sezze

4 hours ago, peterfranks said:

Apologies of this is a stupid question.

 

My roof is only 18°, as I use high quality imported clay tiles with double lock etc, which according to the manufacturer brochure have been tested and proven watertight at 17°.

 

Would you think it is possible to replace the tiles with solar panels, and make it waterproof?

Not replace the tiles , just get the right mounting system .

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/cpac-solar-mounting-i2149586530.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.11.1c396f05YgxJn6

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/cpac-solar-mounting-i3365338956.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.13.1c396f05YgxJn6

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/psi-solar-cell-rail-mounting-i3538421834-s13202715717.html?

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/solar-cell-tile-roof-hook-i3226792818-s12020723114.html?

There are for each type of tile options to make them fit on a roof .

I do hear what you say , but let me ask you this . Did you ever in Thailand see something else ? Were you ever in the impression that buying xxx brand made a lot of difference ?

What does make a difference : buying a decent brand gives you a bit of security . In after sales then it is all up to the salesperson/shop/maintenance  .Most shops only sell stuff and got no clue whatever you are actually buying , let alone give you any decent afterservice . Best chances are with specialist shops , especially for aircons , there are some very specialist shops around . Problem with aircons is that in fact they are limited to the basic technology . Meaning , a aircon is a simple machine , and people might expect too much ( especially if the installation was faulty at 1st) .

I have seen and heard good and bad reports about all brands around , some brands are worse then others but not 1 can give you 100% satisfaction at all times.

Any decent brand of aircon should keep you happy for at least 2 y . After that , well then it is a bit of luck ( or call it bad luck) . Since then the aftersales might become needed and it is always where the problem is . If after 2y a unit fails , try a good shop to repair the issue . If not , just buy new . It is Thailand , if you ever imagined otherwise , then you better stop drinking .

That certainly is a difficult question . IMHO , for the next 6-12 months , i would certainly guess rising prices . This thx to inflation and energy costs rising in several parts of the world ( Europe) . Together with also electric cars ( sales numbers there very high , creating shortage on batteries ) i would expect for the coming y higher prices . On the possible lower price i can see only 1 thing . That is a big crisis , meaning the inflation together with energy crisis , will make the economy totally grinding to a halt .There are signs that it is happening right now , but lot's of money is still flowing to renewables .

On the other things needed for a installation . Inverters will go down in price and newer models will come out . Chip shortages are still a case , but i expect this to slowly recovering .Batteries are a different story . They will almost certain go up in price . Battery shortage is already the case for cars , and lithium prices are rising for a while .

If you check the situation and will invest now in panels then it is needed to ask yourself more questions .

A will you go with the battery option , it is the best , but also the most expensive . Solar panels are 2nd most expensive item . Having them already , you can already be saving electricity just by adding a supercheap inverter . Even when they are not ideally installed and everything , solar panels will make electricity if they see light .

4 minutes ago, Pink7 said:

40 meters, on top of garage

 

Pink

on 400 V system , 40m , 4mm2 is about 1% loss , so ok .

https://www.solar-wind.co.uk/info/dc-cable-wire-sizing-tool-low-voltage-drop-calculator

4 minutes ago, sezze said:

They are cables . You do have 4mm2 and 6mm2 . In case your panels are wired in series and are not far from from the inverter ( every m more you get more losses ) 4mm2 is good . In parallel or long distance to inverter , then it is upto 6mm2 .

Do you really need 100m ? 100 m is a lot , how far are the panels to your inverter ?

15 hours ago, Pink7 said:

I need to order 2 x 100 m solar cable. PV1-F 4 mm ? 

 

I found this on shopee. 4mm2 ok? any views on levels of quality/price on solar cables?

 

Pink 

They are cables . You do have 4mm2 and 6mm2 . In case your panels are wired in series and are not far from from the inverter ( every m more you get more losses ) 4mm2 is good . In parallel or long distance to inverter , then it is upto 6mm2 .

