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What really is not ideal, is you haven't mentioned the new Electrical Safety Pros UA-cam channel on your channel! Given your emphasis on doing electrical work correctly. Is that an oversight?
It's always nice working for someone that wants the best that money can buy and is happy for you to take a little more time to do a really neat job. It makes the job so much more satisfying 👍
Before you rush out and sign up for a battery back up or buy it and install it yourself, two things to research. One, check with your local electrical inspector to see if you are permitted to install it in a dwelling. Some areas do not allow them in residential dwellings because of fire risk. Two. Check with your homeowner’s insurance company. Some are charging a higher rate to have them because of the fire risk. If you ignore both items and have a fire, your insurance company can deny the claim and if someone is injured or is killed, you could be criminally charged.
Just a note anyone criticising this person for upgrading a 2 year old system, remember he is employing people like us and not hiding money in the cayman islands. In fact, this should be encouraged.
I wanted to be outraged with the idea off ripping it out but the careful removal, resale changes that. I assume at a financial loss using the old (ROI) equation. But there is a new equation, with a revised set of needs. And it it is clearly not all about ROI, the ability to be off-grid, love of exploring tech possibilities, and a pleasurable installation experience has to mean something. I am grateful that this has been shared. Who knows but the overall economic activity including UA-cam revenue and the positive development in Africa makes me more cautious how I choose to judge others.
Only a moron would throw away 2 year old batteries and people who hide money in cayman islands are more smart than you @Eleven.Eleven.1111 and they dont pay tax on it like the poor people. If you legally can do a move to protect your money from tax good for them
I hope you don't mind me sharing your video via my blog, I was just really impressed by your recycling of the old Solar Panels, not that the install you did wasn't just as impressive, having seen a few of your videos, I am always impressed by the care and attention to detail, its great to see proper tradesmen that actually care about the job they do.
Missing an important point about off-grid. Most Solar and Battery inverters must sync their frequency with the grid. Frequency, Supply, and demand (or load) are tightly related with each other and really important to grid management. With no grid frequency to follow the inverter shuts down. So you either need a special inverter or the gateway needs to simulate the grid. I assume in this system the magic is in the inverter, so its definitely super critical to not have other inverters on the off-grid side, hence the “smart” port on the gateway that they should have used.
I have a Solis 1Ph 5KW hybrid inverter and it has a separate backup supply outlet and it is able to maintain a very reliable 50Hz . Remember that the grid will shift frequency slightly over a day but is engineered to average 50Hz over 24Hrs which originally was to keep timeclocks accurate as they used an A/C motor to drive them.
I have a Victron Quattro, which has built in transfer relays. The inverter constantly tries to alter the frequency, but it can't because the grid is stronger, when it can, it means the grid is down. Very clever, most assume it's simply measuring voltage, but of course that would mean it would potentially measure it's own and couldn't tell the grid has gone. The Quattro when in off grid mode can also alter the frequency to either reduce or turn off an AC connected separate inverter.
Shout out to UKPN they're turning off the power in our local area tomorrow all day to fix some sort of unit on a telegraph pole. I get special notifications as a vulnerable customer and their attention has been excellent. They've sent a remote WiFi device, which I didn't even ask for but it means my wife can work from home and not leave me to cope on my own. In the morning they're bringing round a power bank, doubt if it'll boil a kettle but I should be able to use less thirsty appliances and have some light as it's so gloomy. It should help make a stressful day less so.
@@cjmillsnun Hover attachment to the expensive circular saw lol. Ballistic ear protection is really good too and can’t believe no one has thought of it past the military - no need to take them off when people are talking. Expensive but I’m sure worth it
I have a Victron Energy Multiplus2 system 3 phase and have used full house backup for years. Also with victron you do not need a contactor as the power is already separated inside the victron and isolated from the grid. a Victron system once you have it, you do not look back.
Thanks for mentioning the ConduCisc, even if you didn't use it in this case. Here in Germany that thing is not known by any means (no source to get it from and if I'd have to guess, not code compliant, because no one knows it), here we do classical rod whacking, if not even drilling, when the underground is too rocky. That thing would be a total game changer in some cases.
Crossover is one side A and the other side B. But this is only relevant for older 10baseT and 100baseT installations. From Gigabit upwards every device will automatically negotiate the correct pinout (they have to, since they use all 8 wires but only half of them are swapped between the A and B standard). But even in 100MBit days there were devices that could automatically detect crossover connections.
Another great vid Jordan. I have been installing Sigen in Ireland for nearly a year now. It is top shelf gear for sure. My few worries about the 3TPN gateways are... Cannot reverse the door! Although i did once and had to make blank plates to cover slots, messy. I worry about having a contactor pulled in under normal conditions, have seen a few let go under high florescent lighing loads in the past. I worry about switching backup earth with contactors. My solution to these things are to offer a service level contract for parts and labour, or to use the load input 2 to connect a generator, you can auto switch it through the anologue outputs using the smart port to monitor batteries. So its not a project for the faint hearted. Well done.
@inh415 yes, neutral is grounded by the backup contactor. Island mode is a complicated thing, especially when you have a backup generator that has neutral bond at its star point. Two neutral bonds are bad news!
seeing Rueben go from "sir, can i go to the toilet" to "oi mate, im going for a piss, see you in 15" has been so funny, nice to see his progress though
Nice work team! As you mentioned, Jordan, the delay in reconnecting grid power is to allow for stable power supply. A grid fault could have auto-reclosers operate 2 or 3 times if a fault isn't cleared. Cheers
Nice work Jordan, I just have had a PV installation done on my house, (10kw split east west, 10kw battery also, so far although we haven’t any sun in two weeks I am happy, just can’t wait until we get out of this spell of full cloud. Keep up the good work.
Surely you should still producing though. I find mine on cloudy days we have produce between and 15% of capacyduring the day so for.example I have I believe to be a 2kw system and during the dull days we are still producing 200-300w steadily. They are south facing however I have a very shallow roof so angle really isn't optimal for this time of year.
Here in South Africa, dont know if it is county wide or just some municipality but we got a message that if we want to install solar we need to apply for something cant remember what and then they would send an inspector to location and when approved and installation is done they would send someone to install the meter, I guess its the meter that measures how much you feed back into the grid because they mentioned about getting discount on your municipal account and even some that already have solar needs to go register online
As a young electrician who is about to go through with mcs assessment, I would love a video to see how you test and commission some of your work. Feel it's a process that doesn't get shown often
I had an automatic transfer switch on my system that was grid powered. It would connect the house system to the grid after two minutes for just the reason mentioned. This was for a whole house backup system without solar about 25 years ago.
