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/. First read the section How Export Limiting Works at the top of this thread. embedded generation system to the CitiPower and Powercor low voltage networks. Still a very long payback period, but not as long. They did say that with future upgrades we could reapply, but I cant find a way to do this. 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. Youll also start receiving the SolarQuotes weekly newsletter, keeping you up to date on all the latest developments on Australias solar scene. In looking to the future, regardless of whether we like it, in spite of, and, despite, the great efforts of the WA state government, and its parent, the Australian feral LNP/ALP government, battery powered road vehicles will come to Australia, and, displace ICE vehicles. I live in Warrnambool, Victoria. And also is it worth installing solar with 0 kWh limit with self consumption around 20-30%( payback 6-7 years). As your sister can presumably export as much power as her solar inverter can produce it wouldnt need this device. Even if you have the Envoy-S, I believe at least on paper there was a Enphase Envoy-S (Or at least it will be expensive to set up well. 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. 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. 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. After (almost) three months with no reply, has any reason been given, as to why export limited inverters are not allowed for single phase grid connections to the SWIS grid in WA? (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 . Queenslands Ergon network area: All of Queensland on the main grid outside of South East Queensland. 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. So having a powerwall is way less useful for helping with an export limit than you would think. Its the same with kW and hours of solar electricity production. 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. So the size of the system becomes irrelevant if you can only export 3kwh (we are Regional NSW Essential Energy). 220 60% lagging 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. We are in an area where only about 20% of the homes have solar. Ill upgrade the Endeavour Energy area from Ugly to Bad, since things are clearly not all bad there. Select the AS/NZS 4777.2:2020 Australia A setting. 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. 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. Makes sense but begs my next question (sorry). The loss figures above are for Sydney and are affected by the climate. 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. is it 10kW AC or DC?? Im in the Endeavour Energy area. Powercor will respond in one of three ways: Approve the size system you've requested Limit the amount of power you can export to the grid (e.g. 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. 207 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). All these profiles need to dance carefully around the problem. 0000022631 00000 n Export limiting generally isnt permitted. Single-phase properties can have up to 5 kilowatts of inverter capacity, and 3 phase properties can have up to 30 kilowatts. People have done it at fairly low cost with second hand panels and a DC pump.) %%EOF The Ugly: In these areas export limiting may not be allowed at all. Have a good christmas. The solar PV system is connected to the network via an inverter. I wouldnt drive anything else. endstream endobj 307 0 obj <>/Metadata 15 0 R/Pages 14 0 R/StructTreeRoot 17 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences<>>> endobj 308 0 obj <. 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. Powercor's network solutions manager Claire Cass said of 32,580 customers connected to solar with Powercor in the last 18 months, only 2023 could not export power. 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. Interesting article. But still the solar companies keep trying to sell it to me.. But you probably would not recover the cost of the battery within its lifetime. 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. sonnenBatterie Evo. (2nd one APPROVAL/SITE SPECIFIC CONDITION(s): Total Solar Export must be limited to 5kW). Are Tesla Powerwall smart enough to let majority of power export to grid and only start charging battery as inverter approaches its export limit? An option is to take your pumps off-grid and run them independently off a separate off-grid solar system. MPPT2 always shows better performance than MPPT, usually quite significantly better. When a home is exported limited, all the power the solar inverter can produce is available for the home to use. Rubbing salt into the wound were situations where someone was zero export limited while their next door neighbour wasnt. 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 . Ready for some quotes? Youll also start receiving the SolarQuotes weekly newsletter, keeping you up to date on all the latest developments on Australias solar scene. Great article and content on this website 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. Many Australian homes are not allowed to export more than 5 kW to the grid. Actually I made a chart showing the percentage of electricity lines in each state that were SWER but I left it out for the sake of brevity. Thats a huge jump and even a smidge higher than the Powercor network wide average of 89%. Fronius Wattpilot: A Smart EV Charger With A Short Warranty, You Wont Believe How Dumb The NSW Governments New Battery Calculator Is. Thats a furphy from go to whoa. 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. There are versions without this consumption monitoring (old Non -s version of Envoy and even the Envoy-S without consumption monitoring). This could be important, given that we have a state parliamentary election due in a couple of months. As per current standards, a single phase premises is limited to 10kW generation and 5kW export. 