Solar panel systems advice

blacqueguy said:
Thank you so much for all your inputs. Could I get which battery is best since gel is a no no.. And is it mppt or mptt inverters... If it's one of the two which is better and why.. I get that some of you are more knowledgeable when it comes to this, could you respond with the aim to assist and educate... Someone critiqued 5kva...kindly recommend a good combination... Thank you in advance..
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MPPT, maximum power point tracking, it's either that or PWM, MPPT is the one you want.

Before any advice is offered, what exactly are you looking for? Something just to power the lights and TV? Or something more advanced that will substitute your Eskom?
 
blacqueguy said:
Thank you so much for all your inputs. Could I get which battery is best since gel is a no no.. And is it mppt or mptt inverters... If it's one of the two which is better and why.. I get that some of you are more knowledgeable when it comes to this, could you respond with the aim to assist and educate... Someone critiqued 5kva...kindly recommend a good combination... Thank you in advance..
Click to expand...
Lithium ion (either LiFePO4 or NMC) batteries are what you are looking for.

MPPT is the solar charge controller - that's the one you want. Some inverters have them bundled in the unit, some require a separate box.

Also, as mentioned earlier, the brand isn't unimportant.
 
blacqueguy said:
Thank you so much for all your inputs. Could I get which battery is best since gel is a no no.. And is it mppt or mptt inverters... If it's one of the two which is better and why.. I get that some of you are more knowledgeable when it comes to this, could you respond with the aim to assist and educate... Someone critiqued 5kva...kindly recommend a good combination... Thank you in advance..
Click to expand...
1. What is your aim?
2. What do you want to power?
3. How long do you want to have the battery power these devices?
4. Do you want it as a backup only or do you also want to generate and make your own electricity?

These questions will help to determine what inverter, battery and solar panels will work.

Lastly, what is your budget.

What you go with will also determine how much you can upgrade in furore without having to sell everything for next to Boyton and having to stay from scratch for a bigger system.

Your inverter is the brains of the system and going with the most versatile inverter will allow for more future upgrades without needing to replace the inverter.

KVA is a useless measurement when trying to sell inverters. Everyone has moved over to specifying the inverter power in kW. Batteries and solar panels are also advertised in kWh and kW respectively. Although AH is still used for a lot of batteries to indicate capacity.
 
AchmatK said:
1. What is your aim?
2. What do you want to power?
3. How long do you want to have the battery power these devices?
4. Do you want it as a backup only or do you also want to generate and make your own electricity?

These questions will help to determine what inverter, battery and solar panels will work.

Lastly, what is your budget.

What you go with will also determine how much you can upgrade in furore without having to sell everything for next to Boyton and having to stay from scratch for a bigger system.

Your inverter is the brains of the system and going with the most versatile inverter will allow for more future upgrades without needing to replace the inverter.

KVA is a useless measurement when trying to sell inverters. Everyone has moved over to specifying the inverter power in kW. Batteries and solar panels are also advertised in kWh and kW respectively. Although AH is still used for a lot of batteries to indicate capacity.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for your response.. We are all suffering heavily under this current leadership's inability to keep our lights and stoves on. With that said:
1. The aim is to have working lights during these many blackouts a day.

2. The usual essentials, fridges, lights and tvs and security system.

3. Half on grid and half off.. For now (with the aim to upgrade)

4. Half and half... Use half grid half off... And perhaps consider full off if that's even possible... So in essence, a system that is upgradeable...

Thank you so much for all the info you provided. Perhaps With my responses I can get an idea of what systems are good for what I seek..

Also how much in KW is necessary to power a home in the way that I want to?
 
Speedster said:
Lithium ion (either LiFePO4 or NMC) batteries are what you are looking for.

MPPT is the solar charge controller - that's the one you want. Some inverters have them bundled in the unit, some require a separate box.

Also, as mentioned earlier, the brand isn't unimportant.
Click to expand...
What brands are recommended?
 
TheChamp said:
MPPT, maximum power point tracking, it's either that or PWM, MPPT is the one you want.