No problem with this PROVIDING the old system is being recycled by either passing it on to another customer or it’s able to be recycled fully. (As it is 👍)
568A or 568B, the B does not stand for Britain, and is actually more commonly used in the US, in the rest of the world 568A is more commonly used. however either method being used doesn't actually matter as long as you use the same on either end of the cable. this makes it a straight cable, which is between computers and switches. if you wish to make a Crossover cable you need to make one end 568A and the other end 568B, this enables you to directly connect a Computer to another computer, or a switch to a switch. this isn't really required now as the majority of network ports are auto sensing and will negotiate a connection either way around (Straight or Crossover), but in yesteryear you had to be more mindful of the difference between using a crossover or straight cable. so if you attempt to make a cable and connect it between two devices it might be an idea to switch one end to the other standard just in case it's not using autosense.
never in my life seen an A to A cable anywhere in the world. Everyone uses B, unless they're making a crossover A to B cable, which have been obsolete for nearly 2 decades all on their own.
@@AlexanderBurgers never in my life have I ever seen anybody inspect a cable to see if it's A or B, does it work. but when building systems in the various countries I have worked and their have been many we have deployed A. but it really doesn't matter. some systems still require crossovers, auto mdix is usually the norm now but for some stuff they still haven't caught on.
This system is amazing and the whole solar panels going to help in another country is great too. I wish I could afford a system like this, I imagine it's very pricey.
An additional possible reason the gateway waits before switching back to grid is to ensure for frequency match. If there has been any serious drift in frequency between the grid and the inverter then switch back could be dangerous. Most modern hybrid inverters can adjust frequency so it is likely that the gateway will do this if there has been drift and then initiate the switch back.
In RJ45 connectors It is Standard that you use the B-Method everywhere for straight thought (so to a router or a switch), when to use Type-A method is if your doing a Computer to Computer link, one end is Type-A the other end is Type-B this crosses the cables over inside the CAT cable, it's called a Crossover cable. (i am a network admin who frequently installs network cables), nowadays most systems (NIC's) actually detect and switch to the other type in the hardware to stop problems
Fuck me... No wonder i constantly think that i got ripped off when having my solar installed two years ago. Good info on the intro. Puts my mind at ease.
Query - why replace the 'new' system and not the 20kw MyEnergi 1ph system? I thought the ME system was the bee-knee's when I was making a choice, unfortunately, in my opinion, its not living up to its hype - a lot of which came from Artisan!
Yeah, Ethernet B Wiring is standard in most areas of the globe (not B for Britain), in those areas the only time you'll see Ethernet A Wiring used is on one end of a Crossover Cable, the other end would be Ethernet B wiring. This enables it to be used for some very specific testing like loopback testing, and is the reason we have an Ethernet A Wiring and Ethernet B Wiring. That said, technically it would work just fine if both sides were wired Ethernet A, but any standard commercial pre-constructed ethernet cable is going to to be wired using the Ethernet B Wiring, you've basically swapped the White/Green & Green twisted pair with the White/Orange & Orange twisted pair locations in the jack, connectivity wise they're identical with both ends terminate A vs both ends terminated B. Yeah, Australia prefers Ethernet A wiring. But again if you wired both ends as B and plugged connected it to an Australian wired network, it would work just as well, as evidence by the fact that they buy and get tons of pre-terminated ethernet cables that are wired as B and plug it into their networks all the time.
Ethernet A is only used in Australia. Only seen B once at an old university. Main reason being original 4 wire phone systems use pins 4 and 5 (blue and blue/white) for speech and 3 and 6 (orange and orange/white) for data. This is on an RJ45. This means the central 4 pins are in use. Makes sense as colour code for ethernet cable and older Cat3 cable (10 pair cable) is Blue pair, Orange pair, Green pair, Brown pair etc. Bear in mind it does NOT matter which standard you use as long as you have the same at both ends.
Crossover cables were required pretty much everywhere prior to the introduction of devices that could auto detect and negotiate their network connections. If you plugged two devices together with a straight through cable, they wouldn't do anything because they were both trying to send and receive on the same wires.
RJ45 A is used for creating cross over cables which were for direct PC to PC connections without a Hub/Switch. Most network cables auto detect the transmit/receive pins so no longer needed.
Also for uplink connections, switch to switch. There is some enterprise kit that does not work well with MDI-X, but if you are working with that stuff you are probably already CCNA or N+ certified, so nothing a sparky needs to worry about. 👍
EIA 568A in one end, EIA 568B in the other to make a crossover. If you have RJ45 with EIA 568A (or EIA 568B) in both ends all you get is a straight cable.
Yes I understand what you are on about. You could say the one you put it was like a prototype. Then next replace it with a smaller more powerful one. As the old model was big and bulky.
Wow, superb video, my two favourite solar component companies in one video, Sigenergy & Myenergi. Sigenergy's knocks it out of the park with the nice spacious gateway and UPS facility. Myenergi's great app with their Eddie & EV chargers that their software can control in such a great customisable manner. Good stuff. I can't understand how anyone would install a system without a gateway. One question I have though, for my future similar setup in Sigenergy biggest single phase version. Is their an option for daul AC input into the inverter or gateway. My second AC supply being my 40 KVA backup diesel generator? Genuine question. Or would a Generator/ Mains automatic transfer switch before the Gateway work equally as well?
Full house UPS is great. In Australia I have a GoodWE Lynx system with 13kw of panels and a 16kw battery all 3ph It is also a cold start meaning I dont need mains to kiskstart the system from a cold start. We get cyclones which does not help.
Doesn't need any gate stuff he usually talks about...sometimes I think pple in the uk are made to know only a few systems. I have never used a gateway in my life
Victron have been doing all that for years and is likely the most flexible option, at origional install and as things change. Whole house backup would just work out of the box, with the AC coupled solar onnected and active whenn islended. Almost any battery/BMS system can be selected, although Victron has recomended and supportes ottions from several suppliers. 3 X 15kVA Quatro's would be cirka 12kW / phase, with 200% of that for 30 seconds, assuming the battery is big enough. Sometimes less pretty and cuttend edge is the way to go. I have no skin in the g😅ame and nothing to gain at all but if you havent looked, properly, at Victron you are missing out... (FYI that transfer switch is included insidee most Victron inverter chargers. AC connected solar can be connected on the inverter output and all systems include a ground relay to make the PE-N connection when islanding, if necessarry.) Tidy install BTW. Watched a bit further... Victron GX devices, well most of them, support NodeRed which is an entirly umparalelled way to connect literally ANY smart tech to anuthing, as a system, you can dream up.
