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Communica in Midrand have a 3000w Synapse 3.0V+ inverter/regulator, 350w PV panels and deep-cycle batteries.
A pure-sine inverter may be a bit more expensive, but in terms of effectiveness it is a better purchase as your fridge motor and other electronics do not like modified sine, and may actually consume more power.
www.communica.co.za
I purchased extra cable (10m) and the final price was around R15700. Not a bad price TBH. Only niggle was that they did not have the MC4 connectors. Went to ACDC and got these. You also get connectors for connecting panels in series or parallel. Makes connecting things so much easier.
You will definitely need those connectors. Please don't try to be clever and use rinkydinky DIY connectors, DC voltages can be deadly, and it is worth the money to do it properly the first time.
Communica in Midrand have a 3000w Synapse 3.0V+ inverter/regulator, 350w PV panels and deep-cycle batteries.
www.communica.co.za
I purchased extra cable (10m) and the final price was around R15700. Not a bad price TBH. The cable is a special type of cable, with a thick covering and a single core of conductive material. You'll notice some shops sell red and black cable (highly recommended) and others sell cable that's marked with regular red or white stripes for positive and negative.
Take in mind our Eskom account was (we terminated it a week ago, so getting a good PV system was a priority) more than R2500 per month, although we used electricity very sparingly. Bastards loaded it with transmission costs etc.
We will recoup it in 7 months. Once there, we can look at either improving it or getting a better system which you can upgrade by adding more panels and batteries.
So far everything works 100% - can run laptop, fridge, washing machine without any issues. But the 2x 100Ah is not enough storage to keep the fridge running 24x7 but YMMV. For now it is miles better than paying R2500 per month and trying to content with power failures etc. My idea is to get a timer and put the fridge on the timer, letting it run between 05:00 to 21:00. During night nobody opens the fridge, and it stays cool for long enough anyway.
Keep in mind if you need to run more equipment at night (like a TV set, or a laptop/desktop) you'll need to look at a different system that can handle extra batteries and PV panels easily.
Take in mind our Eskom account was (we terminated it a week ago, so getting a good PV system was a priority) more than R2500 per month, although we used electricity very sparingly. Bastards loaded it with transmission costs etc.
We will recoup it in 7 months. Once there, we can look at either improving it or getting a better system which you can upgrade by adding more panels and batteries.
So far everything works 100% - can run laptop, fridge, washing machine without any issues. But the 2x 100Ah is not enough storage to keep the fridge running 24x7 but YMMV. For now it is miles better than paying R2500 per month and trying to content with power failures etc.
Keep in mind if you need to run more equipment at night (like a TV set, or a laptop/desktop, extra security lights - preferably LED based) you'll need to look at a different system that can handle extra batteries and PV panels easily.
Oh, and one final thing - the Synapse inverter/regulator allows you to charge your batteries from a generator, it have that functionality. If you have a 3kVa genny, you can wire it up, and when the batteries run a wee bit flat (in the case of extended inclement weather) charge them with the generator plus run the fridge etc as well.
A pure-sine inverter may be a bit more expensive, but in terms of effectiveness it is a better purchase as your fridge motor and other electronics do not like modified sine, and may actually consume more power.
SYNAPSE 3.0V+
Pure Sine Wave Hybrid Inverter 3KVA~2400W 24VDC 230VAC, Max PV Array: 1000W, Max PV Array OCV:102VDC, 40A Built-in MPPT Solar Charge Controller, 25A Max AC Charge Current, Surge Power 6000VA, Transfer Time:10ms, USB / RS232, 88x225x320mm, 6.0kg Overview Features Wide DC input range Built-in 40A...
www.communica.co.za
I purchased extra cable (10m) and the final price was around R15700. Not a bad price TBH. Only niggle was that they did not have the MC4 connectors. Went to ACDC and got these. You also get connectors for connecting panels in series or parallel. Makes connecting things so much easier.
You will definitely need those connectors. Please don't try to be clever and use rinkydinky DIY connectors, DC voltages can be deadly, and it is worth the money to do it properly the first time.
Communica in Midrand have a 3000w Synapse 3.0V+ inverter/regulator, 350w PV panels and deep-cycle batteries.
SYNAPSE 3.0V+
Pure Sine Wave Hybrid Inverter 3KVA~2400W 24VDC 230VAC, Max PV Array: 1000W, Max PV Array OCV:102VDC, 40A Built-in MPPT Solar Charge Controller, 25A Max AC Charge Current, Surge Power 6000VA, Transfer Time:10ms, USB / RS232, 88x225x320mm, 6.0kg Overview Features Wide DC input range Built-in 40A...
www.communica.co.za
I purchased extra cable (10m) and the final price was around R15700. Not a bad price TBH. The cable is a special type of cable, with a thick covering and a single core of conductive material. You'll notice some shops sell red and black cable (highly recommended) and others sell cable that's marked with regular red or white stripes for positive and negative.
Take in mind our Eskom account was (we terminated it a week ago, so getting a good PV system was a priority) more than R2500 per month, although we used electricity very sparingly. Bastards loaded it with transmission costs etc.
We will recoup it in 7 months. Once there, we can look at either improving it or getting a better system which you can upgrade by adding more panels and batteries.
So far everything works 100% - can run laptop, fridge, washing machine without any issues. But the 2x 100Ah is not enough storage to keep the fridge running 24x7 but YMMV. For now it is miles better than paying R2500 per month and trying to content with power failures etc. My idea is to get a timer and put the fridge on the timer, letting it run between 05:00 to 21:00. During night nobody opens the fridge, and it stays cool for long enough anyway.
Keep in mind if you need to run more equipment at night (like a TV set, or a laptop/desktop) you'll need to look at a different system that can handle extra batteries and PV panels easily.
Take in mind our Eskom account was (we terminated it a week ago, so getting a good PV system was a priority) more than R2500 per month, although we used electricity very sparingly. Bastards loaded it with transmission costs etc.
We will recoup it in 7 months. Once there, we can look at either improving it or getting a better system which you can upgrade by adding more panels and batteries.
So far everything works 100% - can run laptop, fridge, washing machine without any issues. But the 2x 100Ah is not enough storage to keep the fridge running 24x7 but YMMV. For now it is miles better than paying R2500 per month and trying to content with power failures etc.
Keep in mind if you need to run more equipment at night (like a TV set, or a laptop/desktop, extra security lights - preferably LED based) you'll need to look at a different system that can handle extra batteries and PV panels easily.
Oh, and one final thing - the Synapse inverter/regulator allows you to charge your batteries from a generator, it have that functionality. If you have a 3kVa genny, you can wire it up, and when the batteries run a wee bit flat (in the case of extended inclement weather) charge them with the generator plus run the fridge etc as well.
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