The Alternative Energy Thread - Generators, Solar, UPS, Wind

[mrdeejay]

Has anyone mounted panels in Portrait/vertical position on L2 structure? We are planning to upgrade our existing 320w panels with 535w ones. Only way to do it is by replacing 8 horizontal 320 panels with 7 vertical 535 panels. I'd probably need to add a horizontal bar on top of frame to mount panels on?

[horticulturalist]

AoA,
I have a question.
What is the use of "change over switch" in the solar dp box?
Almost all of the quacks on youtube has quoted the use of change over switch as:
0: off, 1: Solar, 2: Wapda/utility
What does it mean by solar? It should mean "Inverter AC out".
Ok, so when the sun sets, we have to switch to 2 (wapda). However, the inverter itself will be running on wapda source, charging the battery (if any) and will be consuming atleast 3-4 Amps (e.g. for a 1kw inverter). Hence, there is no benefit of the change over then.
The real use of change over is to save battery power (for an off grid inv.) OR to switch to the "only" available (wapda) source at night (for an on grid inv.).

But the question arises, how to save electricity (wapda) during the day? For that reason, we have to just simply install a switch at the "Inverter AC in" and keep it off during the day. This thing will work efficiently for an off-grid inv. where you need batteries to be charged when required. On the other hand, for an on grid inv. we may not need that switch or AC input for the inverter, as it can run the system without the batteries.

Experts, kindly elaborate if I am wrong.

(I will post a wiring diagram for the setup I installed at my home)

[saqibhassan95]

What does it mean by solar? It should mean "Inverter AC out".

yes it means inverter ac out

Ok, so when the sun sets, we have to switch to 2 (wapda)

there's no need to switch, 0 is off, 1 is solar (output through inverter) and 2 is actually straight up wapda. changeover is there to simply run home on wapda by bypassing inverter so that in case any issue arises in your inverter/solar setup,simply bypass it and run appliances on wapda without any interruption

[horticulturalist]

@saqibhassan95 so then the batteries will be charging in the whole evening (which are peak hours) and consume 4 Amps for 5 hours? Isn't that true?

And shouldn't we switch off the Inverter AC input during the day?
There are settings in the inverter for it which usually turns off the utility when there is PV input available.

[saqibhassan95]

so then the batteries will be charging in the whole evening (which are peak hours) and consume 4 Amps for 5 hours? Isn't that true?

no, in inverter battery charging settings, the charge source priority, set it to "OSO", only solar, your batteries will only charge on solar, no grid involved in battery charging

[horticulturalist]

Ok that makes sense.
And during the day, shouldn't we turn off the grid power?

[saqibhassan95]

Ok that makes sense. And during the day, shouldn't we turn off the grid power?

depends upon inverter
nowadays we have hybrid inverters, set it to "SBU" if you want to utilize solar and batteries during day, if you want to use solar with grid so that batteries don't degrade, set it to "SUB" mode
which inverter you're using? so that I can guide you accordingly and many features vary depending upon inverter whether it's on grid/off grid or hybrid inverter

[horticulturalist]

Aerox 1.2kw

[horticulturalist]

[horticulturalist]

Govt. withdrew 17% GST on solar panels.

"Announcing the immediate abolition of 17pc duty on solar panels, the prime minister stressed the need for a compulsory solar geyser policy for every household,” said a statement issued by the PM House after the meeting.

When will this ease in GST benefit us??? Have any idea?

[capsat]

When will this ease in GST benefit us??? Have any idea?

wait for the SRO to become active for such announcement.

in order to charge the batteries only during sun light hours, while running the load, disconnect Grid Supply. During Day the connected load will work upon solar energy and simultaneously charge the batteries via inverter. The professional installers design every system with panels' capacity 30% excess of calculated maximum load. They also add a circuit breaker in DB for Grid supply to inverter so that can be manually controlled.

Charging high capacity batteries over Grid supply will make your grid meter go crazy.

[mgalaxy3]

Does Aerox 1.2 / Veyron series work without batteries?

@horticulturalist @saqibhassan95 @capsat

[capsat]

Yes it will work without batteries. (but not recommended)
read the manual it has a MPPT controller, please add battery. That battery will help under full load at PV, the AMP pull from appliances in case of low sunlight

USER MANUAL

[horticulturalist]

Yes sir thats what I had in my mind, to turn off the "utility/grid power" during the day and limit the charging of the batteries during the night. But sir @saqibhassan95 responds vice versa. May be he is referring to some more advanced inverters that has more options.

[horticulturalist]

No. Aerox series will not work w/o batteries. Its an offgrid inv. Don't know about Veyron.

[capsat]

i have observed that inverters of capacity above 3 KW have an Option to enable disable battery charging from GRID.

[mgalaxy3]

Which one?

[mgalaxy3]

Ah that sucks .

[AkbarGr8]

Hi all,

I am evaluating different solar installers for a 16.5KW setup (15KW on-grid inverter). Have received a couple of proposals, needed your opinion on the following points.

1) Located in Karachi. One provider is suggesting a 15' tilt for solar panels whereas the other one is suggesting 5'. Do note this is for a raised structure. Which is more accurate?

2) Would you opt for a big installer (flashy office) offering service at a higher cost or a small individually owned firm providing a highly personalized service at a much competitive cost? Thank you!

[centos]

Recommend best angle in summer for karachi is 0% but 5-10% is good for full year performance.

Ask them to show their recent installations, then talk to the owners of those sites to get a feedback about their experience with the company. Never pay full in advance. Pay 10-30% upfront. Once they deliver the stuff pay up to 80% and rest after successful installation and green meter running.

Pakistani companies big or small you can never tell. Always do your due diligence.