I did get on the FiT in the early days for the 66cpkWh, but installed a separate system (which I have since incorporated into my stand-alone system. Seem most solar places, even the ones the go on about how good they are, arent that good when presented with this, what seems to be a conundrum for them. I am not even sure the inverter would support that, but I fear that sadly up to 25% of the PV energy might be going to waste! I have solar on my house and having it installed at an investment property, but not sure what to do now as there will be no benefit of feed in tariff. Export limiting does limit the inverter output, but only as needed to keep the export power below the limit. A Decent Battery From sonnen. The data has 5KW flat lining confirming more is being generated. Nominal Output Power (W) 5000 Solar export limits for Adelaide suburbs with most panels under SA Victorias United Energy Network Area: A large chunk of Melbourne on the east side Port Phillip Bay and the Bayside Peninsula. Thank you. 0000037952 00000 n 0000001260 00000 n When a home is exported limited, all the power the solar inverter can produce is available for the home to use. I have noticed that one string seems to be performing well under the performance of the slightly smaller string. And also is it worth installing solar with 0 kWh limit with self consumption around 20-30%( payback 6-7 years). 220 0000022631 00000 n Of course the manufacturers dont want this to be public knowledge and pretend that once you paid for a system you are set for life (yours, not that of the system). I do NOT have a device in my meter box that could tell the inverter anything about consumption and feed in energy. Activities part of Powercors Solar Hotspots program carried out over three months included upgrading infrastructure, adjusting tap settings on street-level transformers, balancing voltage levels on powerlines and various tweakery at zone substations. 10kW of inverters with 11.325kW of panels. Once voltage thresholds etc are configure in the profile by the Envoy at install, each micro operates largely independently. Plus a Tesla Powerwall 2. Powercor's technical assessment aims for these works to enable at least 80% of new solar applications to export 5 kW. But still the solar companies keep trying to sell it to me.. You could contact Powercor and explain your situation, but I suspect theyll say you need to be an installer to check if an increase in export capability is available. I guess it would be technically possible to have a solar system with a battery but still be connected to the grid as backup. While this is fine during the week when we are open, it seems a huge waste of electricity on the weekends when we are closed. Now, that would help protect electricity grids, especially, the fragile, decrepit SWIS grid, for the present. JackD 1 year ago. Put down your weapons.3. 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. The solar PV system is connected to the network via an inverter. If your pumping needs are large enough this can pay for itself, but it will be expensive to set up. Thats a furphy from go to whoa. But, now, Goodwe have the GW5000-MS inverter, which, from what I have read, is apparently allowed in WA, for a single phase SWIS grid connection, and, that inverter is a 5kW inverter, that has a maximum panels generating capacity; Im in regional WA with a rural 2 phase supply. Or is there a build up of voltage in the system? There are versions without this consumption monitoring (old Non -s version of Envoy and even the Envoy-S without consumption monitoring). The following is a list of the areas in case youve been missed. What am I missing? But there will often be times when the solar system will produce more power than can be exported, so some energy will be lost3. . Means that it caps the amount you can reduce your bills for power used outside of daylight hours? 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. Typically in the Powercor area, the export limit is 5kW of exports for each single-phase household solar PV system. Victoria network plans upgrade to allow for more rooftop solar exports We respect your privacy and you can opt out from the newsletter at any time. Up until quite recently, Powercor had been informing a large proportion of households looking to install new solar systems they will have to cop a zero export limit due to high congestion created by exports from existing systems. . