powercor solar export limit

you request 5kW and Powercor says you can only export 2.5kW) Set a 'zero export' limit - i.e. I cant see any reference to the NT. The ideal way to measure the power flow in and out of your house would be to ask your existing electricity meter. Thats a huge jump and even a smidge higher than the Powercor network wide average of 89%. Providing the export limiting is done on the meter current as described above ( not on the inverter output current), you can generate more than the export limit if you are consuming enough power to make up the difference between generation and export limit. 0000004059 00000 n ), 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. 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. The good news is, even in a worst-case situation, the amount will be fairly minor. If your solar company provides you with the Solar pre-approval (SPA) number for your pre-approval, we can check specifically what was decided on with regards to exporting. 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? 0000004622 00000 n But if you suddenly switch off everything, there is more surplus solar power than youre allowed to export. Also note that for new installations in WA, only residences with inverters of 5 kilowatts or less can receive the states, Western Australias Western Power area: Perth and South West WA. The Solar installer is telling me that they just started getting 0kW approvals back for about 9 out of 10 requests and so they dont believe they will be able to do many installs at all going forward. 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. Michael caught the solar power bug after purchasing components to cobble together a small off-grid PV system in 2008. 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. Can I share my power excess with me neighbour? 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. We have a 3kwh system and are really using as much during the day as we can. A rooftop solar system's grid export limit is determined by the local electricity network operator - sometimes on a case-by-case basis, sometimes according to an across-the-board standard, and . 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! But if you had a larger solar system with a larger inverter that was export limited to 5 kilowatts it could potentially supply 2 kilowatts to your home while exporting 5 kilowatts to the grid. 0000037764 00000 n The reason why your sisters inverter is different from yours is your Goodwe would be because yours has a current transformer device that lets it limit the amount of power it exports to the grid. 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. 00@ Oo This is assuming that my understanding of what I have read, is correct; that such a system would be permitted, in a single phase connection to the SWIS grid. It also allows you to focus on increasing your self consumption which in turn provides a better return on investment. I know in the movie the Bad was worse than the Ugly, but thats not the way Im doing it. I think it is illegal in WA to rewire your inverter or modify any parameters, as it may result in more than 5kW being sent to the grid, so I will just bite the bullet and see that I use as much solar as possible. The fact is that Powercor does not set an upper limit on the size solar panel system you can install, up to 30kW. hb```f``sd`c`edd@ A >hp`86s8::\ MNmOe0pYuR`i g G7@ $n@]A#&S_2.dx f No unfortunately. 100% My solar installer applied to Powercor to install a 5.4kw system at my Point Cook address. "Some of these customers may have received approval to export since, due to network improvements made since their connection." Instead the home can benefit from a small system, as I explain here: Ah yes I see. 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. 0000017636 00000 n The whole system of domestic rooftop photovoltaic systems, needs to be reviewed; by both the legislatures and regulators, and, by the components (especially the inverters) manufacturers. Now, that would help protect electricity grids, especially, the fragile, decrepit SWIS grid, for the present. AC Output Data So, the whole of the system of restrictions and available components, for domestic rooftop photovoltaic systems, needs to be reviewed, to provide for greater usage demands during peak demand hours, greater battery storage provisions (and financial assistance for householders to implement big behind the meter battery storage systems, and, regarding the fragile, decrepit SWIS grid, the allowance of large capacities of panel generation, limited export, inverters, such as the hybrid one that I proposed. I am a bit confused about export. If you are in the solar industry - try to get to the truth, not the sale.5. I do NOT have a device in my meter box that could tell the inverter anything about consumption and feed in energy. 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: 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. Youll also start receiving the SolarQuotes weekly newsletter, keeping you up to date on all the latest developments on Australias solar scene. People have done it at fairly low cost with second hand panels and a DC pump.) When a home is exported limited, all the power the solar inverter can produce is available for the home to use. No active system controls whether you use inverter of imported power. 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, 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. sonnenBatterie Evo. But given average voltages are probably well above what they should be in lots of places, and once you factor in your local voltage rise, and pretty low values under AS4777 etc, there is not much room to play with until the distributors get the act together and deliver us power that better matches the 230v standard they are required to deliver us. Thus if my system is at maximum output, and I am using 2kW, only 3 kW is being exported to the grid. All is explained here: http://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/kw-and-kwh-what-is-the-difference/, ( 5kW per hour is a non-sensical unit unless you want to describe an acceleration of energy! In contrast, most other network distributors set a strict upper limit on the size solar panel system you can install, typically 10kW for single-phase properties. As far as I know, only solar installers can apply for export capacity in the Powercor area. 