Lux ac battery controller

Solarchaser

Agreed entirely 

timmo65

Solarchaser said:

Starfrog said:

htsoft said:

In the datasheet (Enphase IQ7+): Peak output power 295 VA. 12 x 295 adds up to 3540 so I'm guessing that is the max they can give you.

fair point I think i read that originally and forgot about it, wonder how easy it would be to increase that ? but then think if my inverter is only 3.6 then it would just be limited by that then so for 100 watts theres no point in trying to increase output with my current setup and would need to add a bigger inverter and larger peak output Enphases 

Timmo65 if you have a complicated install its probably about right, but to me that seems excessive for the lux and batteries.

A good general rule of thumb is £750 for everything. 
Lux is around £750, batteries are around £750 all inclusive of vat.
No idea what the squirrel pods cost, but without seeing one, it sounds alot like its just a Pi computer in a box, so it shouldn't cost much.

My suggestion would be to look at how it would be installed into your home.
You need a 4mm or above twin and earth supply to the lux (in theory,  in realitynormal 2.5T&E will be fine) and you will need at least one wire to run from your lux to your home consumer unit (leccy box), if you have solar, you will need another wire to report the solar to the lux.
 
I used cat5e for this which cost £25 for 100m from screwfix 
If this is easily done, then diy would be my advice and save yourself what looks like £700 odds for instalation, if not then its probably worth paying a professional. 

I'd advise going for pylontech as they are more readily available from ebay etc.

Thanks for the information, very handy on the prices. I did think it a little over and the installation should not be tricky. I do have solar with the inverter in the loft and the consumer unit and meters directly under it downstairs. I can get the cat5 to the meter box ok and to the panels. For the AC power to the Lux can that be taken from the AC side of the inverter in the loft before it goes to the consumer unit or (as I assume)  should it be after the FITS generation meter which is installed in the consumer unit.  There is already a cable run down the wall from inverter to unit.

 

Have most people on here sourced their Lux ACs from Jake/Mick - I only ask as they did state they are absolutely sole importers/stockists/sellers of the Lux kit in the UK but there are numerous sellers on Ebay offering them. I guess some may be dubious - no feedback on sold items (maybe saving ebay fees !) but some do look reputable.

Starfrog

I got my lux inverter from Contact solar 

mickyduck55

my battery and lux installed by eco renewables 

brookfields

timmo65 said:

Hello,

I am likely going down the same route as many on here but a couple of questions please.  Firstly I am in contact with Jake/Mick and have a quote for either the newer Lux pod AC plus either 2 or 3 batteries. The choice here is the Uhome Aoboet batteries if I wait as not in stock or the Pylon Tech sooner that seem to be more common and equally as good. The upside of the Uhome is apparently better at lower temp and individually wifi contactable. What are peoples views on the differences ?  I also wanted to check if I am in the ball park for the quote - no one seems to mention the costs on here so please remove its not ok to post  but my quote was for supply and fit the  lux squirrel pod controller plus 2 2.4 batteries £3075 and x 3 2.4 batteries at £3675 - all plus VAT.

As mentioned support seems keen right now and generally appears to be good post sales but from recent messages waning a bit - maybe too many customers !

Thanks

Martin

I purchased Lux AC3600 and 2x Uhome LFP2400 batteries from one of Jakes companies in December 2020, I paid £2250.00 plus £85.00 for delivery. Both plus VAT. I did my own install. Once installed, I got Jake to add the Octopus Agile facility to the management page of the Lux monitoring. Monitoring the batteries over WiFi works OKish once they have been registered.

How do I scale the image?



Each battery has it's own set of pages and the above page is probably the most informative. The Curve page shows charge/discharge over a 24 hour period but is linked to China Standard Time with no way that I've found to set it to UTC so you have to do a conversion in your head. Setting up the WiFi is fairly straight forward and once done the AP feature can be turned off, leaving it in station mode and working with your home WiFi.

