South African solar users may have to replace inverters to meet the grid code's requirements

Jackal46 said:
Is this correct? Think about it "all panels"?

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Should we register something like this?


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Or something like this?

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They need to be specific because a law cannot be generalized. I don't see how they can demand any registration for the examples I have given here. Nor should there be registration for it. In the end of the day, if the house is isolated and can't send power to the grid in any way, we should be allowed to hook up a generator in a properly installed and COC hookup point. What we hook up to is our business. It can be a generator or a portable inverter system. As long as it is not part of the house they shouldn't have a say.
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Not all panels, I meant including off-grid panels. The law states that it must be fixed and be able to generate a certain wattage. Also, flat plates for geysers don`t have to be registered. I wonder what the wattage minimum cut-off is. I think it is very low so panels for any inverter will have to be registered. But 1 small pv panel does probably not have to be registered. Or you can do what I did and not register the system even though I had a large eight panel system.
 
Benedict A55h0le not said:
Not all panels, I meant including off-grid panels. The law states that it must be fixed and be able to generate a certain wattage. Also, flat plates for geysers don`t have to be registered. I wonder what the wattage minimum cut-off is. I think it is very low so panels for any inverter will have to be registered. But 1 small pv panel does probably not have to be registered. Or you can do what I did and not register the system even though I had a large eight panel system.
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I can respect your resolve but I live 2 houses down from a DA spy that wakes up every day knowing he crewed over about a thousand people. We talked about this at length but I realized he wasn't hearing it and stopped. Everyone knows they have to advertise the brand but can't stand next to the decisions. Knowing he will report us first chance he gets. We have municipal bakkies driving from house to house and check if people have solar or not.

I am going to go with building my own trailer for the panels and just mount the inverter in one of those nice trollies. From it I will just run extension cords to where it needs to go. That way the house has not been modified in any way. Kind of what we are doing now just on a larger scale 8Kwh scale. :thumbsup:
 
You don't register any panels. You register a system. The panels form part of that. In Cape Town they want you to register even off-grid systems. You don't need to apply for permission to install an off-grid system, but they want to know about it. I suspect it's because they use aerial photography and AI to cross reference panels on the roof at any address against what they have on record.
 
This doesn't make any sense, offgrid inverters cannot push power back into the grid, why would that be a problem ? looks like people that knows nothing or very little makes these kind of decisions.... Also why is it illegal to connect solar panels to a trolley inverter that is entirely offgrid ?!! And why can a grid tied inverter be installed without panels but with a battery because the panels is seen as a source of generation but what about the battery ?! These regulations doesn't make any sense at all. (I work in the electronics business...)
 
RikusW said:
This doesn't make any sense, offgrid inverters cannot push power back into the grid, why would that be a problem ? looks like people that knows nothing or very little makes these kind of decisions.... Also why is it illegal to connect solar panels to a trolley inverter that is entirely offgrid ?!! And why can a grid tied inverter be installed without panels but with a battery because the panels is seen as a source of generation but what about the battery ?! These regulations doesn't make any sense at all. (I work in the electronics business...)
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Exactly... you've hit the nail on the head
 
wingnut771 said:
Off grid inverters are supposed to use the grid to charge your batteries during shitty weather instead of using expensive generators. You must be one of only a handful of people with no grid connection in Cape Town.
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That by definition isn't off grid - if it is off grid, it should be not connected to the Municipal or Eskom distribution at all. If you use a Hybrid or Grid-tied Inverter (or anything that has AC input and AC output ) it has to comply to NRS 097-2-1 for any installation under 1000kVA. It doesn't matter that they say they don't feed back, they need to send it for testing and it needs to pass all the compliance tests for you to be able to legally have the grid connected to it.


On the registration of their solar systems:
Every country that I know someone who had solar they needed to go through a similar process to be connected to their grid.

For the EU:
As of 2024, the only instance where a PV system can operate without registration in the MaStR is an island system dedicated exclusively to self-consumption without any grid connection. Conversely, the moment a PV system, regardless of its size, is connected to the public grid, registration becomes imperative. This means you still need to register solar system for own consumption with a small-scale balcony power plant.
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www.gov.uk

How to register energy devices in homes or small businesses: guidance for device owners and installation contractors

www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

artisancentral.fr

Solar Power for Your Home in France: A Practical Guide - Artisan Central Blog

Solar Power for Your Home In France. Learn how to install, use, and maximise your solar energy production for a sustainable and cost-effective home.
artisancentral.fr artisancentral.fr
 
Serves you lot right for voting DA.