6 hours ago, PR3 said:

I'll bear all this in mind when I go spending in the morning i looked online it says 10.55 amp short circuit and 9.8 nominal so should be okay . 

They'll likely spend a week or more in store-room before I do anything with them are there any special considerations for storage I have an 8yo son and he's adventurous. 

Cheers.

 

Well  , panels are pretty sturdy , as they are able to withstand years and years of weather , including hail and storms . I'd say , leave them in the carton , and put them straight up against a wall .

Things to look out for are , somebody walking on the panels (like a adventurous kid) and any light on the panels will create electricity . That electricity can potentially start a fire , inside the carton it is certainly no problem .  In case you unpacked them already , face them front side vs the wall and make sure the wires ( connectors) can't touch anything .

26 minutes ago, PR3 said:

That's a very good point, the inverter is for 2x11amp strings. 

I'll have to check the panels max output, I went to the same shop the other day to do precisely that and forgot my reading glasses..Lol...the joys of ageing.

I'll check tomorrow and report back...oh <deleted> I'll be crossing my fingers on this one...eek

Most panels will create higher voltage , but not that much rise in amps , in fact , i did not see a lot of +11 amp panels as of yet . I think your panels will be like 46/47v and around 9.8 amp , maybe up to 10.2 .

1 hour ago, PR3 said:

Hi Gents,

 

I see this 5kv Sofar inverter has two separate PV inputs,

I've looked extensively online and cannot ascertain whether they're seperate circuits

i.e.the two inputs can be of different wattage/voltage and one won't affect the other if shaded for instance.

Many Thanks.

PR3.

Those are 2 strings , each with it's MPPT controller . They can be other side of house , or other angle . Inside the power will be combined , to create 1 flow of electricity .

The strings on this type of inverter is series creating high voltage . In this case , per string each 600V maximum . The voltage of the panels is always mentioned under VOC ( the highest number on the spec ) . So if you got 10 panels in series , and lets say they are 46 V , then you got a 460V string . However many panels on the market are still like 350watt panels , so in that case you would never be able to reach the 5000W output . So in order to get it , a 2nd string can be attached with also a number of panels , creating higher output .

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I purchased some welding cables that supposedly are good for 150A for a couple of hundred baht.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/bonya-5-10-15-20-35-sq-mm-pvc-i941732067-s8357498400.html

 

They need ferrules to install in the inverter and breakers ....... didn't have any so cut the copper ends off some heavy duty copper connectors (I already had a box of them), then hammered them round the ends of the cables.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/lang-80pcs-copper-battery-cable-connector-terminal-open-lugs-wire-terminals-i2999368032-s10997827809.html

 

You can also use 4mm single cable (good for 25-32A) then just wire them in parallel to get the amps you need. 4 in parallel will let you draw 100-125A from your battery pack (about 10bht/m). Available from any local DIY store at 10bht/m, places like Lazada want silly money for this.

Battery started cables are a good cheap source also , available anywere , for a few 100 baht .

9 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Unless your home has a history of lightning strikes, why would you need that protection?

IMHO it's nothing but a little extra money in the solar scammers pockets.

(like the 'special' wires they want you to use).

 

Q: How many people have you encountered who had lightning strikes on their solar equipment?

A: None, same as me.

Correct , however , there are lightning strikes on homes every single day , and i do know people who did have it . There was no solar installation there , but that is beside the point i think . Problem with solar is that there are high voltages , and they do keep on generating electricity even when the house is completely on fire ( many times dangerous for firefighters these days , as are the lithium batteries when there is a fire in them ) . Surge protectors are near the cheapest item in a solar installation , only a few 100 baht . For that price , why skip on it ? Taking a 50k to several 100k of installation and then let some extra safety let go for a few 100 baht ...  I am all in for saving some money but for that amount of money , i wouldn't skip it .

2 hours ago, Encid said:

So using Crossy's formula... 330W x .8 efficiency x 5 hours production x 11 panels = 14.52 kW of forecast average daily production (dependent of course on many variables). 

 

Right @Crossy?

