Solar for Beginners [ask your questions here]

DC999 · 23-09-2022 6:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119656433#Comment_119656433

And can get single string inverters too. Hard to see why needed but maybe used for small setups.

micks_address · 23-09-2022 6:38pm

Hi folks,

Have two more questions.. for ev panels, inverter and battery will there be wiring required back to fuse board in house? Also for an eddi.. I think it basically connect's to your cylinders immersion? Is a new wire required from location of eddi to hot press? Again is it wired to fuse board? Of course potential installer can answer these questions but just curious

Thanks,

Mick

slave1 · 23-09-2022 6:44pm

My new 6kW inverter maxes with 8 panels a string!, they are 455w mind

AckwelFoley · 23-09-2022 7:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119656574#Comment_119656574

Inverter is connected to the fuse board. New breakers put in labelled AC supply

The eddi in my instance is wired beside the hotpess. It is ultimately put in there instead of your timer ie..the unit where you push in the pins so it's turning on and off immersion as instructed. No new wires there that I can see. So wires will need to go from eddi location to operate the immersion. It would be on the same trip switch as the original wires were for the immersion..I can't tell you if it's a lighter or heavier mcb.. I doubt it

AckwelFoley · 23-09-2022 7:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119656597#Comment_119656597

Best on the hoof decision I made morning of the install was to go from 340kw to 410 panels.. leaves me enough space to add 8 panels if I want to..

micks_address · 23-09-2022 8:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119656876#Comment_119656876

So basically the eddi fits inline with your current immersion and takes power from your house supply? That's either grid/pv/battery... So no new wires from Eddi to pv or invertor or fuse board?

AckwelFoley · 23-09-2022 8:15pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119656944#Comment_119656944

No, not for the eddi. Eddi is connected to the wire(s) via a clamp that is either wired back to the eddi or by use of a Harvi, which is wireless. The clamp is between the meter box and the fuse board, if its under 15m (i think) you can hardwire it to the eddi, if it's more, or a pain in the hole to run the wire, you can use a harvi

micks_address · 23-09-2022 8:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119656989#Comment_119656989

So simplest job would be fit in hot press and use harvi?

AckwelFoley · 23-09-2022 8:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119657010#Comment_119657010

For me anyway yes. Close to where it's used, the clamp and the Internet

micks_address · 23-09-2022 10:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119657057#Comment_119657057

One more question about the eddi... It will only work with solar? Let's say I want it to work to heat water from 5am to 6am when it's dark in the winter can you use energy from battery to power it? I'm wondering if I should add it or not..at the moment we have gas heating water only for 45 minutes in the morning, mid day and evening so we have hot water in taps.. have an electric shower for showers.. with eddi could probably use solar to heat mid day etc and most of daylight but early morning might be a struggle especially outside of summer time?

B.A._Baracus · 23-09-2022 10:54pm

Got two cheap Chinese solar panels from aliexpress. Tried to wire them in series. Strange thing is the voltage does increase but then it drops back to half (one solar)

Then I just remove and reconnect the connector and double voltage again. What could be the issue you guys reckon?

Like it works... then suddenly it stops being double.

connesha · 23-09-2022 11:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119657721#Comment_119657721

See Boost Timer section here: https://myenergi.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Eddi-Manual-.pdf

Yea, it has timer function, so can be set to boost (heat) immersion at any time. It'll pull electricity just like any other load in your house: if battery has enough (and can supply 3kw), it'll take from battery. Whatever battery cant supply will come from grid.

You'll need to do your calcs on whether this is more efficient than gas, depending on what time you boost, what your rates are, and if your battery has enough (and will have enough to get you through the day after you deplete it into the immersion)

yankinlk · 24-09-2022 7:34am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119657721#Comment_119657721

In winter at 5am u won't have any battery left. It will pull night rate from the grid.

Tbh I'm not recommending eddi as a money saver to anyone. Recent quote a friend got was 750! For an eddi.

That's too steep 50% more than year ago and it's already a nice to have, conveinince more so than for saving money

micks_address · 24-09-2022 7:51am

How is using an eddi different to having the immersion come on at timed intervals during the day on a time switch? Is it's smarts knowing when there's excess solar and kicking in then?

yankinlk · 24-09-2022 8:01am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119658320#Comment_119658320

Exactly. It senses the energy going back to grid and diverts it to the immersion instead. You could just let it go back to grid and if you hae a smart meter get paid for it.

In my case, I have a day night meter so I cn divert it and still get paid for FIT because they are giving me an estimate based on diverter size.

Eddi amd battery are now similar.... if you can get them cheap maybe add them but we seem to be at peak pricing at the moment. If your supplier has an eddi or a battery already in stock u might get a good deal from them.... but if they have to order one for you I fear its gonna be way to expensive right now.

micks_address · 25-09-2022 1:45pm

Has anyone any positive or negative feedback on givenergy products? I'm probably booking my install tomorrow and it's including a givenergy invertor and battery.

bullit_dodger · 25-09-2022 3:55pm

I probably know who that's with too, as there are only a few doing GivEnergy in Ireland, most are Solis.

Yeah, Givenergy are fine. Have one myself. I don't think the hardware is any better (or worse) between all the inverters/batteries if I'm honest. Where the Givenergy is "best in class" though is the web front end and remote control that they allow via an API. I can control charge times, batterie discharge rates from an app on my phone while others need to get the ladder out and go up to the attic.

