For the extra 4kwh #5 must be the best value.
Something to incorporate: The voltage of the bank influences the voltage your MPPTs can put on the DC bus. So the 52V batteries would allow your MPPTs to generate ~10% more power at the maximum current they can deliver.
Not sure how many amps your MPPTs can currently deliver, but it gives you a bit of additional headroom to add more panels, for example.
Another design consideration, the e-Tower is limited to 20kWh total (4 units in parallel)
With all the other options you can scale far beyond that if you want, its definitely something to take into account if you are looking at it with a 10+ year view.
Not sure, with the way battery technology is moving, that I am going to worry too much about how the choice of battery now is going to affect me in 10 years. Although the 2 years windows is scary enough, with Eskom in a death spiral. I’m pretty confident that Eskom as a power generating entity will not exist in 5 years, they will (if they are lucky) be reduced to just a transmission entity. It’s something to ponder, thanks.
And here Freedom Won joins the new trend!!
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Starting with 250/100 MPPTs and 14 x 555kw panels, 7 per string (I think).I have bought 4 panels more than I originally planned, just so I have some identical panels to add should my West roof prove suitable. I’ll work within the 5,800w limits and see what I can do.
You cant connect 7 panels on a string, max 4
Inevitable I suppose, given the plumber and air-con guys that have been to see me hoping to kickstart their solar installer careers. I know a smattering about this stuff, they could not answer my questions - so when batteries die they suspect the worst.
I only found out yesterday that there is a lower limit on the constant supply amperage from the batteries - Laurel and Hardy definitely didn’t know. My one quote has just 3 x US3000 Pylons on it, for a 8KVA Sunsynch.
Im with option 5
5 Is probably best value for money, but I like option 4.
Out of your 5 options, 3 of them are grouped closely together (2, 3 and 4). I place BYD above the eTower, so for what is essentially the price, option 4 is better than option 2. And for a R3500 difference remaining, I’d pick 4 over 3.
The last option gets you another 4kWh for only an additional 12k, which makes it good value… but unless you are really desperately in search of another 4kWh, why spend an extra 12%?
Agree.
Although I have other options I will rather not mention here. I stuck to the topic " Pylon vs FW"
Pray tell!
I’m definitely keen to hear the other options. I’m about to spend about 350.8 cases of beer on batteries, I’d like to hear the ideas of the okes that do this every day.
Jaco de Jongh.
Considering usable ZAR/Ah:
3 x eTower 90% DoD R379.00/Ah – 5 year warranty + 5 year sort of warranty
3 x Flex Lite 100% DoD R341.00/Ah – 10 year warranty not based on cycles
The Scottish heart should go with Flex Lite - same money out the pocket, more value, better warranty.
Also, pushing eTowers to the limit does not produce good results, so if it is marginal, eTower is not the battery for the job.
[EDIT]
To compare with option 5 that got support from the OGs, let’s rebase to usable Wh so it takes the pack voltage into account:
3 x eTower // 4680*3 Wh – R7.28 per Wh
3 x Flex Lite // 5000*3 Wh – R6.82 per Wh
4 x UP5000 // 4560*4 Wh – R6.25 per Wh*
* as noted by @jykenmynie, lower pack voltage means MPPTs are more expensive / Watt.
No, it is 15 in parallel.
Source: https://www.freedomwon.co.za/wp-content/uploads/Freedom-Won-eTower-Installation-Manual-Rev2-November-2022_V2.pdf
I just had to check because I remembered 4, seems like if you update the firmware on the battery you can stack more. (E-Towers with serial number starting with ET2022 can stack 6) I guess that 15 would also be with some newer version of the firmware.
We’ve been using them since they were released, and I don’t believe this limitation has ever applied. In conversation with Antony, he has not mentioned it either despite direct questioning.
I think there is some confusion because there is a limitation on how many you can physically stack on top of one another which is mentioned in the documentation and data sheet.
Maybe you are right and the limitation is physical stacking, but a certain well know wholesaler starting with a S, makes it very clear that on the old units prior to those starting with serial number (ET2022) you can only stack 4 and you need to update the firmware to stack 6.
If that is in fact not the case someone should just inform them, but my guess is any limitations that they list would have been given to them by FreedomWon, or unless like you said it’s all just a misunderstanding, I haven’t installed a single E-Tower or own one so I have no horse in this race