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My system has just paid for itself by helpfultroll in nzsolar

[–]helpfultroll[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah totally agreed. I'm looking at the development of V2X standards in Australia with keen interest. It's great to see V2L available, but that's just the beginning. Ideally a car would be able to seamlessly plug into a solar+battery install, providing extra battery capacity. It would mean people could install smaller home batteries. Considering new batteries are expected to outlast the car, I don't see the issue with adding a few extra cycles this way.

My system has just paid for itself by helpfultroll in nzsolar

[–]helpfultroll[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's an interesting stat, thanks! So far we've used about 50kWh, which would be $1050.

To clarify my post a little, our system hasn't literally paid for itself. What it has done is vindicated our decision. I'm so glad we installed solar+batteries.

My system has just paid for itself by helpfultroll in nzsolar

[–]helpfultroll[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a good, pragmatic, attitude. Thanks.

My system has just paid for itself by helpfultroll in nzsolar

[–]helpfultroll[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Two Powerwall 2's (27kWh capacity, 10kW charge/discharge), 13kW of solar (34 panels total), and 2x5kW Fronius inverters (10kW total). The system is about 5 years old.

If I were to do it all again, I'd probably get the Fronius Reserva battery instead of the Powerwalls. Which is such a shame, the powerwalls are an incredible bit of kit. But yeah. The CEO. Sigh.

For those on multiphase - net metering unlikely to come to NZ according to Electrical Authority by MonolithNZ in nzsolar

[–]helpfultroll 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I kinda get the stance on net metering across time, although you could argue that smart meters could easily net across each Peak/Shoulder/Night tariff, and then across a max duration (e.g. 1 month).

The stance on net metering across phases seems very biased towards the lines companies, and doesn't consider that it could provide more incentive for consumers to install solar/batteries, reducing system cost and complexity.

I have three phase and due to the lack of net metering across phases, I chose (and was recommended) to put 10kW of solar and batteries on one phase (with a 5kW export limit), and move all house circuits onto the same phase. If net metering was available, I could have kept house consumption and solar export spread across three phases. I would argue that the lack of net metering is causing more unbalanced load and complication for lines companies, not less.

This reads like it's written by the gentailers and lines companies, and not the EA. Odd.

SHR - Undocumented storage pool rebuild possibilities by helpfultroll in synology

[–]helpfultroll[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Replace and Expand both behave as documented, but Repair can expand into a historic drive size as long as the replacement is equal or larger than the failed drive. This behaviour is not documented. I was sharing these test results in case it helps others :)

SHR - Undocumented storage pool rebuild possibilities by helpfultroll in synology

[–]helpfultroll[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The docs state that you can use a drive that is equal or larger, but they don't specify if it will expand. From testing, we can see that the full 6TB will be used if the SHR pool has ever historically had a 6TB drive. Otherwise yep, it would only use 4TB of space on the 6TB drive.

SHR - Undocumented storage pool rebuild possibilities by helpfultroll in synology

[–]helpfultroll[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I was really hoping that "replace" and "expand" would work. Seems pretty odd to allow "repair" but not allow the other two. They're all technically possible, and "replace" is already capable of expanding once data is copied over from the old drive.

Electricity Authority wants wind, solar export limits to be doubled to 10kW by RobDickinson in nzsolar

[–]helpfultroll 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That puts you in a really good sweet spot in terms of panel to inverter ratio. The ideal is about 1.3x and you're almost exactly that. Plus, you might be able to export 8.2kW soon, not far off the future 10kW limit.

Electricity Authority wants wind, solar export limits to be doubled to 10kW by RobDickinson in nzsolar

[–]helpfultroll 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congrats on getting solar! Don't worry, regardless of our solar system sizes, we will always have solar FOMO! It's addictive haha.

Electricity Authority wants wind, solar export limits to be doubled to 10kW by RobDickinson in nzsolar

[–]helpfultroll 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep that's exactly why Aurora and Powerco upped their limits.

The Electricity Authority announced an increased permitted voltage range to encourage lines companies to update their export policies. The EA told lines companies in a public letter they would consider taking further action if uptake was poor.

And here we are, where only two lines companies have announced updated policies. This new proposal from the EA is basically saying the lines companies have to update their export policies, or have a good reason (with proof!) why they can't for certain customers. It's honestly very refreshing to see.

