Inverter/battery recommendation

Olorin said:
Sorry to bump this but I have to ask a stupid question - perhaps a very, very stupid question so please forgive me in advance. So I as explained earlier, I live in a complex, in a 2 bedroom apartment. My DB board is situated in my living room, above my TV - shitty location I know, but that's what I got when I moved in. :)

Is it possible to have the inverter installed in another room and still wired into the DB board or must the inverter be next to the DB board? My concern is noise levels in the living room when the fans kick in - my brother has a trolley system and he moved his system into another room but my word, the cables you need to run to make everything work would make my apartment look like a total dogs breakfast so I'm trying to avoid that option if I can.

I'm upping my budget a little so I'm thinking inverter/lithium but again noise concerns, so if it's possible install inverter in another room that would be great, but I'm thinking that's probably not possible/and stupid for thinking. Am I right or am I stupid? :D
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It's easy, it's just the cost of the cable etc, you can make it 100m away from the DB if you want.
 
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Contacted Power Forum and the recommendation for my use case would be to use a 5KVA inverter with a 3.6KW battery (I think).

My switches aren't separated at my DB board for oven/stove or microwave so I'm told that even NOT during load shedding that's going to be A LOT of power going through the inverter and that 3KVA is not going to cut it. So it's either 5KVA, and run everything through that, or contact an electrician and separate the switches.

But man, the prices here are ridiculous. My budget was around R20-25K. I'm looking closer to R40K if I go with an 5KVA inverter with a single battery. I've been scared off lead acid batteries by several companies now, either not lasting, or being a health hazard so I'm likely going to go lithium. Crazy expensive.

Is there a reliable means to know how much power I'm using in real time? That would probably help.
 
Okay so my thinking has changed a bit - 3KVA Axpert inverter with 2 x Hubble S-100 12V lithium batteries (or 2 x S-120 12V batteries). A 5KVA inverter is going to be wayyyyy too overkill for a 2 bed apartment with a few devices being powered.

What do you think of my proposed set up? Good? Bad? Comments are welcome. :)
 
My head has been hurting in the last week given all the phone calls to various installers, inverter/battery suppliers. So much conflicting info all around. Power Forum recommended I go with a 5KVA inverter and 3.6KW battery, that's like R45K+! Without installation.

I did a quick calculation re my power usage as I use a prepaid meter - on average I use about 4.5 units a day. Around 8 units max - if I use my geyser. I'm usually away over the weekend so that's a fair amount of electricity I don't use, but if I were to factor that into my calculation then 8 units x 30 days = 240 units a month.

Now for someone like me, is consuming 240 units a month medium consumption, low consumption or extremely low consumption? :D I just need this set up to power the components I have and last 4 hours+, hopefully a bit more in case Eskom decide to move to stage 7-8.
 
Olorin said:
My head has been hurting in the last week given all the phone calls to various installers, inverter/battery suppliers. So much conflicting info all around. Power Forum recommended I go with a 5KVA inverter and 3.6KW battery, that's like R45K+! Without installation.

I did a quick calculation re my power usage as I use a prepaid meter - on average I use about 4.5 units a day. Around 8 units max - if I use my geyser. I'm usually away over the weekend so that's a fair amount of electricity I don't use, but if I were to factor that into my calculation then 8 units x 30 days = 240 units a month.

Now for someone like me, is consuming 240 units a month medium consumption, low consumption or extremely low consumption? :D I just need this set up to power the components I have and last 4 hours+, hopefully a bit more in case Eskom decide to move to stage 7-8.
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There does come a point where there is a minimum kWh usage does come into play.

I think it's about 500 units per month. Below that then it seems to cost a lot. Then again can you put a price on being without electricity.

There are still sundries like cables and fuses that needs to be considered.
 
