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So 8 months down the track are you happy with the Deye inverter? If you were to do it again would you buy the same brand again?

I have been looking at hybrid inverters, and am getting somewhat confused at times... For example, from a Deye inverter datasheet: The vendor says "the model give you a strong back up when no grid supply" and I can see that the 6K model does give a Max Continuous AC Passthrough of 40A, vs the Sofar 6K hybrid inverter's Max Output Current of 22.7A. But what is confusing me in the datasheet excerpt above is the Max AC Output Current is 30/28.7A. What is the difference? Another observation on the datasheet excerpt above is that it doesn't give a Max Input Voltage figure, just a range from 125-500V. Does that mean that the Max Input Voltage is 500V? According to the Sofar inverter datasheet the Max Input Voltage is 600V, so If I were to use 550W JA Solar mono panels (their Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) is 49.9V) I could install 2 strings of 6 panels (total Voc = 596), and 3300W per string x 2 = 6.6kW max PV array, which is under the max PV input which is 9kWp. The Deye datasheet above shows a PV string max input power of 7800W, so with 2 MPPT's does that mean that the max PV input for the inverter is 15.6kWp? Also it says that you can have 1+1 strings per MPPT, so with 2 MPPT's does that mean that you can connect 4 strings? (provided the total Voc per string is less than 500V and max PV power is less than 7800W per string). It is sooo confusing...

Does anyone have a link to the list of PEA-approved inverters?

Not a bad idea! I was thinking about sending the drone over the snake-infested uneven ground of the rice fields to the meter instead, but I do need the exercise!

I am yet to receive a reply to any of my emails to them too... I am building close to KK too and will be installing a solar system too... I would be interested to know the name of the local company if you don't mind. It's always good to know that there is local support if needed.

The news article you referenced @MJCM said that the government was going to reduce the average electricity charge of ฿5.24 per unit down to ฿4.77 per unit for May through August this year. I'm above average... My last 2 years PEA usage and costs: Can't wait to install a solar system... I'm really envious of you guys...

Same here. Thanks @Bandersnatch

Thanks for pointing that out... it does change my thinking on battery location for the Guest House. Are yours in a temperature controlled environment Crossy? For the start of our system I was planning to have the batteries outside but under cover where they (and the inverter) will not get wet or get any direct sunlight. Later, (when we build our Main House and double the size of our PV array) I will probably have a temperature controlled room in the garage for all the kit.

They certainly look good value for money too... Have you found any distributors in Thailand yet?

Thank you. A bit industrial looking but that's a very good price. Just have to hide it behind a door...

Thought so... I wonder if the same would happen to LiFePO4 batteries.

May I ask what benefits your system will gain by living in a temperature controlled environment? I assume that you are planning to use the room for your solar power inverter and batteries? Asking for a friend...

Bump! I didn't get any answers to this so I am asking again. I have no immediate plans to get an EV as our two ICE vehicles are relatively new, so V2L is not in the immediate picture. It's getting closer to the time that I need to specify my system, and I need to find a compatible battery system... 2 x 10S strings of 340W panels (total 6.8kWp) 1 x Sofar HYD 5000 ES on-grid hybrid inverter (5kW) (PEA approved list) 2 x 5kWh batteries or maybe a single 10kWh battery Any suggestions for suitable batteries?

Again it depends on your components... From the Sofar HYD 5000-ES inverter datasheet: From the Growatt SPF 5000-ES inverter datasheet: From the nRuiT Powerporter 9 battery datasheet: From the Sofar GTX5000 battery datasheet: There are lots more makes/models out there to choose from.

When my niece sent me her photos of the build last night I noticed something that did not look right... the window opening between the inside kitchen and the Thai kitchen was in the middle of the wall between 2 columns, not as I remembered it to be on the drawings. So I checked the CAD drawings, and sure enough it was located incorrectly... it should have been located hard up against the column. I contacted the builder via LINE and told him about the problem, but asked him to do nothing until I had had time to look at the issue in CAD and maybe come up with a workaround. I fiddled with it a bit this morning and came up with this arrangement for the Thai Kitchen reflecting the new window location (which would actually work better than the original layout), and sent it back to our builder. Within minutes he sent me back the following photo... the window opening had now been relocated back into the proper position by his people on site. Total time from notification of problem to rectification took only 90 minutes! Just another positive about working with AAC block walls! I will stick with the new arrangement for the Thai kitchen though (after re-centering the sinks underneath the window opening) because it really does work better.

The 2" PVC ring main for the raw water supply has been buried around the pond and has 1/2" risers and taps located at each corner. Everything has been pressure tested and no leaks found and no pump cycles after all the taps were turned off This will make life easier for the family to water their garden plants and also provides a convenient location to fill the water storage bin in the hong naam. If, at some stage in the future, we decide to keep the hong naam, we will make a more permanent solution that will include a hard-piped western style toilet complete with bum gun and wash basin and proper septic tank... at present it is a simple squat toilet only and a soakaway. As you can see from the water level in the pond FIL has not been using the sub pump to top it up... he has already cleared out most of the fish and will refill it and re-stock it once the building work is complete.

The steel roof for the raw water storage area has also been delivered and is being erected.

Work stopped for a few days as the crew decided to go home to celebrate Songkran with their families and friends, but were back on the job again today. The walls are continuing to rise and the openings for the windows have been located. RC lintels have been positioned both above and below the window openings.

Where can you buy new rubber pads, or did you just make them yourself? One of our AC unit compressors is a bit noisy too... 15 years old.

It depends on your panel sizes and how many you want to install. For example, 455W mono panels weigh 24.6±3 kg each, but 335W poly panels weigh only 22.5kg each. Not so much, but it does add up (cost-wise too). Don't forget to factor in the weight of panel supports (so you can get them facing South at the right angle for your latitude) plus the weight of the people who will be installing them, and of course the people that will be maintaining them later. Good idea for the roof, as it will cut down on rain noise inside and keep some of the heat out, but why would you bother with the walls if it is to have an open (East-facing?) section for your vehicles to enter/exit?

You should be able to buy a similar stainless steel sheet mitred bend (and other ducting, whirly-birds etc.) at any stainless steel shop that sells cooking benches, range hoods, etc. Plenty around in Ekkamai IIRC.

I've heard that mothballs (naphthalene) make a good deterrent, so I'm trying this method at my place now. I put about 20 mothballs into plastic bags and then sealed them with rubber bands. I then punched about 50 holes in each bag using a toothpick, then placed them inside inside the AC compressor housing as well as the fuse box inside our pool pump house. Seems to be working so far...

Despite a small work crew and mid-to-high forties daily temperatures, the walls are continuing to rise up. My niece takes her mother and all the family dogs out to the farm in the late afternoon to take photos for me... it's still pretty warm but not as brutal. The dogs seem to enjoy the freedom and exercise despite the heat and the dust. Everyone is praying for rain... maybe this weekend?

@Crossy, how is your system performing in this heat? Yours is not exactly in a temperature controlled environment is it? Any problems?

I think that all the levelling that is mentioned in the manual is going a bit overboard, particularly if the walls are going to be rendered then painted afterwards (which ours will be). Our builder is using a single thin bed mortar layer of about 3-5mm only, and I'm happy with that as ours are not load-bearing walls.