A CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCE UPGRADING TO DCS SOLAR BATTERY SYSTEM – NSW
2016 signalled the end of the NSW generous feed in tariff of 40 cents for solar customers and left a lot of customers tasting the reality of inflated energy prices for the first time – and it was bitter. One such customer – Ross, began investigating home energy storage as soon as his first bill arrived.
Ross expressed what we unfortunately hear a lot at DCS, his frustration at the lack of knowledge and expertise that floods the solar and home energy storage market. He had already contacted 4 other companies before he spoke to Paul from DCS. Ross’ biggest concerns were that firstly he was motivated to get things set up quickly and yet other retailers were trying to push him into a battery by a big-name competitor that’s arrival into the Australian market has been pushed back again and again and just now again! And as mentioned before the lack of knowledge by retailers and installers alike about how the systems best work and their technical know-how.
Ross expressed his relief after speaking with Paul “you are the first and only company that actually knows what you’re talking about!”. Not surprisingly Ross engaged DCS to supply the complete upgrade package, being a DCS PV 10.0W (10kwh usable battery), SolaX SK-TL5000E inverter along with the 100Amp BMU (Battery Management Unit). Ross’ existing solar panels remained running 21 x REC 235W, 4.9kW. To facilitate the battery installation the existing SMA Sunny Boy 5kW inverter was simply swapped over to the SolaX SK-TL5000E inverter and the charge controller was installed underneath the inverter inside the garage.
Existing 5kW SMA Sunny Island Inverter.
New SolaX 5kW SolaX Inverter with 100A Charge Controller.
The DCS PV series 10.0W battery was installed on the south facing wall outside of the garage, as there was limited room inside. Although DCS batteries have an operating range of anywhere from -15 to 65 degrees Celsius (making them ideal for all Australian conditions), it is always best practice to install your battery at a location which has the most consistent temperature through the year. The optimum temperature range is between 0 and 45 degrees Celsius where possible this will limit cell temperature degradation of your battery over time, and the inside of poorly insulated sheds or garages can easily exceed 45 degrees during the summer months.
So how is the system performing? Perfectly. Even if completely emptied over night the battery is fully charged by midday on a sunny day, with excess power being fed back to the grid meaning that Ross’ daily supply charge is also being offset. Because DCS batteries have a 96% roundtrip efficiency, very little energy is used in the charging and discharging cycle, so the battery continues to power the home right up until the early hours of the morning, as can be seen in the below screen grab of the customers monitoring portal.
DCS PV 10.0W – 10kWh usable lithium solar battery with 10 year / 80% capacity warranty.
DCS PV 10.0W battery performance on a SolaX 5kW Gen 2 Hybrid.
Some key things about DCS PV Series batteries to note:
– As mentioned before, DCS PV series batteries have an operating temperature range from -15 ~ 65 Degree C (well suited for high humidity and high temperature regions such as Southern TAS, high country, Far Norther QLD, NT & WA.
– Robust dependable design well suited for off grid applications, weight and space saving.
– DCS PV series batteries have a water and dust ingress rating of IP-67 (this means they are waterproof and will continue to operate under water and well suited for remote dusty locations).
– DCS PV series batteries are modular and expandable at up to 40kWh per string/phase.
– Engineered and developed in Australia for Australian conditions.
So if you too are looking at investing in a quality hybrid solar system and doing it correctly the first time be it on grid or off grid, speak to DCS about how we can help your family today.
