The Battery Thread (Solar / Inverter)

Inevitability said:
Hi!

Can someone please tell me if this will work. I have a single 150L geyser.
Idea:
- 1500w of solar into Navasolar 3kW (it's got a 24v 100Ah Lifepo4)
- Geyser connects to Navasolar and heats up through the day so I can offload water heating from my Eskom bill.
No Eskom connected at all to the geyser.

But then days with few or no sun hours will be a problem , so maybe this (Geyser1) can be the off-grid geyser that "pre heats" and feeds into Geyser2 that has Eskom Electricity feeding the element. So Geyser2 is a typical geyser, just with the input being the preheated water.

In my mind, this should cost in the R20k ballpark, and not be overly complicated.

I would appreciate comments and/or criticism.

I used to have a double-sized collector system at my old house, with the geyser in the ceiling... I always felt it was a finicky solution, plus the plumbing was a problem, so it would leak every so often... So I want to avoid doing that again here.

And if all of this is a sub-optimal solution, can I get any ideas of how to best spend under R20k to reduce my electricity bill as much as possible.
I'm not thinking about fighting loadshedding, just want to reduce the electricity bill.
Stove is gas. Bill is around R2500 currently. Usage is around 25 units daily. No aircons.
Click to expand...

Honestly rather just convert it to a solar geyser, the kind with the dual element and actual solar panels. Should run you less than R20k installed.
 
Steamy Tom said:
Honestly rather just convert it to a solar geyser, the kind with the dual element and actual solar panels. Should run you less than R20k installed.
Click to expand...
Then you can’t use those panels for anything else after the water is hot.
 
FlashSA said:
Solar geysers are over R30k now.
Click to expand...
I know for a fact you can do it under R20k, a family member recently did it.

Eg
www.sustainable.co.za

Geyserwise 200L PV Low Irradiation Solar Water Heating System

Efficiently heat up your water with the Geyserwise 200L PV Low Irradiation Solar Water Heating System. This system harnesses solar energy to provide hot water even in low irradiation conditions, saving you money on energy bills. Enjoy a reliable and eco-friendly solution for your water heating...
www.sustainable.co.za www.sustainable.co.za
 
Steamy Tom said:
I know for a fact you can do it under R20k, a family member recently did it.

Eg
www.sustainable.co.za

Geyserwise 200L PV Low Irradiation Solar Water Heating System

Efficiently heat up your water with the Geyserwise 200L PV Low Irradiation Solar Water Heating System. This system harnesses solar energy to provide hot water even in low irradiation conditions, saving you money on energy bills. Enjoy a reliable and eco-friendly solution for your water heating...
www.sustainable.co.za www.sustainable.co.za
Click to expand...
No batteries, no inverter... Now you talking my language.
...Thanks!

I don't fully understand all the components (especially how Eskom will kick in when there's no sun and cold water) but I will do some Googling.

I would love to know if anyone here has this setup (or similar) installed and what's the learnings from it.

This looks very promising for what I'm trying to achieve.
 
Inevitability said:
No batteries, no inverter... Now you talking my language.
...Thanks!

I don't fully understand all the components (especially how Eskom will kick in when there's no sun and cold water) but I will do some Googling.

I would love to know if anyone here has this setup (or similar) installed and what's the learnings from it.

This looks very promising for what I'm trying to achieve.
Click to expand...

A family member of mine has it. Basically you set a temp and you set what thresholds the AC should kick in. She has hers set that it never uses the AC element and only the solar element, set on 65 degrees if I recall. She uses the manual button to kick the AC on when the weather has been bad. She barely has ever needed to use the AC, that said though its just her not a whole family so she is showering once a day and using hot water for like dishes etc

On that link in the images there is a "system" diagram showing you how it works at a high level
 
Excellent! Thanks!
I'm sure we'll need the AC to kick in... family of 5.

While searching more, I came across this system linked below that sounds like it's using similar principles, but keeps the original geyser element so it's much cheaper.
I'm gonna do a deeper dive into the details when I'm back at my PC, but if anyone has experience with this below, I'd appreciate some feedback...

livestainable.co.za

Geyserwise Megawatt Saver (MWS) 200L SMART Solar Geyser Conversion Kit | With Panels

Convert Your Electric Geyser into a Smart, Energy-Efficient Solar Water Heating System The Geyserwise Megawatt Saver (MWS) 200L SMART Solar Geyser Conversion Kit is a next-generation, Wi-Fi-enabled solar heating solution that seamlessly converts any existing electric geyser into a solar-powered...
livestainable.co.za livestainable.co.za
 
Inevitability said:
Hi!

Can someone please tell me if this will work. I have a single 150L geyser.
Idea:
- 1500w of solar into Navasolar 3kW (it's got a 24v 100Ah Lifepo4)
- Geyser connects to Navasolar and heats up through the day so I can offload water heating from my Eskom bill.
No Eskom connected at all to the geyser.

But then days with few or no sun hours will be a problem , so maybe this (Geyser1) can be the off-grid geyser that "pre heats" and feeds into Geyser2 that has Eskom Electricity feeding the element. So Geyser2 is a typical geyser, just with the input being the preheated water.

In my mind, this should cost in the R20k ballpark, and not be overly complicated.

I would appreciate comments and/or criticism.

I used to have a double-sized collector system at my old house, with the geyser in the ceiling... I always felt it was a finicky solution, plus the plumbing was a problem, so it would leak every so often... So I want to avoid doing that again here.

