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windman1000
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Joined: 21/06/2009
Location: United States
Posts: 91

Posted: 05:54pm 03 Jan 2018

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Hi Guys Its Been A Long Time sense Iv Been Here.
I just install 10k solar system and its on a smart meter And I didn't Permit It.
So between 9am to 1pm I give away Approx 2 to 3000 watts to the electric company.

My real question is there a smart charger / inverter that can see when Im over powering My Electric uses and use that power to charge batteries and then when I need the power after sun down it inverts the batteries to My grid/house, the inverter would need to shut off if there is a power outage.

Madness

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Joined: 08/10/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 2498

Posted: 08:45pm 03 Jan 2018

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Have you looked at the Tesla power wall or similar?

There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't.

George65
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Joined: 18/09/2017
Location: Australia
Posts: 308

Posted: 10:03am 04 Jan 2018

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I would very strongly suggest you check out the specs of your smart meter.

Many of them will CHARGE you for the power you FEED BACK as well as use. You may not be just giving them the power for free, you may be paying to give it to them as well!

I know one of my meters is like this and it's about 20 years old. It's just an electronic meter rather than a smart meter and I'm pretty sure the newer meters charge both ways. Luckily for the time being my other 2 meters are the old spinny type so I get credit for all the power I push back from my solar setup.
Mine is a DIY job as well which meant I get a fair 1:1 rate for what I put is as what I take.

I think if you have not done so already it would be well worth a few min of your time to check this out.

As for the diverter, not exactly what you are asking about but seeing you are a DIY type of man... There are hot water diverters that sense the excess power going back to the grid and divert it to a hot water system as their primary use. You could easily hook it to a battery bank and charge them then use an inverter to power your home at night. Yes, would be a bit of work but would be much cheaper than the commercial alternatives.

Last time I looked, Power walls were not a viable investment. If you take the max power they can store, work out what that is worth, multiply it by 10 years, the warranted/ expected life of the batteries and do the sums, the things cost more than they repay.

Maybe the power walls are cheap where you are and the power is expensive but its a pretty good indication of viability. If they can't repay themselves assuming a full cycle every day, they sure as sunrise are not going to repay themselves in the real world of cloud, bad weather, being away from home and everything else.

https://www.powerdiverter.com/
Edited by George65 2018-01-05

windman1000
Regular Member

Joined: 21/06/2009
Location: United States
Posts: 91

Posted: 09:32pm 04 Jan 2018

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Thanks Guys

The Tesla power wall Seems To Be To Much Money Sense I would need to replace batteries every 10 years.

Now the power diverter is interesting Im going to try and get more info on it and maybe heat my water and charge batteries with my extra power during the winter.

as of right now the sun is its furthers away from me and im only getting around 4 to 5000 watts and 2 to 3000 watts I give away per hour, in the summer I will be using all the power 9000 watts? to run the house and 2 AC units.

As for the smart meter I have , It Stops charging me in KWH when im producing more than using but doesn't take any KWH off and I can see that online at my electric company website and looking at my hourly usage.

Now that I know of power diverters Im going to also look around for a power diverter/inverter/charger but im sure i will have no luck.

Madness

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Joined: 08/10/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 2498

Posted: 11:06pm 04 Jan 2018

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If you are only doing it save money any battery systems is going to marginally viable at best with current products/pricing. But if your motivation was to be independent or reduce greenhouse gas emissions then it changes it completely. Electricity prices are not coming down but battery technology is, as power prices increase it will change the economics in your favour.

You are going to get the best bang for buck by making good use of the power while the sun is shining. If you can incorporate thermal mass into your home it will spread the benefits of the AC beyond daylight hours.

There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't.

windman1000
Regular Member

Joined: 21/06/2009
Location: United States
Posts: 91

Posted: 12:08am 05 Jan 2018

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Quote But if your motivation was to be independent or reduce greenhouse gas emissions then it changes it completely

No its not anything to do with greenhouse gas emissions.

I Ran into a good deal on this 10k system ( 40 New panels 250 watt 75.00 each 3.000 total)
And found my 10k sunpower grid tie inverter for 1200.00 off of ebay, aluminum Uni-Rak for my rails 400.
I have about 5500.00 total in this 10k system, And I put It In to code but didnt permit it , So im trying to get the most out of it.

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