 

Make the formula much easier ... installed power  X 4 . In this case its 3630 watt (11 x 330) X 4 = 14.55 kWh .

Time and date at the immigration counter does count for immigration . So how long you travel towards there does not matter . Also , before you did get a 1 day free overstay , idk if that still is the case  . I had it once and they did actually changed the stamp to the day before .

On 7/21/2022 at 7:07 AM, Sametboy2019 said:

My worry is that almost every Thai house after a few years has rising damp of some kind wether it comes through the walls near a bathroom or from just the fact there is no damp course or polyurethane sheet under the oversite.

My friend is currently having a house built  and they have just filled the ring beam up with soil and poured a concrete slab over it. 

The builder told him there is waterproofer in the concrete but im dubious. Even if there is its probably not suffecient!

Even if it a few Baht , or even free , provided by you , they many many times forget it , and/or do not add it while you did ask them to . 2nd reason is , are you 100% sure it is damp rising ? I mean , most houses to get water on the wall , from various sources ( the rain itself , aircon condensate , bathroom ..... ) . You only need a sip of water going inside the wall , it will make the paint peel off in blisters in a few years . Especially on outside wall , many times the lack of waterproof cement , together with the splash of rain , will make the wall suck up water .

Easy to fix , depending on the situation , yes or no . Anyway , most of the times it is no big issue , unless you are working with gypsum boards . Gypsum does not like water at all ( or is it opposite ... ) .Cement doesn't care about water . Yes you do get peeling or fungus , but there are products for it , and besides requireing more frequent repaints and uses of fungus treatment , there is no issue ( prob the reason why they do not use the waterproofing at all in the 1st place ) .

7 hours ago, smiggley said:

What happened to the common cold or influenza have they disappeared because of new covid strains?????

No it is around and this year a lot (in Europe) . However there is a huge outbreak going on , but since most are vaccinated and came in contact with Covid before , the health risks are increasingly less then before . I had covid last month , and on the place i work , i know and heard of several others who are home with positive covid . Many aren't in the statistics anymore , since hospitals are in no way in trouble anymore . Maybe some companies get in trouble because too many get it in too short time frame but that's about it . This will be the case in all other places in this world also . Is covid away , nope , it will never go away anymore . Will it stay a issue ? , well no because it is less and less dangerous .

solar panels can stand normal weather including even heavy hail or high wind speeds . Missiles and rockets , are not included in the tests , and no , they do not survive it . This post is useless , since if anybody here is involved in missiles and rockets , they are not interested in "how are my solar panels doing" but rather in surviving themselves . In order of normal weather or even very heavy weather , yes they will survive most of the time . Standard hail or storm is no issue , storms who do bring down homes , and hails the size of eggs , well thats different , but then it is all looking on how the home survived itself . Solar panels are strong , as strong as normal homes , not bunkers ....

On 7/6/2022 at 3:34 PM, sammieuk1 said:

The clever Finns have made a sand battery that heats up to 500 degrees and lasts for months using summer heat from solar and wind to store for the winter looks like a very cheap way of green power when scaled up ????

Some commercial solar farms already use similar tech to heat up salt , creating 24h solar energy ( solar to heat , heat to hot salt melted , melted salt to water , water to steam , and steam to power a classic turbine ) . This is possible in lower scale also , even with less heat , using sand ( you lose a lot of power since most energy is stored in phase shifts, solid to liquid and liquid to gas) . However , scaling it down also means scaling down funds . The more commercial it gets , to more funds are available to make it usable and productive , in case of electricity production but also in money production . For home markets , this is how it fails. Nr1 these systems are complex ( well more complex then a boiler or air conditioner , i work chem process operator so for me this is peanuts ) , so not useful for home use . Nr 2 these systems got many potential failures , see nr 1 . Nr 3 since they are more complex , they do involve more costs in forms of initial investment and in forms of maintenance . Both are out of the question for home owners . 

I am all for the energy neutral or even positive homes , and yes , we can do something ( temporary , since human population keeps growing) to stop increased CO2 emissions . This however is not for home use .

