Solar setup

The_Traveller said:
My brother-in-law is looking to install a system, and i recommended Hubble and Sunsynk :sick: , but he's installer wants to use Deye and Shoto , so yeah i tried
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I guess that his actions confirm my circumspection on your rep and knowledge then. Rep is such a thing, can affect even the best recommendations.
i-know-more-than-you-i-know-you.gif
 
RonSwanson said:
I guess that his actions confirm my circumspection on your rep and knowledge then. Rep is such a thing, can affect even the best recommendations.
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I figured when things go wrong, he'll use your (hubble) sales rep code to request for swap outs :p
 
The_Traveller said:
I figured when things go wrong, he'll use your (hubble) sales rep code to request for swap outs :p
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For the very last time, I am in no way affiliated to Hubble, not sure why you keep leveling the same old boring accusation, but it's starting to get pretty trite. Please, try to be more original?

I also try not to be too judgemental on the alternative energy choices which people make, especially if it's due to lack of financial means. We can't all afford to drop 300K on a Tesla Powerwall.
What's important is that he is actually doing something about his situation, so whether he chooses a humble powerbank or 720W Mecer with cheap LA batteries, or a Victron with BYD lithiums, it does not matter, he is providing electricity for his family, giving them a fighting chance of survival. What's important is being able to continue to generate income, work and schoolwork, bath/shower, cook food, communicate and stay safe and secure.

I am afraid that we are in for a rough future with our National Electricity Supplier for at least the next 4-6 years, and those that have both forseen this, and made provision for it, will undoubtedly reap maximum benefit from their investment.
 
@Roy_ZA

If you can, point your panels north at about 60 degrees elevation (angle up from ground. i.e., 90 degrees is flat on ground and 0 degrees is standing the panel facing straight forward like a sign post) - this way you get pretty decent year round generation, and optimize well for winter

HoerskoolLinden.png
 
Also @Roy_ZA

For your location, your batteries need to expect a maximum of these numer of black days (i.e., consecutive days of full cloud cover and no electricity generation), so compare it to your usage in these months


JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDec
334323223324
 
Take your sun hours, times the size of your panels, for how many kWh you can produce on an average day

i.e, I have 8 kW (rated as STC) in panels, and I know that panel to battery for me is 81% efficient on my setup, so I have 6.48 kW in generation peak power.

If I had my panels at your location, facing north at 60 degrees, on average in November I would make

6.48 kW * 4.138 hours = 26.8 kWh a day
 
Was wondering, like at a solar farm, there is a rod that moves/ tilt the panels, why don't they do it on house roofs. Or will it be to costly.
 
upup said:
Was wondering, like at a solar farm, there is a rod that moves/ tilt the panels, why don't they do it on house roofs. Or will it be to costly.
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It's better to use that money to just put in more stationary panels for the same price - you get even more power generation that way

But in places where space is an issue, then yes, it makes sense to have the panels operate in a heliostatic fashion (though the only people with that sort of money are things like military)
 
Panel elevation is typically calculated the same way as roof pitch, with 0degrees being the horizontal plane. For N facing panels, a good rule of thumb is to use an elevation as close as possible to the latitude of your location. My roof is 26 degrees, in Midrand, so fortunately it's good.
 
upup said:
Was wondering, like at a solar farm, there is a rod that moves/ tilt the panels, why don't they do it on house roofs. Or will it be to costly.
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The extra cost of mounting kit that "tracks" the sun, even manually, far outweighs the benefits.
 
RonSwanson said:
Panel elevation is typically calculated the same way as roof pitch, with 0degrees being the horizontal plane. For N facing panels, a good rule of thumb is to use an elevation as close as possible to the latitude of your location. My roof is 26 degrees, in Midrand, so fortunately it's good.
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Depends on cloud cover and time of day. See above ;)

Example - semaphore is at latitude -26, but highest average year round output is at elevation 65 degrees, and 25 degrees would get him only 80% of what he would average at 65 degrees
 
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