question

james-marsh avatar image
james-marsh asked

First time setup - unsure of correct settings

I am trying to setup my equipment to achieve what I thought was not unique, however, we either get stuck in passthru, the PV charger stops or the AC input is not accepted.

I and looking to achieve:

Sun rises - PV charger start supplementing the AC in to the AC out at the same time

Once the PV charger exceeds the required AC out demand, the surplus goes to the batteries

The batteries charge and once the AC out exceeds the PV charger, it draws from the batteries

Once the batteries are discharged to a set point (i.e 49v) the AC in has 100% of the load to the AC out

The batteries will never charge from the AC in.

Should the AC in be lost, then the inverter carries on to another set-point before shutting down (i.e 48v)

I've added ESS, removed it, added hub1, removed it. No configuration I seem to work with achieves my desired result.

Has anyone got this setup and what settings do I need? I have selected NZ as the grid and am now unable to alter the grid code as I don't have the password. This also means I cannot go to default settings as that requires the same password.


victron-setup.jpg

setup
victron-setup.jpg (30.1 KiB)
10 comments
2 |3000
Toggle Comment visibility. Current Visibility: Viewable by all users

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.

Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ commented ·

@James Marsh

What pv charger do you have? And does it have comms with the Victron system?

0 Likes 0 ·
snoobler avatar image snoobler Alexandra ♦ commented ·
Does the 381W for the "PV Charger" from the VRM dashboard indicate comms with the Victron system?



0 Likes 0 ·
james-marsh avatar image james-marsh snoobler commented ·

Yes, the PV charger is victron mppt 250/60 with comms to the cerbo gx. The inverter is a multiplus II, which also has comms with the cerbo.



0 Likes 0 ·
Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ james-marsh commented ·

@James Marsh

Your system will probably be in passthrough at the point of your attched picture as the battery would need to be charged and the system is prioritizing the charge.

Was ess installed at this point?

Other reasons for passthrough are mentioned here in the manual.

0 Likes 0 ·
james-marsh avatar image james-marsh Alexandra ♦ commented ·

ESS has been installed and removed, multiple times. As soon as I supply AC in, it goes to passthru, even if it's inverting at the time, and the battery is full. If the sun is cranking and the battery is full, it still stays in passthru. I do note that the FAQ link states "When charging the battery is not allowed" which i would suggest is the system I desire, so why can't passthru be disabled? I don't want any transfer to occur, I want the AC output to be constant and either from battery, AC in, or a combination of the both.

0 Likes 0 ·
james-marsh avatar image james-marsh Alexandra ♦ commented ·
One more thing, I've selected NZ as the grid code, and I suspect this could be a hindrance and so I have attempted to so to defaults and try another avenue. However, I have no grid code and the supplier doesn't either. I know it's a closely guarded secret but I would like to at least try a default setting. Anyone know where I can find this code?
0 Likes 0 ·
Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ james-marsh commented ·
@James Marsh

With ESS it is a legal requirement to have a grid code. So getting it removed is a matter of that side of things.

I t wont be an issue with the grid code, since your multi is accepting the grid and using it.

0 Likes 0 ·
Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ james-marsh commented ·
Since you want to prioritize solar why not just have an ac ignore system?
0 Likes 0 ·
james-marsh avatar image james-marsh Alexandra ♦ commented ·
Will give that a shot, I might have read things wrong as I thought "ignore AC" would do exactly that and ignore the incoming AC and the system would deem it not useful.
0 Likes 0 ·
james-marsh avatar image james-marsh Alexandra ♦ commented ·
So have tried the ignore AC system, after reading up about it and settings etc. While it does use AC in, it's literally an on/off switch to use the AC in or not use it. I have been running a similar system for years, using set points like this. However, I want the AC in and inverter (supplied from the batteries) to be ON at the same time so there is no switching ever to take place, using the solar and batteries and never using the AC in to charge the batteries. It seems this is impossible but often requested.
0 Likes 0 ·
1 Answer
Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

With ESS installed what is your grid input limit on the GX device?

And what is the grid set point as well?

What us the minimum SOC set and do you have battery life enabled?

How large is the solar array? And is it large enough to cover loads and charge the battery?

What type of battery do you have, is it communicating with the gx (pass through is very often related to battery management over CAN)

If you ran through the linked FAQ did you see anything there that may be related to the system you have installed?

Everything you need to know is in the ESS manual.

1 comment
2 |3000
Toggle Comment visibility. Current Visibility: Viewable by all users

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.

james-marsh avatar image james-marsh commented ·

1. No limit

2. 50w

3. 30% - have tried with and without BE enabled

4. 3.3kw - yes, general use is about 800w most of the day

5. Lead acid batteries (440ah bank 48v), no communication. Only internal victron comms for battery status

6. Only the "charging is not allowed" the system goes to passthru

0 Likes 0 ·

Related Resources

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic