Solar system for single phase house

marine1

marine1

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Hello you tech guys
I dont know much about this solar stuff so I need advice, not advise
I am going to be moving soon, single phase house, geyser is on solar.
Its a fairly big house though with a cottage that my better half will use for work, so I need to factor in the use of hair dryers.
I am thinking an 8kw system, 2 x batteries and I would imagine more than 12 panels.
What I need to know is would this work? Would it be able to handle the house and still charge batteries for evening use of TVs etc?
Does it need to be a bigger system?
I am looking at Sunsynk or Victron.
Something that also reports and is managed on an app maybe? Also that can connect to wifi for off site monitoring?
Needs to run Fridge, maybe some other appliances, want to get as close to off grid as possible and will be on prepaid electricity
 
marine1 said:
Hello you tech guys
I dont know much about this solar stuff so I need advice, not advise
I am going to be moving soon, single phase house, geyser is on solar.
Its a fairly big house though with a cottage that my better half will use for work, so I need to factor in the use of hair dryers.
I am thinking an 8kw system, 2 x batteries and I would imagine more than 12 panels.
What I need to know is would this work? Would it be able to handle the house and still charge batteries for evening use of TVs etc?
Does it need to be a bigger system?
I am looking at Sunsynk or Victron.
Something that also reports and is managed on an app maybe? Also that can connect to wifi for off site monitoring?
Needs to run Fridge, maybe some other appliances, want to get as close to off grid as possible and will be on prepaid electricity
Click to expand...
A hand held hair dryer can apparently run at up to 5000 watts, the salon standing one’s up to 2000 watts.

 
For the 8000watt inverter when running off only battery it might be. You”ll have to train the woman to use only one hairdryer for a short time during loadshedding.
 
marine1 said:
is that a problem
Click to expand...
5KW is 5000w, most hairdryers are between 2000w and 3000w.

Your standard inverter sizes are 5kw, 8kw and 12kw.

I.e if you have an oven (varies), microwave 2kw and kettle 2kw on at the same time, the 5kw inverter will be to small to handle the load. 8kw is nice balance.
EDit: just read my post, it leaves too much out.
 
marine1 said:
Hello you tech guys
I dont know much about this solar stuff so I need advice, not advise
I am going to be moving soon, single phase house, geyser is on solar.
Its a fairly big house though with a cottage that my better half will use for work, so I need to factor in the use of hair dryers.
I am thinking an 8kw system, 2 x batteries and I would imagine more than 12 panels.
What I need to know is would this work? Would it be able to handle the house and still charge batteries for evening use of TVs etc?
Does it need to be a bigger system?
I am looking at Sunsynk or Victron.
Something that also reports and is managed on an app maybe? Also that can connect to wifi for off site monitoring?
Needs to run Fridge, maybe some other appliances, want to get as close to off grid as possible and will be on prepaid electricity
Click to expand...
12 panels and 2 batteries doesn't really mea much. Are you looking at 12 x 300W panels, or 12 x 600W panels. Same for the batteries - what size?
 
So I asked alot of questions and got solid advice here:

Advice needed - Solar System

My wife gave the go ahead after I ran the numbers. We are going to get solar. So budget is R135k for equipment and R15k for installation cost. Probably can wring an extra R15k if needed. My next step is to get proper energy use readings. But there is some questions I have: 1. What is the key...
mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za
 
What will your max requirements be?
How many(and what size/wattage) hair dryers will be used simultaneously ?
Will a domestic in the house be using a kettle and microwave at the same time as well?
 
Pegasus said:
For the 8000watt inverter when running off only battery it might be. You”ll have to train the woman to use only one hairdryer for a short time during loadshedding.
Click to expand...
depends on the hairdryer

we have a 5kw off grid inverter and easily handle two heat making devices (within reason) at a time
or that is the rule in our house during shedding

ie hairdryer plus kettle plus base load (varies 800-1200w)
or dishwasher plus kettle

just using the lower heat setting makes a big difference

if i had a 8kw the rule would just extend to 3 or maybe even 4 dependant on device load ie deep fryer or tripple ring on the stove is a bit heavier vs kettle dishwasher or microwave

ie i would tell them 3 heat devices without supervision and 4 with

when we make food over shedding i manage oven stove micro deepfryer timing/combos
 
Quintrix said:
What will your max requirements be?
How many(and what size/wattage) hair dryers will be used simultaneously ?
Will a domestic in the house be using a kettle and microwave at the same time as well?
Click to expand...
also keep in mind the watt rating is max draw
hairdryers are seldom used in this max heating stage or normally just for a short stint in the beginning and then they tend to go lower setting ( or that is what i have seen my wifes behaviour is anyway, ie when the hair is soaking wet the high heat isn't uncomfartable , as it dries it does become hence they tone down the heat)

so there would just have to be a salon rule of only lower setting if multiple devices in shedding if only 2 then normal use will be ok on a 8kw sunsynk, probably even 3 but that is base load and watt ratings dependant

edit just checked her drying session and hers uses 2000w on hottest setting and 1000w on lower heat setting so yea the hairdryer is on my don't have to pay too much attention heating device

especially since the 2kw stint is short, most of the duration drying happens at 1kw setting
 
