I have a 10kw Solar Edge inverter limited to 5kw. Is this perhaps one of the well-kept secrets about the reality of residential solar production in Western Australia, one that neither the solar installers or inverter manufacturers, let alone Synergy or Western Power want to be publicly known? So having a powerwall is way less useful for helping with an export limit than you would think. Solar Analytics confirms in this scenario its only exporting up to the limit; 3kw. But depending on our network capacity, export constraints may influence the size of the unit they install. IE if Im producing 8KW, the house is using 2KW it will still export 5kw? I was really keen for this system with a battery as most of my power is used at night and I like the idea of power during blackouts, which do happen quite a lot here. To me it does not quite make sense as no system can produce 100% of its capacity meaning my existing 3.5kW will never produce full 3.5kW (on a good day, I am lucky to get 2.5kW). But if you dont use much electricity it may need to be very small, as I explain here: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/zero-kw-export-solar/. Great article and content on this website 0000037380 00000 n Have a good christmas. The 7kW charger achieves full charge in 6 hours, and one Despite the low feed-in tariff you will receive it can still be worthwhile, especially if you can shift some electricity consumption to the middle of the day. sonnenBatterie Evo. This could be important, given that we have a state parliamentary election due in a couple of months. An Update: I just had system installed 4 days ago in the Energex DNSP and suggest the above is perhaps not quite correct. Western Australia Horizon Power area: Regional Western Australia. An option is to take your pumps off-grid and run them independently off a separate off-grid solar system. My guess is that when the Envoy-S sees it needs to throttle due to export limits, it does this by sending the same instruction to all micros to throttle the same amount (but dont know for sure). If thats not a good option, you can consider getting a demand tariff and doing pumping outside the peak period when the cost of grid electricity will be relatively low. If they want a big solar system with an inverter larger than 5 kW, they must export limit the inverter. I also dont know if my meter has limiting but suspect not as it is a pretty dumb device. 0000093063 00000 n A rooftop solar system's grid export limit is determined by the local electricity network operator - sometimes on a case-by-case basis, sometimes according to an across-the-board standard, and . Now, such a hybrid inverter, as I previously submitted as a post, as being needed, would have the capability of providing for up to 10kW of panels generating capacity, and, of power conversion of up to 10kW, to provide for up to 5kW to provide for charging a battery system, and, the other 5kW to provide for the household load and with surplus (to the household load, out of the 5kW provision) being exported to the grid. ), converting to a maximum of 5kW of AC power, whilst the GW10K-MS provides for up to 13.5kW of panels generating capacity, across three MPPTs (strings? Assume positive intention.4. This is disappointing as this would be an easy option to implement. That would provide both export limiting, and, the incorporation of a battery system (for my household, if we would have a 6.6 kW panels generating capacity system, rather than the 5kW one that we have, something like the BYD LVS 20 or 24kWh battery tower, would, I believe be appropriate), which would provide for energy arbitrage, smoothing both power exported to the grid, and, power imported from the grid, especially during peak demand periods. While this is fine during the week when we are open, it seems a huge waste of electricity on the weekends when we are closed. 5kW export limiter imposed on one inverter. Youll also start receiving the SolarQuotes weekly newsletter, keeping you up to date on all the latest developments on Australias solar scene. Is it the 6.66 kW, as the 1.3 overload factor of a 5kW inverter, or, is it the maximum allowed (by the manufacturer) panels generating capacity, for an inverter that is allowed by a state/territory government? To get your quotes, please enter your postcode: Flexible Solar Exports To Ramp Up In South Australia, Australian Solar Systems Interest Index: September 2021, Why Australian Solar Installers Love Austrian Fronius Inverters, Tesla Powerwall Price Takes A Tumble In Australia, "Snail Mail" Home Battery Offers: Be Wary, New Minimum VIC Solar Feed-In Tariffs Locked In, Glenrowan Solar Farm Construction Gets Cranking. This is often referred to as 'network constraints'. Aside from that, when you have high resistance lines, there is a voltage drop over their length. Hello. 