What I find is installers dont seem to like it when I tell them my plan. How is export limited for micro-inverters? 11kW panels with 10kW 3-phase inverter (Fronius Symo + Fronius 3-phase meter). I installed 6.6kw solar panels and have Goodwe 5kw inverter and applied for export limit of 5kw. So yeah, the Envoy is essentially all you need to configure export limiting or anything else if you have an Enphase microinverter set-up. The Good: In these locations, properties can usually install up to 10 kilowatts of solar inverter capacity if they have single-phase power and up to 30 kilowatts with 3 phase power. I cant justify the cost of adding additional solar if the max I can export with Essential energy is 3kwh. Store it and use it later (this requires solar battery storage), or it disappears into thin air via a heat sink. Some say so you want to replace your system? If they want a big solar system with an inverter larger than 5 kW, they must export limit the inverter. 44% leading 2. Regarding batteries, as we all know from our mobile phones, constantly being charged and discharged, will deteriorate much quicker than PV panels (and the same that goes for phones, laptops, and your electric toothbrush also goes for solar and electric vehicle batteries, unfortunately). If you cant store the power (too expensive) and you cant export it, why the requirement (or desire) to put in large systems? Under another option to . Is this default, or would it be programmed in if the distributor required it? 0000037380 00000 n And also is it worth installing solar with 0 kWh limit with self consumption around 20-30%( payback 6-7 years). 240 Im afraid thats a tough situation. I have 3 x PV systems on one phase. All these profiles need to dance carefully around the problem. Reminder: In Australia, you are allowed to install 33% more panel capacity than the inverter capacity for example, a 10 kW inverter can have up to 13.33 kW of panels attached. But I suspect for a lot of people, the vast majority of these over voltage events are simply because the networks are running out of spec voltages. The daily export limit is averaged across your billing period (calculated by multiplying the number of days in your billing period by your daily export limit of 14 kWh). Can I share my power excess with me neighbour? 220 Real names are preferred - you should be happy to put your name to your comments.2. The standard relating to solar inverters is about to change. If your pumping needs are large enough this can pay for itself, but it will be expensive to set up. Solar export limiting, or 'export limiting', occurs most often when there is more power being pushed into the grid than it can handle. But it seems the situation has been changing for the better in the last couple of months in a number of affected areas. Victorias AusNet network area: The eastern third of Victoria, not including Melbourne or French Island. And, if a street full of these, plugs their cars into the grid, for recharging, starting the recharging between 1700 and 1800, lots of entertaining fireworks, along the street powerlines exploding. Do the inverters prevent the production of energy by the solar panels when an export limit would otherwise be exceeded? 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. If that doesnt worry you then you can get a battery and just hope it mostly pays for itself. Real names are preferred - you should be happy to put your name to your comments.2. 0000005359 00000 n Whats the logical and practical way forward? 0000039096 00000 n But you probably would not recover the cost of the battery within its lifetime. 100 litres alone means little, but if there are 100 litres per hour, this means 100 litre hours of output. 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. hour of charging is enough to drive 35km.. 207 hb```f``sd`c`edd@ A >hp`86s8::\ MNmOe0pYuR`i g G7@ $n@]A#&S_2.dx f My AS4777.2:2015 profile allows voltages up to 265v (for short periods, and shuts down on 10 minute averages above 258v). We do not prevent customers from installing solar for their own self-consumption. Ready for some quotes? 4. What inverter do you have? VAr (var % rated VA) NSWs Essential Energy area: Regional NSW. 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. Many NSW rural situations are limited to 3Kw export, due to the length of the transmission lines. Residential properties are unlikely to be allowed to use export limiting to install even larger inverters. Even then, the losses from the limit are minor. (We are conected to a 25Kw transformer, with 5 consumers connected.). We have a 3kwh system and are really using as much during the day as we can. This certainly goes well beyond initial configuration and reporting. My question is should that then eliminate the 5 kw inverter of the powerwall wich Energex claims is part of the 10kw allowance on a single phase? Its located in Ausnet Services' Distribution Area but Ausnet is not part of the CitiPower, Powercor and UnitedEnergy . Some manufacturers may have this pre-selected. I could not convince him that I knew what I was talking about! 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). I have previously posted (or, submitted for posting), the proposition that what is needed, is a hybrid (not meaning in this instance, a hybrid inverter as is commonly used) inverter that is like a cross/combination, of the Goodwe GW5000-MS inverter (or, kind of, the GW10K-MS, in terms of power conversion), and the Goodwe GW5048D-ES; three GW5000-MS provides for up to 10kW of panels generating capacity, across three MPPTs (strings? 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. I wouldnt drive anything else. Please stay on topic. So you may decide adding a second system is worthwhile, or you may want to put it off until your current system develops problems and replace it with one large new system. 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 In a Enphase system, only the Envoy can provide this. Very true AL0126. Thanks Steve 0418 815 193. What made the situation all the more frustrating is periods of high congestion which can threaten the stability of a local network can be quite brief. In most cases, if you had your envoy shut off, the micros would start and work on their own and independently of the envoy, and in fact of each other. Or is there a build up of voltage in the system? People have done it at fairly low cost with second hand panels and a DC pump.) My solar installer applied to Powercor to install a 5.4kw system at my Point Cook address. 0000008043 00000 n Means that it caps the amount you can reduce your bills for power used outside of daylight hours? 0000039284 00000 n And doing so potentially puts you running in a non compliant state. 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. Have a good christmas. This seems technically impossible, because theres only a wire going from the inverter to the meter (the export or feed in to the grid) and a wire going from the meter to my homes main fuse. 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. Hi So in effect I have two safety guards in place, 1. the 5kw limiter to the grit and 2. the extra Gateway . He first became interested in environmental matters when he was four years old after the environment tried to kill him by smashing fist sized hailstones through the roof of his parents Toowoomba home. Powercor claims 30% increase in rooftop solar export approvals Victorian network service provider Powercor claims a major works program designed to alleviate grid congestion in areas of high rooftop solar PV penetration has boosted the approval rate for new solar connections to export excess energy to the grid by an impressive 30%. 