16:59 Standard A RJ45 is usually relegated to Gov’t, Industrial, “Commercial Business” server/ network wiring And Standard B for everything else, and can also use A if want. Also, if have Type A network, can still have Tyoe B patch cables and it will still work fine, no issues…..the inky exception is when using patch cables that are not bidirectional in which case, would want to run Tyoe used for building to get The Best Optimized Speeds/Data Transfer w/o getting errors or packet failures/resends
I thought I was being wasteful updating my phone every year 😄 I supposed there are levels to this. If you have $$ and want the latest and greatest - I suppose its not that different...just another scale. The whole home backup does seem like a significant change for folks who can really utilize it. Bought it from us as second hand? Does the homeowner get all that?
We have a mid terrace 3 phase house. We are in the Netherlands and it is not that uncommon to have 3 phase. I'd love to go for Sigenergy, but I keep hearing it is very expensive. We have delivered about 2400kWh and used about 2100kWh but would like a system that would store generated power for evening use and be able to work automatically to make good use of variable tariffs without needing to constantly be looking at an app. We have an ageing charge port for the car but if necessary we could switch to support vehicle to load if that makes sense.
@112Dongen Inderdaad bijna dezelfde concept. So what is being said here is that a make called haier are creating a similar looking modular system. I did not dig deep or look at prices but I probably should.
@@NickAskew ik denk zelfs dat het exact de zelfde techniek is met een andere afwerking en naam. De accus zien er gelijkend uit en de gateway ook. Alleen de randafwerking is anders. Kijk maar eens de filmpjes van de solarbouwmarkt. Waarin ze het haier systeem installeren.
Great video. Just thinking 🤔 when the system switches over to island mode. The earthing system will become TT? If so you should be add RCD protection for basic protection?
I love the video, you saved me a ton of money and with the rapid changes it's best to just wait a few years. BTW did this customer pay for both installs?
This shows it's about time we ditched proprietory batteries - it's so stupid to have to replace a large part of the cost of a system (the batteries) because requirements change. Would be better to be able to just replace the inverter/control system, as well as add batteries as required.
well the inverter was to small anyway, so they had to replace that either way if they want to expand the system, and now days most known brands have solutions, their modular solutions figured out, and have a wide range of ofereings from 5KWh to whatever you need.
You can go down the route of just using basically lifepo4 leisure batteries 1kwh is not around the £200 mark so is very cheap for lithium compared to the purpose made battery.
As an ex gas engineer, I always cringed when I heard other engineers say “We are going to rip the boiler out today”, always sounded so dramatic. I prefer to say, “Today I am going to carefully remove this appliance and replace it with a new one”. Only burglars and thieves rip boilers out 😂😂😂
Thanks for that really nice video! Can you do a follow-up on 29:00 how to exactly wire that smart-breaker to a PV inverter? I think this needs further explaining in a silent environment with a drawing board 😉 But otherwise great content 😍
Im english but moved to germany a few years ago , did my apprenticeship here too but all in german, i find it so interesting seeing whats standard practice there. those bus bars are totally different than to here. great install though , would love to give all this a go. when you started installing sig energy products had you been to some seminar showing the product first?
It still amazes me that exposed wires are ok in the UK. In the USA, we would have to have all those wires in conduit, open individual conductors like that wouldn't pass inspection. Now I hear two earths are ok...again, it would fail inspection unless the second device ground is isolated from the first.
RJ45 spec A is mainly for backwards compatibility to promote Cat5 use on telco networks for T1 lines, spec B provides a slight (nowadays completely negligible) improved signal isolation. Note Cat5e and newer pretty much nullified this consideration. Mind you the T568A/B specs initial issue is in the early 90's -- like back then we were running around installing coax ring networks and 10mbps cat5 wiring was space aged tech. lol. fak I'm old.
@artisanelectrics I really love these videos and been watching a number over the past few months to the point where I am now contemplating getting a solar and battery install. Unfortunately I live a bit too far from your base for you to be the go to choice! I just wondered if you (or others in the comments) could recommend any installers in the North East (Newcastle upon Tyne) area at all?
Free food is always a plus some of my customers or I should say good friends as been working with them on and off for 30 years they always have menus on and feed me well and any one I bring with me.
Sigenergy has v2h system capability, but currently has limited compatibility. They have a list of compatible vehicles on their website. They're working on expanding that, but I don't know what order they're planning to add new ones to the list in. If you have specific ones in mind, I'd contact them and ask what their expected timelines are.
T568B or the B pinout is adapted from AT&T. But it is the one that everyone uses today so there's that. The other one was the old way but created problems when connecting PC to PC because of power pin locations.
Very interesting video. I have to say that the Gateway looks very similar to what Huawei are offering with their new SmartGuard box. Also with the Nader MCBs in it that you rarely see anywhere else. Maybe they do have some sort of affiliation with each other? And did i understand you correctly at @22:30 that it is not standard to have a earth rod for the house in the UK? What kind of grid system do you use over there? In Germany we do have an earting system in every house. Usually the public grid is TNC which is split up into TNC-S with the PEN being seperated into PE and N in the service box. After that the PE is connected to either a foundation earth electrode in newer buildings (after +/- 1990) or to a earth rod. How else would you guarantee that the RCD is reacting in below 30 ms when a current has to travel along PE all the way to the transformer and back to the house?
Another great video Jordan. I'm guessing that you wanted to leave the old inverter output untouched and just monitor vi a CT so that a) the sig would itself and be able to differentiate between grid and 'other solar' and adjust charge etc accordingly. b) allow monitoring of the original solar independently. c) allow the old solar to support the new solar in off-grid scenarios. However, it sounds like this does not work... does using the smart port instead provide the same level as intended? Or was there other reasoning?
There is only one solar feed coming into the property from the field. This goes into the smart port so that in off grid mode the solar keeps running. The smart port also monitors how much energy is coming in from the solar PV. The new batteries are just AC coupled.
I've been retired for a while, but are 3-phase supplies still costly? A friend told me they had binned a 3-phase supply to a large house in Westminster. They could do this because they decommissioned several megaflo systems they had for the house.
Great video! Is the functionality to limit the export to the grid (as set by the DNO) unique to the SIgenergy inverter or do other manufacturers inverters provide this? ...and how does the set export limit work in terms of over what time period can only that set limit, in the case of the video 40KW, be exported?
