What inverter do you have? Is this perhaps one of the well-kept secrets about the reality of residential solar production in Western Australia, one that neither the solar installers or inverter manufacturers, let alone Synergy or Western Power want to be publicly known? 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 think is is utter madness that the VIC government is handing out generous rebates of $1850.00 and 4 year interest free loans of up to $1850.00 and Powercor has zero feed in capacity for excess solar power. For example, our Solar Enablement program is intended to allow more customers to connect a 5kVa solar PV system with export capacity. %PDF-1.4 % Heres the Fronius Smart Meter that you need if you want to export limit a Fronius inverter it will add about $500 to the cost of the system: An example of how export limiting works You have an inverter thats exported limited to 5 kilowatts. We respect your privacy and you can opt out from the newsletter at any time. The solar installer or customer must have sought and received pre-approval from us for the requested capacity of the generator. On the main grid, single-phase properties can have 5 kilowatts of solar inverter capacity, and three-phase properties can have 15 kilowatts. Export limiting generally isnt permitted. Then the information that was left was cut to make the piece more introductory, but perhaps all these reductions made the article like my favorite World War II movie Abridged Too Far. Recent work by Victorian DNSP Powercor on some problematic parts of its network is enabling more solar power from rooftop panels to be exported to the grid. Have I been conned into believing I could produce up to 6.6kW myself, but in fact the maximum my inverter will ever allow through to the meter (and to my house) is only 5kW? Im in regional WA with a rural 2 phase supply. 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. If you cant store the power (too expensive) and you cant export it, why the requirement (or desire) to put in large systems? Victorias CitiPower area: The Melbourne Central Business District. 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. Most systems have mostly N facing panels, so really only generate peak power for a few hours a day (often 10am>2pm approx) Is there anything that can be done about it? Weve seen a rapid growth in rooftop solar systems.With each installation, were facilitating rapid growth in the amount of solar capacity on our network. Victorias AusNet network area: The eastern third of Victoria, not including Melbourne or French Island. 1. An Update: I just had system installed 4 days ago in the Energex DNSP and suggest the above is perhaps not quite correct. South Australia Power Networks (SAPN) area: SAPN is the only distributor in South Australia. I believe it must have been set up during installation, but the installer company claims that this is handled by Growatt themselves. It is critical that you install an approved smart inverter and set it correctly. As per current standards, a single phase premises is limited to 10kW generation and 5kW export. So-called wasting of the extra electricity produced is irrelevant: sunlight is FREE, and whether I use it or not has no bearing on the environment. I installed 6.6kw solar panels and have Goodwe 5kw inverter and applied for export limit of 5kw. If your pumping needs are large enough this can pay for itself, but it will be expensive to set up. Am planning to install solar 6.6 kWh system and upon checking with powercor they are giving export limit as 0 kWh. Do the inverters prevent the production of energy by the solar panels when an export limit would otherwise be exceeded? Whats the logical and practical way forward? The earth is used as one conductor which has a higher resistance than a copper wire. The majority of customers are approved for the export level they request. 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? 0000038562 00000 n I have divided Australias regions into three categories: The information below assumes the property is on the main grid. But you will probably find that there is another setting that it will shutdown when 10 minute average voltage is a measly 255v. Heres what that means. sonnenBatterie Evo. Solar export limiting, or 'export limiting', occurs most often when there is more power being pushed into the grid than it can handle. We are on a zero limited export. I think it is illegal in WA to rewire your inverter or modify any parameters, as it may result in more than 5kW being sent to the grid, so I will just bite the bullet and see that I use as much solar as possible. is there a inverter that stops power going back 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. Victorias United Energy Network Area: A large chunk of Melbourne on the east side Port Phillip Bay and the Bayside Peninsula. I cant justify the cost of adding additional solar if the max I can export with Essential energy is 3kwh. The uptake of solar has surprised the powers that be so they are basically wasting free energy and penalizing the producers in the process. 220 First read the section How Export Limiting Works at the top of this thread. Generally however, I can advise that Powercor intends to upgrade the network over the next 5 years, starting in January, however, the specifics of where upgrades are happening and the order has not been decided. 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. both said 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.. Youll also start receiving the SolarQuotes weekly newsletter, keeping you up to date on all the latest developments on Australias solar scene. As batteries currently operate they charge from power in the morning that could otherwise be sold rather than from power that may not be able to be sold in the middle of the day. I want about 10Kw of panels so I can run pumps etc. It is just the placement of the meter and the current sensor that controls the limiting. Its the same with kW and hours of solar electricity production. 0000001260 00000 n 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? going back into the grid with no batteries. Shane, you appear to be mixing up kW and kWh easily done! Once voltage thresholds etc are configure in the profile by the Envoy at install, each micro operates largely independently. If so, it would make replacing the whole system more viable which is exactly what I wanted to avoid (and such a waste!). 