Application | Dual phase grid-connected with battery backup |
Location | Upper Pakenham, 70km SE Melbourne, VIC |
System Objective | Reduce power bills and provide backup power to entire house |
Commissioned | November, 2019 |
Installed PV | 10 kW |
Useable battery storage | 33 kWh |
Designed and installed by | Lee Hampson Electrical |
Living in a rural bush location, Simon and Mandy Dunstan are often faced with loss of grid power. As another summer approached, the threat of bushfire was very real so they sought a solution that gave peace of mind and also help to reduce their power bills. The all electric home uses a rather high 70 units of electricity (kWh) per day.
Shading of the solar panels was a potential issue on this site with surrounding trees. Simon and Mandy also wanted a discreet visual finish on the rooftop.
Despite having 5kW of Solar per phase, only 3.5kW was allowed to be exported back to the grid per phase, this caused the system designer to ensure that the Solar would be either used in the home or be charging the batteries, before exporting to the grid.
Solar panel optimisers were used to ensure maximum output at all times especially with the partial shading potential. Rooftop solar panels were mounted on a low angle for a discreet visual finish but also maximise peak sun hours.
The large battery bank was chosen for additional backup time and the ability to absorb the solar not used by the daytime house loads.
To get the picture of this impressive system its best to hear from home owner Simon Dunstan, please watch the video below or click here.
Battery inverter | Selectronic | 2 x SPMC481-AU, 5 kW, 48V (1 per phase) |
String inverter | ABB | 2 x 5kW UNO Selectronic Certified (1 per phase) |
Solar PV Array | LG | 30 x LG325N panels (15 per phase) |
Batteries | Power Plus | 10 x LiFe4833p LiFe Premium Rack Mount |