Sloppy with not brushing off the brick dust from the bricks and trunking created from drilling the holes. Makes it harder to do with all the equipment in place.
@@craigandsummer4057 Agree dangling wires in loft and cutting both at the same time invites a short circuit. No strain relief gland for battery cables into the trunking?
A lot of positive comments on that install. Quite clear many of them don’t do solar then !!! There are quite a few mistakes here . Suprised Gaz didn’t spot them, being the expert
Making off live dc mc4 connectors is so rough. Nearly 300v dc. I’m surprised efixx show this practice. You should terminate into your dc isolator supply side before connecting the last panel. You the check you voltage before coming out of your load side with the correct m/f mc4 connectors.
So connect ends into dc isolator then make off the other ends to connect to pre wired panels? What’s the safest way of disconnecting panels, I know you isolate the ac then the inverter/dc isolator, is it then safe enough to pull the mc4 connectors or will you still get arcing ?
Storage battery capacity is measured in Kw hrs, not Kw! Note electricity meter is an older induction disc type. This will run in reverse when PV generation exceeds customer consumption (including batteries). Although this may seem advantageous, It is not permitted ( illegal) by REC
@@Soruk42 correct, I had a meter with a ratchet that didn’t go backwards. However in the case of my meter (same style as the one in the video), it had a ratchet symbol on the front face of the meter, which this one seems not to
They don’t always run backwards and it’s not “illegal” ffs. It’s the electricity suppliers equipment so it’s up to them to ensure it’s working as it should.
Thanks Gaz. This is great. I’ve just got my BPEC qualification and am starting out on my solar journey. Currently working with a local installer learning on the job. More of this would be a great help to others, I’m sure. Thanks again.
Few things picked up on, mc4 in the loft are fitted wrong way round, “male” pin goes in the “female” side of the mc4, no need for labels on installs as of 2nd amendment only label needed is a solar array sticker near point of isolation for fire fighters and the solar array label should never be stuck on a paintable surface, also no need for a generation meter on installs anymore as suppliers will not accept readings from them, only from CT clamp readings at the incomer
I don’t understand why an EPS is extra during a power cut but all the house runs from batteries during normal operation. Why is the grid needed for normal operation?
It's grid tied, which means that with the aid of the current transformer it will supply as much as it can to the house, but if the house wants to draw more power than the inverter can supply, it's automatically supplemented by the grid. Grid tied also means that the inverter stops outputting in a power cut to protect people who might be working on the electrical supply, so in that case you must use the isolated EPS output.
You're only supposed to strip the solar cable isolation between 8 to 11mm. Way too much excess inside the mc4 terminal. In South Africa, you're not allowed to have AC and DC in the same trunking run. I'm surprised that it's allowed in the UK of all places.
14:30 the volt drop statement doesn't make any sense does it? Drop measured by a high input impedance volt meter with no other current being taken from the cable. Ohms law should tell you where you have gone wrong there....
@@stevec00ps That will be entirely responsible for the 1 volt "drop"! (With no load, PV voltage varies only slightly above a certain minimum level of light.)
It would have been far safer to fit each socket on the end of each solar panel cable as they are cut to length (09:13) rather than have lots of live ends dangling about. He needs to think a little more about safe working practice(s). Also having identified the polarity of the cables - a bit of Brown & Blue sleeving over the Solar Panel cable ends would be useful if any future maintenance becomes necessary - or using the appropriate coloured ferules on the cable ends. Are the cables pairs also identified as to which panel they belong to ?. I see far too many installs done that do not document the cables / items that they belong to - so the next guy that comes to do any work on the cables/item knows what is going on.
As an amateur I thought the same. Would you add fuses while adding the MC4 connector (even if it's not a legal requirement)? Is there a downside to adding fuses apart from costs? Same with the absence of T-fuse between battery and inverter. Looking for a professional opinion on fuses. TIA!
Surely this would be better on a automated contactor to change over on event of a power cut for the whole system? Like a back up generator change over switch.