They gonna bleed you dry in the Cape with their various decrees and demands.
 
RikusW said:
This doesn't make any sense, offgrid inverters cannot push power back into the grid, why would that be a problem ? looks like people that knows nothing or very little makes these kind of decisions....
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How do you know that all inverters that say they are offgrid does not affect the source somehow. And just because it doesn't "push power back" to the grid doesn't mean that they don't induce noise on the other side. Do these off grid inverters have all the other additional security and safety measures that is necessary to comply when something breaks? The inverters are installed on the other side of the breaker system. Go look at the off grid forums see how many times the safety trip failed on their system.

These things are just there to protect the grid against faulty equipment and incorrect wiring. Normally for something so important they kind of want redundancy on the protective elements.

Also why is it illegal to connect solar panels to a trolley inverter that is entirely offgrid ?!!
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That isn't illegal. And the article also state this:
If a customer did not want to use a hybrid inverter, they could only continue using their off-grid inverter by cutting off their connection to the grid.
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And why can a grid tied inverter be installed without panels but with a battery because the panels is seen as a source of generation but what about the battery ?! These regulations doesn't make any sense at all. (I work in the electronics business...)
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The grid tied inverter would still need to comply to NRS.

From NRS 097-2-1 :
A solar PV or bi-directional battery system operating in parallel to the utility supply is defined as SSEG, even if the system is software configured to never inject current into the utility supply.
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The country is about to explode into a million pieces. What's the point of farting around with pathetic rules.
 
phoneJunky said:
That by definition isn't off grid - if it is off grid, it should be not connected to the Municipal or Eskom distribution at all. If you use a Hybrid or Grid-tied Inverter (or anything that has AC input and AC output ) it has to comply to NRS 097-2-1 for any installation under 1000kVA. It doesn't matter that they say they don't feed back, they need to send it for testing and it needs to pass all the compliance tests for you to be able to legally have the grid connected to it.


On the registration of their solar systems:
Every country that I know someone who had solar they needed to go through a similar process to be connected to their grid.

For the EU:


www.gov.uk

How to register energy devices in homes or small businesses: guidance for device owners and installation contractors

www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

artisancentral.fr

Solar Power for Your Home in France: A Practical Guide - Artisan Central Blog

Solar Power for Your Home In France. Learn how to install, use, and maximise your solar energy production for a sustainable and cost-effective home.
artisancentral.fr artisancentral.fr
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Why does an off grid inverter have an “ac in” connection?
 
ghaye said:
The point is the regulations HAVE been around for more than 20 years.


Unfortunately the law is not on your side here. You as the consumer is expected to educate yourself before making the purchase. How does the seller know what you do and don't know? Should the supermarket warn you everytime you buy chicken not to eat it raw?


Kindly point out the misinformation. You sir, are the biggest peddler of misinformation on this entire forum.
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Little Benedict relies on coming across very strongly as proof of his claims :ROFL:
 
Neuk_ said:
You forgot to include name calling, I can't remember all the names they have called @Lupus though.
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Too many, I get so sad
baby-sad.gif
 
phoneJunky said:
I don’t know, maybe generator or a windmill. But yes, it would have been very convenient if it was allowed.
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In the settings there is a SUB setting. SUB stands for Solar Utility Battery. Utility stands for grid connection to fill in when solar is not sufficient. Not sure how a generator or windmill can do that. Also use grid connection to charge battery if there is no solar, like what people use it for as a UPS before putting panels on their roof.
 
wingnut771 said:
In the settings there is a SUB setting. SUB stands for Solar Utility Battery. Utility stands for grid connection to fill in when solar is not sufficient. Not sure how a generator or windmill can do that. Also use grid connection to charge battery if there is no solar, like what people use it for as a UPS before putting panels on their roof.
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Yes, when the AC input side is plugged into a wall socket it operates as a UPS. But then you could not have it connected to your DB. It would need to power the required items from extension leads. Now in theory you could wire your DB to have a single plug separate from the rest of the wiring and the run the inverter on the "other side" of the DB. I did have some discussions around this with COCT a few years ago and their stance then was, "if it's connected in the DB it's grid-tied, end of story".
 
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