My battery's full!

[chilly2]

Not a bad problem to have. I started noticing a week or two back that my array generation is, in addition to covering the house load, fully charging the 5kWh battery by about 2.30pm to 3pm.

By about 9pm-10pm the battery will be empty as family come home and leave everything switched on. If the oven goes on it takes a good dent out of it also.

The obvious thought is to add another 5kWh, but I'm hesitating over it. Where I live we're midway through the few weeks of sensible weather before the dreaded AC will be needed, and once it is I very much doubt I'll see the battery full again for some time. I could improve it's chances of being juiced up by upgrading one of the arrays (from 260W panels) to some 400W panels I saw for sale a couple of hours away. They're 67.8x44.65 vs the 65x39 of my current ones, so not terribly different in size.

What would you guys do? Battery, or battery and panels, it's somewhere between $1500 on another battery or $2500 with 10 panels.

I've looked at...

- Signature Solar's EG4 ($1259 / $1495 w/ display).
- AOLithium are back on sale again at $1099 USD. I saw the threads on it but things went quiet since.
- VATRER have a much cheaper 51.2v 100ah with soc display and app. It has no comms though. $1079.
- ExpertPower have a 51.2 with comms and a display for around the same cost as the display-less EG4. $1299.

My inverters can't do comms anyway but is it worth future proofing for when they get replaced one day? I saw a thread on here somewhere where Will stated not being fussed about comms as long as he could set his voltages.

Also wondering if I'll need a second smart shunt!

 

[Danke]

Battery and panels, of course.

 

[42OhmsPA]

Battery and panels, of course.

Then another AIO/SCC and more batteries and panels. It's a dangerous addicting loop.

Edit to add you could DIY a battery with nearly triple the capacity for a few hundred dollars more than the pre-built prices above.

 

[millsan1]

Batteries. But I'm a battery fool. I've got 60 kWh and I want moooorreeee

 

[danmc]

Have to agree with the above. As much solar as you can fit on your roof, and as much battery capacity as you can afford.

 

[LydMekk]

I am installing phase 2 of panels this spring. Foresee another battery this fall ^^
Will it stop? Nah...I'm having fun...

 

[wpns]

https://www.amazon.com/If-You-Give-Mouse-Cookie/dp/0590402331

 

[wpns]

You definitely need more batteries, as you aren’t capturing the afternoon production, but that’ll just show production as being the weak link.

I did it the other way around, doubled my production and then rescinding of Net Metering is ‘forcing’ me to add batteries. #FirstWorldProblems

 

[jdanderson]

Batteries. But I'm a battery fool. I've got 60 kWh and I want moooorreeee

I have 75kw of SOK and I want more!! LOL

 

[Supervstech]

I have 75kw of SOK and I want more!! LOL

kWh, not KW...

 

[Farm Boy]

No matter what advise you decide on, you will need to learn how to conserve power and teach your family to do the same.

 

[Danke]

kWh, not KW...

 

[Supervstech]

Aww come on!
(I have a friend named tim, and i call him timmay all the time)

 

[jdanderson]

kWh, not KW...

Yes, you are correct.
My bad...

 

[summit]

if not grid-tie feed in, then obviously battery because there's a lot of production left after 3pm. In the mean time, you can pre-heat/cool the house as a thermal battery

 

[chilly2]

No matter what advise you decide on, you will need to learn how to conserve power and teach your family to do the same.

I'm well aware a penny saved is a penny earned, and much work has been done in that regard. While conservation is paramount in our minds, as regards family, well you can lead a horse to water. Mine are adapting slowly, but old habits die hard.

 

[wpns]

Either share the bills with them or let the power fail in the middle of the night. #SkinInTheGame

 

[HarryN]

Most solar setups aim the panels at the sun for max production around 1 pm, so the result is more or less zero production at 4 - 5 pm when power use is much larger.

It might be possible to mount some panels that face the sun very late in the day to capture sunlight as absolutely late as possible so that dinner is cooked while the sun is still shining. These panels might end up being mounted on a vertical wall and generate much less total power per day, but produce it when it is needed the most.

 

[chilly2]

Most solar setups aim the panels at the sun for max production around 1 pm, so the result is more or less zero production at 4 - 5 pm when power use is much larger.

It might be possible to mount some panels that face the sun very late in the day to capture sunlight as absolutely late as possible so that dinner is cooked while the sun is still shining. These panels might end up being mounted on a vertical wall and generate much less total power per day, but produce it when it is needed the most.

Thanks Harry. I get what you're saying, but extra panels are a non option due to lack of space. To reiterate my setup...

- I have 3500W of panels split between two arrays and charge controllers.
- I have a 5kWh battery.
- The battery was full faster than I expected and it's only March so I'm considering adding another battery.

So it's down to..

a) add another 5kWh battery which may or may not get completely filled.
b) add another 5kWh battery and upgrade one of my arrays from 250W panels to 400W so I get more in around the solar peak you mentioned.

I guess I'll just do a first and see how it pans out.

 

[chilly2]

if not grid-tie feed in, then obviously battery because there's a lot of production left after 3pm. In the mean time, you can pre-heat/cool the house as a thermal battery

You're quite right. I have an Ecobee thermostat doing the pre-heat/cool. It's fairly good at deciding when to kick things off.