Makes sense but begs my next question (sorry). If at any moment in time you are generating more solar electricity than you need, the excess is exported to the grid. In reality, the losses will be considerably less. Victorias United Energy Network Area: A large chunk of Melbourne on the east side Port Phillip Bay and the Bayside Peninsula. I have a 10kw Solar Edge inverter limited to 5kw. Plus a Tesla Powerwall 2. 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. Were continually investing in our networks and aim to keep customers informed if additional export capacity becomes available in their area. 0000001575 00000 n I think that the limiter can connect only to one inverter and not two at the same time. It is just the placement of the meter and the current sensor that controls the limiting. Since in WA you cant have more than a 5kW inverter on a private residence, I believe there isnt actually export limiting in play, and the inverter itself clips the output AC regardless how much the panels are generating, sadly. I have a 14kW solar array running Enphase IQ7+ microinverters (43 of them) hooked up to the grid in a 3-phase configuration in the Endeavour Energy area in NSW, and they currently have the profile AU default AS4777.2:2015 30kVa, Vv, Vw set. No-one seems to have replied Dirk, so I will try. 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. 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. No unfortunately. 0000028638 00000 n But your situation is complicated by already having a 3 kilowatt system. I just dont understand it. 0000039018 00000 n Will this mean any additional system would be limited to 0kW output?? But just note, not everyone Envoy has required bits to do export limiting. So yeah, the Envoy is essentially all you need to configure export limiting or anything else if you have an Enphase microinverter set-up. driving range of 200km depending on ambient temperature. But given average voltages are probably well above what they should be in lots of places, and once you factor in your local voltage rise, and pretty low values under AS4777 etc, there is not much room to play with until the distributors get the act together and deliver us power that better matches the 230v standard they are required to deliver us. The following is a list of the areas in case youve been missed. 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. The MSO helps us manage and keep our network safe for solar customers. Even if I were exporting 100% of it, it still would only bring down my bills by a tiny amount per month. 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? This means you tend to see panels at the end of strings shutdown soonest on voltage risk conditions, as they have the highest voltage rise being at the end of the string. To give you example, you will probably find the profile you mention is probably throttling from a very low 250v and will ramp down to 20% at 265v. I also dont know if my meter has limiting but suspect not as it is a pretty dumb device. If so, it would make replacing the whole system more viable which is exactly what I wanted to avoid (and such a waste!). 0000038752 00000 n 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. Now, there are quite a few profiles on offer that can be programmed into the microinverters. Instead the home can benefit from a small system, as I explain here: Ah yes I see. 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. But you may as well just get a standard inverter and send your excess electricity into the grid. Here at SolarQuotes, we had been hearing quite a few complaints about Powercors zero export limits. We are on a zero limited export. Finally, there are profiles for other countries that run 220-240V networks, and its remarkable how many of them use the older AS4777.3:2005 standard in their countries, because for many of these countries, this is the only profile the Envoy offers. But it took him about another ten years to focus on it in a way that wasnt really stupid, Good Article. When a home is exported limited, all the power the solar inverter can produce is available for the home to use. 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. 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 could not convince him that I knew what I was talking about! In an Enphase system, that is with the Envoy-S with consumption monitoring. NSWs Endeavour Energy area: Western Sydney. What am I missing? 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. Youre using a total of four kilowatts to cook your lunch, so your home is exporting 4 kilowatts, which is below the limit. And Set Power Limit to 100%. I dont quite understand how the DC energy from the inverter can go to my home circuits first, before any excess current is fed into the grid. Hello. 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. The word first can be confusing. Voltage (V) measured at inverter terminals I am on my second Tesla EV and the new one has a rage of 700km if youre not a lead foot. Though endless quibbling over unnecessary details might keep the presses churning, a FACT remains that Ive been using ever-more-cost-effective batteries since 1980. Fronius Wattpilot: A Smart EV Charger With A Short Warranty, You Wont Believe How Dumb The NSW Governments New Battery Calculator Is. Please make sure you engage early with our team through eConnect to check on network capacity for your customers. Solar export limiting, or 'export limiting', occurs most often when there is more power being pushed into the grid than it can handle. 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 contrast, most other network distributors set a strict upper limit on the size solar panel system you can install, typically 10kW for single-phase properties. At the moment a battery system is unlikely to pay for itself, but you could install a system that is larger than what makes financial sense for your current situation and hope home batteries will fall in price over the next few years. (Or at least it will be expensive to set up well. So the size of the system becomes irrelevant if you can only export 3kwh (we are Regional NSW Essential Energy). My AS4777.2:2015 profile allows voltages up to 265v (for short periods, and shuts down on 10 minute averages above 258v). In my case, I have N & W facing panels, My inverters clip to 5Kw for a few hours, but I can still export a reasonable amount. Once voltage thresholds etc are configure in the profile by the Envoy at install, each micro operates largely independently. 