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. 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). 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 ?.) No unfortunately. Unfortunately, the inverters parameters such as Export Limitation are all password protected, and so far I have been unable to even determine who knows this password. A small solar system can be financially viable. I have just had a 6.6kw system installed with a Fronius 5kw inverter and am export limited to 3kw. This is done for three main reasons: In this article, Ill give a broad outline of how export limiting works and why it can be a good idea. And doing so potentially puts you running in a non compliant state. Definitely, thats an inverter that is export limited to zero. DC Input Power (Wp) 10000, from its published datasheet. Typically in the Powercor area, the export limit is 5kW of exports for each single-phase household solar PV system. Please keep the SolarQuotes blog constructive and useful with these 5 rules: 1. Three-phase homes can install up to 15 kilowatts of inverter capacity or 30 kilowatts with export limiting, except in South East Queensland where special permission is required from Energex to install an export limited inverter over 15 kilowatts. The infrastructure is not sufficiently flexible to deal with this. (Image from Finns Tesla App). In my mind though the Smart meter at the box would adjust the export limit in line with what the house is consuming? 0000001757 00000 n 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. Im on a swer line in rural south Australia. As far as I know, only solar installers can apply for export capacity in the Powercor area. 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. 0000037497 00000 n Also, given that export limited inverters (supposedly) work the same, regardless of the grid to which they are connected, why is it so, that states have different rules whereby some allow export limited inverters, and, some do not? 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. 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. Finally! 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? Nominal Output Power (W) 5000 Instead the home can benefit from a small system, as I explain here: Ah yes I see. If you cant store the power (too expensive) and you cant export it, why the requirement (or desire) to put in large systems? Would the gateway signal the micro inverters to shut down one at a time, or to all reduce output equally? 0000018244 00000 n Are Tesla Powerwall smart enough to let majority of power export to grid and only start charging battery as inverter approaches its export limit? 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. First read the section How Export Limiting Works at the top of this thread. The following is a list of the areas in case youve been missed. 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: Im surprised this hasnt hit the mainstream media yet. Definition A low voltage embedded generation connection in CitiPower and Powercor is defined as "an LV EG system with a total system capacity greater than 30kVA for a three-phase IES or non-IES (excluding ESS) network connection that is: This applies to both single-phase and three-phase properties. Australian network service providers (including CitiPower) use solar export limits to keep voltage levels in transmission lines operating within safe . 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! (Note: it is possible to install a larger system, say 10kW on a single phase property and meet the Powercor rules by export limiting the system . Why my Power Limit is set to ON with the % whereas her Power Limit is set to OFF and she has been exporting. 0000027694 00000 n Its only possible to go larger with a zero export limit: https://www.powerwater.com.au/customers/power/solar-power-systems/pv-class-requirements. 0% ) If a home cant export any power at all then there is no financial reason to install a large solar system. We have a 3kwh system and are really using as much during the day as we can. Hi All, 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. 100 litres alone means little, but if there are 100 litres per hour, this means 100 litre hours of output. 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. Victorias AusNet network area: The eastern third of Victoria, not including Melbourne or French Island. We are on a zero limited export. While export limiting is possible its not always approved. 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. 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. 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 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. and only supply me with power from the grid The inverter reduces the amount of electrical energy supplied by the solar panels. 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. Certainly this dumb meter is not capable of sending current from the inverter selectively to my home circuits and any excess to the grid? The Ugly: In these areas export limiting may not be allowed at all. Am planning to install solar 6.6 kWh system and upon checking with powercor they are giving export limit as 0 kWh. You could have mentioned that SWER stands for Single Wire Earth Return and why that matters. 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. 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. 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. There are exceptions for off-grid installations and systems that are installed with a battery. Residential properties are unlikely to be allowed to use export limiting to install even larger inverters. People have done it at fairly low cost with second hand panels and a DC pump.) 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. Im in regional WA with a rural 2 phase supply. 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! Youll also start receiving the SolarQuotes weekly newsletter, keeping you up to date on all the latest developments on Australias solar scene. Depending on their location, some may be constrained to a lesser export level or even no exports at all. More information about the program and how customers can get the most out of their rooftop solar is available at www.powercor.com.au/solar-energy 4. Single-phase properties can have up to 5 kilowatts of inverter capacity, and 3 phase properties can have up to 30 kilowatts. Am I wrong? Most systems have mostly N facing panels, so really only generate peak power for a few hours a day (often 10am>2pm approx) Real names are preferred - you should be happy to put your name to your comments.2. 