Two approaches to solar install. Thoughts appreciated!

[Corindikev]

If you can work out what your average power usage in kWh is in a 24 hour period in both Summer & Winter conditions get a battery that can provide at least this amount and a hybrid inverter that can supply what you are likely to need from the battery at peak times like cooking dinner, heating etc.

I installed a 10kW inverter, 18.64 kWh battery & 8.8kW of bi-facial panels in November 2025. Without using air conditioning but normal evening usage like lighting, TV, cooking a fridge/freezer, upright freezer & bar fridge etc the battery depletes to around 70-75% overnight. On sunny days it is fully charged again by 10am & then it begins to export to the grid.

The maximum output current from the battery/inverter is 46 amps or 10.6 kW at 230 volts, quite sufficient for our household.

When we have had hot 35 deg plus days the aircon runs all day and most of the night. The battery has depleted to 20% at the most overnight. If the next day is cloudy it takes most of the day to re-charge.

Note we are 29.5 deg South of the Equator & these values are from December to the end of February so Summer. Our Summer days though are not as long as those at higher latitudes.

Winter values will be interesting & after a year I will be able to decide whether I need to add any modules to the battery in order to go off grid which is my goal.

 

[T1 Terry]

Just had a customer here from yrs back to get a balance installed on his Landcruiser house battery. Over lunch he was telling us about the new solar/inverter/battery had had installed at their house, 18kw solar, 48kwh battery and 16kw inverter. He is with Amber and last mth alone, he cleared $1,500 tax free by having Amber do the trading of his available stored electrical energy.

Now I'm in two minds as to going full off grid or keeping the grid for the opportunity to receive free or actually being paid to draw energy from the grid and store it in the batteries, then sell it back when the price is high enough to make it worth reselling.

The proposed $5 just to be connected to the grid, soon evaporates when you consider the $150mth to be connected to the grid yet money actually going into the bank account at $1500 mth and the house being powered completely from solar and battery ......

If we never connect the new house to the network, there can never be a fee introduced because the network still has the wires to the house, we just don't want to use it.
Because the govt of the day sold off the poles and wires to private enterprise, they are not allowed to force members of the public to pay a fee to a private enterprise ....
We get a water bill because the mains run a trickle feed past the property, we don't use it, but it is a govt owned enterprise so they can demand payment.
We don't have sewerage, never been run out the 2.5kms we are from town, so it's not there so we don't have to pay for it.

T1 Terry

 

[Everest]

The plan is to place the extra battery on his property, on a wall that faces on to my house ( I'm in a mid terraced house)

Sounds like a good plan - it will look in keeping with the extra 8 panels that you snuck onto his roof