Solar PV Hints, Tips & Troubleshooting

championc

A string inverter is a standard solar (non-hybrid) inverter. It's what you have for your house panels now !!!

Plenty of people got small systems installed with new houses, and are upgrading them to more suitably sized ones. People likely don't see any value in these, so could be dumped in sheds gathering dust. Ask in the Irish Solar FB group, or check Adverts or Donedeal. I got a Goodwe GW-1500 from one of these types of installs - absolutely perfect. It even has a built-in wi-fi and monitoring 😁

AmpMan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121107678#Comment_121107678

They are hardwired back to the consumer unit.

championc

Wired to a spur, as can any inverter, provided the cabling and fuse support the amperage being generated

idc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121107519#Comment_121107519

Thats seems like a really dangerous suggestion, if anyone unplugged that plug it would have live exposed pins during the day!

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121107883#Comment_121107883

Yes, it would initially seem so - a suicide cord - except that the microinverters can only start-up when there is 50Hz AC present on the input, so they are safe in that respect. They should also be EN 50549-1 compliant, so will fully isolate themselves in the event of an outage.

idc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121107912#Comment_121107912

Doh yes totally forgot about that! 😀 Still you'd better off wiring it in somewhere than have some one accidentally unplug it and you then not realising why your generation has dropped 🤣

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121107986#Comment_121107986

Correct, for sure! And stick a label on it too.

championc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121107883#Comment_121107883

Firstly, I am suggesting AGAINST their use. But only on cost.

These are like regular inverters, with anti-islanding. If unplugged, the device dies

championc

IMO, micro-inverters are more suitable for roof panels rather than using optimizers, for an odd shaded panel, or a small few on a different orientation

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121110859#Comment_121110859

Yes fine, we get it that you don't like their price-point, but I have 3 so far as my roof isn't suited to a string inverter. But they still have a valid place in the overall discussion as they are simpler to implement, provide flexibility and can augment an existing string inverter and battery by allowing it to retain more charge.

championc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121111143#Comment_121111143

Yes, I have aluded to different orientations above in my last comment.

But the OP is talking about 5 or 6 panels on a single orientation, for which a 2kW or so inverter would be a perfect and simple solution

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121111346#Comment_121111346

+1 there. I have a few Micro-inverters (4 in total. 2x2 panel, and 2x1 panel) They are fine for nice small systems with different orientations, which I have. Anything more than about 5-6 panels though and a string inverter is a better bang for buck. Depend on prices naturally.

Mantis Toboggan

Could anyone recommend a decent energy monitor that would work with PV?

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121114910#Comment_121114910

With integration into any specific systems such as Home Assistant?

Because if you want to go down that route then a Shelly EM would be the way to go. Otherwise if it's just for informal reviewing of the power used/generated then an Owl meter (or whatever their new name is) might do it.

https://www.shelly.com/en-ie/products/product-overview/shelly-em-120a/shelly-em-50a

https://www.theowl.com/index.php/energy-monitors/standalone-monitors/owl-usb/

Mantis Toboggan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121114969#Comment_121114969

What's the benefit of the integration?

Just looking for something that could monitor usage in the house and as a bonus seeing what's being generated what's imported from the grid.

championc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121114910#Comment_121114910

A Shelly EM

jasgrif11

Thumbs up for Shelly. I have about 10 different devices in my home. A great product

10-10-20

The issue with the Shelly devices is that they aren't designed for stand-alone use, they will only show the instantaneous data and need a centralised system such as Home Assistant to report on multiple devices or display historical data.

Here's my Shelly EM at the meter box for example:

Looking on shelly.cloud it seems that they don't aggregate the data from the EM devices there either, so if @Mantis Toboggan isn't intending on installing Home Assistant very soon, then in my opinion shelly devices aren't the right choice here.

As an example, Home Assistant would create the following graphs from shelly EM data over time:

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121114910#Comment_121114910

Your inverter software should show you that. Mine does anyway. Huawei and there is a dongle in it that tracks usage amd uploads to Huawei cloud so I can see stats

joy123

Thanks, i am aware my pv wont charge my battery pack fully, and i think i made a mistake saying off grid. It will be connected to grid to cover extra load but i wanted to store and supply low rate rater than use higher rate in pick time. i was thinking to charge my battery In night time rate and supply to home all day. I am not sure if i can get a right price plan.

delmonte4

If I wanted to add RT clamps for Myenergi for the solar and battery can it be done? Would the positive cable on the battery to inverter work? And what of the DC cables from the fireman’s switch to inverter for the solar generation? Any suggestions?

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121132802#Comment_121132802

CTS for my energi only work on AC, so you can only see what comes out of the inverter.

James 007

All my consumer unit is under the stairs, two storey terraced house. Where is the best location to put the inverter/battery/eddie/home assistant/firemans switch

I have 4no. locations where some of the above equipment could be located, but would be willing to put any of the above at the best locations to suit, but I need advice.

1. Attic crawl space, less than 1m height, roof insulted with rockwool, rafters further insulated with 37.5mm insulation+plasterboard (no plaster)
2. Consumer Unit location under the stairs
3. Outside Utility Shed/Room, roof/rafters felted & insulated, blockwall construction no cavity/insulation, shed door only
4. Hotpress (shuttered doors so plenty of ventilation)

Concerns are listed below:

1. Noise coming from inverter/battery/fan etc. to bedroom in attic, is noise a concern on drawdowns or hot temps
2. Long cable lengths resulting in lower draw/output if locating all in outside utility shed area, can larger dia. cables help
3. Fire within an attic crawl space, less than 1m height
4. Cold/Hot temps affecting operation
5. Access concerns and future battery addition etc.

I know its probably best to have inverter/battery/firemans switch closest to panels and most likely eddie in hotpress and any monitoring like home assistant etc. at consumer unit but has anyone done it differently based on the above concerns, thanks

slave1

I think you can rule out attic space, very little headroom to work in and breathing room for inverter.

There is no issue with long cable runs from either panels to inverter or inverter to your consumer unit so don't worry about that side of things

idc

Have Inverter and batteries in small box room of typical 3 bed house. Its now an office as opposed to a bedroom but never noticed any significant noise from inverter or batteries.

James 007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121135286#Comment_121135286

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121134755#Comment_121134755

Thanks Slave1, Under the stairs seems to be the best option for me so. Thanks idc, can I ask what type inverter & battery do you have. Ideally I'd prefer not to put it into the small bedroom as it would look unsightly unless I box it in somehow. The battery is so big I will loose out in alot of storage space but I'm sure its probably my only option with limited space.

DrPhilG

Remind me again how to ensure that the Zappi stops charging after a scheduled period?

Mine keeps going albeit at a lower rate.

championc

If you don't want it charged via solar, just hit the stop button on the app

DrPhilG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121146217#Comment_121146217

I'm setting a 2-5am timed boost though so manual stop not an option, just want it to not drain the battery.

Tree

On home assistant you could schedule a "boost" of 0 min (or at least that works for my Eddi). Does it keep going for long? Is it one of those timing between thte inverter seeing the dropped demand and the Zappi seeing the excess?