24:25 did you say 40 ohms? isn´t that a bit high for an earth? (ok i know in theory 1667ohms is enough if a 30mA RCDis installed) i always look to get at least under 10 ohms or even under 5 but maybe it is different in britain than here in germany
Why is the bus bar in that gateway not insulated? I have asked this before in one of your videos, I can’t think of any un insulated bus bars in panels I work on apart from bus bar chambers
Did this go through under a G99 application, i would have thought this would've needed to be a G100 ELS application, looks like an AC coupled system with 3rd party DC coupled, maximum power station capacity is huge here so i imagine an ELS scheme is a must?
@@barrieshepherd7694 quickest way is to submit a G99 fast track application, they’ll come back to you saying it’ll need to be G100, amend your application and send it straight back.
Thanks for another great video. I need an EV charger. I probably want Solar. I don't live anywhere near Cambridge. I've learned a lot watching your channel, but "I don't know what I don't know" (nor do I have the right tools), so I need a proper electrician. You tell us about all the cowboys, and if I go direct to an energy company, it will get subbed out. I was thinking of an Anderson box and could go to them, but if I wanted to choose my own sparky, how do I know I'm choosing a good one? Please do a video (I can't see one already in your back catalogue).
note if your using a knife for work purposes and can prove it then anything within reason is legal, you just need to provide probable cause that it is suitable for your work purpose ect ect
QQ: Are there any (3-phase) battery/solar systems which will work entirely isolated from the grid? I'm planning a house move next year, and will be building a workshop on-site, and I have a fair few 3-phase machines I'd like to use - but I don't want the aggro of getting a 3-phase supply installed at a domestic property - and the machines will be used relatively lightly, so a battery "backup" system would seem ideal, but only if it can be used standalone. I do have a 3-phase diesel generator I could use, but it would seem a shame to use that when the sun can likely give me all the power I'll ever need. (I'm also aware of single-to-three-phase converters - which would also be an option)
Could've and should've just done victron two years ago. 3phase, whole house backup, basically unlimited storage available. This is the problem with these gimmicky all in one systems. Things soon move on and they need ripping out. 😭
40seconds in and that’s the reason why I won’t spend any more on green technology. The stuff I have is a few years old and nobody will maintain it. A cracked cover on a solar water heater and the installer won’t touch it because it “is so old”. The only solution they offer is to rip it out and replace. I was dithering over battery backup to my PV when a friend had it installed. Now he is worried that is loft is going to catch fire and burn his house down - loft installs are no longer considered safe. Someone else can now suffer at the bleeding edge.
I still find it bonkers that people would install solar systems that would not function when there is no power .... Then again... I am in South Africa so that would be like throwing money in the drain when Load Shedding starts and you have solar, but still no power lol
IMO it's not bonkers - depending on the area/situation, it's still very worth it. For example, my family is in Brazil, which also has silly anti-island rules. Even then their solar systems have paid off amazingly, specially thanks to several years in a row where the power company raised prices by 6-10% each time (mostly because of the predominance of hydro power and it being affected by long droughts). Would it be better if their system worked in island/backup mode? It would be, but even without it the return on investment has been great. And eventually the rules will change, at which point it's only a matter of replacing the inverter and optionally adding batteries.
Id love to know the cost of a system like that and how cost effective it is over a year. Also RJ45's done care how there wired as long as its the same both ends. Some older devices might need switched data but your talking 30 years old stuff so unlikely to find that now. I just know if you didn't crimp the other end check it first and copy it if its not standard or looks weird.
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What really is not ideal, is you haven't mentioned the new Electrical Safety Pros UA-cam channel on your channel! Given your emphasis on doing electrical work correctly. Is that an oversight?
It's always nice working for someone that wants the best that money can buy and is happy for you to take a little more time to do a really neat job.
It makes the job so much more satisfying 👍
Before you rush out and sign up for a battery back up or buy it and install it yourself, two things to research. One, check with your local electrical inspector to see if you are permitted to install it in a dwelling. Some areas do not allow them in residential dwellings because of fire risk. Two. Check with your homeowner’s insurance company. Some are charging a higher rate to have them because of the fire risk. If you ignore both items and have a fire, your insurance company can deny the claim and if someone is injured or is killed, you could be criminally charged.
Just a note anyone criticising this person for upgrading a 2 year old system, remember he is employing people like us and not hiding money in the cayman islands. In fact, this should be encouraged.
I wanted to be outraged with the idea off ripping it out but the careful removal, resale changes that. I assume at a financial loss using the old (ROI) equation. But there is a new equation, with a revised set of needs. And it it is clearly not all about ROI, the ability to be off-grid, love of exploring tech possibilities, and a pleasurable installation experience has to mean something. I am grateful that this has been shared. Who knows but the overall economic activity including UA-cam revenue and the positive development in Africa makes me more cautious how I choose to judge others.
I know they charge a few quid but not that much😀😀
Only a moron would throw away 2 year old batteries and people who hide money in cayman islands are more smart than you @Eleven.Eleven.1111 and they dont pay tax on it like the poor people. If you legally can do a move to protect your money from tax good for them
@@jukeseyablethey literally said the system is being reused by someone else.
@@jukeseyable relax there are slaves who mine those.
I hope you don't mind me sharing your video via my blog, I was just really impressed by your recycling of the old Solar Panels, not that the install you did wasn't just as impressive, having seen a few of your videos, I am always impressed by the care and attention to detail, its great to see proper tradesmen that actually care about the job they do.
Missing an important point about off-grid. Most Solar and Battery inverters must sync their frequency with the grid. Frequency, Supply, and demand (or load) are tightly related with each other and really important to grid management. With no grid frequency to follow the inverter shuts down. So you either need a special inverter or the gateway needs to simulate the grid.
I assume in this system the magic is in the inverter, so its definitely super critical to not have other inverters on the off-grid side, hence the “smart” port on the gateway that they should have used.
I have a Solis 1Ph 5KW hybrid inverter and it has a separate backup supply outlet and it is able to maintain a very reliable 50Hz . Remember that the grid will shift frequency slightly over a day but is engineered to average 50Hz over 24Hrs which originally was to keep timeclocks accurate as they used an A/C motor to drive them.
I have a Victron Quattro, which has built in transfer relays. The inverter constantly tries to alter the frequency, but it can't because the grid is stronger, when it can, it means the grid is down. Very clever, most assume it's simply measuring voltage, but of course that would mean it would potentially measure it's own and couldn't tell the grid has gone. The Quattro when in off grid mode can also alter the frequency to either reduce or turn off an AC connected separate inverter.
