Athens Jim
New Member
Hey guys..
after searching the web for weeks and seeing this forum constantly pop up.. i figured its time to sign up and introduce myself and ask for help..
My name is Jim ( obviously ).. originally from PA, and currently retired and living in Greece.. yup.. as in Europe..
never had experience with autonomous homes until i got here so bare with me while i fill you guys in..
my current 3KVA-PWM hybrid inverter is an entry level unit that came with the house when i bought it 06/2021.. it was used as a weekend house until i bought it, and has a generic china based inverter that has proven reliable in spite of it current $250 price tag... home has oversized wood stove for heat, and LPG for hot water and cooking..
but the batteries, 4x12v/250AH in 2s2p (24v/500ah) and panels 255 x 8 were upgraded by me last year due to my increased demands as a permanent residence..
and here is where i am in need of assistance..
im yanking the inverter and batteries and moving it to the garage for power independant of the house, and upgrading the home system so i can stop worrying about running the coffee pot (1000 watts) and electric water supply well pump (850 watts) at the same time, cause if the chest freezer and fridge happen to be running or kick on at that time.. i get an overload and the inverter restarts killing all power to the house obviously..
so ive chosen the growatt spf-3000tl-hvm-24, i have purchased 2 for now, (possibly 3 in the future) to run in parallel to a single battery bank and have the option of 12 x sopzs 2v/605ah, 15kw storage, or 2v/965ah 24kw storage batteries, ide really like to go ahead and buy the 24kw batteries, but i am worried about charging, over panelling, recharge capability, ect...
i intend to double the storage next year as funds become available..
i already have 8 panels up there, but i own 30 total of the same 32v/255 watt panels total, they were pulled from a "contract issue" 20 yr lease with the gov here so theyre old but showed an average 90% and better production, 7 amps or more each..
4 facing east, and 4 facing west, 15* roof angle, only during mid day are all 8 seeing full sun even though they are at an angle amp meter showed good production, but obviously morning hrs and afternoon hrs im seeing about 50%
what would you guys recommend in my situation? pros? cons?
1) 25.5v/605ah or 25.5/965ah batteries?
2) leave the panels as is and just swap in the growatts, or add panels to the growatts and in which configuration?
3) run 90% PV thru inverter and add panels thru another MPPT? ( my 1st choice) because as i mentioned, leaves room to grow next year when i add another dozen batteries
and now for some details..
my surge load demands are 3500-4400 watts with everything on at once. MAX demand.. i tested this using the genset by dropping the breaker for about an hr to insure the freezer and fridge were going to kick on again, turned everything on, inside and outside lights that are LED, coffee, water well pump, on demand water heater, and the washing machine on spin, and flipping the breaker on again, MAX load jumped several seconds up to 4400 watts, and settled down to 3950 for several minutes until dropped to 2400-3100 steady probably due to teh washing machine spin cycle changing directions..
my AH draw overnight during normal home use without worrying about anything is 8kw, under current budgeting situations, i drop down to 5kw overnight
also worth noting, i have a backup auto start diesel genset that up to now, has saved the batteries several times from -65% DOD during consecutive cloudy days..
its the charging, recharging to capacity that throws me off and need help... so any advice you guys have, ide appriciate enough to pick up the first round if we ever meet up
after searching the web for weeks and seeing this forum constantly pop up.. i figured its time to sign up and introduce myself and ask for help..
My name is Jim ( obviously ).. originally from PA, and currently retired and living in Greece.. yup.. as in Europe..
never had experience with autonomous homes until i got here so bare with me while i fill you guys in..
my current 3KVA-PWM hybrid inverter is an entry level unit that came with the house when i bought it 06/2021.. it was used as a weekend house until i bought it, and has a generic china based inverter that has proven reliable in spite of it current $250 price tag... home has oversized wood stove for heat, and LPG for hot water and cooking..
but the batteries, 4x12v/250AH in 2s2p (24v/500ah) and panels 255 x 8 were upgraded by me last year due to my increased demands as a permanent residence..
and here is where i am in need of assistance..
im yanking the inverter and batteries and moving it to the garage for power independant of the house, and upgrading the home system so i can stop worrying about running the coffee pot (1000 watts) and electric water supply well pump (850 watts) at the same time, cause if the chest freezer and fridge happen to be running or kick on at that time.. i get an overload and the inverter restarts killing all power to the house obviously..
so ive chosen the growatt spf-3000tl-hvm-24, i have purchased 2 for now, (possibly 3 in the future) to run in parallel to a single battery bank and have the option of 12 x sopzs 2v/605ah, 15kw storage, or 2v/965ah 24kw storage batteries, ide really like to go ahead and buy the 24kw batteries, but i am worried about charging, over panelling, recharge capability, ect...
i intend to double the storage next year as funds become available..
i already have 8 panels up there, but i own 30 total of the same 32v/255 watt panels total, they were pulled from a "contract issue" 20 yr lease with the gov here so theyre old but showed an average 90% and better production, 7 amps or more each..
4 facing east, and 4 facing west, 15* roof angle, only during mid day are all 8 seeing full sun even though they are at an angle amp meter showed good production, but obviously morning hrs and afternoon hrs im seeing about 50%
what would you guys recommend in my situation? pros? cons?
1) 25.5v/605ah or 25.5/965ah batteries?
2) leave the panels as is and just swap in the growatts, or add panels to the growatts and in which configuration?
3) run 90% PV thru inverter and add panels thru another MPPT? ( my 1st choice) because as i mentioned, leaves room to grow next year when i add another dozen batteries
and now for some details..
my surge load demands are 3500-4400 watts with everything on at once. MAX demand.. i tested this using the genset by dropping the breaker for about an hr to insure the freezer and fridge were going to kick on again, turned everything on, inside and outside lights that are LED, coffee, water well pump, on demand water heater, and the washing machine on spin, and flipping the breaker on again, MAX load jumped several seconds up to 4400 watts, and settled down to 3950 for several minutes until dropped to 2400-3100 steady probably due to teh washing machine spin cycle changing directions..
my AH draw overnight during normal home use without worrying about anything is 8kw, under current budgeting situations, i drop down to 5kw overnight
also worth noting, i have a backup auto start diesel genset that up to now, has saved the batteries several times from -65% DOD during consecutive cloudy days..
its the charging, recharging to capacity that throws me off and need help... so any advice you guys have, ide appriciate enough to pick up the first round if we ever meet up