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? Its becoming common for solar inverters to be export limited, so the maximum amount of power they send into the grid is less than theyre capable of providing. sonnenBatterie Evo. I got a question about export limiter that I hope to get some answers from the community. &K?BK:T$A1Cn Has the oppressive authority in WA ever given a reason for not allowing export limited inverters in WA? We want to add a battery and it seems logical to add more cells also to another inverter/battery setup. 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%. driving range of 200km depending on ambient temperature. hbbf`b``3 I j Do you know the situation here? I live in Warrnambool, Victoria. While there are some energy management measures that could help around the edges, I cant think of any good solutions for the typical business. Victorias United Energy Network Area: A large chunk of Melbourne on the east side Port Phillip Bay and the Bayside Peninsula. Nobody wants to see solar energy . Information on whether export limiting is allowed can be found here, but I am going to present the information differently for both ease of use and to make my boss think Ive done something useful. 0000093063 00000 n Your meter is on the connection between the mains network on one side and the combination of your inverter and your loads on the other side. The earth is used as one conductor which has a higher resistance than a copper wire. This could be important, given that we have a state parliamentary election due in a couple of months. You could buy a battery, charge it on the weekend and export during week nights. Ronald It is delivering 8 kilowatts of solar power. There are versions without this consumption monitoring (old Non -s version of Envoy and even the Envoy-S without consumption monitoring). If so, it would make replacing the whole system more viable which is exactly what I wanted to avoid (and such a waste!). Allows installation but has a zero export limit. We are in an area where only about 20% of the homes have solar. 0000009573 00000 n I have a 5kw solar system plus a Tesla powerwall 2 on my house . As far as I know, only solar installers can apply for export capacity in the Powercor area. Hi i want to install solar with no power The fact that export limiting is necessary is not a good thing. Furthermore, the sustained overvoltage inverter protection set point shall be set to 258V. The Ugly: In these areas export limiting may not be allowed at all. Victoria's "Hotest" Solar Postcode is 3977 at last look. This is assuming that my understanding of what I have read, is correct; that such a system would be permitted, in a single phase connection to the SWIS grid. hooked up to an energy efficient 44kW motor for a real-world 2. Sorry Andrew: NQR. I prefer a profile that just has the voltages set to a high voltage threshold, and if I have to sacrifice V-W mode, so be it. We have had solar for 6 years and just recently moved homes. Powercor says it has contacted all solar customers within the previously impacted areas to let them know about the companys progress and to encourage them to consider reapplying for exports. Quotes vary and the deal has to be value/advantage logical or whats the point. Any ideas of how I can get a system that is actually going to generate enough power to charge a battery? Wouldnt it be better for the inverter to display its total actual potential output under current conditions? The metered version comes with extra current clamps to hook up to the grid side so you can do consumption monitoring and export limiting. But there will often be times when the solar system will produce more power than can be exported, so some energy will be lost3. Finally! 3. We respect your privacy and you can opt out from the newsletter at any time. While the Envoy is an important part of the system, the micros largely operate independently of the Envoy, and in a lot of cases can work without the Envoy at all. 5kW export limiter imposed on one inverter. 0000038484 00000 n But depending on our network capacity, export constraints may influence the size of the unit they install. 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. 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. Okay, so that heading may be a bit of an exaggeration, but improvements the company has carried out appear to have made quite a difference. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Also note that for new installations in WA, only residences with inverters of 5 kilowatts or less can receive the states, Western Australias Western Power area: Perth and South West WA. Western Australia Horizon Power area: Regional Western Australia. A condition of this basic connection offer is that all inverter energy systems must have the volt-watt and volt-var response modes enabled with the following settings: AC Output Data So the size of the system becomes irrelevant if you can only export 3kwh (we are Regional NSW Essential Energy). Powercor wrote back with the following response:"Due to the size of t . Single-phase properties can have up to 5 kilowatts of inverter capacity, and 3 phase properties can have up to 30 kilowatts. 253 Exporting surplus solar power is good because it reduces fossil fuel generation and pays you a feed-in tariff that reduces electricity bills. Normally it makes more sense to buy a second, separate system, than to expand an existing one. Would the gateway signal the micro inverters to shut down one at a time, or to all reduce output equally? So really apart from the requirement that the initial startup can only happy on voltages below 253v, I have no throttling until at least 285v and probably even higher. Heres what that means. you aren't allowed to export any power from your solar system to the grid. The uptake of solar has surprised the powers that be so they are basically wasting free energy and penalizing the producers in the process. 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. "Some of these customers may have received approval to export since, due to network improvements made since their connection." I think the installers like the Volt-watt modes, because if you dont know where to look they hid the problem at your expense anyway. As per current standards, a single phase premises is limited to 10kW generation and 5kW export. I was lucky to have an early approval, so limited to 10Kw (or due to bad calculation by the approver, 8.6Kw, where he said ALL the Neutral current went down the common Neutral wire, where in fact only the difference between the phases goes down the Neutral (2 phase, 180 degree). given that we are working from home all the time these days. 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 . Were seeing a real lift in the number of customers able to export excess solar back into the grid in these areas, which were among the most constrained in our network only a few months ago, said Powercor General Manager Electricity Networks, Mark Clarke.

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