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Download the first chapter of The Good Solar Guide, authored by SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock, FREE! Im trying to get some unbiased advice on whether or not we should add more solar. Please keep the SolarQuotes blog constructive and useful with these 5 rules: 1. Victorias CitiPower area: The Melbourne Central Business District. AC Output Data 0000017636 00000 n Queenslands Ergon network area: All of Queensland on the main grid outside of South East Queensland. Quotes vary and the deal has to be value/advantage logical or whats the point. And for this reasons, I have increasingly seen that it is more challenging to run micros without the envoy which would no doubt be extra code required in later versions of the envoy to enforce implementation of various AS4777 and export limiting requirements that cant be done in the micros alone. We just applied for pre-approval from Powercor and were given a 0kW export approval which is going to make almost anything we choose uneconomical. Unfortunately, SAPN wont allow more than 5 kilowatts of inverter capacity on an SWER line. Instead the home can benefit from a small system, as I explain here: Ah yes I see. Hi Everyone, It also allows you to focus on increasing your self consumption which in turn provides a better return on investment. But it seems the situation has been changing for the better in the last couple of months in a number of affected areas. Victorias Jemena network area: A small but crowded chunk of North and Western Melbourne. Single-phase properties can have up to 5 kilowatts of inverter capacity, and 3 phase properties can have up to 30 kilowatts. 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. 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. We just had a 30kW inverter solar install for our business and it has been limited to 1.8kW export. 100% You could approach SAPN and ask for special permission to install more solar capacity on an SWER but I would not be optimistic about that. 0000037764 00000 n For example, our Solar Enablement program is intended to allow more customers to connect a 5kVa solar PV system with export capacity. But if people send a lot of power into the line then the voltage at the far end, instead of being lower than at the sending end, becomes higher. But your situation is complicated by already having a 3 kilowatt system. 00@ Oo I wouldnt drive anything else. It seems so strange that it is clear government policy to get more solar going and yet the network operators are effectively blocking it now. Voltage (V) measured at inverter terminals 100 litres alone means little, but if there are 100 litres per hour, this means 100 litre hours of output. And doing so potentially puts you running in a non compliant state. 0000010080 00000 n When it says that you can export 5kw, does that mean you can export up to 5kw PER HOUR? Now, such a hybrid inverter, as I previously submitted as a post, as being needed, would have the capability of providing for up to 10kW of panels generating capacity, and, of power conversion of up to 10kW, to provide for up to 5kW to provide for charging a battery system, and, the other 5kW to provide for the household load and with surplus (to the household load, out of the 5kW provision) being exported to the grid. If they face in two or more directions, it will further reduce the losses by reducing the peak solar output while stretching it out, so it lasts longer through the day. 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. 5kW times the number of hours is the total production over that time. 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. A Decent Battery From sonnen. But if you had a larger solar system with a larger inverter that was export limited to 5 kilowatts it could potentially supply 2 kilowatts to your home while exporting 5 kilowatts to the grid. Very true AL0126. So having a powerwall is way less useful for helping with an export limit than you would think. If you dont get under the covers and look carefully at the logs you might miss this, or think it is a cloud coming over, rather than voltage triggered throttling. Only residential homes with inverters of 5 kilowatts or less can receive the states. So an Enphase setup, without a continuously operating Envoy with not be providing this functionality and likely to raise some concerns in the AS4777.2015 certification process if they did not take steps to make sure these functions are always guaranteed to be implemented. 11kW panels with 10kW 3-phase inverter (Fronius Symo + Fronius 3-phase meter). 0000001757 00000 n This extra meter adds to the cost of a solar system. That is correct. We have a 3kwh system and are really using as much during the day as we can. Can you provide comment and evaluation of power tracing please. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. But, if you are really keen, I suppose you could use a site such as PV Institutes Live PV Map to see how other solar systems in your general area are performing: Note that patchy cloud can produce a lot of variation in output. Residential properties are unlikely to be allowed to use export limiting to install even larger inverters. 0% Its moderately cheaper and the solar feed-in tariff youll receive will lower your electricity bills and increase the amount of clean energy available for others to use. In writing I was advised: Powercor is the Distributed Network Service Provider for central and western Victoria, as well as Melbournes western suburbs. That can raise the voltage to a level dangerous to appliances. and only supply me with power from the grid Is it the 6.66 kW, as the 1.3 overload factor of a 5kW inverter, or, is it the maximum allowed (by the manufacturer) panels generating capacity, for an inverter that is allowed by a state/territory government? This is disappointing as this would be an easy option to implement. 