Hybrid system

[Slanepaul]

Hi all, looking for your help, I have 5kw pv with a sma 4000tl, I want to add 4 kw or battery storage, what size hybrid inverter would I need?

[jflorey2]

Hi all, looking for your help, I have 5kw pv with a sma 4000tl, I want to add 4 kw or battery storage, what size hybrid inverter would I need?

What are your loads? (max power, kwh per day) How many days of autonomy do you want? What devices do you want to start and run? How often do you lose power? Will you switch to DC hybrid, or do an AC coupled system?

[Slanepaul]

Hi, just want to utilise the extra power I am generating, at night etc, currently the panels and I have a turbine produce in the region of 30 kw/h daily. Dont loose power that often, Im relatively new with pv, but think the DC Hybrid is better for me rather than having an inverter on the ac side. All your help would be appreciated

[jflorey2]

Hi, just want to utilise the extra power I am generating, at night etc, currently the panels and I have a turbine produce in the region of 30 kw/h daily. Dont loose power that often, Im relatively new with pv, but think the DC Hybrid is better for me rather than having an inverter on the ac side. All your help would be appreciated

OK just so I understand -

You are on-grid now with a grid tie system. Are you not getting credit for the power you generate? In that case I'd consider a net-zero capable system like the StorEdge.

If you want to do a DC based system then you are looking at something like a Radian with a largish battery. However your array voltages are likely incompatible with most charge controllers, so either you'd need something like the Morningstar 600V charge controller, or a rewiring of your array. In any case you are looking at $15 to $20K to do this. Is that within your budget?

[ButchDeal]

Are you not getting credit for the power you generate? In that case I'd consider a net-zero capable system like the StorEdge.

If you want to do a DC based system then you are looking at something like a Radian with a largish battery. However your array voltages are likely incompatible with most charge controllers, so either you'd need something like the Morningstar 600V charge controller, or a rewiring of your array.

BTW, the StorEdge is DC coupled ...

[ButchDeal]

Hi, just want to utilise the extra power I am generating, at night etc, currently the panels and I have a turbine produce in the region of 30 kw/h daily. Dont loose power that often, Im relatively new with pv, but think the DC Hybrid is better for me rather than having an inverter on the ac side. All your help would be appreciated

If you have Net Metering then you are utilizing the power you generated at night....

Also it is kWh not kW/h

[scrambler]

Beside the Store Edge inverter coupled with a battery like the LG Resu 10H, you can look into the Pika Energy system.

[Slanepaul]

Thanks for the replies, I need to research further, yes I do get payment for exporting the excess, its very low though, thought it would be more beneficial to me to store and use. Great to have the knowledge here, thanks again

[ButchDeal]

Thanks for the replies, I need to research further, yes I do get payment for exporting the excess, its very low though, thought it would be more beneficial to me to store and use. Great to have the knowledge here, thanks again

If you have NET Metering then you do not get payment you get credit and it would be at 100% the same cost as you pay for energy.
with Net Metering there is sometimes a payment for what is called NEG (Net Excess Generation) which is energy produced beyond your consumption (if you produce more than you consume). This is payed out at wholesale rate not retail. This often confuses consumers into thinking that a battery is more beneficial but you still have full retail rate upto your consumption level.

[neweclipse]

Some will choose that some of their excess production storage be into stored hot water rather than all stored in a battery.

[df0rster]

I've always like the concept of alternative energy storage using unconventional "batteries". Hot water is one way. Or use the excess to cool your swimming pool water or run some window units in a garage or something. In the summer cool storage would be more useful than hot storage. You could even store compressed air or pump water into a large tank, etc. Lots of ways you could make your own "battery"

[J.P.M.]

I've always like the concept of alternative energy storage using unconventional "batteries". Hot water is one way. Or use the excess to cool your swimming pool water or run some window units in a garage or something. In the summer cool storage would be more useful than hot storage. You could even store compressed air or pump water into a large tank, etc. Lots of ways you could make your own "battery"

Residential level energy storage, while always possible, is usually not practical or cost effective using compressed gasses, flywheels and the like. They can be nice learning DIY projects, but don't expect them to be cost effective in most applications.

Currently, for grid tie applications, residential electrical energy using what are commonly called batteries is beginning to become or is getting closer to being cost effective and practical in some markets depending on the application and how the interfacing POCO's rate tariffs and policies treat the power produced and stored by residential PV systems.

Storing produced electrical energy as heat is somewhere between battery storage and the other mentioned methods in terms of cost effectiveness. Storing the inevitable and hopefully small excess PV generation in hot water is probably useful and practical as opposed to most excess generation payments from most POCO's. However purposely oversizing an array with the idea of intentional hot water generation using PV as the energy source is probably not going to be cost effective.

[paulcheung]

If you have NET Metering then you do not get payment you get credit and it would be at 100% the same cost as you pay for energy.
with Net Metering there is sometimes a payment for what is called NEG (Net Excess Generation) which is energy produced beyond your consumption (if you produce more than you consume). This is payed out at wholesale rate not retail. This often confuses consumers into thinking that a battery is more beneficial but you still have full retail rate upto your consumption level.

In some places like third world country, they don't have the Net Metering. What we called is Net Billing. We buy the KWH from the POCO at retail price and they pay we back at half or less than half of the price. The meter has two readings, one for power coming and one for power going out. every KWH we use from POCO we paid retail and every KWH we export we get half the retail. I mean every KWH. not the net from the differences.

So we have to try consume as much as possible during the sun shine hours, we make sure all cloth washing and cloth ironing are during the sunny time.