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. Assume positive intention.4. No matter how badly you may want to export limit your solar system, it can only be done in locations where its permitted. 2. So, I am pretty much left in the dark about whether all the energy my panels are theoretically producing is being utilised, or (which is my fearful assumption) up to 1.6kW are wasted whenever the panels produce more than 5kW AC. All is explained here: http://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/kw-and-kwh-what-is-the-difference/, ( 5kW per hour is a non-sensical unit unless you want to describe an acceleration of energy! Its also unusual for a large solar system to have all the panels facing the same direction. amended or replaced from time to time. As has been explained (and COSTED) on previous occasions batteries are VERY cost-effective.IF you stay away from the hi-tech/overpriced/dependence-creating/unproven battery-systems advocated by commercially self-interested parties. Interesting article. NSWs Essential Energy area: Regional NSW. 0000037764 00000 n In addition, all modern solar inverters must comply with AS4777.2015 at least. The current Envoy they will be selling is the Envoy-S. Before that was the straight Envoy which did not have the consumption monitoring / metering needed to do export limiting. Thus if my system is at maximum output, and I am using 2kW, only 3 kW is being exported to the grid. If youre not satisfied with what answers our calculator gives, let me know your figures for grid electricity and solar feed-in tariff and Ill come up with an estimate for you. Put down your weapons.3. I have 13.25 kW of panels with a 9.8 kW LG Chem battery and a 10 kW inverter export limited to 5 kW. 0% 0000038830 00000 n It does this by adjusting the MPPT but instead of working to maximize power from the panels it reduces it. This is sufficient to charge a battery, although larger solar systems generally improve the return from batteries. Allows installation but has an export limit. 0000038218 00000 n 0000022631 00000 n This is because even if there is only a refrigerator running during the day it will reduce the losses from export limiting and if an effort is made to shift electricity consumption to the middle of the day then losses can be mostly or entirely eliminated. I think of it like the rate at which water is flowing out of a hose. This gives the advantage of having a new system covered by a new set of warranties. But I can tell you a few things that might help with some of your pondering :- 1. the system is set to export the maximum amount of power approved in our Solar Export Pre-Approval to you your obligations as the owner and operator of an 'embedded generator' exporting . Hi i want to install solar with no power That can raise the voltage to a level dangerous to appliances. 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. 0000027818 00000 n I want about 10Kw of panels so I can run pumps etc. Shane, you appear to be mixing up kW and kWh easily done! Please keep the SolarQuotes blog constructive and useful with these 5 rules: 1. embedded generation system to the CitiPower and Powercor low voltage networks. 0000005359 00000 n The battery is charging from the DC current which is before the inverter. March 2022 6 Powercor means Powercor Australia Limited, ABN 89 064 651 109. portal means the eConnect portal for CitiPower and . Thanks so much, David. 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. The new home didnt have solar. I was told to set Power Limit to ON. I was always of the belief that a 5kW inverter limited the total output/ production from my 6.5kW solar system to 5 kW, irrespective of what is being used in the house. See image at http://www.johnrogers.com.au/battery_charging_noon.jpg. 0000006578 00000 n Weve got a system that can be left alone in my opinion, so adding say 6.6kw and a 10kw battery makes good sense but what a task. If they want a big solar system with an inverter larger than 5 kW, they must export limit the inverter. at night or not enough at day time ? As discussion of the topic of export limiting, is continuing, what,if any, is/are the direct effect differences to electricity grid load (as in the load on the wires, not the load as the term used for meaning demand), between a 5kW inverter, and a 10kW inverter with 5kW export limiting? 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. 0000027694 00000 n Means that it caps the amount you can reduce your bills for power used outside of daylight hours? 4. Powercor wrote back with the following response:"Due to the size of t . 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. We respect your privacy and you can opt out from the newsletter at any time. 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? ), 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? We are in an area where only about 20% of the homes have solar. Please stay on topic. Single-phase properties can install inverter capacity up to 5 kilowatts while 3 phase properties can install up to 30 kilowatts. Some manufacturers may have this pre-selected. ), converting to up to 10kW of AC power, and, the GW5048D-ES provides for up to 6.65kW of panels generating capacity, converting to up to 4.95 kW of AC power, and, acting as a battery management system and UPS, when a battery system (of up to two approved, low voltage, batteries) is connected. 0000039284 00000 n These consumption spikes go past the Solar energy being limited suggesting were drawing from the grid! 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. Sorry if dumb question. 260 Still, few people will want more than the 13.33 kilowatts of panel capacity single phase homes can generally install: The Bad: Homes with single-phase power on the main grid can have up to 5 kilowatts of inverter capacity but can usually get around this limit by installing an export limited solar inverter of up to 10 kilowatts. AS4777.2:2015 has some rather low default recommendations, which can be tweaked up as no doubt my profile has allowed. About 50%. This profile also doesnt impose any export limits, because Endeavour Energy didnt require them of my installation (maximum is 30kW for a 3-phase installation, which my one is well under). Thanks for the information. Generation sources can be, but are not limited to solar, wind and batteries. Do the inverters prevent the production of energy by the solar panels when an export limit would otherwise be exceeded? They did say that with future upgrades we could reapply, but I cant find a way to do this. 