0000006578 00000 n 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 . I cant see any reference to the NT. %PDF-1.4 % Youre using a total of four kilowatts to cook your lunch, so your home is exporting 4 kilowatts, which is below the limit. Whats the logical and practical way forward? 0000038830 00000 n 0000027694 00000 n Im in the same situation, except I have an existing 5kW system. I could easily share my excess power for the time I am not irrigating my crops. I realise that Australian legislatures do not care about the future, but, the future is coming, whether the legislatures like it or not. In reality, the losses will be considerably less. All these profiles need to dance carefully around the problem. As a single example, the Renault Kangoo ZE van (I think that it is the only battery powered cargo van currently available in Australia) has a 33kWh battery, and, To go further, Kangoo Z.E boasts a Z.E 33 (33kWh) battery, A man named Canute, proved that, centuries ago. Providing the export limiting is done on the meter current as described above ( not on the inverter output current), you can generate more than the export limit if you are consuming enough power to make up the difference between generation and export limit. But you may as well just get a standard inverter and send your excess electricity into the grid. But this is at least partially because when you throttle back output, you also reduce the amount of voltage rise you are causing on your local connection to the point of interconnect which is probably contributing to the issue. After all, Im a big picture kind of guy. Surely the distributors capping what you can export to the grid is a bad thing? This seems to be becoming a big problem at least locally. 5kW export limiter imposed on one inverter. Because people have been refused any STCs for being just a few watts over, no installer will go over the limit for a normal installation. If your solar company provides you with the Solar pre-approval (SPA) number for your pre-approval, we can check specifically what was decided on with regards to exporting. Does anyone know how the limiter works in this scenario with 2 inverters? You can see from the profile name that it ensures the microinverters conform to the AS4777.2:2015 Australian standard that governs inverters, and it enables the advanced Volt-var and Volt-watt controls for adjusting export power when the grid voltage gets too high (as opposed to abruptly shutting off all export power when grid voltage is too high, which happens without Volt-var and Volt-watt). To me it does not quite make sense as no system can produce 100% of its capacity meaning my existing 3.5kW will never produce full 3.5kW (on a good day, I am lucky to get 2.5kW). xref you aren't allowed to export any power from your solar system to the grid. so if I was correctly explained to, then I am limited to export less than 5kW (because my existing system will never produce 3.5kW), No installer (or their salepeople) is able to explain to me how the limiter is connected/set up in the scenario where I have 2 inverters. Metered and a non metered version. I will update the article with the information. I am afraid Western Power is very strict. Queenslands Energex area: South East Queensland. There may well be a tipping point in battery prices where a drought of mid day solar will be followed by very little evening use and possibly large numbers of households abandoning the grid altogether. Ill upgrade the Endeavour Energy area from Ugly to Bad, since things are clearly not all bad there. It can also only provide this when it is running. 0000004059 00000 n Finally! If you use a pre AS4777.3:2005 the limits are probably even higher, but you loose some other features (like frequency ramping which is probably very sensible to have if you want to be a good grid citizen), and you probably are not supposed to run those unless it is a pre 2016 install. 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? They want to do it there way and it seems my request complicates things for them and I dont hear back, bar a couple. We might still be willing to do this all the same, from an environmental viewpoint. I was really keen for this system with a battery as most of my power is used at night and I like the idea of power during blackouts, which do happen quite a lot here. Thanks Ronald! 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. 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. It is delivering 8 kilowatts of solar power. An Update: I just had system installed 4 days ago in the Energex DNSP and suggest the above is perhaps not quite correct. You could have mentioned that SWER stands for Single Wire Earth Return and why that matters. ), converting to a maximum of 5kW of AC power, whilst the GW10K-MS provides for up to 13.5kW of panels generating capacity, across three MPPTs (strings? 