I’ve been planning solar for a while now looking at various options, and based on my usage and plan on how solar will be utilized, am going to go hybrid with 7.5kw panels and initially 15kwh of lithium batteries, extending to 30kWh next year.
I find solar here fairly limited vs overseas, most suppliers seem to push 5kw hybrid systems - likely because of the 5kw max allowed to be exported back to the grid. I’m struggling to find a suitable hybrid inverter that has the specs I need and is also on the “vector approved inverter” list. https://www.vector.co.nz/kentico_content/assets/df69cb49-50fd-4608-9b83-ba801697de83/VectorApprovedInvertersMar2024v3.pdf I know I can apply separately for a different inverter but would prefer to avoid the hassle and get a model that’s already pre approved. Take too long to search and read data sheets on every single one.
The issue I have is most of the approved (single phase) hybrid inverters have pretty poor charge/discharge currents. Many around 25A which is pitiful, would take far too long for solar to fully recharge 15kwh of batteries if depleted to say 80% DoD (and esp. in winter where every watt from pv is important). I’m trying to find one that does 150A or so (allowing for a max 7000W draw from 48V batteries albeit for a short time) There are some goodwe ones that do this (Uniq range) but they aren’t on the list. The inverter has to be one of the following brands: growatt, goodwe, sofar, sma, kstar (or Victron but avoiding coz $$) Or a brand compatible with pylontech battery for the CANbus comms.The former are the brands that the battery I’m getting supports.
I’m after feedback from anyone who has done a system of similar size, and what hybrid inverter you found to work with > 5kw panels and a sizeable battery system that has a decent charge/discharge current.
