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dlw
Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2022 8:33 pm

Hey All

#1

Post by dlw »

I found this forum when searching for information if it was ok to use an armoured from my panels as I already had one installed to where my panels are at the bottom of my garden and found the info I needed :D

My current setup as of a few weeks ago consists of a Voltronic Axpert Max 8kw off grid hybrid inverter, 16 250w Trina panels and 3 Chinese Lifepo4 6200Wh (125ah)

Inverter is controlled by home assistant for monitoring and night charging and will hopefully setup to do weather monitoring to either charge or not on my octapus go tariff.


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16 250w Trina panels
Voltronic Axpert Max 8Kw hybrid inverter
3 x Chinese 125Ah (19Kwh total) batteries
To be done, more panels and a wind turbine
Off Grid 20 out of 24hrs
User avatar
Joeboy
Posts: 8204
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 4:22 pm
Location: Inverurie

Re: Hey All

#2

Post by Joeboy »

dlw wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 8:49 am I found this forum when searching for information if it was ok to use an armoured from my panels as I already had one installed to where my panels are at the bottom of my garden and found the info I needed :D

My current setup as of a few weeks ago consists of a Voltronic Axpert Max 8kw off grid hybrid inverter, 16 250w Trina panels and 3 Chinese Lifepo4 6200Wh (125ah)

Inverter is controlled by home assistant for monitoring and night charging and will hopefully setup to do weather monitoring to either charge or not on my octapus go tariff.

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Welcome onboard dlw! :D
Last edited by Joeboy on Tue Oct 25, 2022 10:18 am, edited 2 times in total.
15kW PV SE, VI, HM, EN
42kWh LFPO4 storage
7kW ASHP
200ltr HWT.
73kWh HI5
Deep insulation, air leak ct'd home
WBSx2
Low energy bulbs
Veg patches & fruit trees
AE-NMidlands
Posts: 2073
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2021 6:10 pm

Re: Hey All

#3

Post by AE-NMidlands »

Welcome!
(and another one for Nowty's secret or not-so-secret list!)
We're doing pretty well
A
2.0 kW/4.62 MWh pa in Ripples, 4.5 kWp W-facing pv, 9.5 kWh batt
30 solar thermal tubes, 2MWh pa in Stockport, plus Congleton and Kinlochbervie Hydros,
Most travel by bike, walking or bus/train. Veg, fruit - and Bees!
User avatar
nowty
Posts: 5886
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 2:36 pm
Location: South Coast

Re: Hey All

#4

Post by nowty »

AE-NMidlands wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 10:17 am Welcome!
(and another one for Nowty's secret or not-so-secret list!)
We're doing pretty well
A
Just done an update. ;)
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=922&p=20636#p20636

Welcome dlw, I am jealous of your remote battery voltage monitor. :D
18.7kW PV > 109MWh generated
Ripple 6.6kW Wind + 4.5kW PV > 27MWh generated
6 Other RE Coop's
105kWh EV storage
60kWh Home battery storage
40kWh Thermal storage
GSHP + A2A HP's
Rain water use > 510 m3
MrPablo
Posts: 284
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2022 1:26 pm

Re: Hey All

#5

Post by MrPablo »

Hi dlw, good to see another Home Assistant fan!
10x 405W JA Solar panels (4.05kWp) @ 5 degrees
3x 405W Longi panels (1.22kWp) @ 90 degrees
16.5kWh DIY LifePo4 battery
Solis inverter/charger
0.6kW Ripple WT
64kWh Kia E-Niro
dlw
Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2022 8:33 pm

Re: Hey All

#6

Post by dlw »

Cheers everyone :D
nowty wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 11:06 am
Welcome dlw, I am jealous of your remote battery voltage monitor. :D
Lots of inverters can be added to HA, I think you have a Solis (correct me if I'm wrong) and I found that it's possible to get all the information from them.
AE-NMidlands wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 10:17 am Welcome!
(and another one for Nowty's secret or not-so-secret list!)
We're doing pretty well
A
I'm probably going to add another 2kw east facing soon to get the morning sun as my panels are South/slight west and can get them on my garage roof.
MrPablo wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 11:08 am Hi dlw, good to see another Home Assistant fan!
Not been using very long, had home automation for years and tried several times to get it working with my kit and now it all seems to work, currently have it running in a vm on my server but since that runs at 150w 24/7 I might reducing the house power consumption as it seems to be sitting at 500w
16 250w Trina panels
Voltronic Axpert Max 8Kw hybrid inverter
3 x Chinese 125Ah (19Kwh total) batteries
To be done, more panels and a wind turbine
Off Grid 20 out of 24hrs
User avatar
nowty
Posts: 5886
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 2:36 pm
Location: South Coast