Starfrog

What’s jakes number as I’d like to add two uhome batteries but was quoted £2800 to send them to me for just the batteries 

brookfields

Starfrog said:

What’s jakes number as I’d like to add two uhome batteries but was quoted £2800 to send them to me for just the batteries 

I made first contact with Jake via the contact page at biggreenbeard dot co dot uk and subsequently via email

Solarchaser

timmo65 said:

Solarchaser said:

Starfrog said:

htsoft said:

In the datasheet (Enphase IQ7+): Peak output power 295 VA. 12 x 295 adds up to 3540 so I'm guessing that is the max they can give you.

fair point I think i read that originally and forgot about it, wonder how easy it would be to increase that ? but then think if my inverter is only 3.6 then it would just be limited by that then so for 100 watts theres no point in trying to increase output with my current setup and would need to add a bigger inverter and larger peak output Enphases 

Timmo65 if you have a complicated install its probably about right, but to me that seems excessive for the lux and batteries.

A good general rule of thumb is £750 for everything. 
Lux is around £750, batteries are around £750 all inclusive of vat.
No idea what the squirrel pods cost, but without seeing one, it sounds alot like its just a Pi computer in a box, so it shouldn't cost much.

My suggestion would be to look at how it would be installed into your home.
You need a 4mm or above twin and earth supply to the lux (in theory,  in realitynormal 2.5T&E will be fine) and you will need at least one wire to run from your lux to your home consumer unit (leccy box), if you have solar, you will need another wire to report the solar to the lux.
 
I used cat5e for this which cost £25 for 100m from screwfix 
If this is easily done, then diy would be my advice and save yourself what looks like £700 odds for instalation, if not then its probably worth paying a professional. 

I'd advise going for pylontech as they are more readily available from ebay etc.

Thanks for the information, very handy on the prices. I did think it a little over and the installation should not be tricky. I do have solar with the inverter in the loft and the consumer unit and meters directly under it downstairs. I can get the cat5 to the meter box ok and to the panels. For the AC power to the Lux can that be taken from the AC side of the inverter in the loft before it goes to the consumer unit or (as I assume)  should it be after the FITS generation meter which is installed in the consumer unit.  There is already a cable run down the wall from inverter to unit.

 

Have most people on here sourced their Lux ACs from Jake/Mick - I only ask as they did state they are absolutely sole importers/stockists/sellers of the Lux kit in the UK but there are numerous sellers on Ebay offering them. I guess some may be dubious - no feedback on sold items (maybe saving ebay fees !) but some do look reputable.

The ac really has to be its own line.

If you think of your inverter generating 3.6kw and your battery is fully charged, then you turn on the electric shower (or charge car, use various white goods etc etc) then all the power from both inverters are going down that one ac line.
If its 10mm t&e then grand, but most solar installers will use the least they can get away with for 2 reasons.
1. Cheapness 
2. Ease of working, cos 10mm is a pita to work with.

In regards to the cat5e, I just took both of mine (well actually I ran 3 so I have a spare if one goes down) straight to the cu, because after the gen meter, your solar has to arrive at the cu anyway.

So in that respect where your solar is doesn't matter, but all of these lines have to terminate where your NEW inverter will be.

I got my lux from Michael,  James business partner, but got my batteries from a variety of sources, mostly ebay

timmo65

I got my lux from Michael,  James business partner, but got my batteries from a variety of sources, mostly ebay

Thanks, Ive seen these on the bay .... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-X-PylonTech-US2000C-2-4kWh-solar-battery-storage-New-C-series-95-D-O-D/324463821807?hash=item4b8b8d03ef:g:5u4AAOSwkDtgDoXJ  which look a decent price for the newer C version.

As for the  LXP 3600 ACS  assuming pricing should be around £750 supply only ? Doesnt seem to be too many places you can just buy the  inverter on its own. 

Then scratch my head for a while and hire a sparky for a day.

Solarchaser

If the lux only without squirrel then yeah about 750 is what I paid .

My last message should have said jake not James, darn autocorrect. 
Jake and Michael are business partners that have the various companies mentioned over the last few pages.

That's a decent price for the new type, but other than an extra 5% dod, I'm still not sure what is better about the c.

For wiring up,  best thing you can do is run the wires yourself, that way you only need a spark for a half hour.
Ct clamps you can do yourself, same with connecting the batteries, its really just the ac you need a spark for.