I recently finished a major upgrade to my solar setup in mostly sunny Abuja Nigeria. Previously I was running a 10 kW PV array with:
-
2 × Victron Smart MPPT 250/100
-
10 kVA Multiplus II
-
28 kWh LiFePO₄ storage
I’ve now expanded to a 20 kW hybrid setup:
PV Generation
DC Coupled
-
5.4 kW Canadian Solar → Victron Smart MPPT 150/100
-
5.2 kW Jinko → Victron Smart MPPT 250/100
-
3.5 kW Jinko → Victron Multi RS (MPPT1)
-
4 kW Jinko → Victron Multi RS (MPPT2)
AC Coupled
- 2.5 kW Longi → Deye SUN-M220/225G4 Micro Inverter (AC coupled to heavy load inverter output)
Inverters & Loads
-
Victron Multiplus II 10 kVA → Dedicated to heavy appliances (3 × 1.5 HP AC, 2 × 2 HP AC, 3.7 kW induction cooker, 3 kW oven, multiple water heaters).
- AC-coupled to the Deye Micro Inverter, which steps in during the day to share load.
-
Victron Multi RS 6000 VA → Handles lighter loads (lighting, TV, sockets, etc).
-
Both run on separate house circuits (wired this way from the start).
Battery Storage
-
14.7 kWh × 4 (≈ 56 kWh total) LiFePO₄ banks
-
JK Inverter BMS (4 units, parallel and data linked )
-
Integrated with GX device via CAN
GX Device
-
Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (eMMC) + dual CAN hat + cooling fan in DIN-rail case
-
Running Venus OS Large
-
Chose this route to leverage Node-RED automation & extra compute power (also had spare Pis).
-
DIY GX solution was more cost-effective and very flexible.
DIY & Cost-Saving Hacks
- Built my own “poor man’s Lynx distributor” using a SmartShunt + busbars — works perfectly.
AC Coupling Behavior
The Deye Micro Inverter impressed me: it reacts quickly to frequency shifts from the Multiplus.
-
At absorption (55.2 V), the system smoothly adjusts as the Deye ramps down.
-
The Multiplus manages frequency shifts to keep balance without issue.
I’ll post a more detailed review of the Deye soon, since there’s very little info here about its performance in AC-coupled mode.
Automation & Monitoring
-
Heavy use of Node-RED for smart automation.
-
Example: weather forecast automation (via Solcast) predicts next-day solar yield and adjusts grid-input allowance automatically.
-
Monitoring migrated to Grafana (self-hosted) → richer metrics than VRM and full data ownership.
Live Dashboard:
https://helio.openculture.org.ng/public-dashboards/867d6afd562543508eaf080533e7b652