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. 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; ), 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? 0% 306 47 Some say so you want to replace your system? 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? The metered version comes with extra current clamps to hook up to the grid side so you can do consumption monitoring and export limiting. If the transformer capacity is limited, you could install solar initially with a low export limit (eg 1 kW) and then have your export limit increased when the transformer was . This certainly goes well beyond initial configuration and reporting. 220 Real names are preferred - you should be happy to put your name to your comments.2. Because you dont see the rather obvious shutdowns (or see them less), you might not notice your solar might be throttled back on a regular basis. In addition, all modern solar inverters must comply with AS4777.2015 at least. This could be important, given that we have a state parliamentary election due in a couple of months. Would the gateway signal the micro inverters to shut down one at a time, or to all reduce output equally? Only residential homes with inverters of 5 kilowatts or less can receive the states. If that doesnt worry you then you can get a battery and just hope it mostly pays for itself. This seems to be becoming a big problem at least locally. Perhaps it is worth mentioning that the stricter export limitation becomes, it will make a stronger argument for batteries. Information on whether export limiting is allowed can be found here, but I am going to present the information differently for both ease of use and to make my boss think Ive done something useful. Im surprised this hasnt hit the mainstream media yet. 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). 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? 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. 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. 0000009027 00000 n I have divided Australias regions into three categories: The information below assumes the property is on the main grid. 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. 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. At times MPPT1 is at 600 odd watts while MPPT2 is at 2500 odd watts. Australian Rooftop Solar Powers Rise Astounding, But.. Australias Emissions: Electricity Down, Transport Up, Compare Feed-In Tariffs And Electricity Plans, Solar Export Limiting What It Is & Why Its Useful. Or is there a build up of voltage in the system? Ready for some quotes? Sorry if dumb question. Its the same with kW and hours of solar electricity production. Theyd be higher for a sunnier location such as Perth and lower for cloudier places such as Melbourne or Hobart. Or, if you want a lower cost method of dealing with blackouts, you can get yourself a small generator. If you are using Enphase microinverters which is extremely likely the whole system can be export limited using the Enphase Envoy gateway. Thanks for the information. Have a good christmas. This is sufficient to charge a battery, although larger solar systems generally improve the return from batteries. March 2022 6 Powercor means Powercor Australia Limited, ABN 89 064 651 109. portal means the eConnect portal for CitiPower and . 100% 0000038752 00000 n A small solar system can be financially viable. While there are some energy management measures that could help around the edges, I cant think of any good solutions for the typical business. The majority of customers are approved for the export level they request. So-called wasting of the extra electricity produced is irrelevant: sunlight is FREE, and whether I use it or not has no bearing on the environment. 0000007057 00000 n I dont quite understand how the DC energy from the inverter can go to my home circuits first, before any excess current is fed into the grid. For example, if you are export limited, only the Envoy-S with consumption monitoring can provide this. If you are export limited, the only way to implement that is with some sort of meter as Ronald says. 220 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. There are lots of variations to this theme, however. We do not prevent customers from installing solar for their own self-consumption. Voltage (V) measured at inverter terminals Our Solar & Battery Calculator can give an idea of if its likely to pay: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar-calculator/. 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. 0000029011 00000 n It appears the wire from the inverter is directly connected to my main fuse for the house circuits. The power is first used to meet household consumption, with any surplus exported to the grid for other people to use. Great article and content on this website A man named Canute, proved that, centuries ago. Makes sense but begs my next question (sorry). Im in regional WA with a rural 2 phase supply. Though endless quibbling over unnecessary details might keep the presses churning, a FACT remains that Ive been using ever-more-cost-effective batteries since 1980. So it is unfortunate that it is necessary, but good that people can still install a larger system and generally have insignificant losses. A Decent Battery From sonnen. amended or replaced from time to time. Sorry Andrew: NQR. Its moderately cheaper and the solar feed-in tariff youll receive will lower your electricity bills and increase the amount of clean energy available for others to use. Victorias CitiPower area: The Melbourne Central Business District. (We are conected to a 25Kw transformer, with 5 consumers connected.). (2nd one APPROVAL/SITE SPECIFIC CONDITION(s): Total Solar Export must be limited to 5kW). The standard relating to solar inverters is about to change. Thats a furphy from go to whoa. 