Saturday at home, installing an inverter

[IMHO]

tec0, I just know Eskom is playing a bluff game, trying to get the public to put pressure on their municipalities. Seems like they are succeeding in that. Escom will not cut any big areas. They and the ANC knows that that area will go up in flames. Will be interesting to see if they will chance it in the small Free State areas.

[IMHO]

Back to topic.

I got a digital LED ammeter yesterday. Learned a few things about shunts in the process. A picture says a thousand words, video probably much more. Will try and show you later.

[tec0]

Which municipality do you reside in?

Answer Mpumalanga

Do you realise that Eskom has been in talks with all the municipalities that owe it money?

Yes we are aware of talks and there was a lot of "ifs" mentioned.

Why isn't your municipality keeping you informed with regard to the outcomes of those talks?

We are connected to there social pages but again we get a lot of "ifs" and the the same old...

Why do you think that Eskom should be communicating with you instead of the municipality who is their customer?

Because they are the only service provider in our country and they are on social media, surly we have the right to know the status of our debt?

Have you asked your municipality if they're paid up with Eskom?

There has been report that payments are being made in sums of millions but again no real feedback other then same old...

Have you asked your municipality if they're going to be cut off for non payment to Eskom and failure to agree to pay back what they owe?

On multiple occasions yes... It is said, it is up to Eskom, along with a maybe or maybe not and the same old... Or they just don't respond.

Why do you think that Eskom (and by extension its paying customers) continue to supply your municipality electricity for free?

Why must the paying public suffer the same consequence as the none paying public? Simple mentality remains... If you pay for a service then surly you have the right to access that service? Not just partial access but full access. Example you buy a car but the bank takes it on weekend for there own use? Will you accept that arrangement? Yes the bank paid for the car first but there where terms and conditions. If you violate them then the bank respond within months. Some of the debt is 5+ years old. Why not react earlier? It is a question of management on both sides not a question of payment and debt

Bottom line is:
It's your municipality and they are supposed to render services to you for which you pay them. If you're paying for electricity and you're not getting it because they're not paying their supplier (Eskom) for it then you need to give your municipality hell.

Have you tried this yourself? Where you successful?

[tec0]

Back to topic.

I got a digital LED ammeter yesterday. Learned a few things about shunts in the process. A picture says a thousand words, video probably much more. Will try and show you later.

That will be cool thanks.

[HR Solutions]

Done and dusted ................ now I do not have to totally rely on Eskom

[IMHO]

Done and dusted ................ now I do not have to totally rely on Eskom

Looks impressive, do tell the details!

Number of batteries.
Amp/Hour of batteries.
Brand and model of batteries.

Inverter size, brand, model.

Charger details.

What is the load you are planning to pull with the unit.

Price of the unit.

[HR Solutions]

Ellies FBIT2000
1200 W
2000VA
2 x Deep cycle batteries within black cabinet that is on wheels - 105amp each
So I have more than enough to power a quite few lights, 42inch flatscreen, DSTV etc
I have had my name down for a while for this unit - just arrived and they are literally walking out of the shop
Price R8500 including vat

[AndyD]

Ellies FBIT2000
1200 W
2000VA
2 x Deep cycle batteries within black cabinet that is on wheels - 105amp each
So I have more than enough to power a quite few lights, 42inch flatscreen, DSTV etc
I have had my name down for a while for this unit - just arrived and they are literally walking out of the shop
Price R8500 including vat

It certainly looks a lot more swish than my setup. Are you using it for powering other stuff such as router, PC's etc? I'm interested in how it performs, how long it takes to charge, how noisy is it and so on. Please let us know how it performs.

[HR Solutions]

It certainly looks a lot more swish than my setup. Are you using it for powering other stuff such as router, PC's etc? I'm interested in how it performs, how long it takes to charge, how noisy is it and so on. Please let us know how it performs.

Earlier this week I bought a smaller one because I was getting tired of waiting. Then all of a sudden this came into stock today so I was very lucky to get it. So I have taken the smaller one with one battery to work and have this one at home. Does not make a sound at all except when I took its power source out and a fan came on. Was just testing so don't know of any other noises but will let u know when we have a proper load shed. The fan noise sounded pretty quite and acceptable. According to the spec sheet it will run for 4 hours with quite a lot of things attached.

[tec0]

I think by next month i will take a chance on cheaper import... i know... i know... I will check out the locals first and take it from there. I want a solar system. I payed for my home getting it off Eskom power seems like a good idea.