Re: Hey All

#7

Post by nowty »

dlw wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 12:36 pm Cheers everyone :D
nowty wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 11:06 am
Welcome dlw, I am jealous of your remote battery voltage monitor. :D
Lots of inverters can be added to HA, I think you have a Solis (correct me if I'm wrong) and I found that it's possible to get all the information from them.
I have SMA inverters, I get good remote info except the battery voltage. Because I have a complicated battery setup, the SOC sent from my battery inverter is meaningless.

AE-NMidlands wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 10:17 am (and another one for Nowty's secret or not-so-secret list!)
dlw wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 12:36 pm I'm probably going to add another 2kw east facing soon to get the morning sun as my panels are South/slight west and can get them on my garage roof.
Let us know once the extra panels are ordered. :D

And we like photos of new projects !
Last edited by nowty on Tue Oct 25, 2022 1:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
18.7kW PV > 109MWh generated
Ripple 6.6kW Wind + 4.5kW PV > 27MWh generated
6 Other RE Coop's
105kWh EV storage
60kWh Home battery storage
40kWh Thermal storage
GSHP + A2A HP's
Rain water use > 510 m3
MrPablo
Posts: 284
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2022 1:26 pm

Re: Hey All

#8

Post by MrPablo »

Not been using very long, had home automation for years and tried several times to get it working with my kit and now it all seems to work, currently have it running in a vm on my server but since that runs at 150w 24/7 I might reducing the house power consumption as it seems to be sitting at 500w
I picked up a rather inexpensive Dell OptiPlex micro when I shifted away from a Raspberry Pi 4, paired with a 2 x 3.5" HD dock. The whole setup with multiple docker containers, VMs, etc, idles at about 15-20w.
You can pick them up pretty cheaply on eBay if needed.

Image
10x 405W JA Solar panels (4.05kWp) @ 5 degrees
3x 405W Longi panels (1.22kWp) @ 90 degrees
16.5kWh DIY LifePo4 battery
Solis inverter/charger
0.6kW Ripple WT
64kWh Kia E-Niro
dlw
Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2022 8:33 pm

Re: Hey All

#9

Post by dlw »

nowty wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 12:47 pm I have SMA inverters, I get good remote info except the battery voltage. Because I have a complicated battery setup, the SOC sent from my battery inverter is meaningless.
It looks like it can be added to HA, some information can be pulled and visualised better than the manufacturers app


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I built a 3.4m x 6.6m pergola and decking, so now I have an 'existing structure' in my garden to mount the panels ;) don't seem to have finished pictures but will post some at the weekend when I get back from Germany/Luxembourg
MrPablo wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 12:55 pm I picked up a rather inexpensive Dell OptiPlex micro when I shifted away from a Raspberry Pi 4, paired with a 2 x 3.5" HD dock. The whole setup with multiple docker containers, VMs, etc, idles at about 15-20w.
You can pick them up pretty cheaply on eBay if needed.
Yeah I might do that but I use Plex server and have a quadro graphics card for hardware transcoding, I do also use HP micro server which actually has all my storage in but the graphics card won't fit (at the moment)
16 250w Trina panels
Voltronic Axpert Max 8Kw hybrid inverter
3 x Chinese 125Ah (19Kwh total) batteries
To be done, more panels and a wind turbine
Off Grid 20 out of 24hrs
User avatar
nowty
Posts: 5886
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 2:36 pm
Location: South Coast

Re: Hey All

#10

Post by nowty »

dlw wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 5:28 pm
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What brand and cost are your batteries ?

Did you import them directly from China, like from AliExpress or similar.
18.7kW PV > 109MWh generated
Ripple 6.6kW Wind + 4.5kW PV > 27MWh generated
6 Other RE Coop's
105kWh EV storage
60kWh Home battery storage
40kWh Thermal storage
GSHP + A2A HP's
Rain water use > 510 m3
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