Before any advice is offered, what exactly are you looking for? Something just to power the lights and TV? Or something more advanced that will substitute your Eskom?
Click to expand...
Thank you for this info.. Please see my response below
 
blacqueguy said:
Thank you very much for your response.. We are all suffering heavily under this current leadership's inability to keep our lights and stoves on. With that said:
1. The aim is to have working lights during these many blackouts a day.

2. The usual essentials, fridges, lights and tvs and security system.

3. Half on grid and half off.. For now (with the aim to upgrade)

4. Half and half... Use half grid half off... And perhaps consider full off if that's even possible... So in essence, a system that is upgradeable...

Thank you so much for all the info you provided. Perhaps With my responses I can get an idea of what systems are good for what I seek..

Also how much in KW is necessary to power a home in the way that I want to?
Click to expand...
How much units are you currently using per month? That will be a good indicator to start at.

The best is to do an energy audit. Basically it's something to measure when you use electricity and how much you use.

A hybrid inverter is your best bet in terms of future upgrades. There are a few but the sunsynk 5kw is a good start.

If backup is your primary concern then 2 x UP5000 pylontech batteries or another 10kWh battery bank should be sufficient. You can start with 1 battery if budget is an issue and add more later. You can't do this with a gel battery.

You can add panels later as funds become available but you only start saving if you have solar panels and generate your own electricity.

With this setup you can have your house split into 2 zones. Essentials for lights, fridge, security, routers, etc. And non essentials for geyser, stove, microwave, kettle, etc.

If you have solar panels the sunsynk can send solar power to both sides of the grid is available. During load shedding only the essential loads will get electricity.

How this helps.

You still need to give a budget as that will factor in what you can look at.
 
AchmatK said:
How much units are you currently using per month? That will be a good indicator to start at.

The best is to do an energy audit. Basically it's something to measure when you use electricity and how much you use.

A hybrid inverter is your best bet in terms of future upgrades. There are a few but the sunsynk 5kw is a good start.

If backup is your primary concern then 2 x UP5000 pylontech batteries or another 10kWh battery bank should be sufficient. You can start with 1 battery if budget is an issue and add more later. You can't do this with a gel battery.

You can add panels later as funds become available but you only start saving if you have solar panels and generate your own electricity.

With this setup you can have your house split into 2 zones. Essentials for lights, fridge, security, routers, etc. And non essentials for geyser, stove, microwave, kettle, etc.

If you have solar panels the sunsynk can send solar power to both sides of the grid is available. During load shedding only the essential loads will get electricity.

How this helps.

You still need to give a budget as that will factor in what you can look at.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
R72 000 for a 5KW system is dodgy. We are getting a similar system and we paid almost double
 
Fingerlessliz said:
R72 000 for a 5KW system is dodgy. We are getting a similar system and we paid almost double
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Not necessarily, paying double for a 5kW system can also be dodgy, it all depends on what the 5kW system entails, because terms such as 5kW systems can be used to mean anything.

For an example, you can have a 5kw inverter for R10k, you can also have a 5kW inverter for R17k or R25k, it doesn't mean the cheaper one is dodgy. 5kW system can mean a 5kW inverter and a 1.2kWh battery, while another 5kW system can mean a 5kw inverter, a 5kw solar array and a 5kWh battery, the devil is always in the detail.
 
TheChamp said:
Not necessarily, paying double for a 5kW system can also be dodgy, it all depends on what the 5kW system entails, because terms such as 5kW systems can be used to mean anything.

For an example, you can have a 5kw inverter for R10k, you can also have a 5kW inverter for R17k or R25k, it doesn't mean the cheaper one is dodgy. 5kW system can mean a 5kW inverter and a 1.2kWh battery, while another 5kW system can mean a 5kw inverter, a 5kw solar array and a 5kWh battery, the devil is always in the detail.
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Plus installation and myriad of accessories required for a full install adding another R15k easily.
 
