Lots generated today

[Academic]

Summer is about load. Pleasantly surprised to have generated 69 kWh in Somerset West today when previous max. was only 56. Minimum in winter was 2.5.

 

[Lupus]

Summer is about load. Pleasantly surprised to have generated 69 kWh in Somerset West today when previous max. was only 56. Minimum in winter was 2.5.

In JHB it seems winter is better

 

[Mzezman]

In JHB it seems winter is better

Dem clouds

 

[Paul_S]

I need more load. I'm on my third day of using solar and my 10kWh battery bank was fully charged by 9:30 in the morning (from 40% SOC). I'm keen to see how things work out in winter since my panels are mounted flat but I'm surprised at how much power they generate even with the sun barely on the horizon and striking them at just a few degrees.

 

[Hamster]

Cries in 840wh

 

[Lupus]

Dem clouds

Yup

 

[Lupus]

I need more load. I'm on my third day of using solar and my 10kWh battery bank was fully charged by 9:30 in the morning (from 40% SOC). I'm keen to see how things work out in winter since my panels are mounted flat but I'm surprised at how much power they generate even with the sun barely on the horizon and striking them at just a few degrees.

Get another battery

 

[Paul_S]

Get another battery

It's tempting. If I add another 10kWh for a total capacity of 20kWh, I can probably go off-grid entirely but that comes at the expense of a longer pay back period. Maybe I'll do it over time like add one 5kWh battery every year if there is spare money lying around.

At the moment my current 10kWh of battery capacity is enough to get me through an entire evening if I'm not running heavy appliances like an electric oven (will change that to gas at some point). 100% SOC at 5PM goes down to about 40 to 50% SOC by 6AM. I can see how tweaking solar PV systems could become an expensive addiction - there's something rather satisfying about becoming self-sufficient and at the same time sticking it to those who try rob us blind.

 

[Priapus]

Summer is about load. Pleasantly surprised to have generated 69 kWh in Somerset West today when previous max. was only 56. Minimum in winter was 2.5.

What's your setup?

My peak generation would be around 32kWh - the system isn't capable of more than that, given the about of daylight we have.

 

[Paul_S]

I need more load. I'm on my third day of using solar and my 10kWh battery bank was fully charged by 9:30 in the morning (from 40% SOC). I'm keen to see how things work out in winter since my panels are mounted flat but I'm surprised at how much power they generate even with the sun barely on the horizon and striking them at just a few degrees.

Update:

There is only one week to the winter solstice and I'm getting 3.9kWp out of my 6.48kWp PV array which is mounted flat. That's more than enough to have my 10.6kW of batteries charged between 12:00 and 13:00. In my opinion there is no need for expensive and ugly panel mounting systems on the Highveld unless you're trying to squeeze every last Watt out of the panels.

A pleasant surprise is that even though the nights are longer in winter, I'm using less battery at night than in summer because the indoor temperatures are cooler and thus my fridges run less. I'm ending up with around 35% to 40% SoC by sun rise and leave the mains switched off.

 

[Harmonic]

Update:

There is only one week to the winter solstice and I'm getting 3.9kWp out of my 6.48kWp PV array which is mounted flat. That's more than enough to have my 10.6kW of batteries charged between 12:00 and 13:00. In my opinion there is no need for expensive and ugly panel mounting systems on the Highveld unless you're trying to squeeze every last Watt out of the panels.

A pleasant surprise is that even though the nights are longer in winter, I'm using less battery at night than in summer because the indoor temperatures are cooler and thus my fridges run less. I'm ending up with around 35% to 40% SoC by sun rise and leave the mains switched off.

Just a random question, what is your baseload if you're using 6kwh in the evenings?

 

[Paul_S]

Just a random question, what is your baseload if you're using 6kwh in the evenings?

About 200 to 500W.