Do however not worry , there are new systems/batteries underway . Storing energy into heat is not for all people , it is only for company/commercial use , while it is a viable source . I however know that most people do not have all the knowledge i got , so , no heat is no resource for normal people .

On 7/3/2022 at 1:46 AM, steve187 said:

get a 30 day visa exempt entry, and then extend at local immigration office for 30 days 1,900thb,

may need a flight out of the country within 30 days of arrival to keep the airline happy,

you will also need a tm30, and there are mixed reports of tm6 still be required, if you can still do a tm6 it would be best to do so, as immigration may require it

It requires 2 things i do not like , the TM30 and especially , the stupid flights out , which from Udon to BKK and later to Laos is just a joke . As far as i read , the TM6 is still there , so i do need to fill in official paper on how many days i stay and when my flight out is and flight number . This means a confirmed booking , which i do understand , but booking 2 flights ,Udon to BKK/DMK and then to Laos Vientiane , while i can just go by bus for shorter time and less money ,  just feels so stupid . Cancelling 2 flights , while just booking a hotel and then cancelling , way easier ... . Ps i i do know airline will ask my visa or onward travel plans , so i do need to show them something . They did always ask me before , and expect it not to be any different now , as it should be ( i go in a country with rules , i need to follow the rules , so 30 day visa with 52 days stay is not possible) .

Personally i think i made my decision , just book a hotel for 30 days , somewhere in the middle , and cancel it later , very easy ,np ... .
 

52 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

No problem.

You are actually extending your visa exempt entry 

TM7 form .

1900baht.

Also few basic photocopies of passport. 

Apply couple of weeks prior to expiry of your 30 day stamp. 

Im not OP , but i got similar questions .

I want to go in October-November for around 55 days . Before i always took a single entry tourist visa , but the paperwork involved has gone up again . Since i am staying for most part in GF home , i do not have a hotel reservation ( needed for at least half of journey ... ) or invitation letter , including id card and house registration all Certified Copy ( were can she do that... pff ) .

Anyway , the easier options are :

- book hotel for half of my stay at 1 of the websites , and cancel it after i get my visa

- visa run ( i think it is possible now?)

or and now we get it ...

Can i just enter with 30 day stamp and extend it at local immigration office ( Udon Thani ) ? Before there was the TM6 which you needed to say length of stay , and outbound flight . Since TM6 is gone (correct?) i do not need to say it . Prob the airline will ask for my visa , do i need to book a air ticket out , in the middle , which i need to scrap , so it is no problem ? 

Or finally get the GF doing the paperwork ( no computer in house , so will be serious hassle ) and where can she get Certified Copy ?

I think the hotel option looks the most promising , easy to book and cancel and no costs involved at all , would that be a issue ?

THX

TBH , GMO's are not something i do like right now . I do work in chemical industry and do have a chem degree . Will GMO's do harm health ? no prob not . However , it might/will destroy habitats of a food chain . Give me a closer to nature fruit rather then a mass produced food item . Is it healthier , prob not , does it taste better , sometimes it does ( but never worse) .

15 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

In this instance , Western Countries are better at wire management .

Maybe if Thais complained more about the ugly wires , then the authorities might to something to fix the issue ?

Yes , but we pay prob about 4 times more for electric ( per kWh used) and 2 times more for internet . Electric bill in my Western EU country now , 2 months ago new contract , +/-2000 euro ( exch rate 36 means 72000 baht) for 4000 kWh , so thats 333 kWh/m . In Thailand i pay for same amount of electric +/-1600 baht/m or 20.000 baht .

Pls stop complaining ... you want premium high end everything , you will pay for premium high end . It comes with a lot of other stuff also like rules and regulations and paperwork where you do not find front or back of it all .

You all now why you came to Thailand . Being a premium high end destination was not it . You could have stayed in your Western country also .There is a word  which says , you pay peanuts you get monkeys ...  Don't like it go back to your Western country ... I did just came back after 2.5y absence due to covid , and OMG i know again why i went there so many times before and was building something there for later .