I haven't seen earthing for EPS EPS socket have to be earthed separately. In event of neutral loss in PME (TN-C-S) you lose earth too, leaving EPS socket without earth
Why is the dc cables not protected all the way from the rails on the roof down to the inverter in a flex pipe? This installation would fail standars in sweden
surely in the event of a power failure, part of the point of having a battery system is so you have power ? Not just one external socket you need to plug leads into ? Why are the battery systems/inverters not set up more like a UPS ? And is it a 12v system ? 24 ? other ?
The Growatt batteries are likely about 50V. A grid tie inverter will shut down if there is no power detected on the grid. The EPS outlet is a separate output from the inverter which will be switched in when the grid supply is out.
@@blow0me I see where you're coming from but it makes the whole system that much more complicated and a higher risk of failure to have some kind of grid monitor that completely isolates the house electrics from the grid in the event of an outage, then rejoins it upon restoration of supply. I have personally never seen such a setup. The system has to shut down in the event of an outage else you risk electrocuting a linesman who believes he is working on a disconnected line when a solar installation has energised it.
@@Soruk42 They way I see it though....it should be just a giant UPS ? so mains typically passes through the inverters, but on mains loss, there is still continuous uninterrupted supply. It does seem they do not work like that though. But yes it would mean the inverters would need to be quite capable, but most seem to be only 4-5kw at most ? which is pretty low, although would see a lot of current of only 12v. If at 48v, it would be easier on the invertors to offer a good 230v AC supply with decent current capacity, but still with caution. And with a UPS, there is no backfeed to the grid. So surely it should be easy ? Just like a UPS ?
Makes things complex without a physical.change over switch. Most installs i put in rcd socket as the inverter becomes an IT earthing system ups. so make sure you do earth your grow watt batteries incase of faults and a rod TT setu setup if you do go full change over setup
Very nice. I have the same (or very similar) inverter but only 3.6kWh storage. When I win the lottery I would like to seriously extend the storage if that is possible.
Interesting. I have just ordered a solar battery system & wondered about the location of the inverter & batteries. I definitely don't want them outside the house so I have a choice of in the loft or, making some room in my rather cramped single garage. The loft would be easier in some ways but I've read some reports that the hot / cold temperature cycles in loft spaces are detrimental to inverter & battery reliability. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
That is actually truth I have been on repair where inverter reported bad insulation caused by moisture (usually after rain or in morning due to dew). It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. This stops generation till fault is clear. Batteries have another set of problems if installed in loft. Weight is one, (very remote) possibility of chemical sp is another. Electrical equipment in loft would force you to install ionisation smoke detector interlinked with rest of your fire alarm system. If you don't have interlinked fire alarm, then you would have to fit it. That is for most locations of Inverter.
@@WizardNumberNext 👍In the end I decided to have the inverter, battery, solar diverter & other ancillaries fitted in my garage. The installers were very grateful because it meant they didn't have to carry the 110kg battery up into the loft space & I didn't need any additional fire / smoke detectors. The system is working well but the 3.6kW Hybrid inverter is not really big enough for everything we run at the same time. I now wish I had got a larger inverter & more battery storage. I'm looking at extra batteries & possibly a new inverter.
Hi, just wondering, why haven't you fitted protection between the battery and invertor, regs and the growatt installtion guide state a 2 pole MCB must be fitted in case of battery fault. Also, regs and the installation manual also say the invertor must be protected by an RCD but you installed it in the consumer unit before the RCD. I'm confused, can you clarify why you've installed it like you have? Cheers
One thing I've never understood is; what happens to the electricity generated by solar panels when they're not wired up. Like where does that energy go? And why did the installer not get an electric shock when he touched the live wire coming from the solar panel?
To get a shock you need to complete a circuit, so if the panel outputs are floating (not connected to the earth), the only way you can complete the circuit is to touch both connections at once. Not a good idea to do it in case there's leakage to earth occurring somewhere - including making sure you know where the end of the other wire is.
Great install however I’ve copied this and connected a zappi charger as part of an upgrade for my EV. How do I identify the battery away from the inverter on the my energy app ?
Great video, I am considering a very similar system. What is the weight of the inverter and battery as my internal walls are all plaster board. Can the battery sit on the floor , held by a bracket upright ?