Good to see proper work videos again. Not watched in a while due to that, well done for listening to your supporters 👏
Thanks 🙏
Shout out to UKPN they're turning off the power in our local area tomorrow all day to fix some sort of unit on a telegraph pole. I get special notifications as a vulnerable customer and their attention has been excellent. They've sent a remote WiFi device, which I didn't even ask for but it means my wife can work from home and not leave me to cope on my own. In the morning they're bringing round a power bank, doubt if it'll boil a kettle but I should be able to use less thirsty appliances and have some light as it's so gloomy. It should help make a stressful day less so.
Glad to hear UKPN is taking good care of you! The remote WiFi and power bank sound super helpful. Hope the power's back quickly.
Great to see the old style work vids back. Haven’t watched for a while. Well done for listening to the fans.
Glad you like them! More videos like this will be coming
Nice work guys great to see all the old guys missed them 😊
Glad you enjoyed it
When it comes to cable pulling, "it's better to be looking at it rather than looking for it!" Same slogan for wine....
I always quote that one
Jordan, you need to insist that they wear half masks when cutting board with a circular saw like that. Silica dust is deadly.
I came here to make the same comment. Anyone nearby to the board being cut needs an appropriate mask.
@@GraemeHart8888 i have said this many times in comments must hate lungs COPD later
@@cjmillsnun Hover attachment to the expensive circular saw lol. Ballistic ear protection is really good too and can’t believe no one has thought of it past the military - no need to take them off when people are talking. Expensive but I’m sure worth it
Thanks yeah good reminder 👍
If they have a beard should be full face mask!
Nice to see the update from the African solar power. Great work Jordan.
Glad you enjoyed it
I have a Victron Energy Multiplus2 system 3 phase and have used full house backup for years. Also with victron you do not need a contactor as the power is already separated inside the victron and isolated from the grid. a Victron system once you have it, you do not look back.
Thanks for mentioning the ConduCisc, even if you didn't use it in this case.
Here in Germany that thing is not known by any means (no source to get it from and if I'd have to guess, not code compliant, because no one knows it), here we do classical rod whacking, if not even drilling, when the underground is too rocky. That thing would be a total game changer in some cases.
16:45 The A wiring configuration (568A) is called a crossover cable. You can connect two computers directly to each other with that one!
Crossover is one side A and the other side B.
But this is only relevant for older 10baseT and 100baseT installations. From Gigabit upwards every device will automatically negotiate the correct pinout (they have to, since they use all 8 wires but only half of them are swapped between the A and B standard). But even in 100MBit days there were devices that could automatically detect crossover connections.
Nice job, and the note at the end to use SMART PORT > now I know I can add Sigenergy ESS to my existing system
I was taught to always include a "service loop" in cables, so I have always done that. It just gets factored in when pricing a job.
Another great vid Jordan. I have been installing Sigen in Ireland for nearly a year now. It is top shelf gear for sure. My few worries about the 3TPN gateways are... Cannot reverse the door! Although i did once and had to make blank plates to cover slots, messy. I worry about having a contactor pulled in under normal conditions, have seen a few let go under high florescent lighing loads in the past. I worry about switching backup earth with contactors. My solution to these things are to offer a service level contract for parts and labour, or to use the load input 2 to connect a generator, you can auto switch it through the anologue outputs using the smart port to monitor batteries. So its not a project for the faint hearted. Well done.
Local earth shouldnt be swithed via the contactor, just the earth neutral bond
@inh415 yes, neutral is grounded by the backup contactor. Island mode is a complicated thing, especially when you have a backup generator that has neutral bond at its star point. Two neutral bonds are bad news!
seeing Rueben go from "sir, can i go to the toilet" to "oi mate, im going for a piss, see you in 15" has been so funny, nice to see his progress though
He is almost there now! Progress going very well and on track!
That was fascinating. I’ve just had Solar Edge EBU installed but that takes a significant time to kick in
Yeah I’ve seen those online haven’t fitted one yet but not impressed with the switchover time
With this job you literally eating cake and having it🎉
Nice work team! As you mentioned, Jordan, the delay in reconnecting grid power is to allow for stable power supply. A grid fault could have auto-reclosers operate 2 or 3 times if a fault isn't cleared. Cheers
Great point!
Nice work Jordan, I just have had a PV installation done on my house, (10kw split east west, 10kw battery also, so far although we haven’t any sun in two weeks I am happy, just can’t wait until we get out of this spell of full cloud. Keep up the good work.
That is awesome!
Surely you should still producing though. I find mine on cloudy days we have produce between and 15% of capacyduring the day so for.example I have I believe to be a 2kw system and during the dull days we are still producing 200-300w steadily. They are south facing however I have a very shallow roof so angle really isn't optimal for this time of year.
Here in South Africa, dont know if it is county wide or just some municipality but we got a message that if we want to install solar we need to apply for something cant remember what and then they would send an inspector to location and when approved and installation is done they would send someone to install the meter, I guess its the meter that measures how much you feed back into the grid because they mentioned about getting discount on your municipal account and even some that already have solar needs to go register online
For places like this Victron would be also somthing to considder because it's modular and you can expand the system without replacing everything.
Using solar for watering crops is a neat fit. If the sun isnt shining, you probably don't need as much water anyway
As a young electrician who is about to go through with mcs assessment, I would love a video to see how you test and commission some of your work. Feel it's a process that doesn't get shown often
I had an automatic transfer switch on my system that was grid powered. It would connect the house system to the grid after two minutes for just the reason mentioned. This was for a whole house backup system without solar about 25 years ago.
Ruben with a barely legal knife = outstanding episode!
😂
No problem with this PROVIDING the old system is being recycled by either passing it on to another customer or it’s able to be recycled fully. (As it is 👍)
568A or 568B, the B does not stand for Britain, and is actually more commonly used in the US, in the rest of the world 568A is more commonly used. however either method being used doesn't actually matter as long as you use the same on either end of the cable. this makes it a straight cable, which is between computers and switches. if you wish to make a Crossover cable you need to make one end 568A and the other end 568B, this enables you to directly connect a Computer to another computer, or a switch to a switch. this isn't really required now as the majority of network ports are auto sensing and will negotiate a connection either way around (Straight or Crossover), but in yesteryear you had to be more mindful of the difference between using a crossover or straight cable. so if you attempt to make a cable and connect it between two devices it might be an idea to switch one end to the other standard just in case it's not using autosense.