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. 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). 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. I know in the movie the Bad was worse than the Ugly, but thats not the way Im doing it. But there will often be times when the solar system will produce more power than can be exported, so some energy will be lost3. In my mind though the Smart meter at the box would adjust the export limit in line with what the house is consuming? 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. The whole system of domestic rooftop photovoltaic systems, needs to be reviewed; by both the legislatures and regulators, and, by the components (especially the inverters) manufacturers. Or is the energy produced by the panels but dissipated somehow? 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. Fronius Wattpilot: A Smart EV Charger With A Short Warranty, You Wont Believe How Dumb The NSW Governments New Battery Calculator Is. But whether or not extra solar capacity will pay for itself is another matter. While export limiting is possible its not always approved. IE if Im producing 8KW, the house is using 2KW it will still export 5kw? 0000004823 00000 n How do I get around this with SAPN , am I allowed to export limit on a swer line in Sth Aust. A man named Canute, proved that, centuries ago. 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. 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. 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%. An Update: I just had system installed 4 days ago in the Energex DNSP and suggest the above is perhaps not quite correct. &K?BK:T$A1Cn It is critical that you install an approved smart inverter and set it correctly. South Australia Power Networks (SAPN) area: SAPN is the only distributor in South Australia. It is delivering 8 kilowatts of solar power. As a general rule, 5kW tends to be the upper system size limit for single-phase connections, but some networks allow up to 10kW. So while the article suggests 10kW inverter ( 13.33kW DC) in fact the limit seemed to be 10kW DC ( hmmm what does 10kW generation mean exactly ?.) Even then, the losses from the limit are minor. So, the whole of the system of restrictions and available components, for domestic rooftop photovoltaic systems, needs to be reviewed, to provide for greater usage demands during peak demand hours, greater battery storage provisions (and financial assistance for householders to implement big behind the meter battery storage systems, and, regarding the fragile, decrepit SWIS grid, the allowance of large capacities of panel generation, limited export, inverters, such as the hybrid one that I proposed. In future, will powercor allow export limit if they upgrade transformer? 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. 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. 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. Queenslands Ergon network area: All of Queensland on the main grid outside of South East Queensland. Website link shows system producing well over 10 kW. Some say so you want to replace your system? Amongst other things, AS4777.2015 has some requirements to shutdown on phase imbalance in a 3 phase setup. If you are in the solar industry - try to get to the truth, not the sale.5. Voltage (V) measured at inverter terminals I am looking at adding a second system (6.2kW) with GoodWe inverter. AC Output Data 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. Is this correct? 0000029403 00000 n I havent made any applications yet, but Ill certainly be asking this question when I get quotes!. Whats the logical and practical way forward? However they have been advised that this wont be allowed anymore. 0000028229 00000 n Rubbing salt into the wound were situations where someone was zero export limited while their next door neighbour wasnt. Has the oppressive authority in WA ever given a reason for not allowing export limited inverters in WA? Are Tesla Powerwall smart enough to let majority of power export to grid and only start charging battery as inverter approaches its export limit? Depending on their location, some may be constrained to a lesser export level or even no exports at all. I installed 6.6kw solar panels and have Goodwe 5kw inverter and applied for export limit of 5kw. 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. There are profiles that still conform the microinverters to AS4777.2:2015, but can disable Volt-Var/Volt-Watt, change the power factor to 0.9 (some grid operators require this), turn off export altogether or set specific maximum export levels like 1kW, 3kW etc., or configure to satisfy specific grid network requirements. Origin offers 8 cents per kWh until a daily export limit of 14 kWh is reached. Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. 10kW of inverters with 11.325kW of panels. and only supply me with power from the grid There are two options: 1. This is often referred to as 'network constraints'. Many NSW rural situations are limited to 3Kw export, due to the length of the transmission lines. 100% 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. 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. Hi All, All these profiles need to dance carefully around the problem. While losses increase as the solar power system size goes up, even with 10 kilowatts of panels which is twice the export limit, only 13% of generation is lost. This seems to be becoming a big problem at least locally. After all, Im a big picture kind of guy. 0000004622 00000 n I am a total newbie to this but I am unclear why export limiting is good? hour of charging is enough to drive 35km.. In writing I was advised: The installation of solar photovoltaic systems as well as the correct inverter settings are critical to ensuring customers get the most for their investment in this technology.