 Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me. |
Forum Index : Solar : 3 phase smart meter Solar setup.
| Author | Message | ||||
| George65 Guru  Joined: 18/09/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 308 |
Was talking to my neighbour yesterday whom has solar and just been the unfortunate recipient of a new Smart meter. He has 3 phase power and one of his inverters has just fallen over. He wants to get a bigger inverter to use with the system he has and add more panels to the west side of his house. He has a very large shed with one side facing due north and I suggested he would be better to put the panels there. I ran the numbers for 5Kw on the west side of his house at his roof Pitch and the same for the shed and the roof on that. Shed of course won. As he has 40A 3 phase on the shed, I was wondering how the current meters are set up with regards to solar feed in? I think the Meter is an EDMI brand and I saw 10 as a model. Which one I'm not sure but can't find anything about feed in anyway. Is the solar with these current meters fed into a set of terminals on the meter itself with another set from the grid or can the solar be just fed back through the existing wiring and the meter just monitors which way the power is going? Been looking on the net and I can't find any thing to tell me how these things work. Would be much cheaper for him to use the existing wiring rather than have to lay another cable just for the solar to go into the meter and much better to put more panels on the north facing shed roof than on the west face of the house. Advise appreciated but I am looking for a technical answer here rather than moral/ safety/ legal advise. |
||||
renewableMark Guru Joined: 09/12/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1678 |
Why not ring up a solar installer in your area, grill them for info, they will likely be dealing with these meters every day and will answer all the questions you have. You are talking about off the shelf stuff these guys will be familiar with. Cheers Caveman Mark Off grid eastern Melb |
||||
yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
3-phase-solar-what-you-need-to-know-about-connecting-solar-to-your-3-phase-supply if the energy budget for the wiring for the shed was calculated correctly for the loads and it hasn't been fiddled with and more equipment added or things shifted between phases it should be fine. Is the shed and house on the same meter? it helps a lot if they are, the export can be offset by all the loads to maximise the savings. I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
||||
| George65 Guru Joined: 18/09/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 308 |
Yes, there is only one meter for the shed, the house and a separate granny flat. Much of the machinery in the shed has apparently gone as the guy has been retired 5 years and getting rid of it having no more desire for doing the " Odd Jobs" anymore. Can the inverter then be wired into the shed power and be backfed by the 3 phase meter ( if excess power available) or does it require a separate input to the meter direct? |
||||
| yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
Yep, as long as the wiring and connections can handle the duty cycle of all the loads during a maximum day of loads and exporting it should be fine.  I have heard people say there is nothing hooked up to the shed before, then I get there and there is a stonking great air compressor running, two forklifts charging and about twenty highbay lights on!The only time he would need separate connections was if he was contracted to gross meter the solar exported. you guys need to get some info about the utilities policies and what will happen to his existing feed in tariff agreement and crunch some numbers before you make any decisions. Not all the choices will be eligible under the old FIT schemes. for example a system that was installed before 30 Sept 2011 in South Australia and is not altered or upgraded will continue to get a 44 cent distributor FIT till 2028 in addition to the retailer FIT. pays to take this into account. We can repair an old system with new components as long as we stay withing the "approved peak capacity" your options are 1. replace the existing inverter with a cheap yum cha model 2. replace the existing inverter and overpanel it 33% 3. fit an inverter that can throttle the export 4. fit a 3 phase inverter with phase balancing trickery I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
||||
 Print this page |
