Solar Installation Quote - Please comment

Thestealth

Thestealth

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Hi all

I requested 2 quotes for a system that will support our current usage (CCT supplied, R2000/month, prepaid, we want to keep things going during LS, installation on a flat roof, etc.). The quotes are quite a bit apart, most notably because of the proposed hardware spec, number of panels, etc. For the first quote, the Deye 8kw inverter with 10 panels and 5kw batter was quoted. The price looks cheap considering it includes the engineer sign off, CoC, SSEG application, etc. I'm not sure what nasty surprises might be waiting down the line with this one.

1709542411489.jpeg

Quote 2 is higher, I'm putting it down to, among others, the proposed brand. What this quote excludes is the engineers sign off which is another R3500 - R4000. This bumps up the price quite a bit.

1709542672148.jpeg
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1709542723049.jpeg

My big question is, are these hardware prices realistic? Is the premium for Sunsynk or other known brands worth it? @RonSwanson and the rest of the panel - your thoughts?
 
I would go with Deye these days. They are the original manufacturers and have a proper presence in South Africa now unlike a few years ago. Sunsynk are a reseller of Deye who customised the hardware with their own firmware but they are a much smaller operation. Both should be fine though.

As for the quotes they are two different setups so you can't really compare. I would say the second one is worth getting another quote with similar components.
 
And include the engineer signoff, you do not want to be the one scrambling to find an engineer.
 
Thestealth said:
Hi all

I requested 2 quotes for a system that will support our current usage (CCT supplied, R2000/month, prepaid, we want to keep things going during LS, installation on a flat roof, etc.). The quotes are quite a bit apart, most notably because of the proposed hardware spec, number of panels, etc. For the first quote, the Deye 8kw inverter with 10 panels and 5kw batter was quoted. The price looks cheap considering it includes the engineer sign off, CoC, SSEG application, etc. I'm not sure what nasty surprises might be waiting down the line with this one.

View attachment 1670513

Quote 2 is higher, I'm putting it down to, among others, the proposed brand. What this quote excludes is the engineers sign off which is another R3500 - R4000. This bumps up the price quite a bit.

View attachment 1670517
View attachment 1670519
View attachment 1670521

My big question is, are these hardware prices realistic? Is the premium for Sunsynk or other known brands worth it? @RonSwanson and the rest of the panel - your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Those prices look to be in the ballpark.

As others have said, definitely worth it to go for the extra battery and 2 extra panels - I am very happy that I didn't skimp on batteries and panels even though it significantly increased the initial outlay.
 
No expert. So take what a say as a just a guy with a years' experience with my own system. I am happy with it. Looking at your quotes, I see there's awareness of price. I came at it from the other way, being quoted on big systems that were more than I needed, that I had a pare down. I wanted a system that worked my wife and I, not one the worked for the house which is big.

I think that the lower quote is light on panels. (10 x 545 = 5,450w) paired with an 8kva (8000w) Inverter.
2nd quote is better but still light with 12 x 550 = 6,600w of panels also with an 8Kva inverter.

Get the biggest lithium batteries you can afford. IMO, 10kwh is still light.

I think it is relatively easy to add batteries later on as the budget allows. I also think that you will need to keep the same size and brand. Check this put before you buy.

It is a difficult purchase. Coming here where you can get expert advice is a good move. Non expert advice like mine, well who knows? But all the hassle, head scratching & cost will be worth it when you are done with loadshedding.
 
Add an extra battery and more panels to the first quote. Maybe a different brand battery that's more widely supported like Pylontech or Dyness. They're also more easily available if you want to add more in future. I'm not sure about Volta, maybe the others have more experience with it and it's fine.

You're paying for Sunsynk batteries and inverter in the second quote. You don't need it. A Deye inverter paired with a reputable battery is perfectly fine...
 
The 2nd quote mentions A frames. They are obviously aiming at angling the panel on your flat roof. This will help a lot in winter. Just an observation.
 
If you are happy with Deye, go for it. The first quote's pricing is very good. I would definitely double the battery though (the single Volta will only support 5K, not 8k), even triple it if you have budget, and if you have the space and budget, at least double the panels, up to 10400 kWp max.

If it were my install, I'd be going for a Solis S6 Pro 8K Advanced Hybrid inverter. Cheaper than the Deye / Sunsynk, yet far more advanced features, and far better warranty support (they actually have swop-out units under warranty) and warranty can be extended for another R5000 odd rands. It can take 12,800 kWP at 600V, so you can add far more panels than the Sunsynk, and has a 4ms power fail reaction time vs the Sunsynk / Deye's 20ms.

As in all cases, check the creds and reference sites of the installer, even visit the ref sites if you can, in order to eliminate any "nasty surprises".
 
