I always go for a redundent system and if budget is able to afford go victron because they are built like tanks and as time shows. They are reliable. Seen in to many cases where option to go for a
Hybrid inverter with the MPPTs build in, Inverter dies. Those panels are just sitting on the roof doing nothing till the inverter is returned. Worse off only 1 inverter is installed and something happens, that poor genny gonna get worked till the inverter is back.

With Victron systems its always best to leave the firmware as it is if everything works flawlessly with no problems and only really do update firmware if there is a problem that needs fixing or really need the new feature thats included with the firmware.

They are a pain to setup with all the wiring and setting but once its working its done. Still yet to have a victron system come in because something broke.

I myself have an Axpert thats been running for more than 8 years and no issues but then again with electronics. Its a lottery.

I also recommend that with any system, try to have someone come out maybe every 6 months or so to inspect the system, check wiring leads, Panels, Wire joins, Check for voltage bleed on the panels.
 
DuracellBunny said:
I get you, but for completely off grid systems. I always go for a redundent system and if budget is able to afford go victron because they are built like tanks and as time shows. They are reliable. Seen in to many cases where option to go for a
Hybrid inverter with the MPPTs build in, Inverter dies. Those panels are just sitting on the roof doing nothing till the inverter is returned. Worse off only 1 inverter is installed and something happens, that poor genny gonna get worked till the inverter is back.

With Victron systems its always best to leave the firmware as it is if everything works flawlessly with no problems and only really do update firmware if there is a problem that needs fixing or really need the new feature thats included with the firmware.

They are a pain to setup with all the wiring and setting but once its working its done. Still yet to have a victron system come in because something broke.

I myself have an Axpert thats been running for more than 8 years and no issues but then again with electronics. Its a lottery.

I also recommend that with any system, try to have someone come out maybe every 6 months or so to inspect the system, check wiring leads, Panels, Wire joins, Check for voltage bleed on the panels.
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If it was me, I would spend the money on more batteries.

It's a fully offgrid system. Max out the generation (oversize!), have as much battery as you can afford, get a good offgrid inverter, and you'll be a happy camper.

I don't think the price premium for Blue is worth it anymore. They're solid products, but they also haven't iterated, and newer stuff is eating their lunch value wise.

Team Sunsyk! (and again, I say that as someone who owns a fair amount of team blue).
 
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