So this install has been a bit of a prolonged situation. I bought in November 2022 in an area that didn't really get loadshedding (until it did, and then didn't), so the install is more of a way to negate actual outages and the rising cost of electricity in SA. I have no doubt that our area will get loadshedding again in the next few years, so seeing that I work from home a lot, it made sense to have a backup system in place (inverter + battery), and then a way to claw back those costs (panels).
Durban has increasingly become a place with random prolonged outages for both water and power, so I was also getting worried about having issues with that, especially when it came to things like keeping my businesses running and my deepfreeze full of meat and other food from thawing out and going to waste.
Unfortunately I bought a place in a complex, and the trustees, while happy to look at allowing panels, were only going to give permission once they had in place conditions to protect the BC from issues stemming from installation, damage to the roof, aesthetic concerns etc. Nonetheless, in June 2023 I had my electrician install a Sunsynk 5Kva Inverter and Sunsynk 5.12kWh battery. At that time, components were still at a premium and had not yet dropped to the prices we're seeing in the last few months. Total cost including installation was around R73k.
The DB for the house is installed in the kitchen, and even though I was given the option of installing the inverter and battery there, I didn't want it messing up the look of my kitchen, so I ended up preferring a garage install.
We ended up having the AGM for the complex late last year, and rules for installation of panels were approved, however the end of the year is exceedingly busy for me, so by the time I started making inquiries for quotes, most of the installers were closing. During December, a friend of mine had panels installed in a major estate in the North Coast of KZN, and he gave a glowing review to the installer. I asked for a quote for the installation of panels and got the below:
Not only was it toward the cheaper end of the quotes I received, the review and also the fact that the installer had the credentials that I needed to get the panels approved by the BC meant I was happy to go ahead with this company. I confirmed toward the end of last week and the installer said he'd have a look and decide which was the best day weather wise to go ahead with the job. Monday morning he and his team of 5 were here early in the morning, with work carrying on throughout the day. They finished at around 7pm and their work was nothing like the first, I struggled to find any dust or dirt after they were done.
As I mentioned in the other thread though, even though I had a decent morning the next day, Durban promptly shat itself and I got dismal production until today. The highest PV I hit yesterday was 820W and even that was only for around 10 minutes. Today has been much better, although it was one of the most schizophrenic weather patterns I've seen in a while. We had heavy rain, sun, then heavy rain again in the span of around 3 hours.
The PV would have been higher but it dropped to match the load, and since I had no idea what the weather was up to, I didn't plan on taxing the battery in case the weather fcked out again. We had a power outage on Tuesday, and since the weather was dismal my battery had only a little juice. Luckily the power came back again before the inverter hit either the warning or shut-off points.
Once I figured out how to change some settings on the inverter, I came up with this to get me through these constant dismal cloudy days.
\
I'm sure there's a better way to configure it, but once there's decent, consistent sun I will have more fun with the system to see what it can do.
Thanks to @AchmatK , @Mike Hoxbig , @Speedster , @W@P, @Snyper564 , @HowTo , @Mzezman , @rh1 and of course @RonSwanson. I have read through your threads and posts way more than once and while I still don't know exactly what is going on, your info has gotten me far.
Peace out, lights on.
Durban has increasingly become a place with random prolonged outages for both water and power, so I was also getting worried about having issues with that, especially when it came to things like keeping my businesses running and my deepfreeze full of meat and other food from thawing out and going to waste.
Unfortunately I bought a place in a complex, and the trustees, while happy to look at allowing panels, were only going to give permission once they had in place conditions to protect the BC from issues stemming from installation, damage to the roof, aesthetic concerns etc. Nonetheless, in June 2023 I had my electrician install a Sunsynk 5Kva Inverter and Sunsynk 5.12kWh battery. At that time, components were still at a premium and had not yet dropped to the prices we're seeing in the last few months. Total cost including installation was around R73k.
The DB for the house is installed in the kitchen, and even though I was given the option of installing the inverter and battery there, I didn't want it messing up the look of my kitchen, so I ended up preferring a garage install.
We ended up having the AGM for the complex late last year, and rules for installation of panels were approved, however the end of the year is exceedingly busy for me, so by the time I started making inquiries for quotes, most of the installers were closing. During December, a friend of mine had panels installed in a major estate in the North Coast of KZN, and he gave a glowing review to the installer. I asked for a quote for the installation of panels and got the below:
Not only was it toward the cheaper end of the quotes I received, the review and also the fact that the installer had the credentials that I needed to get the panels approved by the BC meant I was happy to go ahead with this company. I confirmed toward the end of last week and the installer said he'd have a look and decide which was the best day weather wise to go ahead with the job. Monday morning he and his team of 5 were here early in the morning, with work carrying on throughout the day. They finished at around 7pm and their work was nothing like the first, I struggled to find any dust or dirt after they were done.
As I mentioned in the other thread though, even though I had a decent morning the next day, Durban promptly shat itself and I got dismal production until today. The highest PV I hit yesterday was 820W and even that was only for around 10 minutes. Today has been much better, although it was one of the most schizophrenic weather patterns I've seen in a while. We had heavy rain, sun, then heavy rain again in the span of around 3 hours.
The PV would have been higher but it dropped to match the load, and since I had no idea what the weather was up to, I didn't plan on taxing the battery in case the weather fcked out again. We had a power outage on Tuesday, and since the weather was dismal my battery had only a little juice. Luckily the power came back again before the inverter hit either the warning or shut-off points.
Once I figured out how to change some settings on the inverter, I came up with this to get me through these constant dismal cloudy days.
\I'm sure there's a better way to configure it, but once there's decent, consistent sun I will have more fun with the system to see what it can do.
Thanks to @AchmatK , @Mike Hoxbig , @Speedster , @W@P, @Snyper564 , @HowTo , @Mzezman , @rh1 and of course @RonSwanson. I have read through your threads and posts way more than once and while I still don't know exactly what is going on, your info has gotten me far.
Peace out, lights on.
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