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. This is sufficient to charge a battery, although larger solar systems generally improve the return from batteries. Hello. One thing I find is that Voltage control works well: instead of the inverter resetting if the voltage gets too high, my inverters roll back output, so it actually helps my neighbors too because their inverters reset less often. DC Input Power (Wp) 10000, from its published datasheet. I have 3 x PV systems on one phase. Was sure if its been configured correctly or if this is just how it works? %%EOF Please make sure you engage early with our team through eConnect to check on network capacity for your customers. 2. Hi document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Download the first chapter of The Good Solar Guide, authored by SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock, FREE! 4. 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: I am a total newbie to this but I am unclear why export limiting is good? Yes I do have Enphase micro-inverters and an Envoy gateway, though not enough sunny roof to exceed 5kW, so my interest is rather academic but real. Allows installation but has an export limit. Can one have micro-inverter panels without a gateway, and how would that be limited? 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 I can also see specific profiles for other grid networks, such as Ausgrid and Ergon, that likely have specific requirements of the inverters. Thanks for the information. Fronius Wattpilot: A Smart EV Charger With A Short Warranty, You Wont Believe How Dumb The NSW Governments New Battery Calculator Is. NSWs Essential Energy area: Regional NSW. Is this correct? So basically the whole local industry is going to be cactus until this is resolved. I know in the movie the Bad was worse than the Ugly, but thats not the way Im doing it. 220 Allows installation but has a zero export limit. 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. The new inverter standard AS/NZS 4777.2:2020 has new inclusions to address grid stability issues - a new feature that is necessary to further enhance the hosting capacity to accommodate more solar and renewable energy systems. As such, unless the investment pays for itself within at most 5-6 years, IMHO it is not a good investment/waste of money and natural resources. So if an inverter that is export limited to 5 kilowatts is providing 8 kilowatts of power, none of it will go to waste provided the home is consuming at least 3 kilowatts at the time. Off the main grid, rural properties can have 3 kilowatts of inverter capacity. endstream endobj 307 0 obj <>/Metadata 15 0 R/Pages 14 0 R/StructTreeRoot 17 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences<>>> endobj 308 0 obj <. Have a good christmas. To add to this, in the installer section of the Envoys web server control panel, you can set the profile by which all microinverters operate. But, if you are living in an area where it is required to install a large solar system a situation around half of Australians are in then export limiting can allow a larger system with normally very minor losses of clean solar generation. There are exceptions for off-grid installations and systems that are installed with a battery. Solar Export Limiting: Why You Should Know About It Finally! I believe it must have been set up during installation, but the installer company claims that this is handled by Growatt themselves. 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 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%. South Australian solar panel owners can currently export 5 kilowatts of electricity to the grid but under Flexible Exports, they could export double that amount 10kW. The metered version comes with extra current clamps to hook up to the grid side so you can do consumption monitoring and export limiting. 258 0000037497 00000 n In a Enphase system, only the Envoy can provide this. Solar Analytics confirms in this scenario its only exporting up to the limit; 3kw. NSWs Ausgrid Network Area: This covers East Sydney, Newcastle, and out to Merriwa. That said, provided the Installer included your details and phone number in the customer section when the SPA was lodged, the solar team intends to follow up with customers if capacity becomes available to export into the grid through upgrades to the network.. It appears the wire from the inverter is directly connected to my main fuse for the house circuits. Just last week, Powercor (Western Victoria) advised that they now have more room in the grid for export. But I will warn you, even with the high cost of grid electricity and the low solar feed-in tariff in Western Australia, batteries normally wont pay for themselves. 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? Thus if my system is at maximum output, and I am using 2kW, only 3 kW is being exported to the grid. I got a question about export limiter that I hope to get some answers from the community. 