My garage internal walls are plasterboard. A mounting board was fitted onto a wooden frame which attaches to the plasterboard. The inverter was hung on the mounting board and the battery sits underneath on the concrete floor, though there are mounting brackets to prevent it from tipping over just in case. The 3.6kW inverter weighs 27.5kg and the 9.5kW battery weighs 110kg. Both are GivEnergy.
Forgive the stupid question, it's more than ten years since I did any work at the domestic level. As an electrical engineer I was surprised that only one socket with EPS, I understand the protected circuits. If I was going for this type of installation I would expect, in the case of power failure of the grid, for my home to still operate as normal. Is that possible? Or, do you have to design an off grid installation with a grid backup? I think I need to update my level 3 qualifications, or is there an alternative? Regarding the panels, should they not come with a plastic film that light doesn't penetrate to enable safe installation without having to worry about live wires?
can someone help me there how to install switch that is operated by electric provider and its need to use drm 0 or whatever is it to stop the production if they need to stop it remotely i cant figure out how to connect the pins and cables its inverter mod10ktl3-xh
Any idea why he didn't use a parallel cable kit ? Also if you add a second battery to existing then i read it needs to be checked/balanced with multi meter.. any idea how to balance ??? I want to add a second battery and thought i needed a parallel cable and not sure about balancing :)
Stuff like that has been in short supply.. Charge one battery up full using solar or mains...then take out and do same for new battery...then add them both...easy way to do it or just check with therw 10v of each other max...
I can see why you think that, but the inverter is also looking at the voltage waveform, and if you compare the two (such as by multiplying them together) you will get the opposite result if you turn the CT around.
Curious why they aren't using some sort of dual contact connector? Seem's like a bunch of single contact connectors the potential for mixing them up is greater and if we're dealing with a couple hundred volts per bank, I could see miswiring causing damage and injury. Some systems I've seen here in Canada use Anderson Power Poles which can't be connected backwards once crimped.
battery banks are not operating at hundreds of volts. Pretty sure they are only 12v, although you'd think 48v would make more sense. But potentially they might be handling a lot of current
@@blow0me I was referring to the leads from the solar panels. The measured voltage when he was installing the plugs on the leads in the attic he said the leads were measuring 292 volts DC. Watch around @10:15 his volt meter says 292 and he says 292 minus volts. That's not the 12v you were saying. As for battery banks, it's not uncommon to have voltages higher then 12v. A UPS I recently replaced the batteries on, the nominal voltage per bank was 48v on a 1500w UPS. And older 3000w UPS we pulled from service the battery banks were nominal 192v.
Great video. Where do you run the EPS to and from? Just to the inverter to socket or have you install an ATS? Growatt advised me an ATS is needed and from the consumer unit but I dont see this in your video so was wondering if your set up works without ATS, earth rod, or from consumer unit.
@@persona250 that’s not how it’s fed. The feed still needs to come from somewhere via the inverter. Growatt say it requires an ATS and others say they have been able to do it the same way from im the video. However I’m unsure if it requires a seperate CU
@@danmurphy7338 have you watched the video ? . It’s really easy to follow , the eps port is on the inverter , the engineer connects a flex from this port into a double socket .
@@persona250 yes I have watched the video. I have also spoken to Growatt who advised this method wouldn’t work without the ATS. I can’t see an ATS. Incase of a powercut the inverter would go into island mode without the ATS even if theres power in the battery unless I have miss understood what Growatt have said. I’m new to solar so excuse the ignorance if I am not making sense.
Pardon me for my question. I’m a newbie. I got Growatt sph6000 with 24 lead battery. My question is, does the battery goes with the grid at night? Or the battery serves as a backup power only?
there is no need for this battery storage as the solar will make the meter run backwards when its producing excess energy with this old meter without a ratchet
So if the mains power goes out, the batteries don't power the home but you can use those two plugs by the batteries? Great for the UK I suppose with very minimal power outages, but no good for South Africa.
Absolutely. The difference in South Africa is that you're not allowed to export, are you? Your sunny country was so far behind when it came to solar PV due to politics, but since your "load shedding" has become chronic it seems that it's coming in behind batteries as the primary focus. Affordable batteries are of course a more recent development than affordable PV. I've had PV since 2011 and get paid for what I generate whether I use it or not.
