Thanks will do. We have just bought new house so looking at options for when we move.
Solar panels and battery - any real world reccomendations?
- Thread starter GinG
- Start date
when i was getting quotes all of the companies that were offering 0% financing mentioned that within the first minute of the call.
i suspect that the price was already inflated (i didn't ask what was the non-finance price as i went with a company that did not offer financing)
You love a bit of DIY. Perfect project for you.
No, had quote from the scheme but it was expensive and the winning bidder had terrible reviews.
If I remember correctly and unless it's changed, I don't believe the Powerwall allows you to force discharge the battery to the grid, the only way to get forced discharge to take advantage of higher rates was through Powerwall specific tariffs that would automatically discharge the battery when they wanted. Forced discharge can be quite profitable, especially during Savings Sessions\Demand reduction sessions.
Sorry for the late reply, I've only just seen your post.
Funnily enough, I was thinking the same about my panels.
My quote and installation paperwork say they should be 425w. I am kicking myself I didn't check the packaging when the local wholesaler dropped them off. Especially when they delivered the wrong inverter the first time.
I am using HA to extract the data from the Solax inverter. At 425w, the array should be 5950w, however, on nice days I regularly see over 6000w being generated for short periods. The biggest spike I have recorded is 7125w at 10:25 am on 29/3, a cool and very sunny morning.
What size is your inverter?
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I have a 5kw Sunsynk inverter.
www.sunsynk.org
5kw Hybrid Inverter | Sunsynk
www.sunsynk.org
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I have a 5kw Sunsynk inverter.
5kw Hybrid Inverter | Sunsynk
Your max solar input is 6500w, so you'd think you'd see your panels generating near that.
Are you able to view the admin/installer settings of your inverter?
Associate
Yeah, I had a look the other day.
In the inverter advanced settings, it does have 6500w set as max solar power, but in the inputs section the highest peak I see over the last month is 5859 on the 7th.
In the inverter advanced settings, it does have 6500w set as max solar power, but in the inputs section the highest peak I see over the last month is 5859 on the 7th.
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Soldato
If you have a 5kw inverter…..then thats what it will cap it at, its irelavant what panel size you have. My inverter is 3.6, my panels are 4.8….but i never see 4.8 as the inverter clips it to 3.6. You may see the odd spike now and again if it goes shady and the sunny again, before the inverter caps the outputYeah, I had a look the other day.
In the inverter advanced settings, it does have 6500w set as max solar power, but in the inputs section the highest peak I see over the last month is 5859 on the 7th.
Soldato
I wouldn't get hung up on maximum peaks, they are very brief and therefore the chance of seeing them on graphs is very slim, even with a system that can handle those high peaks.. I have software I wrote running on my inverter which captures the days highest peak, it often doesn't show on the graph, sometimes I can see it if I zoom in on the graph.
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My concern with the peaks was originally related to me worrying that i didn't have the correct panels.
They do look like the correct panels though, so I guess I'll just try to forget about the peaks and just concentrate on the overall production
They do look like the correct panels though, so I guess I'll just try to forget about the peaks and just concentrate on the overall production
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Soldato
Depends on the manufacturer of the inverter. Some seem to allow more leeway that others, eg Solax will allow 200% KWP where as one brand (I forget which) doesn't allow any oversize of panels.
Mine is up to 200% KWP, and 150% panel input.
For AC is 110%
For example my 5kw inverter will charge / discharge and pass AC of 5.5kw for hours like when charging the batteries.
I see spikes of upto 6kw on panels but dont think I have enough raw panel KWP to realistically get to 150%, since 6kw is already a little over panel KWP.
Soldato
But it will still cap the production to the size of the inverter. My inverter is 3.6kw, but it allows me to over panel upto 5kws. But it will clip production at 3.6, so i will never see the 4.8kw production as my inverter will cap it at 3.6…….non hybrid inverter
Soldato
No its doesn't its brand specific.
Mine will allow 7.5kw to come from panels, when its ac is 5.5kw
Mine allows 10KWP (panel nominal, vs 7.5kw actual input from panels)
I regularly see spikes of around 6kw, panels are 5.7kw
Depends on your energy use and your PV system
Soldato
I would aim for 50% minimum I think (50% of daily usage), around probably 75% maximum. But its of course price dependent.
There is a declining benefit as you go higher and higher % unless your not going to get on a TOU tariff
Getting onto a TOU tariff is a no brainer. The main benefit of batteries varies by time of year
Summer its smoothing the peaks and troughs, and allowing your generation to see you through more/most/all of the day without importing or only importing cheap units, in the winter is being able to use a TOU tariff to charge up cheap power and use it later.
There are benefits to going even larger, such as exporting cheap units later for a higher price (like Flux tariff), but its more of a gamble as the main benefit comes from export and its far from guaranteed (as is TOU tariffs)
There is a declining benefit as you go higher and higher % unless your not going to get on a TOU tariff
Getting onto a TOU tariff is a no brainer. The main benefit of batteries varies by time of year
Summer its smoothing the peaks and troughs, and allowing your generation to see you through more/most/all of the day without importing or only importing cheap units, in the winter is being able to use a TOU tariff to charge up cheap power and use it later.
There are benefits to going even larger, such as exporting cheap units later for a higher price (like Flux tariff), but its more of a gamble as the main benefit comes from export and its far from guaranteed (as is TOU tariffs)
The solar edge ones can use the clipped power to charge the battery.
Soldato
I did say non hybrid……so no batteries