Thestealth said:
Hi all

I requested 2 quotes for a system that will support our current usage (CCT supplied, R2000/month, prepaid, we want to keep things going during LS, installation on a flat roof, etc.). The quotes are quite a bit apart, most notably because of the proposed hardware spec, number of panels, etc. For the first quote, the Deye 8kw inverter with 10 panels and 5kw batter was quoted. The price looks cheap considering it includes the engineer sign off, CoC, SSEG application, etc. I'm not sure what nasty surprises might be waiting down the line with this one.

View attachment 1670513

Quote 2 is higher, I'm putting it down to, among others, the proposed brand. What this quote excludes is the engineers sign off which is another R3500 - R4000. This bumps up the price quite a bit.

View attachment 1670517
View attachment 1670519
View attachment 1670521

My big question is, are these hardware prices realistic? Is the premium for Sunsynk or other known brands worth it? @RonSwanson and the rest of the panel - your thoughts?
Click to expand...
FWIW Tariq did my installation https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/threads/advice-on-setting-up-a-solar-system.1177532/ and I found him to be knowledgeable and able to provide guidance, whilst listening to my requirements as well (rather than trying to force me to go along with a pre-packaged deal like most of the other installers I dealt with).

Have had the system for close to two years without issues.
 
yea the batteries is definitely light, ie i have 7.2kw battery and only a 3.65kwp array and on sunny days the battery is full early , sure if you can structure your loads ie geysers and other high draw items to run while the sun is shining you can still get savings on power bill, but

so with 10 x 500w panels you are looking at generating 32kwh on a sunny summer day

so with just one 5kwh battery , and even if you max out the battery down to 20%soc you can absorb only 3.2kwh
so that leaves 28.8kwh most homes have like a 500w or less base load ( salt some don't)

so lets say from 7-6 you run the load off solar that means your baseload only consumed 5.5kwh for the day

meaning 23.3kwh production unused ok you timeshifted your geyser thats lets say 8kwh
still that leaves 15kwh

that is why most don't make the savings they aticipate
the key ingredient for ROI is battery

i would install a rail ready to accept all the inverter can handle
and take less panels and more batteries if budget can't accomodate more batteries
big arrays are wasted without load or battery to utilise them

and then just add more panels later
 
its really all subjective to your usage, i have a similar setup , but with a 5kw sunsynk, (went for a bit lower on the inverter ), as our household barely cracks 4.5kw on a busy day, and opted for an extra battery, so 15kw/h on battery
 
ijacobs3 said:
its really all subjective to your usage, i have a similar setup , but with a 5kw sunsynk, (went for a bit lower on the inverter ), as our household barely cracks 4.5kw on a busy day, and opted for an extra battery, so 15kw/h on battery
Click to expand...

That it is - my usage is around 750kWh a month (2 people and a toddler, single geyser - with a 2nd only turned on if we have guests).

2x double fridge freezer appliances
2x laptops
1x tv
2x monitors
router, fibre ONT, wifi APs etc
2x electric gates
lights
2x pumps (0.37kWh and 1kWh)

Cooking is gas - but standing base load is probably around 800w per hour. I couldn't do a system as small as yours (plus my peak usage would kill your inverter).
 
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Someone correct me:
Battery A 10kw 100ah
Battery B 5kw 100ah

If both is under load at 3kw
Then battery A and B will last 33.3 hours


So shouldn't we look at Ah to check how long your battery will last then kW?
 
marhsava said:
Someone correct me:
Battery A 10kw 100ah
Battery B 5kw 100ah

If both is under load at 3kw
Then battery A and B will last 33.3 hours


So shouldn't we look at Ah to check how long your battery will last then kW?
Click to expand...
technically battery A would be 200ah

to have a 10kwh battery in 100ah you would need 102.4v battery
and since most these systems revolve around 48/51.2v that tends to be the voltage

if the the first was a 102.4v battery to make it a 100ah battery then 3kw would represent 29.3a on that voltage vs the 58.59a on 51.2v system,


the sungrow i believe uses higher voltage batteries ie it has a voltage range and you could actually series batteries (salt don't know much about it)

you can use either ah or kwh
6 or half dozen, kwh just makes calculations easier as most devices are rated in watts
 
Last edited:
9 months ago cost was 220K odd for a 8KW sunsynk with 2 5KW sunsynk batteries and 10 canadian solars 550W. now price is like this seriously gone down like anything wow
 
I went back to the installer to ask about the Solis S6 Pro 8K Advanced Hybrid inverter and to bump up the batteries and panels. He confirmed he doesn't have experience/training on the Solis brand and doesn't want to learn to do so at my house - I appreciate that. I've read a bit about the Volta 1 battery and the reviews/feedback is a mixed bag. I see @Rouxenator sharing info about fw upgrades (powerforum) but I see little else that puts my mind at ease about them. In the end I suppose I'm just paranoid. I asked him for other brands that he supports and he gave me Dyness, Shoto, Hina, Lemoen, Pylontech, SolarMd 14.3 kWh. Is there any particular order I should consider (performance vs support vs price)?
 
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