And if all of this is a sub-optimal solution, can I get any ideas of how to best spend under R20k to reduce my electricity bill as much as possible.
I'm not thinking about fighting loadshedding, just want to reduce the electricity bill.
Stove is gas. Bill is around R2500 currently. Usage is around 25 units daily. No aircons.
Click to expand...


I'll be honest rather invest the 20k into upgrading your inverter, panels or batteries to be able to cater more for the Geyser to heat up that way the investment is not just used for the Geyser but the reas of the home as well.
 
isie said:
I'll be honest rather invest the 20k into upgrading your inverter, panels or batteries to be able to cater more for the Geyser to heat up that way the investment is not just used for the Geyser but the reas of the home as well.
Click to expand...
Do we get a 1kW geyser element? That would be the easiest to run it off the nava.
 
I couldnt find any videos or forum discussions about the "Megawatt Saver (MWS)" system I linked above, so I contacted Geyserwise about it... They say it's very new and they are still training installers.
The 200L kit with 3 panels is around R13k (excluding mounting rails for the panels)... They told me the system can handle up to 6 panels.
Seems like a very good deal.
 
Hi everyone, im looking at starting my solar adventure also.

i would like it as pain free as possible though and scared of all these fly by night installers, wont believe how much crazy solar specials im seeing in my feeds of random places since went on the search

I would just like to find out what the top guys that are actually trustworthy and has quality products? so far i only know of metrowatt and alumo?

looking to see what the best is i can do for about 150 to 170k
 
voldoverse said:
Hi everyone, im looking at starting my solar adventure also.

i would like it as pain free as possible though and scared of all these fly by night installers, wont believe how much crazy solar specials im seeing in my feeds of random places since went on the search

I would just like to find out what the top guys that are actually trustworthy and has quality products? so far i only know of metrowatt and alumo?

looking to see what the best is i can do for about 150 to 170k
Click to expand...

Give your location and you can get area based referrals
 
voldoverse said:
Hi everyone, im looking at starting my solar adventure also.

i would like it as pain free as possible though and scared of all these fly by night installers, wont believe how much crazy solar specials im seeing in my feeds of random places since went on the search

I would just like to find out what the top guys that are actually trustworthy and has quality products? so far i only know of metrowatt and alumo?

looking to see what the best is i can do for about 150 to 170k
Click to expand...
I used these guys for peace of mind.

Home solar systems

Find a bank-vetted home solar solution that meets your family’s everyday needs and budget.
www.looksee.co.za
 
i dug up snyper's old thread and decided im gonna go the powerforum route, order the parts from them and then have the person they reccomend doing the install, can get much more bang for my bucks that way
 
Anybody with PylonTech's having rapid battery SOC drop issues? Or a high cell voltage alarm?

My BIL has 3 US3000C's connected to a Victron Multiplus II 5kVa inverter with Venus GX control unit, two MPPT's and 10 550w panels setup in two strings. He has noticed for a while now that the battery SOC wil decrease 'normally' and then there is a period where it drops wuite a bit in a shrt space of time. As an example, last night, it dropped from 62% SOC at 22:06 to 42% SOC at 22:39 with an average load of 330W which is minimal.

Screenshot 2025-03-27 133712.png

He gets the High cell voltage: Alarm multiples times per day but there are no other alarms other than grid loss/return.

Screenshot 2025-03-27 134549.png

Screenshot 2025-03-27 134818.png

He has contacted the local PylonTech agent who thus far has sent a single response email to ask what inverter he uses and hasn't otherwise been helpful, at all. My BIL is at the point where he is looking at other batteries and wants to go to the PylonTech office/warehouse/factory and drop off tthe batteries before harrassing them for answers. His installer who admittedly didn't purchase or install the batteries but did install the bulk of the other kit has tried to help but says this is becoming more and more common with PylonTech, as is their support or lack of it to the point that he is not doing any new installs with PylonTech.
 
Neuk_ said:
Anybody with PylonTech's having rapid battery SOC drop issues? Or a high cell voltage alarm?

My BIL has 3 US3000C's connected to a Victron Multiplus II 5kVa inverter with Venus GX control unit, two MPPT's and 10 550w panels setup in two strings. He has noticed for a while now that the battery SOC wil decrease 'normally' and then there is a period where it drops wuite a bit in a shrt space of time. As an example, last night, it dropped from 62% SOC at 22:06 to 42% SOC at 22:39 with an average load of 330W which is minimal.

View attachment 1807395

He gets the High cell voltage: Alarm multiples times per day but there are no other alarms other than grid loss/return.

View attachment 1807396

View attachment 1807398

He has contacted the local PylonTech agent who thus far has sent a single response email to ask what inverter he uses and hasn't otherwise been helpful, at all. My BIL is at the point where he is looking at other batteries and wants to go to the PylonTech office/warehouse/factory and drop off tthe batteries before harrassing them for answers. His installer who admittedly didn't purchase or install the batteries but did install the bulk of the other kit has tried to help but says this is becoming more and more common with PylonTech, as is their support or lack of it to the point that he is not doing any new installs with PylonTech.
Click to expand...
No issues on my side with my pylontech batteries.

I have 6

3 x US3000B installed June 2020
1 x US3000C installed March 2021
1 x UP5000 installed April 2022
1 x UP5000 installed July 2023

Sunsynk 8kw with 10.37kwp Screenshot_20250327_135953_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20250327_140601_Chrome.jpg
 
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