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often we over and under estimate when it come to solar

the watt ratings on devices are normally absolute peak, often devices don't use that in normal running mode ie startup is normally more energy intensive or lets say the brightness of your tv isn't set to max it changes things

and then with the battery people tend to under estimate
using perfect world math not considering losses or not having accurate run times of devices like kettls etc

for most people a 8kw inverter will be fine
normally the bigger items 12kw+ are 3phase

so if you have single phase you would end up buying 2 8kw or 2 5kw inverters
so you can start with one see the usage and then later parralel a second device if needs be

do take note of the battery specs though as a 5kwh battery with 1c won't meet the needs of 8kw
so you have to start with at least 2 of those to meet the amps needed (in scenarios where almost no solar or night time)
or a bigger pack with higher amps if single battery like the freedom won models
 
leon.davibe said:
depends on the hairdryer

we have a 5kw off grid inverter and easily handle two heat making devices (within reason) at a time
or that is the rule in our house during shedding

ie hairdryer plus kettle plus base load (varies 800-1200w)
or dishwasher plus kettle

just using the lower heat setting makes a big difference

if i had a 8kw the rule would just extend to 3 or maybe even 4 dependant on device load ie deep fryer or tripple ring on the stove is a bit heavier vs kettle dishwasher or microwave

ie i would tell them 3 heat devices without supervision and 4 with

when we make food over shedding i manage oven stove micro deepfryer timing/combos
Click to expand...
Yes, it all comes down as to how trainable your woman is.
 
Pegasus said:
Yes, it all comes down as to how trainable your woman is.
Click to expand...
but yea we may like the finer details and specs technicalities
some of us are into that ****, most aren't so in one ear out the other

the rest of my family ain't interested , they just want a basic rule , and food making/shedding they delegate the what can we switch on with what

even though i have given them a total alowed and approx consumption of each device
the quickmaths gets deligated to me every time , i just monitor the app and say yes or no to queries and suggest different combos

edit 8-10kw would lose this crap so will wire up the 2nd inverter soon
 
leon.davibe said:
but yea we may like the finer details and specs technicalities
some of us are int that ****, most aren't so in one ear out the other

the rest of my family ain't interested , they just want a basic rule , and food making/shedding they delegate the what can we switch on with what

even though i have given them a total alowed and approx consumption of each device
the quickmaths gets deligated to me every time , i just monitor the app and say yes or no to queries and suggest different combos
Click to expand...
The woman has you trained.
 
Pegasus said:
The woman has you trained.
Click to expand...
yea we each have our crap we have to deal with
fine with the crap she has me house trained to do

each team has their tasks distributions different

i'm the coffee maker too
she has me really trained :)

(though i love making the coffee don't tell her though)
 
Pegasus said:
Yes, it all comes down as to how trainable your woman is.
Click to expand...
It used to be like that with 2 batteries for us. Eventually had her trained. But now with 4 batteries we just live like we used to.

The biggest issue is winter when they insist on having heaters on. But even that's no longer an issue - got an IR heater which is far more energy efficient.

Also push an announcement through Google Home when it's LS or the grid goes down, so she knows to reduce usage...
 
Last edited:
Will you be using 8000w from your batteries though?

I'm guessing not if you're going for a 2 battery system (but then again you haven't specified which 2 batteries and the capacities, C ratings there-of)

Something to note is that if you buy a proper hybrid inverter, e.g. Sunsynk/Deye your total draw from that inverter is not limited to the rating of the inverter while connected to the grid. What will be limited however would be the capacity the DC side can output (i.e. power from panels and power with no AC during load-shedding)

I have a 5kw Sunsynk and regularly exceed the 5kw rating (while AC is present) with my geyser connected to it on the non-essentials side, but I limit my battery draw to 40A (~2000w) despite my batteries being rated to do about double that.

You just need to be aware of whether you are or not in load shedding when deciding to put on multiple high draw items at once (e.g. dishwasher + kettle)
 
Iwojima said:
Will you be using 8000w from your batteries though?

I'm guessing not if you're going for a 2 battery system (but then again you haven't specified which 2 batteries and the capacities, C ratings there-of)

Something to note is that if you buy a proper hybrid inverter, e.g. Sunsynk/Deye your total draw from that inverter is not limited to the rating of the inverter while connected to the grid. What will be limited however would be the capacity the DC side can output (i.e. power from panels and power with no AC during load-shedding)
Click to expand...
Not really relevant when you're trying to loadshitting proof your hair salon.
 
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