😊 He did say he used B to remind him - not because that is what it means
A to b not a crossover makes as only swaps over one pair.
@@timballam3675 568A and 568B crosses two pairs, it most certainly makes a crossover cable.
never in my life seen an A to A cable anywhere in the world. Everyone uses B, unless they're making a crossover A to B cable, which have been obsolete for nearly 2 decades all on their own.
@@AlexanderBurgers never in my life have I ever seen anybody inspect a cable to see if it's A or B, does it work. but when building systems in the various countries I have worked and their have been many we have deployed A. but it really doesn't matter. some systems still require crossovers, auto mdix is usually the norm now but for some stuff they still haven't caught on.
16:56 i think you meant “b for broken”😂 nice one Reuben
This system is amazing and the whole solar panels going to help in another country is great too. I wish I could afford a system like this, I imagine it's very pricey.
I Love these types of videos it's great to see & we all need more on site installation content great job Artisan Electrics
Glad you enjoyed it
An additional possible reason the gateway waits before switching back to grid is to ensure for frequency match. If there has been any serious drift in frequency between the grid and the inverter then switch back could be dangerous. Most modern hybrid inverters can adjust frequency so it is likely that the gateway will do this if there has been drift and then initiate the switch back.
In RJ45 connectors It is Standard that you use the B-Method everywhere for straight thought (so to a router or a switch), when to use Type-A method is if your doing a Computer to Computer link, one end is Type-A the other end is Type-B this crosses the cables over inside the CAT cable, it's called a Crossover cable. (i am a network admin who frequently installs network cables), nowadays most systems (NIC's) actually detect and switch to the other type in the hardware to stop problems
Fuck me... No wonder i constantly think that i got ripped off when having my solar installed two years ago. Good info on the intro. Puts my mind at ease.
Greetings from New Zealand you guys are MAGIC plus WIZARDS as well keep vids coming
Query - why replace the 'new' system and not the 20kw MyEnergi 1ph system? I thought the ME system was the bee-knee's when I was making a choice, unfortunately, in my opinion, its not living up to its hype - a lot of which came from Artisan!
Yeah, Ethernet B Wiring is standard in most areas of the globe (not B for Britain), in those areas the only time you'll see Ethernet A Wiring used is on one end of a Crossover Cable, the other end would be Ethernet B wiring. This enables it to be used for some very specific testing like loopback testing, and is the reason we have an Ethernet A Wiring and Ethernet B Wiring. That said, technically it would work just fine if both sides were wired Ethernet A, but any standard commercial pre-constructed ethernet cable is going to to be wired using the Ethernet B Wiring, you've basically swapped the White/Green & Green twisted pair with the White/Orange & Orange twisted pair locations in the jack, connectivity wise they're identical with both ends terminate A vs both ends terminated B. Yeah, Australia prefers Ethernet A wiring. But again if you wired both ends as B and plugged connected it to an Australian wired network, it would work just as well, as evidence by the fact that they buy and get tons of pre-terminated ethernet cables that are wired as B and plug it into their networks all the time.
Ethernet A is only used in Australia. Only seen B once at an old university. Main reason being original 4 wire phone systems use pins 4 and 5 (blue and blue/white) for speech and 3 and 6 (orange and orange/white) for data. This is on an RJ45. This means the central 4 pins are in use. Makes sense as colour code for ethernet cable and older Cat3 cable (10 pair cable) is Blue pair, Orange pair, Green pair, Brown pair etc. Bear in mind it does NOT matter which standard you use as long as you have the same at both ends.
Crossover cables were required pretty much everywhere prior to the introduction of devices that could auto detect and negotiate their network connections. If you plugged two devices together with a straight through cable, they wouldn't do anything because they were both trying to send and receive on the same wires.
Would rather see a compliant data cable rated cca minimum.
@complexcomms in new zealand we commonly use a wiring but in schools like uni or polytech they use b
Swede here. Its "Hultaforce". Try out the Morakniv Elkniv if you can get it. Superior knife in my opinion, especially working with larger cables
Thanks for the recommendation
21:50 just wincing in case that screwdriver tip makes contact with 2 of those bare busbars!!
And his knuckles hitting that busbar😢
Where are your safety standards Jordan!
Usually these guys talk with their hands. Nerve wracking!
I use sungrow inverter and battery. It offers full backup with seamless switching, all in one box.
Excellent work and doubtless a big investment - now the owner needs to find a smart water hose solution 🙂
RJ45 A is used for creating cross over cables which were for direct PC to PC connections without a Hub/Switch. Most network cables auto detect the transmit/receive pins so no longer needed.
Also for uplink connections, switch to switch. There is some enterprise kit that does not work well with MDI-X, but if you are working with that stuff you are probably already CCNA or N+ certified, so nothing a sparky needs to worry about. 👍
EIA 568A in one end, EIA 568B in the other to make a crossover. If you have RJ45 with EIA 568A (or EIA 568B) in both ends all you get is a straight cable.
Yes I understand what you are on about. You could say the one you put it was like a prototype. Then next replace it with a smaller more powerful one.
As the old model was big and bulky.
Wow, superb video, my two favourite solar component companies in one video, Sigenergy & Myenergi.
Sigenergy's knocks it out of the park with the nice spacious gateway and UPS facility.
Myenergi's great app with their Eddie & EV chargers that their software can control in such a great customisable manner. Good stuff.
I can't understand how anyone would install a system without a gateway.
One question I have though, for my future similar setup in Sigenergy biggest single phase version. Is their an option for daul AC input into the inverter or gateway. My second AC supply being my 40 KVA backup diesel generator? Genuine question.
Or would a Generator/ Mains automatic transfer switch before the Gateway work equally as well?
Nice to see an old Crabtree Polestar board. It'll outlast anything you are installing today.
Hi. Great video. What is the largest battery size that the Sigen would support?
Full house UPS is great. In Australia I have a GoodWE Lynx system with 13kw of panels and a 16kw battery all 3ph
It is also a cold start meaning I dont need mains to kiskstart the system from a cold start.
We get cyclones which does not help.
