The Battery Thread (Solar / Inverter)

[Lupus]

@Lupus factoring in tariff hikes next year (it's going to happen) and continue happening your solar will keep your bill flat, if paid cash you're essentially getting electricity for free, if you finance a portion of it then you'll cut even sooner. My view is I'd rather pay into my bond or finance than give anything more than I have to the clutches of the ANC.

Leaning towards the R85k

 

[Neuk_]

They are LA Gel batteries.

We have OPR Deep Cycle Rechargeable AGM/GEL Hybrid VRLA <insert other fancy name> batteries and they are dying a slow death.

 

[B-1]

@Lupus

This is what I would do.

Phase1
Sunsynk inverter + 1 string of panels +- 3Kw and genset changeover switch

Phase2
Add 1 battery

Following phases add another 3Kw string of panels and more battery

The sunsynk is hybrid so you can mix from solar/grid/battery and can start saving on your bill from day one and have loadshedding protection.

 

[maxxis]

Never really given this much thought.
Obviously panels need to cleaned frequently to ensure that you get maximum performance out of them.

What is the best time of day as well as products to use? Good old hose pipe with attachment and just rinse them down?

 

[semaphore]

Never really given this much thought.
Obviously panels need to cleaned frequently to ensure that you get maximum performance out of them.

What is the best time of day as well as products to use? Good old hose pipe with attachment and just rinse them down?

Water, I'd say the coolest part of the day so the glass is not scorching hot.

 

[maxxis]

Water, I'd say the coolest part of the day so the glass is not scorching hot.

Thanks. I have a pressure washer that will help me reach the panels when standing on a latter. This is going to be some sketchy ****.

How often? Two week intervals?

 

[Lupus]

@Lupus

This is what I would do.

Phase1
Sunsynk inverter + 1 string of panels +- 3Kw and genset changeover switch

Phase2
Add 1 battery

Following phases add another 3Kw string of panels and more battery

The sunsynk is hybrid so you can mix from solar/grid/battery and can start saving on your bill from day one and have loadshedding protection.

Gonna raid the savings, will still leave a bit in it :-(

 

[wingnut771]

They are LA Gel batteries.

Ask @Neuk_ how his Rolls Royce gels are holding up.

edit: I see he beat me to it.

 

[TheChamp]

Thanks. I have a pressure washer that will help me reach the panels when standing on a latter. This is going to be some sketchy ****.

How often? Two week intervals?

Not too frequent, do it when they look exceptionally dirty and try to keep the pressure low.

Two weeks is too frequent.

 

[wingnut771]

Thanks. I have a pressure washer that will help me reach the panels when standing on a latter. This is going to be some sketchy ****.

How often? Two week intervals?

I would rather use a normal hose and not a lot of pressure and a long mop like:


How often? When you start noticing a drop in performance.

 

[Neuk_]

Never really given this much thought.
Obviously panels need to cleaned frequently to ensure that you get maximum performance out of them.

What is the best time of day as well as products to use? Good old hose pipe with attachment and just rinse them down?

I did this once with just soapy water, a cloth and then clean water to rinse and @Priapus then convinced me to never do it again

 

[Lupus]

I did this once with just soapy water, a cloth and then clean water to rinse and @Priapus then convinced me to never do it again

Good to know how to clean them hosepipe probably around 5pm I'm guessing?

 

[TheChamp]

I did this once with just soapy water, a cloth and then clean water to rinse and @Priapus then convinced me to never do it again

Yeah, I would avoid soaps, just in case people go all sunlight dishwashing liquid on the poor things, if you really have to at least something gentle like a car shampoo.

 

[wingnut771]

Good to know how to clean them hosepipe probably around 5pm I'm guessing?

Anytime really. @AchmatK did an experiment to see how the output improved during the day when they were hot by hosing them down. I guess it's best to do it when it's cool so you're comfortable.

 

[maxxis]

The pressure washer is so I can reach and less about blasting the dirt off. The north facing panels are easier to reach while the eastern panels have an overhang in front of it making it difficult to reach.

Also.... there is no way IN HELL i'm climbing on the roof. I'm petrified of heights.

 

[wingnut771]

The pressure washer is so I can reach and less about blasting the dirt off. The north facing panels are easier to reach while the eastern panels have an overhang in front of it making it difficult to reach.

Also.... there is no way IN HELL i'm climbing on the roof. I'm petrified of heights.

I don't think a pressure washer does much from a distance, probably just a fine mist by then, probably better just to use a garden hose fitting that you can adjust the flow like:

 

[Lupus]

The pressure washer is so I can reach and less about blasting the dirt off. The north facing panels are easier to reach while the eastern panels have an overhang in front of it making it difficult to reach.

Also.... there is no way IN HELL i'm climbing on the roof. I'm petrified of heights.

My wife who used to be petrified of heights now is our roof walker, gutter not working she's on the roof. She said she'll take the mop up to clean the panels.

 

[AchmatK]

Anytime really. @AchmatK did an experiment to see how the output improved during the day when they were hot by hosing them down. I guess it's best to do it when it's cool so you're comfortable.

I last cleaned mine over six months ago. Cape Town winter rains keeps them clean. I'll probably clean them next month again.

I cleaned mine in the middle of the day and the biggest improvement was from getting the panels cooled down as cooler panels are more productive.

Currently my daily peaks are increasing as the angle of the sun is changing. If I notice a drop in peak pv from now until 22 December then I'll know its time to clean the panels. Current leak is 8.8kw from pv.

 

[gbyleveldt]

It's not critical to wash them to be honest. My panels have been up over a year now and they get cleaned when it rains.

 

[Neuk_]

Good to know how to clean them hosepipe probably around 5pm I'm guessing?

It depends how dirty they are, if it is just say dust like we get in winter a hose pipe will be fine but it won't help much with bird crap.

Yeah, I would avoid soaps, just in case people go all sunlight dishwashing liquid on the poor things, if you really have to at least something gentle like a car shampoo.

Good point, I forget how most people think you can wash anything with Sunlight