You have to decide what is essential and what is not. Maybe get a kill a watt meter and measure your need and then go from there. You will be surprised what you can run with a 1kw 100ah trolley inverter :)
 
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Jarrod said:
You have to decide what is essential and what is not. Maybe get a kill a watt meter and measure your need and then go from there. You will be surprised what you can run with a 1kw 100ah trolley inverter :)
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I definitely will NOT be using my kettle, oven, stove and microwave on the inverter. Everything else? Yup.

Everything else being a 55" TV, AV receiver, subwoofer, laptop, PC, 8 LED lights, router and fridge. Maybe a fan for night time to keep those mosquitoes at bay. :) The TV, laptop, LED lights and router should use very little power. The PC, AV receiver, subwoofer and fridge will likely be the most power consuming items in my household.
 
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My case i run a 40" led tv (eco mode to medium) laptop, phone charger, fan and vape battery charger and 1 led light. Max draw is about 100watts once everything is charged up it drops to about 80watts. Edit i forgot to add the the fan watts that is about another 30 watts :)
 
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Olorin said:
I definitely will NOT be using my kettle, oven, stove and microwave on the inverter. Everything else? Yup.

Everything else being a 55" TV, AV receiver, subwoofer, laptop, PC, 8 LED lights, router and fridge. Maybe a fan for night time to keep those mosquitoes at bay. :) The TV, laptop, LED lights and router should use very little power. The PC, AV receiver, subwoofer and fridge will likely be the most power consuming items in my household.
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Maybe look at something like this https://www.takealot.com/acdc-inverter-kit-hylh-3k-2560wh/PLID91668031
I am pretty sure you can get a better system and for cheaper. Ask @DuracellBunny for advice
 
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Sorry to hijack the thread but thoughts on this budget system for tv, router, etc?
 
Olorin said:
My head has been hurting in the last week given all the phone calls to various installers, inverter/battery suppliers. So much conflicting info all around. Power Forum recommended I go with a 5KVA inverter and 3.6KW battery, that's like R45K+! Without installation.

I did a quick calculation re my power usage as I use a prepaid meter - on average I use about 4.5 units a day. Around 8 units max - if I use my geyser. I'm usually away over the weekend so that's a fair amount of electricity I don't use, but if I were to factor that into my calculation then 8 units x 30 days = 240 units a month.

Now for someone like me, is consuming 240 units a month medium consumption, low consumption or extremely low consumption? :D I just need this set up to power the components I have and last 4 hours+, hopefully a bit more in case Eskom decide to move to stage 7-8.
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If you start getting confused it means the conversation you are having with the installers/suplliers is not at your level and the installers/suppliers are unable to bring the conversation down to your level.

You want something to power your essential components for 4hrs, you know your total consumption a day but you don't know the consumption for the specific components you want to power for 4 hrs.

Get a Sonoff plug or the the Kill a Watt thing from Geewiz, plug it on all the components you want to power, set it to kWh mode and measure the kWhs used over 4hrs, the same kWhs from Eskom are the sand kWh your battery must have, there will be inefficiencies resulting in losses and for that you will need to overspec your battery.

But in very simple terms, you use 5kWh for 4hrs with Eskom, you need 5kWh usable energy from your battery to power the same load for 4hrs without Eskom, as I said you need to compensate for the depth of discharge, energy losses, self consumption by the system to get as closest as possible to the size of battery you require.

www.geewiz.co.za

GeeWiz Wifi Smart Plug - SA 3 PIN 10A / 3 Meters / IOS Android (Works with Google Home and Amazon Echo)

10A - 2200W Max Remote ON/OFF–Turn electrical devices on/off from anywhere App Support–iOS & Android mobile App Sync Status–Realtime device status Timing–Set timers to turn on/off Share Control– with your family Scene–Turn on/off a group of devices with one tap Voice Control–Works with Amazon...
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

www.geewiz.co.za

Digital Watt Meter (Kill A Watt) - Measure your electricity usage

Measures electricity usage Wattage: 0~3300W (Max 3300 watts) Voltage Current: 0-15A (Max 15A) Power Factor Electricity Cost ***NOTE: The counter on the device will reset when it is unplugged from the wall.
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za
 
TheChamp said:
If you start getting confused it means the conversation you are having with the installers/suplliers is not at your level and the installers/suppliers are unable to bring the conversation down to your level.

