Considering building a power wall.

josh35

New member
Joined
Oct 12, 2017
Messages
6
Hey there all. I'm considering building a powerwall. I'm getting my solo all connected next Monday.

5.4kW Solar System:

20 x 270W Jinko panel (Poly)

1 x 4.6kW Bosch Inverter Single Phase

Bit I was just wondering if I'm going to be able to have powerwall? Would it be possible to do?

http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/59e48d9293c46/inverter.pdf

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 

Attachments

  • Powerwall-2_FAQ.pdf
    94.8 KB · Views: 235
Why shouldn't you be able to have a powerwall? If you want the powerwall to be built/installed by a company then talk to them about the possibilities. If you want to build it yourself then check how your coming system is wired up and where you can connect the powerwall.
 
josh35 said:
Hey there all. I'm considering building a powerwall. I'm getting my solo all connected next Monday.

5.4kW Solar System:

20 x 270W Jinko panel (Poly)

1 x 4.6kW Bosch Inverter Single Phase

Bit I was just wondering if I'm going to be able to have powerwall? Would it be possible to do?



Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

It's probably easier if you can start off with a hybrid inverter like the one iceisfun linked.

I've got a similar size system organised by my employer as part of an install at several sites. I did talk to the installers about a couple of hybrid models, but they weren't interested. This was mostly because they are a Tesla dealer and an AC coupled Tesla Powerwall 2 is an easy addon for a lot of existing systems that don't already have a hybrid inverter. Talking to these guys about huge DIY batteries probably wouldn't sway them, and in the commercial sector, the Tesla is hard to beat right now on cost and warranty.

Your purchasing situation is probably different to mine. If it's not too late for a change, you might want to talk to them about hybrid inverters that support a range of battery types. Maybe just tell them that you want to have a range of battery options down the track or something.

Considering how my system was being bundled with a work purchase, I didn't fight too hard on the inverter choice.

My inverter is a SMA 5kw. It has a multifunction relay which can be programmed to trigger on excess solar generation (often used for hot water storage systems). Initially I'll probably use that relay to trigger a 1500w/45A 7S 220v charger. It's not the most efficient way of doing it, but it's a start. My DIY battery inverter at the moment is a modified 900w UPS, which I'll probably have cabled to a single outlet behind some server gear (I can easily cover about 300w of constant load from a particular set of gear).

I'd consider adding a MPP Solar inverter later with its output running one power point circuit and lights. (and probably a few additional panels to connect to its MPPT charge controller)I'm a way off having enough battery storage to do that yet though. Fortunately I know a couple of electricians fairly well who probably won't be too surprised when I show them my competed DIY battery (it's messy and in testing now, but will go into a large outside metal cabinet.

Speaking about surprised electricians.... I saw on my security footage the other day two electriciansfrom our solar install company (they were expected on the day). They walked over to our gas instant hotwater system to turn it off, looked over and saw my 4kwh 7S battery nearby in testing. They stood scratching their head talking about it for about 5 minutes :)


image_bvczdm.jpg


Like a lot of us, I'm fairly comfortable on careful progress on a big battery under 80v DC. Using that for high voltage AC loads though, I will involve people much more qualified than me.
 
neilmc said:
josh35 said:
Hey there all. I'm considering building a powerwall. I'm getting my solo all connected next Monday.

5.4kW Solar System:

20 x 270W Jinko panel (Poly)

1 x 4.6kW Bosch Inverter Single Phase

Bit I was just wondering if I'm going to be able to have powerwall? Would it be possible to do?



Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

It's probably easier if you can start off with a hybrid inverter like the one iceisfun linked.

I've got a similar size system organised by my employer as part of an install at several sites. I did talk to the installers about a couple of hybrid models, but they weren't interested. This was mostly because they are a Tesla dealer and an AC coupled Tesla Powerwall 2 is an easy addon for a lot of existing systems that don't already have a hybrid inverter. Talking to these guys about huge DIY batteries probably wouldn't sway them, and in the commercial sector, the Tesla is hard to beat right now on cost and warranty.

Your purchasing situation is probably different to mine. If it's not too late for a change, you might want to talk to them about hybrid inverters that support a range of battery types. Maybe just tell them that you want to have a range of battery options down the track or something.

Considering how my system was being bundled with a work purchase, I didn't fight too hard on the inverter choice.

My inverter is a SMA 5kw. It has a multifunction relay which can be programmed to trigger on excess solar generation (often used for hot water storage systems). Initially I'll probably use that relay to trigger a 1500w/45A 7S 220v charger. It's not the most efficient way of doing it, but it's a start. My DIY battery inverter at the moment is a modified 900w UPS, which I'll probably have cabled to a single outlet behind some server gear (I can easily cover about 300w of constant load from a particular set of gear).

I'd consider adding a MPP Solar inverter later with its output running one power point circuit and lights. (and probably a few additional panels to connect to its MPPT charge controller)I'm a way off having enough battery storage to do that yet though. Fortunately I know a couple of electricians fairly well who probably won't be too surprised when I show them my competed DIY battery (it's messy and in testing now, but will go into a large outside metal cabinet.

Speaking about surprised electricians.... I saw on my security footage the other day two electriciansfrom our solar install company (they were expected on the day). They walked over to our gas instant hotwater system to turn it off, looked over and saw my 4kwh 7S battery nearby in testing. They stood scratching their head talking about it for about 5 minutes :)


image_bvczdm.jpg


Like a lot of us, I'm fairly comfortable on careful progress on a big battery under 80v DC. Using that for high voltage AC loads though, I will involve people much more qualified than me.
Thanks mate this has some good info. :)

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk


I've just realised that I attached the wrong pdf fail on my behalf

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 
Solar all installed today. Guys said tho I can't turn it on internet energex come and change the meter around.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 
Yeah, they gotta install a smart meter. You could always turn off your mains breaker and see what they'll do. But, the power company should be there soon. I wouldn't imagine something like that they'd put off as they don't want an impatient customer just firing it up :)

Altho, there's probably nothing really wrong with turning it on now. The problem would be you'd have no idea how much went back into the grid.
 
Korishan said:
Yeah, they gotta install a smart meter. You could always turn off your mains breaker and see what they'll do. But, the power company should be there soon. I wouldn't imagine something like that they'd put off as they don't want an impatient customer just firing it up :)

Altho, there's probably nothing really wrong with turning it on now. The problem would be you'd have no idea how much went back into the grid.
Ha ha ha it's so tempting to turn on.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 
josh35 said:
Solar all installed today. Guys said tho I can't turn it on internet energex come and change the meter around.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

It might be different depending on the state. We're in NSW and the electricians from the solar company turned it on straight away. We've got an old dial type meter.

It seems like common practice in NSW (others have told me that theirs was turned on straight away too).

It means that our meter counts backwards when we have excess. So we're effectively getting our retail rate as a feed in tariff until our meter is changed.
 
Back
Top