I know people are interested in the cost. So here's the original quote for this customer, verbatim. I note that while this system has only half the monolith's design battery capacity (because it is for a frugal off-grid household of only two people), it has just over the maximum non-clipping PV array power for a single PIP-4048MS inverter, because the location has massive shading problems that the customer was unwilling to address, for quite valid reasons of aesthetics and thermal comfort.
Summary: PV array: 3510 watts (7 times existing power) Inverter: 4000 watts (2 times existing power), surge 8000 watts for 5 seconds Battery: 8000 watt-hours (similar to existing capacity [when it was new], but able to be cycled twice as deep every day), Lithium Iron Phosphate cells Itemised: $3500 18 x PV modules, 195 W, Suntech STP195S-24/Ad+ $1800 18 x PV tilt frames for corrugated steel roof, $1800 1 x Inverter/Genset-charger/PV-MPPT-charger, 4000 W, 48 V, MPPT-Solar PIP-4048MS $4800 16 x LiFePO4 cells, 160 Ah, 3.2 V, Winston Battery LYP160AHA $600 Battery Management System, LyteFyba $300 Battery shelving $1600 Cables, lugs, connectors, fuses, circuit breakers $400 Conduit, cable ties, fasteners, sealant $3500 Labour, travel, freight ------------- $17900 Total I will provide a 5 year warranty on the whole system. In addition, the manufacturer of the PV modules (solar panels) gives the usual 25 year warranty for 80% of original capacity, as you can read in the datasheet below. Here are data sheets for the major components: http://www.mppsolar.com/v3/catalogs/PIP-MS.pdf http://www.solar360.com.au/files/Suntec ... 0Specs.pdf http://en.winston-battery.com/index.php ... ory_id=176 I have listed Winston Battery but I may instead use cells made by CALB or Sinopoly if they can get them to me sooner. These have slightly higher capacity, but I would charge you the same price.In fact I supplied CALB cells because Rod Dilkes (EVPower, WA), who always responded to my emails the same day, actually had them in stock in Australia, and because I suspect they might be higher quality than the others (we're happy with their "Sky Energy" brand precursors in the MX-5), and because the Winston 160 Ah cells don't actually fit the monolith shelves. Apparently they changed them from 183 mm wide to 210 mm wide in 2010. But I should have charged more for the CALBs.
Sinopoly were a dead loss. Sinopoly China took a week to respond to my email request for either a quote or contact details for an Australian agent, and then when they passed my quote request on to this supposed agent (Cain Dixon of Enerdrive), and also when I emailed him direct, I got no response whatsoever. Zero, zilch, zip, nada.
Because the PIP-4048MS is such an unknown, I factored in the possibility of having to replace it once within my 5 year warranty period. Its manufacturer only gives a 1 year warranty. This is the biggest risk of the whole quote since replacing it with a known reliable brand such as a Selectronic SP Pro plus separate MPPT charge controller, would cost around $7000.
And of course the labour charge does not include all the design, research and development work, as I wished to retain all the IP rights and open-source them, since I figure this is my best way of contributing, in the war that those psychopathic artificial intelligences, the fossil fuel corporations, and their puppets in government, have declared against us all, and against the planet.
And perhaps more importantly, when you know I'm contributing for free, Coulomb, and all you other wonderful people are happy to contribute for free. That sort of willing co-operation brings tears to my eyes.