Doesn't need any gate stuff he usually talks about...sometimes I think pple in the uk are made to know only a few systems. I have never used a gateway in my life
Just something I learnt most places use the B standered no matter where in the world you are the A standered is used mainly for gov buildings etc
Hartley greenhouse in the background 👍
Well spotted
Victron have been doing all that for years and is likely the most flexible option, at origional install and as things change. Whole house backup would just work out of the box, with the AC coupled solar onnected and active whenn islended. Almost any battery/BMS system can be selected, although Victron has recomended and supportes ottions from several suppliers. 3 X 15kVA Quatro's would be cirka 12kW / phase, with 200% of that for 30 seconds, assuming the battery is big enough. Sometimes less pretty and cuttend edge is the way to go. I have no skin in the g😅ame and nothing to gain at all but if you havent looked, properly, at Victron you are missing out... (FYI that transfer switch is included insidee most Victron inverter chargers. AC connected solar can be connected on the inverter output and all systems include a ground relay to make the PE-N connection when islanding, if necessarry.) Tidy install BTW. Watched a bit further... Victron GX devices, well most of them, support NodeRed which is an entirly umparalelled way to connect literally ANY smart tech to anuthing, as a system, you can dream up.
16:59 Standard A RJ45 is usually relegated to Gov’t, Industrial, “Commercial Business” server/ network wiring
And Standard B for everything else, and can also use A if want. Also, if have Type A network, can still have Tyoe B patch cables and it will still work fine, no issues…..the inky exception is when using patch cables that are not bidirectional in which case, would want to run Tyoe used for building to get The Best Optimized Speeds/Data Transfer w/o getting errors or packet failures/resends
I thought I was being wasteful updating my phone every year 😄 I supposed there are levels to this. If you have $$ and want the latest and greatest - I suppose its not that different...just another scale. The whole home backup does seem like a significant change for folks who can really utilize it.
Bought it from us as second hand? Does the homeowner get all that?
You’re absolutely right! We sold this one for the customer which helped offset a bit of the cost.
We have a mid terrace 3 phase house. We are in the Netherlands and it is not that uncommon to have 3 phase. I'd love to go for Sigenergy, but I keep hearing it is very expensive. We have delivered about 2400kWh and used about 2100kWh but would like a system that would store generated power for evening use and be able to work automatically to make good use of variable tariffs without needing to constantly be looking at an app. We have an ageing charge port for the car but if necessary we could switch to support vehicle to load if that makes sense.
Het ziet er exact het zelfde uit als het haier systeem. Mogelijk dat je daar naar kunt kijken.
@112Dongen Inderdaad bijna dezelfde concept.
So what is being said here is that a make called haier are creating a similar looking modular system. I did not dig deep or look at prices but I probably should.
@@NickAskew ik denk zelfs dat het exact de zelfde techniek is met een andere afwerking en naam. De accus zien er gelijkend uit en de gateway ook. Alleen de randafwerking is anders. Kijk maar eens de filmpjes van de solarbouwmarkt. Waarin ze het haier systeem installeren.
Great video.
Just thinking 🤔 when the system switches over to island mode. The earthing system will become TT?
If so you should be add RCD protection for basic protection?
Wow......what a system!! Great video and explanation Jordan. Great to see you back in the frontline buddy.👍👍👍
Thanks for watching!
Learning things from your videos , keep up the good work
Glad to hear it
I love the video, you saved me a ton of money and with the rapid changes it's best to just wait a few years. BTW did this customer pay for both installs?
Yes he did! But we gave him a discount on the Sigenergy battery.
This shows it's about time we ditched proprietory batteries - it's so stupid to have to replace a large part of the cost of a system (the batteries) because requirements change. Would be better to be able to just replace the inverter/control system, as well as add batteries as required.
well the inverter was to small anyway, so they had to replace that either way if they want to expand the system, and now days most known brands have solutions, their modular solutions figured out, and have a wide range of ofereings from 5KWh to whatever you need.
You can go down the route of just using basically lifepo4 leisure batteries 1kwh is not around the £200 mark so is very cheap for lithium compared to the purpose made battery.
As an ex gas engineer, I always cringed when I heard other engineers say “We are going to rip the boiler out today”, always sounded so dramatic. I prefer to say, “Today I am going to carefully remove this appliance and replace it with a new one”. Only burglars and thieves rip boilers out 😂😂😂
A better motto for cabling better to be looking at it than for it 👍🏻
Shame that hardware isn't sold in the states :( It looks pretty solid!
Thanks for that really nice video!
Can you do a follow-up on 29:00 how to exactly wire that smart-breaker to a PV inverter? I think this needs further explaining in a silent environment with a drawing board 😉
But otherwise great content 😍
Great suggestion!
Im english but moved to germany a few years ago , did my apprenticeship here too but all in german, i find it so interesting seeing whats standard practice there. those bus bars are totally different than to here. great install though , would love to give all this a go. when you started installing sig energy products had you been to some seminar showing the product first?
Always leave plenty of slack 👍🏻
It still amazes me that exposed wires are ok in the UK. In the USA, we would have to have all those wires in conduit, open individual conductors like that wouldn't pass inspection. Now I hear two earths are ok...again, it would fail inspection unless the second device ground is isolated from the first.
Somehow I have a feeling that customer doesn't have to ask you how much the upgrade is going to cost. But still very cool.
Nice video. What is the furthest distance you can have the gateway from invertor and batteries?
RJ45 spec A is mainly for backwards compatibility to promote Cat5 use on telco networks for T1 lines, spec B provides a slight (nowadays completely negligible) improved signal isolation. Note Cat5e and newer pretty much nullified this consideration. Mind you the T568A/B specs initial issue is in the early 90's -- like back then we were running around installing coax ring networks and 10mbps cat5 wiring was space aged tech. lol.
fak I'm old.
@artisanelectrics I really love these videos and been watching a number over the past few months to the point where I am now contemplating getting a solar and battery install. Unfortunately I live a bit too far from your base for you to be the go to choice!
I just wondered if you (or others in the comments) could recommend any installers in the North East (Newcastle upon Tyne) area at all?
Free food is always a plus some of my customers or I should say good friends as been working with them on and off for 30 years they always have menus on and feed me well and any one I bring with me.
Love this!
For rf45 cables the twisted one is rarely ever used today as it is for directly connecting 2 devices.
What you using as your fault protection when using the earth rod?
Great looking and Smart system. Good job. Question. If the EV's had the capability, could the gateway take power from them as backup batteries?
Sure, an EV can power the house. Well, some can.
Sigenergy has v2h system capability, but currently has limited compatibility. They have a list of compatible vehicles on their website. They're working on expanding that, but I don't know what order they're planning to add new ones to the list in. If you have specific ones in mind, I'd contact them and ask what their expected timelines are.
@@seabream Not something I need, but very interesting possibilities with that tech.