00@ Oo But if you had a larger solar system with a larger inverter that was export limited to 5 kilowatts it could potentially supply 2 kilowatts to your home while exporting 5 kilowatts to the grid. After all, Im a big picture kind of guy. And Set Power Limit to 100%. Whilst this may not be technically defined as export limiting, as the inverter specifications, specify that the inverter, whilst allowing up to an overload factor of 2, will only generate up to 5kW of A/C power Thanks Ron. Im surprised this hasnt hit the mainstream media yet. As a side issue for you, if you (like lots of people) have high voltages issue causing shutdown / throttling, I am not a big fan of the Volt-watt modes, as often these modes will also lower the voltages at which the throttling kicks in. I was told that as there is an export limit of 5kW and I already have 3.5kW system, my new system will be export limited to 1.5kW. Long term benefits would be a more energy efficient system. Please stay on topic. Australian network service providers (including CitiPower) use solar export limits to keep voltage levels in transmission lines operating within safe . If your solar company provides you with the Solar pre-approval (SPA) number for your pre-approval, we can check specifically what was decided on with regards to exporting. Enter your postcode now. Website link shows system producing well over 10 kW. So, if a contractor or tradesman, using one of these during the day, or, another type of worker, gets home after work, and, plugs one of these in to charge, an immediate drain of 7 kW (I believe that it is actually 7.4 kW), and immediate significant drain is imposed on the grid, for several hours, during peak demand. 0000037419 00000 n After a major works program involving more than 500 different network alterations and other activities across nine key regions among the most constrained parts of the network, Powercors new solar connections export approval rate of just over 60% at the start of the year has increased to above 90%. While I dont know where you are a 4 kilowatt solar system should produce an average of around 18 kilowatt-hours a day in WA. South Australia Power Networks (SAPN) area: SAPN is the only distributor in South Australia. Technically, what will happen is the inverter will reduce the solar systems output so the generation will be forgone, but I dont want to go into too much detail in this article. I have seen my panels producing over 13 kW of power when the battery is drawing 3 kW DC power and the battery, house and car 10 kW of AC power. We just applied for pre-approval from Powercor and were given a 0kW export approval which is going to make almost anything we choose uneconomical. 0000001757 00000 n I got a question about export limiter that I hope to get some answers from the community. 0000018244 00000 n Talking of which, the fact often gets dropped under the table that neither batteries nor panels and inverters (being mechano-electronic devices) have a limited life span, and their efficiency deteriorates gradually after only a few years. However they have been advised that this wont be allowed anymore. We might still be willing to do this all the same, from an environmental viewpoint. The reason for this query, is that, in the past, my understanding has been that, in WA, where export limiting is apparently, banned by the gratuitously oppressive state parliament, and, where a limit of a 5kW output inverter, is allowed, for a single phase grid connection on the SWIS grid, a limit of 6.66 kW of panels generating capacity, is imposed for single phase connections to the SWIS grid, and, thence, the limit of panels generating capacity, to which the federal solar panels rebate applies, for such a connection, has been the 6.66kW. The majority of customers are approved for the export level they request. Because you dont see the rather obvious shutdowns (or see them less), you might not notice your solar might be throttled back on a regular basis. both said the system is set to export the maximum amount of power approved in our Solar Export Pre-Approval to you your obligations as the owner and operator of an 'embedded generator' exporting . The good news is, even in a worst-case situation, the amount will be fairly minor. Energex doesnt automatically allow inverters over 5 kilowatts to be installed with export limiting, but currently regularly grants permission for single-phase homes on the main grid to install up to 10 kilowatts of inverter capacity with export limiting. Installers must also follow the recommendations of the inverter manufacturer and they may say the limit for panel capacity is less than one-third more than the panels capacity. Swearing revenge, he began his lifelong quest to reduce the harm the environment could cause. As your sister can presumably export as much power as her solar inverter can produce it wouldnt need this device. Origin offers 8 cents per kWh until a daily export limit of 14 kWh is reached. How do I get around this with SAPN , am I allowed to export limit on a swer line in Sth Aust. 2. 0000027818 00000 n Victorias United Energy Network Area: A large chunk of Melbourne on the east side Port Phillip Bay and the Bayside Peninsula. 0000017636 00000 n Powercor's network solutions manager Claire Cass said of 32,580 customers connected to solar with Powercor in the last 18 months, only 2023 could not export power. But whether or not extra solar capacity will pay for itself is another matter. Has the oppressive authority in WA ever given a reason for not allowing export limited inverters in WA? Can I share my power excess with me neighbour? Also, if you are on the main grid the amount of power you are allowed to export can still be below the limits given or even zero, depending on how much additional solar capacity the local grid can handle at your location. So-called wasting of the extra electricity produced is irrelevant: sunlight is FREE, and whether I use it or not has no bearing on the environment. Very true AL0126. If we consider a home in Sydney where no electricity is used during the day, and all the solar panels face directly north, then the percentage of output that will be lost due to a 5 kilowatt export limit would be: So even in a worst-case situation for Sydney, an 8 kilowatt solar system that is exported limited to 5 kilowatts will only lose 4% of generation. Finally! The loss figures above are for Sydney and are affected by the climate. The reason why your sisters inverter is different from yours is your Goodwe would be because yours has a current transformer device that lets it limit the amount of power it exports to the grid. . For example, I can see several Energex profiles that do things like limit export to differing amounts, turns on Volt-var without Volt-watt, or sets the power factor to 0.9. Normally it makes more sense to buy a second, separate system, than to expand an existing one. I have noticed that one string seems to be performing well under the performance of the slightly smaller string. With permission export limiting can be used to install larger systems. 