You want something to power your essential components for 4hrs, you know your total consumption a day but you don't know the consumption for the specific components you want to power for 4 hrs.

Get a Sonoff plug or the the Kill a Watt thing from Geewiz, plug it on all the components you want to power, set it to kWh mode and measure the kWhs used over 4hrs, the same kWhs from Eskom are the sand kWh your battery must have, there will be inefficiencies resulting in losses and for that you will need to overspec your battery.

But in very simple terms, you use 5kWh for 4hrs with Eskom, you need 5kWh usable energy from your battery to power the same load for 4hrs without Eskom, as I said you need to compensate for the depth of discharge, energy losses, self consumption by the system to get as closest as possible to the size of battery you require.

www.geewiz.co.za

GeeWiz Wifi Smart Plug - SA 3 PIN 10A / 3 Meters / IOS Android (Works with Google Home and Amazon Echo)

10A - 2200W Max Remote ON/OFF–Turn electrical devices on/off from anywhere App Support–iOS & Android mobile App Sync Status–Realtime device status Timing–Set timers to turn on/off Share Control– with your family Scene–Turn on/off a group of devices with one tap Voice Control–Works with Amazon...
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

www.geewiz.co.za

Digital Watt Meter (Kill A Watt) - Measure your electricity usage

Measures electricity usage Wattage: 0~3300W (Max 3300 watts) Voltage Current: 0-15A (Max 15A) Power Factor Electricity Cost ***NOTE: The counter on the device will reset when it is unplugged from the wall.
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za
Click to expand...
So this will be my final question, what do you think of this system. Mecer 3KVA inverter with 2 x Hubble S-120AH batteries?

Lithium-ion Batteries

Buy Lithium-ion Batteries online at the Best Prices! Door to Door and Overnight Delivery. Voted the best online store in SA. View Here
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

Almost made my mind up on this system, just wanted your thoughts and feedback. Yay, nay? Your thoughts?
 
Olorin said:
So this will be my final question, what do you think of this system. Mecer 3KVA inverter with 2 x Hubble S-120AH batteries?

Lithium-ion Batteries

Buy Lithium-ion Batteries online at the Best Prices! Door to Door and Overnight Delivery. Voted the best online store in SA. View Here
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

Almost made my mind up on this system, just wanted your thoughts and feedback. Yay, nay? Your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Absolutely no problem with it.
 
So just an update - pulled the trigger on Friday on a Kodak 3KVA inverter with Hubble AM-4 battery. Getting it installed this coming Thursday. Can't wait.

Next on the agenda is a gas hob/electric oven (or full gas stove/oven, not sure of that yet) and then whistling kettle. Spending so much money so quickly. :(
 
Just an update on the system for people that maybe aren't aware - so on a 3KVA inverter this is what I had running simultaneously on Friday - TV, 2 lights, fridge/freezer, AVR and my laptop - AND on top of that I used my kettle.

Doing all of this I'm at 2.59kw. So still a little bit of overhead, but I just wanted to give people an idea that it's possible to use a kettle which I was told by every other company is a NO-GO on a 3KVA. Now I live alone, so maybe that helps, but the only things that are disabled through the inverter are my stove/oven and geyser.

On a 2 hour+ load shedding event, of the 5 bars available on my inverter representing full charge I only used 1 bar. That was using my TV, AV surround sound system, 2 lights, and also boiling the kettle twice within that 2 hour period.

I'm quite chuffed that for the most part I can live my life without having to make any major alterations on a 3KVA system. The only thing I'll need to get is a gas hob for cooking - I have a portable unit, but a built-in would be preferable.
 
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