The right inverter for battery storage and some other Qs

[ducabi]

Hi all! I've been reading the forum for long time but decided to become an active user as i have more and more questions without straight answer.

I'm planning to setup a battery storage for my house and use Octopus Go/Intelligent. I use around 10kWh a day, so my assumption is that i need around 10kWh batteries and a bit of the usage will go during the offpeak hours (1 dishwasher + washing machine).

So, at the moment I don't have PVs but I may have some next year (or later if offpeak makes more sens). I have 1 small EV which now I rarely charge at home because its mostly for shopping and tesco charging is enough.
I'm thinking about having sofar me3000sp + pylon/fox batteries and just charge them during offpeak and use at peak. I may increase the battery package in future to 20-25 if we start using PVs and heat storage but offpeak becomes unavailable but I'm not sure if it's worth considering it now.

Is there anything I'm missing or Sofar me3000sp + pylon/fox batteries should be ok for what I plan? I read somewhere that sofar requires offline programming (in-front panel) for offpeak charging. What inverter has ability to do it via an app to charge battery when there are extra offpeak hours during the day (intelligent octopus)?

[Thebeeman]

I've gone with Luxpower and 3 X Pylontech 3000 batteries. The inverter will work with Octopus Agile "when" it becomes available again to new customers. With this setup I can add extra storage as and when needed. The downside is that the online monitoring is in 5 minute intervals rather than real time. The inverter charging times can be set up from the comfort of your PC or phone if you're that way inclined, my batteries etc are 100 mts away from my house so remote access is very useful.

[Stinsy]

The SoFar/Pylontech combo is well tried and both offer good price/reliability. The SoFar can be administered via an app if you buy the additional wifi module, I believe. Double-check because lots of inverters used to require an add-on of wifi connectivity but new models come with it built in.

[ducabi]

Which luxpower inverter people buy\ 3-6k?
In terms of batteries is there a difference between US2000c-us3000c-us5000c? I can't find a good review of the differences other than the spec and the specs say they are the same apart from the size but everyone bus us2000.

[Countrypaul]

The me3000 is just a charger/inverter not a hybrid inverter so if you are likely to add PV next year you might be better off looking at a hybrid inverter now that you can just add the PV to, rather than having to replace the me3000, or having multiple inverters (this obviously is dependant on what exactly you are hoping to achieve in the longer term etc.).

[Oldgreybeard]

The choice between the US2000, US3000 or US5000 comes down to three things, required capacity, cost and weight. The latter is a significant consideration, as the US2000 batteries are a lot easier to move around than the US5000 batteries. Even the US3000 batteries we have were a bit of a struggle to lift into their rack on my own.

In terms of performance then there is no significant difference, other than the slight different max charge/discharge rates (which aren't likely to be that significant). I chose to fit six US3000C batteries because they are near ground level and in a place where I could easily wheel them to after getting them off the pallet they were delivered on. I think I'd have struggled a fair bit with the heavier US5000 batteries.

[ducabi]

The me3000 is just a charger/inverter not a hybrid inverter so if you are likely to add PV next year you might be better off looking at a hybrid inverter now that you can just add the PV to, rather than having to replace the me3000, or having multiple inverters (this obviously is dependant on what exactly you are hoping to achieve in the longer term etc.).

Not planning to buy, but I can see a 2nd hand PV set on ebay with sofar. So does this mean it can either take power from PV or batteries but not both?

I can't see any "like" button here but want to thank everyone for really helpful answers!

[Countrypaul]

The me3000 is just a charger/inverter not a hybrid inverter so if you are likely to add PV next year you might be better off looking at a hybrid inverter now that you can just add the PV to, rather than having to replace the me3000, or having multiple inverters (this obviously is dependant on what exactly you are hoping to achieve in the longer term etc.).

Not planning to buy, but I can see a 2nd hand PV set on ebay with sofar. So does this mean it can either take power from PV or batteries but not both?

I can't see any "like" button here but want to thank everyone for really helpful answers!

I believe the me3000 is only AC connected, as such it will only charge the batteries from the mains - that said, if there is a pv inverter also present then it could take the power from that, but you would be going DC->AC->DC so not very efficient. The panels could also be linked directly to the batteries for charging, but if the batteries are full, then the PV is unused. A Hybrid inverter deals with all this as it can take PV, and mains for charging and can export PV to the mains when power required without having to go via batteries.

PS I didn't suggest buyng, ony adding

[ducabi]

PS I didn't suggest buyng, ony adding

I meant that particular ebay auction .
With battery storage I can easily find electrician to do the work between jobs. PVs at the moment would require a lot of planning from my side to find someone who can fit it (scaffolding etc) and provide a good price, and VAT 0% for everything. Atm it looks like getting a set with vat 0% is more than it was before.

[Stinsy]

My understanding is that the ME3000 is an AC-coupled battery inverter. This means it charges/discharges from the mains and solar cannot connect directly to it. The ME3000 can store solar-generated electric but the solar panels would need a separate inverter.

SoFar’s hybrid inverters all have model numbers starting “HYD”.