0000001260 00000 n No unfortunately. The installer has been able to get the system through WP in the past as the inverter can limit the export to grid to 3kva. The MSO helps us manage and keep our network safe for solar customers. Thanks so much, David. The good news is, if you had a total of 6.6 kilowatts of solar youd probably loose very little due to export limiting if you consume half the output of a 3 kilowatt system and can export 3 kilowatts. I havent made any applications yet, but Ill certainly be asking this question when I get quotes!. The fact is that Powercor does not set an upper limit on the size solar panel system you can install, up to 30kW. 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? Even if I were exporting 100% of it, it still would only bring down my bills by a tiny amount per month. 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. both said I guess it would be technically possible to have a solar system with a battery but still be connected to the grid as backup. Is this default, or would it be programmed in if the distributor required it? . We respect your privacy and you can opt out from the newsletter at any time. If that is the case it seems counter intuitive to me as I dont know if demand will outstrip production until I actually turn the appliance (eg A/C) on and check the display. (We are conected to a 25Kw transformer, with 5 consumers connected.). 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. Would the gateway signal the micro inverters to shut down one at a time, or to all reduce output equally? 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). %PDF-1.4 % Generation sources can be, but are not limited to solar, wind and batteries. 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. Can anyone shed any light for me? We installed solar power in November last year and were refused export (zero export). What am I missing? 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. What Happens to the Surplus Power That Can't Be Exported to the Grid? So the solar inverter has to have its own energy meter installed in your switchboard one that talks to the inverter to tell it when power sent into the grid reaches the export limit. 0000001575 00000 n Typically in the Powercor area, the export limit is 5kW of exports for each single-phase household solar PV system. 306 47 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. That is correct. Now, that would help protect electricity grids, especially, the fragile, decrepit SWIS grid, for the present. How do I get around this with SAPN , am I allowed to export limit on a swer line in Sth Aust. What made the situation all the more frustrating is periods of high congestion which can threaten the stability of a local network can be quite brief. So far I have not seen much more than 5kW DC anyway, but in summer I would expect to see a curve thats flattened at the top during the high sun phase, as it is cut off by the inverter. Thus if my system is at maximum output, and I am using 2kW, only 3 kW is being exported to the grid. Finally! Put down your weapons.3. 0000027818 00000 n Has the oppressive authority in WA ever given a reason for not allowing export limited inverters in WA? Regarding batteries, as we all know from our mobile phones, constantly being charged and discharged, will deteriorate much quicker than PV panels (and the same that goes for phones, laptops, and your electric toothbrush also goes for solar and electric vehicle batteries, unfortunately). Im on a swer line in rural south Australia. Is there anything that can be done about it? The metered version comes with extra current clamps to hook up to the grid side so you can do consumption monitoring and export limiting. 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. Amongst other things, AS4777.2015 has some requirements to shutdown on phase imbalance in a 3 phase setup. A small solar system can be financially viable. I have an existing 3.5kW PV system with Solis inverter. 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.. Any ideas of how I can get a system that is actually going to generate enough power to charge a battery? Enter your postcode now. 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). 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. amended or replaced from time to time. Of more concern is occasional spikes in consumption which go past the 5kw limit. Were continually investing in our networks and aim to keep customers informed if additional export capacity becomes available in their area. When it says that you can export 5kw, does that mean you can export up to 5kw PER HOUR? So it is unfortunate that it is necessary, but good that people can still install a larger system and generally have insignificant losses. 100 litres alone means little, but if there are 100 litres per hour, this means 100 litre hours of output. 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. Thus, the question arises; if a single phase domestic rooftop photovoltaic system, involving a Goodwe GW-5000-MS inverter, and, 10kW of solar panels generating capacity, is installed (across up to three MPPTs), would the federal solar panels rebate apply to all of the 10kW of solar panels, or, to only the first 6.66 (or whatever is the exact applicable quantity) of the solar panels generating capacity? Some battery powered cars can not be programmed to only recharge at particular times of the day, and, so, if someone drives one to work (that is, if and when battery powered cars become affordable to the working class) and home after work, then puts the car on the charger, the drain to the grid, that would consequently occur, during peak demand hours, needs to be covered. Larger inverters that are export limited are allowed on a case by case basis. &K?BK:T$A1Cn 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 Quotes vary and the deal has to be value/advantage logical or whats the point. It can also only provide this when it is running. I think I was partially wrong about how my PV is connected to the home and the meter. 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? 10kW of inverters with 11.325kW of panels. For any amount above the daily export, you will receive our standard retailer feed-in tariff of 5 . Allows installation but has a zero export limit. We might still be willing to do this all the same, from an environmental viewpoint. 