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. Quotes vary and the deal has to be value/advantage logical or whats the point. The percentage var/VA level leading is the inverter sourcing vars to the grid, whereas the percentage var/VA level lagging is the inverter sinking vars from the grid. 3. When it says that you can export 5kw, does that mean you can export up to 5kw PER HOUR? And doing so potentially puts you running in a non compliant state. So what goes throgh the meter, in either direction, is the difference between what you generate and what you use. An option is to take your pumps off-grid and run them independently off a separate off-grid solar system. Can one have micro-inverter panels without a gateway, and how would that be limited? I still dont know if they have programmed the inverter to reduce the overall output by a percentage or not. But whether or not extra solar capacity will pay for itself is another matter. SAPN has told me I cant have more than a 5 kw inverter , but thats just not enough. 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. I think I was partially wrong about how my PV is connected to the home and the meter. If you can go outside and scream at the top of your lungs with no chance your neighbours will hear you, then theres a good chance you are off the main grid and face much stricter limits on exports. is there a inverter that stops power going back I suspect that it is likely, that that they are all signaled equally, not in truth I dont know for sure. I can also see specific profiles for other grid networks, such as Ausgrid and Ergon, that likely have specific requirements of the inverters. I have solar on my house and having it installed at an investment property, but not sure what to do now as there will be no benefit of feed in tariff. So you may decide adding a second system is worthwhile, or you may want to put it off until your current system develops problems and replace it with one large new system. But just note, not everyone Envoy has required bits to do export limiting. In reality, the losses will be considerably less. See image at http://www.johnrogers.com.au/battery_charging_noon.jpg. 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. I am on my second Tesla EV and the new one has a rage of 700km if youre not a lead foot. Furthermore, the sustained overvoltage inverter protection set point shall be set to 258V. In future, will powercor allow export limit if they upgrade transformer? 0000018244 00000 n 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. Hi Its only possible to go larger with a zero export limit: https://www.powerwater.com.au/customers/power/solar-power-systems/pv-class-requirements. 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. Why my Power Limit is set to ON with the % whereas her Power Limit is set to OFF and she has been exporting. 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. 352 0 obj <>stream 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. 0000004736 00000 n I am surprised to hear that Powercor has allowed you to increase your exports, but that is good to hear. 0000038218 00000 n 0% Still a very long payback period, but not as long. I am looking at adding a second system (6.2kW) with GoodWe inverter. STCs can be received for panel capacity up to one-third greater than the inverter capacity. To get your quotes, please enter your postcode: Flexible Solar Exports To Ramp Up In South Australia, Australian Solar Systems Interest Index: September 2021, Why Australian Solar Installers Love Austrian Fronius Inverters, Tesla Powerwall Price Takes A Tumble In Australia, "Snail Mail" Home Battery Offers: Be Wary, New Minimum VIC Solar Feed-In Tariffs Locked In, Glenrowan Solar Farm Construction Gets Cranking. AS4777.2:2015 has some rather low default recommendations, which can be tweaked up as no doubt my profile has allowed. When a home is exported limited, all the power the solar inverter can produce is available for the home to use. Your meter is on the connection between the mains network on one side and the combination of your inverter and your loads on the other side. it is, kind of, effectively export limiting. Just last week, Powercor (Western Victoria) advised that they now have more room in the grid for export. So yeah, the Envoy is essentially all you need to configure export limiting or anything else if you have an Enphase microinverter set-up. endstream endobj 351 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/Index[17 289]/Length 31/Size 306/Type/XRef/W[1 1 1]>>stream Powercor is the Distributed Network Service Provider for central and western Victoria, as well as Melbournes western suburbs. Once voltage thresholds etc are configure in the profile by the Envoy at install, each micro operates largely independently. I installed 6.6kw solar panels and have Goodwe 5kw inverter and applied for export limit of 5kw. Allows installation but has an export limit. Victoria's "Hotest" Solar Postcode is 3977 at last look. IE if Im producing 8KW, the house is using 2KW it will still export 5kw? Im afraid in a typical situation the inverter wont show its potential output. is it 10kW AC or DC?? We installed 4.5kw with a 5kw inverter in 2014. If you are interested you can read about this here: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/inverters/mppt/. Victorias United Energy Network Area: A large chunk of Melbourne on the east side Port Phillip Bay and the Bayside Peninsula. Website link shows system producing well over 10 kW. Please stay on topic. So the size of the system becomes irrelevant if you can only export 3kwh (we are Regional NSW Essential Energy). 100 litres alone means little, but if there are 100 litres per hour, this means 100 litre hours of output. Some manufacturers may have this pre-selected. 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). ( Fronius Wattpilot: A Smart EV Charger With A Short Warranty, You Wont Believe How Dumb The NSW Governments New Battery Calculator Is. 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. I have a 10kw Solar Edge inverter limited to 5kw. I have a 5kw solar system plus a Tesla powerwall 2 on my house . Put down your weapons.3. you aren't allowed to export any power from your solar system to the grid. Its becoming common for solar inverters to be export limited, so the maximum amount of power they send into the grid is less than theyre capable of providing. Below is the email response I received from Powercor. 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?