Here is the math,

My power bill is already really low because I use power saving products and gas for cooking. I also have a energy monitor that tells me to a T what my power bill will be. I am planning to install a gas water heater this month but i don't want it piped into my home due to the many stupid laws they have governing the install. So it is going to be a portable unit that will be mounted to a trolly system. Like the type you get for outdoor use. This will allow for added safety without compromising the house's piping in any way.

This will allow me to switch the water feed from mains to my 5000L tank when needed. My tank is not inline as inline tanks need a 1000watt water pump to activate each time i turn a tap. That is just stupid so mine is totally isolated system that I can put inline at will at any time. The portable water heater will connect to this system and feed 16L per minute at a temp of 50 degree Celsius into my existing piping without any modification. I worked out the heat loss and will have 40 to 39 degree Celsius water flowing out of the tap. "Hot enough"

Cool thing is i can still use my electric geyser... It has a timer installed on it so really I cannot complain.

Installing the solar system, I will have 2000 watts per system there will be two systems "independent" The first system will be used to run my refrigeration only. Meaning I will only pull a maximum load of 400Watts of it. It will have a larger battery bank then the secondary system and the battery bank can also be charged from my generator "9000 watt 25 Amp generator" The second system will be sun dependent only with a smaller battery bank and will need to service a maximum load of only 300 Watts. It will drive the lights and my basics. The 300 watts is the max load i pull for my basics "tested" Last note the solar system will not be connected into the existing electrical. It will be a totally independent system.

My house has a interesting build and I found the perfect placement for my solar panels. After doing some testing I know for a fact that I will get the morning and afternoon sun without much effort.

This will be a 3 month project

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Only system that will still run on Eskom power will be my washing machine but it only runs for an hour every second to third day.

[IMHO]

I am playing with another idea currently. I saw I can not afford an off grid system. Too many batteries and the price kills it. So what if one goes grid tied without batteries? This will be purely to bring the Eskom account down and not for load shedding. (Which seems to be a thing of the past in any case) For that and other power outages, I will use my UPS system for mission critical equipment.

When my panels produce nothing or a bit, I will use Eskom. (At night and rainy days)

So, when the sun shines, I use my panels free electricity. When there is a shortfall, I draw from Eskom. When I produce too much, I dump it somehow useful as we can not feed back to the grid. I estimate about 36 panels @250 watt. Still a huge expense but I figure it will pay for itself in 5 years.

First point of departure, I will have to get one of those smart meters to monitor my total consumption for a month, to see when I use how much power.

But is the idea possible? Say it is a cloudy day and my panels produce 2600 watt. Can one draw the balance (6000 watt) you need from the grid? Or is it a case of all or nothing?

What is all the equipment you need in such a setup called? What worries me the most, is how do you draw the shortfall from Eskom and marry it to your own. How do you dumb the excess by sending it somewhere else?

[Justloadit]

It is called a grid tied system, simply put is that the inverter is synchronised to the mains, and increases the voltage ever so slightly, so that the solar system provides as much power as the solar system can give and the balance is then provided by ESKOM. The only problem with this system is that the energy is only available when there is sun, and it may be when you really do not need this energy.

[IMHO]

Video as promised.

For some reason the forum says it is an illegal file and will not show preview.

Here is the direct link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sib9zms0_zU&feature=youtu.be

[IMHO]

Here is the demo on the working and ammeter. I see that for a split second the amps is going into 30 amp. How long should it be over 30 amp to blow the fuse?

https://youtu.be/_uC_iKuyNpo

[AndyD]

As Justloadit said, you'll produce most of your power around the middle of the day when you're probably not going to be able to use it. It works in Europe because the power company offers a 'feed in tariff' (FIT) so they pay you for power you put into the grid when you're not using it and this offsets the cost of the power you take out of the grid at another time when you do need it.

There are inverters already available the can take multiple inputs and prioritise their use, look at the Victron Multiplus range for example,even the cheaper Axpert that I installed can do this in a limited fashion. You can connect PV panels, wind turbine, batteries and Eskom power and it will use you PV and wind power to supply the load and if there's insufficient power available from those it will make up the deficit using Eskom power. If there's surplus power coming from the PV and/or the wind turbine it can use this power to charge batteries if they're installed.

Without a feed in tariff I doubt it will be financially viable for a domestic premises to install PV and inverter without batteries, most of the power produced will not be used efficiently if it's used at all.