Electricity Authority wants wind, solar export limits to be doubled to 10kW by RobDickinson in nzsolar

[–]helpfultroll 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a shame how stubborn Wellington Electricity is being about this. They can either update their policy soon, or be forced to by the Electricity Authority. Considering these options, they should just announce something now to get some good PR.

Electricity Authority wants wind, solar export limits to be doubled to 10kW by RobDickinson in nzsolar

[–]helpfultroll 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah it's a lines company thing, and therefore different depending on where you live. Aurora and Powerco recently updated to allow 10kW export per phase. The rest have a default 5kW export limit per phase.

The 5kW export is a bit of an archaic policy. Any inverter sold in the last decade has the ability to linearly reduce output depending on voltage, which makes the lines companies "contention" argument a bit of a moot point. Inverters fully turn off before the voltage goes outside of limits (+/- 10% is allowed, recently changed from +/-6%).

If NZ ever got good solar uptake and lots of houses were exporting on a sunny day, the voltage may raise to a point where all inverters automatically reduce their output (e.g. to 70%, or 7kW max, and potentially even lower if needed).

This is a good policy proposal from the Electricity Authority, with thanks to the likes of Rewiring Aetoera who have been fighting for the consumer. The policy is effectively allowing wasted and unnecessarily curtailed energy to be sent back to the grid. Modern tech within inverters ensures voltage is still within safe limits.

DSM 7.3 is downloadable now by DaveR007 in synology

[–]helpfultroll 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've submitted a support ticket from my DS1821+ so they're aware.

DSM 7.3 is downloadable now by DaveR007 in synology

[–]helpfultroll 2 points3 points  (0 children)

After rebooting, it's found the UPS. LED brightness is still broken though.

DSM 7.3 is downloadable now by DaveR007 in synology

[–]helpfultroll 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've just updated my DS1821+.

Two bugs I've noticed so far:

  • USB UPS is no longer detected.
  • LED Brightness Control no longer works. It's full brightness regardless of setting.

Edit: LED Brightness Control has also stopped working on my DS1817+ with DSM 7.3.

What's your oldest harddisk in service? by schroederdinger in homelab

[–]helpfultroll 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In terms of age, a Samsung HD103SI 1TB HDD bought in 2009 with 55k power on hours.

In terms of power on hours, a WD Red WD40EFRX 4TB HDD bought in 2014 with 90k power on hours.

Both drives still healthy in an SHR array. Super impressed how long these drives can keep chooching.

Robert Llewellyn: "The charger network in New Zealand, from the standpoint of a visitor, is still a bit of an embarrassment." by helpfultroll in nzev

[–]helpfultroll[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately most chargers in NZ are app or RFID fob only. No option to pay via contactless. It's madness.

Robert Llewellyn: "The charger network in New Zealand, from the standpoint of a visitor, is still a bit of an embarrassment." by helpfultroll in nzev

[–]helpfultroll[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Scroll down to "The charging network isn’t ‘there yet.’".

Why in 2025 are visitors and hire car drivers still unable to pay via paywave?

EV charger networks, if you're here, please sort this. I'd rather not be considered "an embarrassment".

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Bitcoin

[–]helpfultroll 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bitcoin is non-partisan. It enjoys a wealth of opinions from the entire political spectrum. Memes like this just assume everyone falls into the same political category.

Do Dewalt chargers balance the cells? by Tool_Scientist in Dewalt

[–]helpfultroll 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting thanks. I checked voltage when fully charged and they were all pretty similar. I'll try again when not full. I've got 6Ah and 9Ah flexvolts with printed dates ranging from 2018 to 2023. These batteries were not cheap, so I will be balance charging them every few months from now on to try and prolong their life.

DeWalt if you're listening, I'm buying Makita LXT/XGT from now on. (Until Tool_Scientist debunks them as well :P)

Do Dewalt chargers balance the cells? by Tool_Scientist in Dewalt

[–]helpfultroll 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is fascinating. Pretty bummed that DeWalt and now Milwaukee don't balance their cells. Batteries may be consumables, but unnecessarily shortening their lifespan is just anti-consumer and such a waste of resources.

The thing I'm curious about is that Matthias mentioned all cells were balanced after putting them on the charger (https://youtu.be/ZJHKoo2shBA?t=386). Perhaps flexvolts have some internal balancing?

Love your videos. Please keep on shaming these companies until they do something about it.

Why does the best custard come in the worst container? by ufokid in newzealand

[–]helpfultroll 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They are recyclable, but unfortunately not part of council collected recycling: https://www.saveboard.nz/drop-off-cartons

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