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jasonsele avatar image
jasonsele asked

Can you disable the "Dedicated Ignore AC input" virtual switch from the VRM portal?

I have the dedicated ignore AC input virtual switch set on my dual parallel Victron Quattro 5K system. The "do not ignore AC input" settings are configured to trigger when the SOC drops below 25% and then ignore AC triggers once absorption is finished. This is working well. When my batteries are fully charged it ignores the AC input and relies on solar. Then when the battery hits 25% the AC input charges them back up to 100% and again turns off the ac input. The problem is some days I want to override this trigger and use the AC input to charge my batteries without waiting until they drop to 25%. The only way I've found to do this is to upload a VRM config with the virtual switch disabled. Is there are way to do this from the victron connect app or VRM portal without having to upload configs?

virtual switch
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3 Answers
Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

@jasonsele

You can adapt this article to your needs.

You are basically using the grid like a generator so use the menu from the GX to manipulate it.

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JohnC avatar image
JohnC answered ·

Hi @jasonsele

Victron were looking at doing something like this a while back, but I'm not sure where that stands at present.

The GX relay can be operated from VRM in a couple of ways, and a wire pair from that across to the Multi could achieve this. Not sure about tapping in to VS with that signal, but I'd go straight to Assistants and do it all that way. VS can't be used at the same time as Assistants, so you'd need to start afresh possibly.

Come back if you need help with doing it.

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jasonsele avatar image
jasonsele answered ·

I should mention that the only reason why I need to set the dedicated ignore AC input is because the Victron Quattro prioritizes AC input over solar input. If I don't shut off the AC input it won't use much of my solar to charge the batteries. If the priority was solar first I wouldn't need the virtual switch but according to Victron the only way to change the order is custom programming. I'll check into the GX relay option. That may be a solution.

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derrick thomas avatar image derrick thomas commented ·
You can do what you want with node red. You could even setup a simple switch on node red dashboard, or some dynamic input to change desired values. Both node red and dashboard can be accessed remotely thru vrm.
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jasonsele avatar image jasonsele derrick thomas commented ·
I appreciate the suggestion but I don’t really want to program a solution. It’s just strange that an inverter designed for solar systems doesn’t give you an option to prioritize solar input.
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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ jasonsele commented ·
@jasonsele

You just haven't found it yet. You haven't described your system fully, but if it's fairly simple, set the Quattro Absorb setting slightly lower than the solar's. (Even just 0.1V if they see the same V). The solar will then take priority and the Quattros will back off first as the charge needs decline.

I'm assuming here you have dc-coupled solar. If not, it's hard to help without knowing what you have, and what you're trying to do.

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jasonsele avatar image jasonsele JohnC ♦ commented ·
I have dual Quattros with 4X48V lithium batteries and 4100 watts of solar panels. I had them set in parallel but just switched to split phase. The charge voltage for the Quattros and the charge controllers are both set to 56.2v as per spec on the batteries. I can try setting the Quattros to a lower charge current but I suspect that would only make a difference when the batteries are right at absorption/100%, correct? If the battery voltage is any lower the inverter is still going to pull from AC since it’s the priority. The best use of solar is during bulk charging. That’s usually in the morning as soon as the sun comes up. I don’t want any AC input at that time because I have a full day of sun to utilize. Once I hit absorption the VS ignores AC input and then it’s fully relying on solar until the battery drops to 25%. The problem with this scenario is that on hot days I run the air conditioner and will drop below 25% after sundown. That triggers AC input and the batteries are charged to 100% by the morning so my solar produces next to nothing all day. When I know that’s going to happen I’d prefer to manually turn on the AC input for couple hours to charge the batteries enough so I am above 25% in the morning when the sun comes up. That will utilize solar charging. But if solar was prioritized over AC this is all unnecessary. I’ve found that I produce 27kW from solar on good days. If I consume less than that I can go without any AC input and my power is essentially free. On days when the temp is below 85 degrees I’m fine but when it’s higher I’ve discovered that I run the air conditioner enough to surpass 27kW and that’s when AC input could draw around 20kW. In reality I may only need 5kW and the rest should be solar.
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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ jasonsele commented ·
@jasonsele

This isn't really a 'solar priority' thing, it's more about better managing your ACIN. You didn't mention a GX device, but Assistants don't need that anyway.

