championc wrote: » Why do you feel it would move and chaffe ? Maybe just a good dollop of mastic / silicon sealant. I'm assuming that that is coming out under where your first or last panel will be.
buzz11 wrote: » I'm just planning my 7 panel self-install and here is my cable entry point. I'm hoping to find a sheath that will go cover the cable to prevent chaffing...open to suggestions
championc wrote: » Correct and correct
DrPhilG wrote: » So although the 2 would technically not be linked to each other, they would be both feeding into the same line and then the Sofar would scoop the export from that line and charge the battery? And since I'm not needing an additional solar inverter yet (until I increase capacity), I would only need to add the Sofar plus batteries for now.
championc wrote: » Not exactly. I tried to explain this before. You would have two inverters normally connected into separate MCB's and they would then be connected onto you main mains busbar. What I was suggesting is that you take these two and Y them into one other MCB before connecting off to the main mains busbar. So the idea is then to measure the TOTAL output of both to then have an ME3000 gobble up all of the excess from both inverters. If your desired load exceeds an ME3000 3kw, you could keep the existing hybrid and add a 48v string of batteries to it too.
DrPhilG wrote: » Single phase Solis inverters cannot be paralleled it seems.
mp3guy wrote: » What about one hybrid plus one non-hybrid? That's what I have (and was suggesting) and it works perfectly. All the functionality of your suggested three inverter setup, with less complexity and space and even more features. Price difference? I suspect not much.
graememk wrote: » Yours is solax aren't they? I know they are more expensive but the batteries are high voltage, so less losses, and also I'd say can discharge at about 5kw too?
garo wrote: » I disagree. Both have their advantages and disadantages. I mentioned the extra install/space already. If you are going for a two inverter setup getting 2 non-hybrid inverters plus one battery will be several hundreds cheaper than 2 hybrid inverters. I wouldn't recommend it for a small set up but if you are getting multiple inverters it is certainly worth exploring.
garo wrote: » With your dual inverter setup it may be better to go for an AC battery setup with it's own dedicated battery inverter. You can then buy two non-hybrid inverters - which are much cheaper - and flog your hybrid inverter off. Yes you may lose a small bit of efficiency but it will give you a lot more flexibility.
DrPhilG wrote: » So your second inverter essentially reads the overall export, and then charges the battery accordingly?
DrPhilG wrote: » This thought crossed my mind too. Is that the reason that hybrids are so common, because they are more efficient due to storing on the DC side? I've now got 20kWh of LiFePo4 batteries winging their way from China so I've got a few months to figure out the rest. Once I have the new batteries sorted, I'll be selling the PylonTech to recover some of the cost. Even second hand they tend to sell very high. I could probably get a pretty solid price for the Solis 5kw that I have too, so any suggestions for different brands in a non hybrid version?
garo wrote: » With your dual inverter setup it may be better to go for an AC battery setup with it's own dedicated battery inverter. You can then buy two non-hybrid inverters - which are much cheaper - and flog your hybrid inverter off. Yes you may lose a small bit of efficiency but it will give you a lot more flexibility
mp3guy wrote: » 2. Depends on the inverter, my one can pick up the extra energy from a second inverter via the same shared meter mechanism that is used to control the export limit.
DrPhilG wrote: » Aside from all the battery chat, can anyone clarify if my panel expansion plans are even possible? I currently have 2 panel arrays, 2.8 and 3.4kWp. Both feeding into a Solis 5kw hybrid inverter on a string each. At some point in the future, I'd like to double that to 12.5kWp. However there are 2 problems with the plan. 1 - export management. I will have an export FiT limit of 6kw. That means that I will have to be able to balance and limit export. I realise that one of them can export at full pelt regardless, and therefore only 1 needs to manage its export, based on knowing what the total export is. 2 - if I have a storage battery connected to 1 inverter, then can only the array connected to that inverter charge the battery? Or can the inverter with the battery consume the potential export from the non battery one? This is the bigger issue. Single phase Solis inverters cannot be paralleled it seems.
garo wrote: » I have a Pylontech and there is 10A charging rate restriction when it is too cold. That would be about 500W for one or 1000W for two 2.4kWh modules. I can see the temps on my inverter data page - Growatt. So the BMS definitely records and reports this data. Your inverter may or may not send this info into the cloud. The batteries do warm up with charging so if you leave them to charge they eventually hit the temps needed for the full charge rate. Temps do not restrict discharge.
championc wrote: » Also nice proof of the battery being able to charge at 2.4kW
DrPhilG wrote: » And today was not the day I expected to see it in action, the forecast was terrible.