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: 0000007057 00000 n I cant see any reference to the NT. P/Prated (%) Victorias AusNet network area: The eastern third of Victoria, not including Melbourne or French Island. 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. Swearing revenge, he began his lifelong quest to reduce the harm the environment could cause. 0000004736 00000 n 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. startxref Am I wrong? Depending on their location, some may be constrained to a lesser export level or even no exports at all. I am a bit confused about export. This is often referred to as 'network constraints'. 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. How is export limited for micro-inverters? I have noticed that one string seems to be performing well under the performance of the slightly smaller string. 0000006578 00000 n It owns and operates the states largest electricity distribution network, and is responsible for more than half a million poles and over 88,000 kilometres of powerlines. It does this by adjusting the MPPT but instead of working to maximize power from the panels it reduces it. driving range of 200km depending on ambient temperature. Youre using a total of four kilowatts to cook your lunch, so your home is exporting 4 kilowatts, which is below the limit. I am not sure whether it has been explicitly explained, but, what exactly, is the limit of panels generating capacity, that is covered by the federal solar panels rebate? Origin offers 8 cents per kWh until a daily export limit of 14 kWh is reached. For example, our Solar Enablement program is intended to allow more customers to connect a 5kVa solar PV system with export capacity. The solar PV system is connected to the network via an inverter. Okay, so that heading may be a bit of an exaggeration, but improvements the company has carried out appear to have made quite a difference. 2. I have 3 x PV systems on one phase. 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. 2. It is possible to max out the 10 kW inverter capacity with my Tesla, house load and Heat Pump hot water. You could buy a battery, charge it on the weekend and export during week nights. While the Envoy is an important part of the system, the micros largely operate independently of the Envoy, and in a lot of cases can work without the Envoy at all. What is the go generally with adding an additional solar system to your home? Does anyone have similar experience with powercor? 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. 0000038830 00000 n While export limiting is possible its not always approved. In addition, all modern solar inverters must comply with AS4777.2015 at least. STCs can be received for panel capacity up to one-third greater than the inverter capacity. 0000009027 00000 n Select your country/region. 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. Will this mean any additional system would be limited to 0kW output?? But you will probably find that there is another setting that it will shutdown when 10 minute average voltage is a measly 255v. 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. 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. 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. 258 Victorias Jemena network area: A small but crowded chunk of North and Western Melbourne. Efficiency has and will improve further over time, but never to the point of perpetuity. VAr (var % rated VA) Surely the distributors capping what you can export to the grid is a bad thing? When a home is exported limited, all the power the solar inverter can produce is available for the home to use. Installers must also follow the recommendations of the inverter manufacturer and they may say the limit for panel capacity is less than one-third more than the panels capacity. The data has 5KW flat lining confirming more is being generated. 0 at night or not enough at day time ? 2. Queenslands Energex area: South East Queensland. ), 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? I could not convince him that I knew what I was talking about! Nominal Output Power (W) 5000 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. 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. Some networks will allow larger sizes than those outlined below, pending specific approval from the network. The fact that export limiting is necessary is not a good thing. 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, Off the main grid, rural properties can have 3 kilowatts of inverter capacity. I believe it must have been set up during installation, but the installer company claims that this is handled by Growatt themselves. Wouldnt it be better for the inverter to display its total actual potential output under current conditions? 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. 0000004622 00000 n Sometimes Powercor can reduce that to a lower figure, or even set a zero-export limit. Assume positive intention.4. Do you know the situation here? 207 It is just the placement of the meter and the current sensor that controls the limiting. 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! Export limiting does limit the inverter output, but only as needed to keep the export power below the limit. Definitely, thats an inverter that is export limited to zero. NSWs Ausgrid Network Area: This covers East Sydney, Newcastle, and out to Merriwa. Powercor's technical assessment aims for these works to enable at least 80% of new solar applications to export 5 kW. 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. Self confessed newbie to the mechanics of Solar so bear with me. 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. ) Hi All, But if you suddenly switch off everything, there is more surplus solar power than youre allowed to export. Ready for some quotes? Can one have micro-inverter panels without a gateway, and how would that be limited? I think the installers like the Volt-watt modes, because if you dont know where to look they hid the problem at your expense anyway. 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.