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. Can I share my power excess with me neighbour? Tasmania: Under 1% of Tasmanians are on SWER lines, so the generous export limit should often be available. Certainly this dumb meter is not capable of sending current from the inverter selectively to my home circuits and any excess to the grid? I am surprised to hear that Powercor has allowed you to increase your exports, but that is good to hear. 100% I have just had a 6.6kw system installed with a Fronius 5kw inverter and am export limited to 3kw. Thanks Ron. Website link shows system producing well over 10 kW. So if your home isnt currently drawing power you wont know from looking at the display if its capable of producing the maximum 5 kilowatts or if it cant provide more than 3 kilowatts. When it comes to the limiting imposed by the electricity companies feed-in regulations, it means that, at any one time, not more than 5kW (100L) maybe be output to the grid (hose), it has nothing to do with the total over a certain period of time. Rooftop solar | CitiPower & Powercor So the size of the system becomes irrelevant if you can only export 3kwh (we are Regional NSW Essential Energy). 1. "Some of these customers may have received approval to export since, due to network improvements made since their connection." Note that connections off the main grid are usually far more restricted. The fact is that Powercor does not set an upper limit on the size solar panel system you can install, up to 30kW. It would definitely be better if we didnt need to limit the amount of power solar systems sent into the grid. As far as I know, only solar installers can apply for export capacity in the Powercor area. I have seen my panels producing over 13 kW of power when the battery is drawing 3 kW DC power and the battery, house and car 10 kW of AC power. Western Australia Horizon Power area: Regional Western Australia. It is just the placement of the meter and the current sensor that controls the limiting. But it took him about another ten years to focus on it in a way that wasnt really stupid, Good Article. It is critical that you install an approved smart inverter and set it correctly. it is, kind of, effectively export limiting. I live in Warrnambool, Victoria. See image at http://www.johnrogers.com.au/battery_charging_noon.jpg, CORRECTION: My 13.25 kW system will not go above the 10 kW inverter limit unless my house battery is charging and then it can go to 13.25 kW. Power failure: Homes hit by solar limits as distributors protect PDF CitiPower Pty Ltd/ Powercor Australia Ltd I had applications rejected, and when I asked there was NO course for negotiation or discussion its the RULES is s synopsis of the responses. And, when battery powered road vehicles with adequate distance capacity (I have read that VW expects to release a battery powered station wagon, with range between charges, of 700km, in 2023 (although, unless Australia wakes up, such vehicles will be unlikely to come to this neolithic country) ) are available, and, even for the rare ones that apparently, already exist in Australia (having not yet seen a battery powered vehicle in Australia, I wonder whether they are simply an urban myth, as to their presence in this backward country), when would they get charged, if people would only charge them at home? The naming of zones may differ between manufacturers but may appear as: Australia A - applies to the configuration of inverter settings in Victoria and all Eastern . Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. 0000037419 00000 n In exchange, the customer receives a small rebate on their bill for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) they export. To get your quotes, please enter your postcode: AEMC: Electricity Prices To Continue To Fall, http://www.johnrogers.com.au/battery_charging_noon.jpg, http://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/kw-and-kwh-what-is-the-difference/, Why Australian Solar Installers Love Austrian Fronius Inverters, Tesla Powerwall Price Takes A Tumble In Australia, "Snail Mail" Home Battery Offers: Be Wary, New Minimum VIC Solar Feed-In Tariffs Locked In, Glenrowan Solar Farm Construction Gets Cranking. I am trying to get a system installed (6.5k smart hybrid inverter with a battery) and have been told by Western Power that I am limited to a 3.0 kva system. Despite the low feed-in tariff you will receive it can still be worthwhile, especially if you can shift some electricity consumption to the middle of the day. I am a bit confused about export. 5 kilowatt inverter + 6.6 kilowatts of solar panels (no export limiting): 0%, 6 kilowatt inverter + 8 kilowatts of solar panels: 4% loss, 7 kilowatt inverter + 9 kilowatts of solar panels: 8% loss, 8 kilowatt inverter + 10 kilowatts of solar panels: 13% loss, So, on the one hand, the Victorian Government is. We installed 4.5kw with a 5kw inverter in 2014. Its only possible to go larger with a zero export limit: https://www.powerwater.com.au/customers/power/solar-power-systems/pv-class-requirements. 0000027818 00000 n Solar customers who currently have a limit on the amount they can export are invited to contact Powercor to reapply for an export agreement based on the greater capacity now available on the network.

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