0000009027 00000 n Even then, the losses from the limit are minor. That said, provided the Installer included your details and phone number in the customer section when the SPA was lodged, the solar team intends to follow up with customers if capacity becomes available to export into the grid through upgrades to the network.. We installed solar power in November last year and were refused export (zero export). it is, kind of, effectively export limiting. About CitiPower and Powercor FACT SHEET: SOLAR EXPORT APPROVAL Set appliances to use your solar power Maintenance and safety checks are important The metered version comes with extra current clamps to hook up to the grid side so you can do consumption monitoring and export limiting. trailer The uptake of solar has surprised the powers that be so they are basically wasting free energy and penalizing the producers in the process. Can you provide comment and evaluation of power tracing please. So yeah, the Envoy is essentially all you need to configure export limiting or anything else if you have an Enphase microinverter set-up. 0000022631 00000 n How to correctly configure inverter settings. That is correct. All these profiles need to dance carefully around the problem. Energex doesnt automatically allow inverters over 5 kilowatts to be installed with export limiting, but currently regularly grants permission for single-phase homes on the main grid to install up to 10 kilowatts of inverter capacity with export limiting. The earth is used as one conductor which has a higher resistance than a copper wire. But a sub optimally configured grid sometimes forces installers into implementing setting that are probably less than ideal if the high voltage events in the grid were just occasions where there is too much generation and they do want have all generators throttle back to allow some time for rebalancing supply and demand. amended or replaced from time to time. 0% Notify me of follow-up comments by email. A man named Canute, proved that, centuries ago. After a major works program involving more than 500 different network alterations and other activities across nine key regions among the most constrained parts of the network, Powercor's new solar connections export approval rate of just over 60% at the start of the year has increased to above 90%. To get your quotes, please enter your postcode: AEMC: Electricity Prices To Continue To Fall, http://www.johnrogers.com.au/battery_charging_noon.jpg, http://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/kw-and-kwh-what-is-the-difference/, Why Australian Solar Installers Love Austrian Fronius Inverters, Tesla Powerwall Price Takes A Tumble In Australia, "Snail Mail" Home Battery Offers: Be Wary, New Minimum VIC Solar Feed-In Tariffs Locked In, Glenrowan Solar Farm Construction Gets Cranking. Its only possible to go larger with a zero export limit: https://www.powerwater.com.au/customers/power/solar-power-systems/pv-class-requirements. There are versions without this consumption monitoring (old Non -s version of Envoy and even the Envoy-S without consumption monitoring). As a single example, the Renault Kangoo ZE van (I think that it is the only battery powered cargo van currently available in Australia) has a 33kWh battery, and, To go further, Kangoo Z.E boasts a Z.E 33 (33kWh) battery, Voltage (V) measured at inverter terminals Still a very long payback period, but not as long. Allows installation but has a zero export limit. 260 All I can really suggest is to try to shift power use to the middle of the day and hope mainly solar energy is consumed. This applies to both single-phase and three-phase properties. Ill upgrade the Endeavour Energy area from Ugly to Bad, since things are clearly not all bad there. While losses increase as the solar power system size goes up, even with 10 kilowatts of panels which is twice the export limit, only 13% of generation is lost. I have an existing 3.5kW PV system with Solis inverter. Powercor says the Solar Hotspots initiative is the first stage of a five-year Future Networks program to support customer investment in solar power systems, electric vehicles and battery storage. In writing I was advised: So the solar inverter has to have its own energy meter installed in your switchboard one that talks to the inverter to tell it when power sent into the grid reaches the export limit. Also, given that export limited inverters (supposedly) work the same, regardless of the grid to which they are connected, why is it so, that states have different rules whereby some allow export limited inverters, and, some do not? You could have mentioned that SWER stands for Single Wire Earth Return and why that matters.

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