If you want to take it a step further with automation that API is superb.

Again though, there really isn't a lemon to avoid across the entire solar hardware. Huawei maybe.....but only because they are massively overpriced not becuase they are bad hardware (the opposite if anything, the hardware is good)

redmagic68 · 25-09-2022 10:33pm

How difficult/ expensive is it to have your system set up so that during a power cut you can run your house from your battery or panels as if off grid and then return to the grid once restored. I know that there is an option on some inverters to have a plug wired in to an emergency supply but what I mean is to have your house run as normal all circuits powered?

I know that there is a safety issue with power going to the grid when the grid is down but I also mean doing it safely similar to say how a back up generator would work?

bullit_dodger · 26-09-2022 12:22am

It's doable with a changeover switch/isolator, but it won't be done as a part of the grant installation anyway as the SEAI guys won't sign off on it.

Not sure it's really worth doing unless you suffer from regular and long blackouts. Usually the EPS (emergency power supply) socket with an extension lead is good for most poeple.

redmagic68 · 26-09-2022 7:36am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119664992#Comment_119664992

It’s more with the prospect of winter power rationing type cuts, while unlikely I’d say I just wanted to know what was possible.

we get one or two blackouts here a year usually due to storms and trees but they have upgraded some fuses in the area to make them more resilient so perhaps that will help also.

Again it’s more down the line thinking than something I’d act on until the system was in and running for a year. Hopefully never required. With 9.6kw of battery it would be a short term solution at best.

DC999 · 26-09-2022 11:06am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119665251#Comment_119665251

For those without a house battery but with an EV (largest battery you'll have), @unkel did say a while back how he has a pure sine wave invertor (think it's called that) he hooks up to the EV 12v battery and can run an extension lead into the house for critical stuff. Something like a max of 1kw based on invertor limit but that's all good. You'd get days in a house from that if needed too. I'll go down that route. Others on YouTube have done the same.

Engine needs to be on (so have to work that out as anyone could then 'borrow' the car and insurance would not love that). But ways around it.

In terms of how likely it is, outside the cities I'd say less likely. I've been fulltime wft for 2.5 years in Dublin and hasn't been a single power outage that I recall. Deffo none more than a few mins. But no harm to be somewhat ready for sure

bullit_dodger · 26-09-2022 11:09am

9.6Khw is a pretty big battery, you'll power your house for a good 12 hrs on that. TV etc.

Sure you wouldn't be running the tumble dryer, but it would see you right with lights, TV for a solid period of time anyway. Before going the whole changeover route, I'd purchase a 2 gang socket and box down at woodies and see if the spark will hook that into the EPS sock for you. It's doable to wire it yourself relatively easy, albeit the connector on the inverter side is non-standard.

cobham · 26-09-2022 11:34am

We are in middle of installation and have opted for Eddi. At the moment we use electricity to heat 'sink' portion of immersion, plenty for two showers and on a timer. The gas would heat the full tank so we never have used that. But if excess is going off to the grid, I would prefer to have it 'stored' in the immersion tank so not so much needed to top up the temperature as needed. It also means a decent hot press for airing clothes and some heat radiating from that into the house. It is also located below attic storage tank so will keep same from freezing.

unkel · 26-09-2022 12:18pm

Eddi is a bad idea once we get paid for actual units exported. Basically it costs just 8-9c to heat your water either from night rate electricity or from gas. You get 14c FIT. So every unit of PV used to heat your water loses you considerable money. That's on top of the install cost of the Eddi which is probably about €700-800 these days. Don't do it.

And that's just the financial consideration. From an environmental point of view it is far greener to heat your water with night rate electricity than to do so from PV, contradictory as that might sound...

micks_address · 26-09-2022 1:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119666256#Comment_119666256

Thanks unkel, you are backing up my decision not to go with an Eddi for now..

unkel · 26-09-2022 2:46pm

I was going to get one myself, only reason I didn't is because they were sold out. But that was before the very generous feed in tariffs were announced. I won't bother now. Happily heat the water from night rate and export to the grid during the day.

bullit_dodger · 26-09-2022 5:28pm

From an environmental point of view it is far greener to heat your water with night rate electricity than to do so from PV, contradictory as that might sound...

How do you mean? I don't see that, while night rate electricity is (generally) made up of a high percentage of renewables such as wind, hydro, etc surely a unit generated by your own PV is 100%.

Curious.

(Course many of us are on "deemed export", so I'm happily heating the water and still getting paid for that very same unit I "exported". Gotta love that)

unkel · 26-09-2022 8:47pm

Because when I export, it is imported by someone else, which saves fossil fuel from being burnt for them. The grid during PV hours is only in a minority from renewables, the grid during night rate hours is for the majority from renewables

But yeah, while we are on deemed export we'll all be having our cake and eating it 😁

Markus Antonius · 26-09-2022 11:05pm

Why are microinverters (at the panel) not very popular? Seems like a good modular option to go for

unkel · 27-09-2022 12:16am

Because inverters don't last as long as panels. If the average a micro inverter lasts is 10 years and you have 15 of them, it means you will have to go back onto your roof at least once a year at some stage to replace them.

Solar for Beginners [ask your questions here]

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