mzezman

Wouldn't it be easier / cheaper to get a lithium battery for the gatr as a drop in replacement? They go lower in discharge than the gels

What settings and cable pin-outs did you use?

Hi David and welcome to the forum. Your question can and will open up a can of worms..hahah. there is a lot going on in the Home Automation space. If you were an all / mostly Apple / iOS home then i would have leaned towards a Homekit environment - but i think we can rule that out. In the Android space google home works well with the speakers as you mentioned (Nest hubs / minis) and it also works well with Sonoff and other similar devices. Its pretty straightforward but it DOES lock you into the google ecosystem - which may be a good or bad thing depending where you sit. It is also less customisable and for instance i am unable to get my alarm or my inverter to show up in Google home Since you say you are technically inclined then maybe something like Home Assistant would be an option for you - especially since you will have multiple device types. You are not limited to only Google compatible devices but you can bring in HomeKit, Zigbee, Sonoff, Matter devices as well. It IS a bit of work to get up and running in it and it can be a rabbit hole - the front-end view that your family would use is one you would design and the community support is quite good and positive. Below are some example dashboards i have put together for my home - a single dashboard uses / talks to multiple device types In terms of advice: A good base will set you up for success - choose your components and framework carefully as it can get expensive if you have to change / replace devices Ensure your network is also setup properly - maybe you are or are not worried about network segmentation etc. for IoT devices but ensure this is done properly upfront Wife approval factor is key - YOU might love the new doodads and automations but they are useless if the WAF is not there and never used Don't buy products on the promise of a future feature - they may never come Don't tie yourself down to 1 manufacturer - different tools for different jobs - actually - the right tools for each job Ensure you can still have a functioning house when there is no internet - you don't want the lack of internet to impact your ability to turn on or off devices Have fun 🙂

Per mppt

Solarman? I wasn't aware that luxpower also used it. The luxpower app is decent but yes either installer or luxpower support need to push down the firmware. It's the same with sunsynk/deye inverters as well

Did you get a software update?

Email luxpower, they normally reply withing a couple of hours ([email protected])

Apologies for the late reply You are correct the % you set in the system mode screen / work mode is the minimum that the batteries will be allowed to get to as long as eskom is there. If there is more PV than load then the batteries are happy to run all the way up to 100% even if you set your SOC for that daylight slot to 30% as an example. If there is no eskom though then the batteries will run below the set SOC down as low as the battery cut-off setting.

I also set the unit to 220v but also got a firmware update and haven't had the issue since. What I do battle with is the battery voltage high error on the shoto with bms comms. This one still stumps me Edit: the firmware update process restarts the inverter so best to have thegrid bypass on when it runs

During the day I generally just let the system do what it does. Like @Bobster.I also check my SOC around 330 and top up if need be but even after running everything I'm usually at 100% by then. I think my day slot is a 5am to 330pm with an SOC of 30%

Having lots of questions is the best way to learn 🙂 it great that you are already energy-wise and luckily your bill isn't that great Inverter If you can afford it id say go straight to the 8kw upfront - it gives you some headroom and even if you don't use it right away there will be a time when you need that extra power - especially with 2 buildings / households. If you got a 5kw you'd have to play minister of energy and decide which appliances are run when quite strictly - and this can be tricky across 2 abodes. If you don't mind the added overhead of managing household 1 and 2 (maybe use some smart switches and automation) then a 5kw could work. We have a 5kw and started with 1 battery - eventually upgraded to 2 - but we are short on the inverter side. During loadshedding people forget (because there is power) and run the microwave + dishwasher + washing machine at the same time = AC overload. 3 main bands according to budget and functionality Axpert/Voltronics (Kodak, Luxpower, Axperts), Sunsynk/Deye and then Victron / Fronius. Its dependent on your requirements (3-way blending / grid feed-in etc) and budget which one you will settle for. Some of these also allow you to add your current generator as a 4th source of power - allowing you to charge the battery when PV is low and eskom is...well...eskom Batteries Always a good idea to match inverter + battery as mixing batteries is not often possible. Since you wont have panels initially I'd go for 2 batteries to give you 9.6 or 10.2 kWh - that should get the home through 4 or 6 hours of shedding. Also look for an Inverter + Battery combo that can communicate so that the 2 are kept in synch in terms of when to charge and discharge and what rates to use - this is achieved through CAN or RS485. Notable brands include - Sunynk, Dyness, Pylontech, Greenrich, FreedomWon and the newer Hubbles. Lithium batteries are easy to add on to so starting with 1 is not a bad thing Panels Always good to go fir as high wattage as you can get so that you need fewer. The 8kw Sunsynk for example can take up to 10.4kw of panels which is a lot and more than enough to cover your loads + charge batteries Random question - would you still need to pay eskom if you go onto prepaid?

