Hi
I have had one quote based on a friends recommendation who is a sparky.
Just wondering if it is competitive or if I need to shop around?
The quote is for a 11KW system
36-37 x Q.Power-G5 300W panels
2 x Huawei 5KW battery ready (Hybrid) inverter for 3 phase
Total system cost is $17,700 - $7,000 STC = $10,700 cost to us fully installed
Let me know your thoughts?
Thank you
Gary
That looks pretty good to me @garyf. Can’t hurt to get a couple more quotes though to compare.
https://www.cleanenergyreviews.info/solar-installers/new-south-wales/sydney
Marty
Thank you for your advice.
The system has now been installed. They installed 2 x Huawei 5KW battery ready (Hybrid) inverters.
What I did not realise is that these are single phase inverters. They have installed one inverter on each phase. Leaving the 3rd phase not connected to the Solar.
They are saying this is OK because our electric company will be fitting a Net meter and so any electricity consumed will be offset by electricity generated during daylight hours if we are in surplus. Does that sound correct?
The second reason they said they for giving us two single phase inverters was that the technology for 3 phase hybrid inverters is still in development and is not readily available. Is this true?
They are telling me our system setup is as good as one three phase hybrid inverter if there was one?
Thank you for your time.
Gary
Hi Gary
It all depends what power you are using on each phase, and at what time. If the solar is connected to the phases which use the most power during the day, then it might be a better setup, but very hard to know without getting into that level of detail. Did they look into which circuits were on which phases?
Essentially you are best off using as much of your own solar as possible, because in NSW reducing the amount of electricity you import from the grid is worth significantly more than what you get paid for the electricity you export.
Hope that helps
Marty
This is the kind of shit that really pisses me off as an installer. Putting single phase inverters on when 3 phase is present is shit. Any loads that are not on a phase with solar will not get the benefit of the solar. If you have a big single phase air-con on that 3rd phase then you will still be paying full price for the electricity coming in on that phase. You would have to export 3x the amount of power on the other phases to compensate for this. Get them back, get rid of the 2 huewei inverters and put on a single 3 phase inverter so the solar is spread over all 3 phases.
Zac
Thank you for your feedback.
I am being told by the sales guy that it does not matter that the solar is not connected to the 3rd phase because I am having a Net meter installed. He said the Net Meter subtracts the total electricity consumed across the 3 phases from the total electricity generated over the two phases. If I generate more than I consume across the 3 phases I will paid for this excess. If I use more than is generated by the two phases solar panels, I will be charged for the balance. The Net Meter avoids the buy sell spread.
Is this true?
Majority of the time with smart meters you are put on ‘time-of-use’ not net metering. This is something you would have to clarify with your energy provider.
Zac & Marty
Thank you for your feedback. I will contact my Electricity supplier tomorrow and find out how the Net Metering works.
hi gary, may I know who was the installer?
Power Ideas were the company that organised instillation.
Looking to have a similar installation. Question - Is it better to have a single 3 phase inverter or micro inverters spread over the three phases?
Hi @BrownBird, that’s probably more a question of string vs micro inverters:
Although micro inverters do give some flexibility with a 3 phase install, you are able to spread the solar power however you like over the three phases as I understand it. How and why you would do that is best discussed with an experienced electrician.
Cheers
Marty
I’m contemplating upgrading my old 1kw Solar System to around 10kW. I have a 3 phase supply and Intellihub E350 smart meters. I read that a 3 phase inverter will shut down if any of the three phase grid voltages are higher than what is needed to push excess solar energy into the grid. Hence, I was contemplating using two 5kW inverters or thereabouts, which would reduce the likely hood of that occurring as well as giving me (arguably) more reliability. I was also told that the meters sort out overall power use over the 3 phases, meaning it doesn’t matter which phase is loaded and which inverter is supplying energy into the grid, or does this depend on the smart meter and how it’s programmed?