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. On the main grid, single-phase properties can have 5 kilowatts of solar inverter capacity, and three-phase properties can have 15 kilowatts. Thanks so much, David. 100% 0000037686 00000 n Put down your weapons.3. Good question Tony. 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. 100% Larger inverters that are export limited are allowed on a case by case basis. ( 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? driving range of 200km depending on ambient temperature. 220 Voltage (V) measured at inverter terminals 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.. No-one seems to have replied Dirk, so I will try. 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. 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. When a home is exported limited, all the power the solar inverter can produce is available for the home to use. At the time of the powerwall install I also had the Gateway installed at an extra cost so I could keep using the generated power from the powerwall and during solar production when the powergrit fell out without danger for the grit workers because the Gateway instantly falls and prevent power to the grit. . 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; I will update the article with the information. Heres what that means. given that we are working from home all the time these days. Some say so you want to replace your system? Will this mean any additional system would be limited to 0kW output?? P/Prated (%) 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? 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. A 5 kilowatt inverter will never supply more than 5 kilowatts of power no matter how many kilowatts of panels it has. It is possible to max out the 10 kW inverter capacity with my Tesla, house load and Heat Pump hot water. hooked up to an energy efficient 44kW motor for a real-world Nobody wants to see solar energy . The battery is charging from the DC current which is before the inverter. According to NT Power and Water they will normally allow up to a 5 kilowatt inverter with single phase power and up to a 7 kilowatt inverter with 3 phase power. 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. And Set Power Limit to 100%. We respect your privacy and you can opt out from the newsletter at any time. 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? What I find is installers dont seem to like it when I tell them my plan. But a sub optimally configured grid sometimes forces installers into implementing setting that are probably less than ideal if the high voltage events in the grid were just occasions where there is too much generation and they do want have all generators throttle back to allow some time for rebalancing supply and demand. This is sufficient to charge a battery, although larger solar systems generally improve the return from batteries. ), 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 conected to a 25Kw transformer, with 5 consumers connected.). Below is the email response I received from Powercor. ), Finally understand, the article above is very well written for the layman Export limiting generally isnt permitted. Solar Analytics confirms in this scenario its only exporting up to the limit; 3kw. The fact that export limiting is necessary is not a good thing. Does anyone know how the limiter works in this scenario with 2 inverters? This could be important, given that we have a state parliamentary election due in a couple of months. We are in an area where only about 20% of the homes have solar. I am afraid Western Power is very strict. 0000038218 00000 n I could easily share my excess power for the time I am not irrigating my crops. In a Enphase system, only the Envoy can provide this. Furthermore, the sustained overvoltage inverter protection set point shall be set to 258V. Enter your postcode now. 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. . He's been reporting on Australian and international solar energy news ever since. Real names are preferred - you should be happy to put your name to your comments.2. 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. Means that it caps the amount you can reduce your bills for power used outside of daylight hours? The daily export limit is averaged across your billing period (calculated by multiplying the number of days in your billing period by your daily export limit of 14 kWh). Plus a Tesla Powerwall 2. 0000022631 00000 n Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. 0000027818 00000 n So, if a contractor or tradesman, using one of these during the day, or, another type of worker, gets home after work, and, plugs one of these in to charge, an immediate drain of 7 kW (I believe that it is actually 7.4 kW), and immediate significant drain is imposed on the grid, for several hours, during peak demand. Was sure if its been configured correctly or if this is just how it works? 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. Victorias Powercor area: Western Victoria, including a large portion of West Melbourne. 240 amended or replaced from time to time. 0000038830 00000 n I think I was partially wrong about how my PV is connected to the home and the meter. All these profiles need to dance carefully around the problem. 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. 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 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. Now, that would help protect electricity grids, especially, the fragile, decrepit SWIS grid, for the present. I installed 6.6kw solar panels and have Goodwe 5kw inverter and applied for export limit of 5kw. Amongst other things, AS4777.2015 has some requirements to shutdown on phase imbalance in a 3 phase setup. 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). sonnenBatterie Evo. South Australia Power Networks (SAPN) area: SAPN is the only distributor in South Australia. 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. Rubbing salt into the wound were situations where someone was zero export limited while their next door neighbour wasnt. 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. 0000037764 00000 n But if you dont use much electricity it may need to be very small, as I explain here: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/zero-kw-export-solar/. 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. ), 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. A man named Canute, proved that, centuries ago. What is the go generally with adding an additional solar system to your home?