T568B or the B pinout is adapted from AT&T. But it is the one that everyone uses today so there's that. The other one was the old way but created problems when connecting PC to PC because of power pin locations.
Finally a gateway I can drive my tesla cybertruck through
No way that would fit in my kitchen cupboard with the CU
single phase gate way. the contactors are they 20 amps or is that just the rating on the relay controlling the contactor, any info much appreciated
Very interesting video. I have to say that the Gateway looks very similar to what Huawei are offering with their new SmartGuard box. Also with the Nader MCBs in it that you rarely see anywhere else. Maybe they do have some sort of affiliation with each other?
And did i understand you correctly at @22:30 that it is not standard to have a earth rod for the house in the UK? What kind of grid system do you use over there? In Germany we do have an earting system in every house. Usually the public grid is TNC which is split up into TNC-S with the PEN being seperated into PE and N in the service box. After that the PE is connected to either a foundation earth electrode in newer buildings (after +/- 1990) or to a earth rod. How else would you guarantee that the RCD is reacting in below 30 ms when a current has to travel along PE all the way to the transformer and back to the house?
Another great video Jordan. I'm guessing that you wanted to leave the old inverter output untouched and just monitor vi a CT so that a) the sig would itself and be able to differentiate between grid and 'other solar' and adjust charge etc accordingly. b) allow monitoring of the original solar independently. c) allow the old solar to support the new solar in off-grid scenarios. However, it sounds like this does not work... does using the smart port instead provide the same level as intended? Or was there other reasoning?
There is only one solar feed coming into the property from the field. This goes into the smart port so that in off grid mode the solar keeps running. The smart port also monitors how much energy is coming in from the solar PV. The new batteries are just AC coupled.
I've been retired for a while, but are 3-phase supplies still costly? A friend told me they had binned a 3-phase supply to a large house in Westminster. They could do this because they decommissioned several megaflo systems they had for the house.
I can't wait to win the lottery so i can buy a house, solar array, and this system, and you guys to get it all wired up.
so let's put this into perspective
one guys old power system for his house in the UK
now powers 2 villages in Africa. !
I've bought a property in Sicily and planning on putting solar in. What would something like that cost to buy and install?
Great video! Is the functionality to limit the export to the grid (as set by the DNO) unique to the SIgenergy inverter or do other manufacturers inverters provide this? ...and how does the set export limit work in terms of over what time period can only that set limit, in the case of the video 40KW, be exported?
24:25 did you say 40 ohms? isn´t that a bit high for an earth? (ok i know in theory 1667ohms is enough if a 30mA RCDis installed) i always look to get at least under 10 ohms or even under 5 but maybe it is different in britain than here in germany
Can the gateway be install with an already exting solar & battery system or does the whole setup need to be the same brand.
Why is the bus bar in that gateway not insulated? I have asked this before in one of your videos, I can’t think of any un insulated bus bars in panels I work on apart from bus bar chambers
This Sigenergy system looks 100% like the Haier Smartcube, only the logo differs. Are these two the same, but just sold under a different name?
Did this go through under a G99 application, i would have thought this would've needed to be a G100 ELS application, looks like an AC coupled system with 3rd party DC coupled, maximum power station capacity is huge here so i imagine an ELS scheme is a must?
I've only got a Tesla Powerwall 3 and the DNO is wanting G100 - and has so far taken 6 weeks and counting to approve.
@@barrieshepherd7694 quickest way is to submit a G99 fast track application, they’ll come back to you saying it’ll need to be G100, amend your application and send it straight back.
Thanks for another great video. I need an EV charger. I probably want Solar. I don't live anywhere near Cambridge. I've learned a lot watching your channel, but "I don't know what I don't know" (nor do I have the right tools), so I need a proper electrician. You tell us about all the cowboys, and if I go direct to an energy company, it will get subbed out. I was thinking of an Anderson box and could go to them, but if I wanted to choose my own sparky, how do I know I'm choosing a good one? Please do a video (I can't see one already in your back catalogue).
This is a large property. Would a commercial 50kW/100kWh Outdoor All-in-one ESS Cabinet been a better choice?
note if your using a knife for work purposes and can prove it then anything within reason is legal, you just need to provide probable cause that it is suitable for your work purpose ect ect
QQ: Are there any (3-phase) battery/solar systems which will work entirely isolated from the grid? I'm planning a house move next year, and will be building a workshop on-site, and I have a fair few 3-phase machines I'd like to use - but I don't want the aggro of getting a 3-phase supply installed at a domestic property - and the machines will be used relatively lightly, so a battery "backup" system would seem ideal, but only if it can be used standalone. I do have a 3-phase diesel generator I could use, but it would seem a shame to use that when the sun can likely give me all the power I'll ever need. (I'm also aware of single-to-three-phase converters - which would also be an option)
Without a doubt. Victron!
Could've and should've just done victron two years ago. 3phase, whole house backup, basically unlimited storage available.
This is the problem with these gimmicky all in one systems. Things soon move on and they need ripping out. 😭
40seconds in and that’s the reason why I won’t spend any more on green technology. The stuff I have is a few years old and nobody will maintain it. A cracked cover on a solar water heater and the installer won’t touch it because it “is so old”. The only solution they offer is to rip it out and replace. I was dithering over battery backup to my PV when a friend had it installed. Now he is worried that is loft is going to catch fire and burn his house down - loft installs are no longer considered safe. Someone else can now suffer at the bleeding edge.
there nothing wrong with the guy has. Can choose to upgrade. Someone else getting it.
I still find it bonkers that people would install solar systems that would not function when there is no power ....
Then again... I am in South Africa so that would be like throwing money in the drain when Load Shedding starts and you have solar, but still no power lol
IMO it's not bonkers - depending on the area/situation, it's still very worth it. For example, my family is in Brazil, which also has silly anti-island rules. Even then their solar systems have paid off amazingly, specially thanks to several years in a row where the power company raised prices by 6-10% each time (mostly because of the predominance of hydro power and it being affected by long droughts).
Would it be better if their system worked in island/backup mode? It would be, but even without it the return on investment has been great. And eventually the rules will change, at which point it's only a matter of replacing the inverter and optionally adding batteries.
Yes I agree, totally bonkers. Pure madness. Gateways should be standard. They are not rocket science.
Id love to know the cost of a system like that and how cost effective it is over a year.
Also RJ45's done care how there wired as long as its the same both ends. Some older devices might need switched data but your talking 30 years old stuff so unlikely to find that now. I just know if you didn't crimp the other end check it first and copy it if its not standard or looks weird.