TheChamp said:
The grammar thing is overrated to be honest, yes it's nice to speak good English but that does not translate to anything as far as your work ethic and competence is concerned.
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Not when you're advertising technical specs. It's one thing to leave out a letter here and there but to be this careless may imply the thing is a scam or run by noobs.
 
Not to derail the thread, but i'm in a similar position.

i'm looking at 3 options

1) the above option with having batteries, inverter, charger, solar, DB, etc.
2) those trolley systems, i.e. ellies and other brands with an inverter with 2x lithium batteries
3) portable unit like the echflow river pro 720w which chargers within 1.5h

just looking to use 2x tv's, ont, router, lights, charging devices and maybe use kettle. the echoflow is about 14k and i guess the trolley in a similar price range.

which lithium batteries are good to use and well priced and a decent inverter.

long term and upgrade i'm not to sure at this stage

just wanted your guys opinion
 
KOPITE said:
Not to derail the thread, but i'm in a similar position.

i'm looking at 3 options

1) the above option with having batteries, inverter, charger, solar, DB, etc.
2) those trolley systems, i.e. ellies and other brands with an inverter with 2x lithium batteries
3) portable unit like the echflow river pro 720w which chargers within 1.5h

just looking to use 2x tv's, ont, router, lights, charging devices and maybe use kettle. the echoflow is about 14k and i guess the trolley in a similar price range.

which lithium batteries are good to use and well priced and a decent inverter.

long term and upgrade i'm not to sure at this stage

just wanted your guys opinion
Click to expand...

Ont and router can be run off a small mini UPS, this one is very good:
www.evetech.co.za

Elecstor 100W 24000mAh Mini DC UPS - Reliable Power Backup Solution

Discover the Elecstor 100W 24000mAh Mini DC UPS, your ultimate backup power source for electronic devices. Enjoy uninterrupted power supply with this compact and efficient UPS system, perfect for home or office use.
www.evetech.co.za www.evetech.co.za

For lights you can use these small rechargable LED bulbs or hand held lamps.

For TV the ecoflow or similar will work, or watch the stuff on a tablet/laptop in which case a cheap powerbank will suffice.

For kettle, use either a small gas stove or just boil the water beforehand and keep it in a thermos flask. One can use the Ecoflow Delta at R23K and up to boil water but that's a waste of Lithium.

These are temp solutions till you can save for a proper system which will probably cost north of R100K.
 
Mirai said:
Ont and router can be run off a small mini UPS, this one is very good:
www.evetech.co.za

Elecstor 100W 24000mAh Mini DC UPS - Reliable Power Backup Solution

Discover the Elecstor 100W 24000mAh Mini DC UPS, your ultimate backup power source for electronic devices. Enjoy uninterrupted power supply with this compact and efficient UPS system, perfect for home or office use.
www.evetech.co.za www.evetech.co.za

For lights you can use these small rechargable LED bulbs or hand held lamps.

For TV the ecoflow or similar will work, or watch the stuff on a tablet/laptop in which case a cheap powerbank will suffice.

For kettle, use either a small gas stove or just boil the water beforehand and keep it in a thermos flask. One can use the Ecoflow Delta at R23K and up to boil water but that's a waste of Lithium.

These are temp solutions till you can save for a proper system which will probably cost north of R100K.
Click to expand...
thanks for the input, i guess its the echoflow or trolley. will see what options are out there nowadays
 
KOPITE said:
thanks for the input, i guess its the echoflow or trolley. will see what options are out there nowadays
Click to expand...

If you want to go Ecoflow route I would wait a month or so until the Ecoflow 2 models come out. These use LiFePO batteries which have >2000 cycles vs the 800 or so on the current Lithium NMC ones. The price difference should probably not be huge.
 
Powerforumstore will have Hubble / Halo S-120s soon, apparently they are in transit.

Where have the Halo's\S120's gone to?

Hi, Just wondering, why are the 12 Volt Battery's (Hubble\Halo S120's) no longer listed on the site? What has happened to that solution? regards Alan
powerforum.co.za powerforum.co.za
 
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