difficult to guage as prices have gone up BUT anything over say 50k is too much (incl ancillaries and installation). I see solarway suppliers have that kit for 41k

1 - you don't need to separate the DBs but you DO need surge protection and cutover switches / devices between the DB and the inverter. Moreso when you get solar. I am assuming you have a battery cutoff switch between the Inverter and the battery? These are all crucial components for your COC and covers you in the event of a fault / claim 2 - Im not sure if its needed when you dont have solar as the functionality is to export excess solar and the CT stops this. I would have it installed nonetheless 3- As @Psy mentioned - at that level its much of a muchness on which panels. 8 should be fine at that W rating for each MPPT. You don't want to exceed the 425V else the mppt will blow

Could something have changed in your system mode 1 or 2 screens?

Hi Pierre - please also attach your system mode 1 and 2 screens

I really do like the comradery and non-toxicity that exists here - its refreshing - we are all learning and trying to help each other out. Thanks @Energy-Jason for creating this forum

Have you guys managed to get this resolved? I got a couple of firmware updates that seem to resolve the EPS Voltage high issue but still getting the high battery voltage errors

Maybe also try switching everything off - inverter and battery - and then switching it on again?

That's very bizarre... are you able to get a firmware update loaded for you by the installer?

What inverter settings do you have for the battery? Should be in Menu 03. All dipswitch 2 should be UP and the others down. The battery setting in menu 03 should be Lithium and Battery model 8 for Dyness.

Interesting - hopefully we get a cloud-free day and you can compare

I've seen this with a Shoto battery and that Luxpower Inverter as well. Do you get any errors / warning on the Luxpower? With the SOC lights off what happens if you activate loadshedding (turn off the mains)?

You are running Dyness batteries which are 80% DOD (you can run then down to 20% and not impact / affect warranty etc) so a discharge from 100-25% is within the manufacturer bounds. What's key though is understanding your home usage patterns. If you set your minimum to 25%, if the batteries reach 25% at 2 / 3am - is that enough to take you to 7 / 8 am for PV to take over? You also have 6000 cycles at an 80% DOD so at 1 cycle per day that's approx 15years before you should run into any capacity issues What i have done is a stepped approach - so i allow mine to run down to: 75% before 9:45pm 65% before 11:45 20% before 5am - so if LS hits at 5am i have enough in the tank until 7am when PV is greater than load. This is based on knowing that if i have 65% at midnight i can make it to the morning

The grid charge under battery is the master grid charge setting. If this is ticket it allows the battery to be charged from the grid. If this is not ticked then nothing you do on the system mode screen regarding grid charge will work The hybrid nature is as you have stated but also allows you to feed excess energy back to non-essentials and the grid by extension. You are also able to fully blend multiple sources of energy and do this according to some system logic. One of those settings is in system mode where you tell the inverter what to do between say 6pm and 6am - you can set some or all of that time slot to use batteries or grid while managing the battery levels Lithium batteries generally don't like being at 100% all the time - its recommended to run then down regularly to exercise them if you were. For system mode - if you only want to use Eskom between 6pm and 6am then for that time slot set your minimum battery to a value you are comfortable with - the battery is used to this state of charge then the grid is used after that. When the power goes the battery will kick in automatically.

Is it between the Inverter and the DB board OR between the Main incoming line and the DB board?