The Battery Thread (Solar / Inverter)

[johnjm]

Obviously my numbers are for 12V, so I would assume you halve the amps at 24V?

I reckon they stay the same considering they are in series as the Ah remain.

It looks like they weren’t fully charged when loadshedding hit at 2am, not good thing and I had changed the charging current to the middle setting before because I was nervous. Glad I did. Not ideal but I guess could be worse.

I’m going to measure the charging current from the UPS on Friday night when I am loadshed again. Also have it tomorrow midday again but not concerned due to the solar, hopefully a sunny day.

Edit graph below. Current is nil because it’s only the MPPT current that I can measure via the MPPT obviously

 

[Mier]

Hubbles are available from The Powerforum Store, if you are quick you may manage to catch their special on AM-2s.

Unfortunately my funds are only coming on payday. But, hopefully I get it on their special. Thx

Anyone know if enway.co.za is legit? Their prices also seem decent on the Hubble. I don't really know most solar/battery online shops and I've heard of many scams.

 

[ItherNiT]

Has anyone ordered from ram-solar? Also is Oliter a reliable brand?

The inverter (kool energy) I bought with the house has a 100ah battery with it. I want to add another 100ah battery to it and then add all of the lights to it. I've got a kit from geewiz that I'm using to tv and pc. I'm hoping that 1000w is enough for all the lights in the house (all led downlighters), also not planning on running them all the same time.

 

[RonSwanson]

Hubble shill doing their brand no favours.

I find them quite innovative to be honest.

 

[Spizz]

Hubble shill doing their brand no favours.

You think or you know? I'm pretty new to this stuff.

 

[Speedster]

You think or you know? I'm pretty new to this stuff.

I find them quite innovative to be honest.

I mean the guy on that thread. The batteries themselves seem really legit.

 

[B-1]

You think or you know? I'm pretty new to this stuff.

IMO if you look at the pictures and the things mentioned as problems you either have to question the experience or the ethics of the person. I would say rather get the opinion of an experienced impartial person before making a decision.

 

[RonSwanson]

I mean the guy on that thread. The batteries themselves seem really legit.

Yes, Hubble Lithium certainly appear to be making a good product, for local conditions, and they stand by it (local support in CT and Jhb).
BSLBATT too, they will be releasing their Powerwall next week:

BSLB Powerwall arrival

Dear Powerforum Members The BSLB range of batteries has a new entrant which is soon to land and become available for residential usage namely the BSLB Powerwall. The BSLB Powerwall has been in development for some time and continuous refinement being done by the R&D team in China. Some notewo...

powerforum.co.za

 

[RonSwanson]

I mean the guy on that thread. The batteries themselves seem really legit.

What's your beef with Leshen though? Although I don't know him personally, he seems to be a good installer with a great rep, there are many examples of his excellent work on the powerforum.

 

[Neuk_]

So, with all this talk of load shedding not going away any time soon with some reports claiming at least five years along with ridiculous Eskom price increases, how much of an issue is payback on an ESS? It is something I never looked at when we had outs installed but I know for others it is one of the first things they look at.

 

[Speedster]

What's your beef with Leshen though? Although I don't know him personally, he seems to be a good installer with a great rep, there are many examples of his excellent work on the powerforum.

His work looks first class. He seems intent on trashing Pylon (and others) in that thread though, as if he's trying extra hard to push Hubble.

 

[Priapus]

So, with all this talk of load shedding not going away any time soon with some reports claiming at least five years along with ridiculous Eskom price increases, how much of an issue is payback on an ESS? It is something I never looked at when we had outs installed but I know for others it is one of the first things they look at.

The payback can be as long as a decade. I've never calculated mine. I just don't care all that much. I do, however care about having sustainable, reliable power. It's also good to know that with every Eskom price increase; my payback is a bit better - but again, not something I care a great deal about.

Also, I find with the system I have in place, we use more energy, because its "freely available" - house usage is like 30 kWh these days. With around 15kWh coming from the grid.

 

[B-1]

So, with all this talk of load shedding not going away any time soon with some reports claiming at least five years along with ridiculous Eskom price increases, how much of an issue is payback on an ESS? It is something I never looked at when we had outs installed but I know for others it is one of the first things they look at.

Easily less than 10 years at current pricing for a typical household. And should drop further with the kinds of increases eskom is managing to get.

 

[Neuk_]

The payback can be as long as a decade. I've never calculated mine. I just don't care all that much. I do, however care about having sustainable, reliable power. It's also good to know that with every Eskom price increase; my payback is a bit better - but again, not something I care a great deal about.

Also, I find with the system I have in place, we use more energy, because its "freely available" - house usage is like 30 kWh these days. With around 15kWh coming from the grid.

We are in a similar situation, we wanted back up for load shedding and to start getting some self reliance, although weather like today is playing havoc with that idea so it is still good to have a grid connection.

 

[Neuk_]

Easil
Easily less than 10 years at current pricing for a typical household. And should drop further with the kinds of increases eskom is managing to get.

As you can tell from my and @Tander responses, payback is almost irrelevant as the benefits of having back up and self reliance out weigh the costs with all the issues with Eskom.

 

[Tinuva]

Yeah technically the inverter and batteries should not be part of the payback equation. They are there for backup power. The panels however can pay themselves back because they Ave you from using eskom. Having enough battery storage allow the panels to pay themselves off quicker.

At least that is how I see it for myself.

 

[calypso]

His work looks first class. He seems intent on trashing Pylon (and others) in that thread though, as if he's trying extra hard to push Hubble.

That forum has lost all of its main contributors when it just became an advertising mouthpiece for power forum store.

 

[Priapus]

We are in a similar situation, we wanted back up for load shedding and to start getting some self reliance, although weather like today is playing havoc with that idea so it is still good to have a grid connection.

True, not good for PV today. I'll always have the grid connected to the house for a backup as well. Might look at the Pre-paid thing; as you and I have discussed a few times, to get rid of the connection charge.

 

[johnjm]

Yeah technically the inverter and batteries should not be part of the payback equation. They are there for backup power. The panels however can pay themselves back because they Ave you from using eskom. Having enough battery storage allow the panels to pay themselves off quicker.

At least that is how I see it for myself.

I also see it that way. However with my small system the batteries don’t really allow a quicker payback for the panels as I only utilise for loadshedding

 

[B-1]

As you can tell from my and @Tander responses, payback is almost irrelevant as the benefits of having back up and self reliance out weigh the costs with all the issues with Eskom.

I agree but you can achieve that with a much smaller system or other tech. Secondly for most people its important to see that it won't just be a money sink to avoid load shedding but they will at least break even after a number of years.