There's a number of Assistants that can be used (and combined) to do what you want, but the Generator Start/Stop one might do all you need. Set to switch ACIN rather than a genset. Like on SOC, Voltage, ACLoad, or all together. More powerful than VS, but a little trickier setting up.

One weakness is that the Quattro can't tell the time, so you'd need to work around that if you have some time-based need.

What you want isn't unusual, you just haven't gone far enough with the existing VS setup.

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nickdb avatar image nickdb ♦♦ jasonsele commented ·
Are you using ESS? It should do this automatically for you. Most of it anyway. Should be no need to drop the grid connection with the ESS assistant.
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jasonsele avatar image jasonsele nickdb ♦♦ commented ·

I’m using a virtual switch. The VS works but I’m not aware of the ESS that prioritizes solar over AC input.

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derrick thomas avatar image derrick thomas jasonsele commented ·
I would suggest you read up on the ESS documentation. One of the main features of ESS is to be able to prioritize solar over ac input.
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jasonsele avatar image jasonsele derrick thomas commented ·
Ah, the elusive ESS assistant that prioritizes PV over AC. Everyone talks about it but it doesn't exist. The only thing I've ever been shown is the ability to ignore AC input. That is not the same as prioritzing PV over AC. I've heard from Victron direct that the only way to change the priority is with custom programming. The virtual switch has a "dedicated ignore ac input" and that works fine but as I mentioned earlier it still doesn't solve the priority issues. But I'll change my mind if someone can show me a link to any assistant that does the prioritization correctly.


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derrick thomas avatar image derrick thomas jasonsele commented ·
I can say with absolute certainty that it DOES exist. I use ESS and It does exactly what you say it cannot do. My guess is you don't know how to properly configure the system for the desired outcome. You can find the ESS documents and how to videos on victron professional. There are a lot of users taking advantage of ESS to prioritize pv over ac.
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jasonsele avatar image jasonsele derrick thomas commented ·
OK. I'd love to see your link to a video or documentation for this. It should be easy if you know where that is.
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derrick thomas avatar image derrick thomas jasonsele commented ·

Here is a link to the online ESS manual. Within the manual are links to other supportive documents as well as videos.

https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/Energy_Storage_System/en/index-en.html

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jasonsele avatar image jasonsele derrick thomas commented ·
LOL. It doesn't exist. Still looking forward to you posting your actual settings to see how you've done it though.
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derrick thomas avatar image derrick thomas jasonsele commented ·

Your questions have been asked and answered. What you do with those answers is up to you. What you have requested can be achieved thru the use of ESS. Others have suggested the same thing, not just myself. Condescending snive comments will not encourage anyone to offer assistance. If you are not willing to take the time to RTFM then you should not be messing around with these systems. Ignorance can get people killed.

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jasonsele avatar image jasonsele derrick thomas commented ·
Saying something is in the manual is not an answer, especially when you can't pinpoint where in the manual and have not shown the settings that you say you are personally using to acomplish it. I have tried all of the solutions that others have suggested and I have scoured the ESS manual. There is no option that prioritizes PV over AC. You can do "ignore AC" workarounds but prioritization does not exist short of custom programming from all I have seen. So when I say it can't be done and get pushback then I am simply challenging you or anyone to show me the specifics. That's not condescending. The fact that you are unwilling to point to specifics or show your own configuration is proof you are making a claim and can't back it up. It's not a personal attack. In order for someone to be condescending you have to show patronizing superiority. I claim no superiority over anyone. I am not an electrician and don't have the knowledge of many on this site. I respect an honest answer - not "it can be done, read the manual". That provides no help at all. However, implying that people are ignorant, or haven't read the manual is the definition of condescending. You might want to reread our posts to see which one of us did that.
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jasonsele avatar image jasonsele derrick thomas commented ·
Or if you prefer, post a picture of your ESS settings that are working for you. That's even better.
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Related Resources

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic

VE Configure/Virtual Switch

Ignore AC input using the Generator Assistant