0000028638 00000 n Similarly, which would be more detrimental to a fragile electricity grid, through power exporting; a 5kW inverter with no export limiting, or, a 10kW inverter, with export limiting set to 1kW? Under another option to . My solar installer applied to Powercor to install a 5.4kw system at my Point Cook address. It is delivering 8 kilowatts of solar power. 207 Thanks Steve 0418 815 193. If you are export limited, the only way to implement that is with some sort of meter as Ronald says. This certainly goes well beyond initial configuration and reporting. By the time he was eight, he was already focused on using the power of the sun to stop fossil fuel emissions destabilizing the climate. 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 for the information. Were continually investing in our networks and aim to keep customers informed if additional export capacity becomes available in their area. 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. 0000008571 00000 n That would provide both export limiting, and, the incorporation of a battery system (for my household, if we would have a 6.6 kW panels generating capacity system, rather than the 5kW one that we have, something like the BYD LVS 20 or 24kWh battery tower, would, I believe be appropriate), which would provide for energy arbitrage, smoothing both power exported to the grid, and, power imported from the grid, especially during peak demand periods. 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. Finally! Means that it caps the amount you can reduce your bills for power used outside of daylight hours? Or is there a build up of voltage in the system? 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. For example, I can see several Energex profiles that do things like limit export to differing amounts, turns on Volt-var without Volt-watt, or sets the power factor to 0.9. Its also worth taking a look in case you shied away from installing solar panels in the past because of the situation now might be the time to revisit the idea. Long term benefits would be a more energy efficient system. I realise that all the political parties in the the WA state parliament and especially, the Synergy/Western Power conglomerate, that controls approvals of domestic rooftop photovoltaic systems connected to the SWIS grid, are opposed to domestic rooftop photovoltaic systems (even though we stabilise and sustain the grid), but, I am wondering whether any reason has ever been given by the oppressive authorities, for banning export limited inverters in WA. 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. Its located in Ausnet Services' Distribution Area but Ausnet is not part of the CitiPower, Powercor and UnitedEnergy . Store it and use it later (this requires solar battery storage), or it disappears into thin air via a heat sink. This extra meter adds to the cost of a solar system. But if you suddenly switch off everything, there is more surplus solar power than youre allowed to export. Normally single phase properties can have up to 5 kilowatts of solar inverter capacity and 3 phase properties can have 15 kilowatts. 5kW times the number of hours is the total production over that time. hb```f``sd`c`edd@ A >hp`86s8::\ MNmOe0pYuR`i g G7@ $n@]A#&S_2.dx f Rubbing salt into the wound were situations where someone was zero export limited while their next door neighbour wasnt. 0000037764 00000 n And, depending on the circumstances of each individual household, 10-15 kW of total panels generating capacity, with limiting export to the grid, to 5kW, could provide better for the months with less available solar radiation, to lessen the demand for grid electricity, peaking on a seasonal basis. Has the oppressive authority in WA ever given a reason for not allowing export limited inverters in WA? 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. The Solar installer is telling me that they just started getting 0kW approvals back for about 9 out of 10 requests and so they dont believe they will be able to do many installs at all going forward. Select the AS/NZS 4777.2:2020 Australia A setting. 0000006578 00000 n Typically in the Powercor area, the export limit is 5kW of exports for each single-phase household solar PV system. If thats not a good option, you can consider getting a demand tariff and doing pumping outside the peak period when the cost of grid electricity will be relatively low. reliable export limit control function as per AS4777.2 to limit the export output where the . Was sure if its been configured correctly or if this is just how it works? 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. Why on earth would I do that if I can help it. 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. The majority of customers are approved for the export level they request. DC Input Power (Wp) 10000, from its published datasheet. Please stay on topic. 0000011077 00000 n endstream endobj 351 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/Index[17 289]/Length 31/Size 306/Type/XRef/W[1 1 1]>>stream Nominal Output Power (W) 5000 I realise that Australian legislatures do not care about the future, but, the future is coming, whether the legislatures like it or not. I think of it like the rate at which water is flowing out of a hose. Thus if my system is at maximum output, and I am using 2kW, only 3 kW is being exported to the grid. 0000007057 00000 n Put down your weapons.3. What am I missing? Surely the distributors capping what you can export to the grid is a bad thing? Real names are preferred - you should be happy to put your name to your comments.2. Perhaps it is worth mentioning that the stricter export limitation becomes, it will make a stronger argument for batteries. Even then, the losses from the limit are minor. There is not likely to be an Enphase system without a gateway (called the Envoy with in the Enphase system), because this is needed to setup the system, configure its profiles and report production and other important functions of the system. If at any moment in time you are generating more solar electricity than you need, the excess is exported to the grid.
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