Freakazoid

Hi @Shain
As I understand it, the Smart Load will always first pull power from the PV (when available), then the batteries and then, when the batteries reach their minimum set SOC, the grid. I don't think it is possible for it to skip the batteries and pull straight from the grid. 
You should, however, be able to get a workable solution by playing around with your smart load settings and minimum battery SOC value (the point at which your inverter pulls power from the grid). 
I hope this helps. 
Regards 

Hi @Tariq
If you need to "Kickstart" your AUX port by switching on the kettle then it means that your Smart Load (AUX) power setting is set too high... The inverter can't determine the maximum PV power available, it looks at what you're currently producing (which is partially determined by what load your drawing). I set my value quite low, around 200W. I then know that my Geyser can then still switch on until approximately 30 minutes before sunset... 
@Brickman, yes, my AUX port switches On at 95%SOC. I found that in the last 5% SOC there is actually very little usable power in my batteries... Also, my BMS seems to slow down the charging rate to top up those last few percent so there isn't much sense in waiting for the SOC to reach the full 100% before my Geyser kicks in, 95% is "full enough" (if that makes sense) 

Hi @Brickman
Yes, I have the Deye 8kW and also run my Geyser off the Smart Load (AUX) port. Works like a charm and exactly how you explained it! 
With my setup, the PV will supply my load first, charge the batteries second and then, once the batteries are pretty much charged up (95%SOC), switch on the geyser. It is basically fit and forget and one always has the option to manually switch on the geyser using the "On grid always on" option! This is also a handy future of you want to manually switch on the geyser if you're not at home (using the Solarman Smart app with your account enabled for remote management). 
In my opinion, the AUX port is the perfect option to run a geyser off. 

Hi @Tariq
If you need to "Kickstart" your AUX port by switching on the kettle then it means that your Smart Load (AUX) power setting is set too high... The inverter can't determine the maximum PV power available, it looks at what you're currently producing (which is partially determined by what load your drawing). I set my value quite low, around 200W. I then know that my Geyser can then still switch on until approximately 30 minutes before sunset... 
@Brickman, yes, my AUX port switches On at 95%SOC. I found that in the last 5% SOC there is actually very little usable power in my batteries... Also, my BMS seems to slow down the charging rate to top up those last few percent so there isn't much sense in waiting for the SOC to reach the full 100% before my Geyser kicks in, 95% is "full enough" (if that makes sense) 

Hi @Brickman
Yes, I have the Deye 8kW and also run my Geyser off the Smart Load (AUX) port. Works like a charm and exactly how you explained it! 
With my setup, the PV will supply my load first, charge the batteries second and then, once the batteries are pretty much charged up (95%SOC), switch on the geyser. It is basically fit and forget and one always has the option to manually switch on the geyser using the "On grid always on" option! This is also a handy future of you want to manually switch on the geyser if you're not at home (using the Solarman Smart app with your account enabled for remote management). 
In my opinion, the AUX port is the perfect option to run a geyser off. 

Hi Clinton @C solar
I like what you've done with your maximum theoretical production curve. What's the total area under the "combined production" curve (total theoretical daily production) for such a system?
I think the ideal setup (with 16 panels) would be an East string (5 panels), a North string (6 panels) and a West string (5 panels) with the East & West panels paralleled on the one MPPT and the North string on the other MPPT (basically what you proposed in your theoretical calc). I actually think that this setup would produce a greater daily yield (in a typical home) than a system with all panels facing North. An East, North & West string split will tend to "flatten" but "widen" your daily production curve as you start producing earlier in the morning (East string) and produce until later in the afternoon (West string). The peak production around midday (predominantly North string) would be compromised but in my experience, we won't use the full production capacity during midday of an all north facing setup. Typically, our house would only use a maximum of around 6kW at any moment so a system that can deliver 8kW would be wasted capacity. I would rather have a system with a maximum production capacity of 6kW but with the "extra" 2kW capacity available for use in the late afternoon (when we are cooking or bathing the kids). This means we start drawing power off our batteries later in the afternoon.
On my system, during the summer months, my maximum daily consumption is much less than in winter which means that I probably only use between 40% and 50% (estimate) of my system's full installed production capacity. On most summer days, my geyser is warm and my batteries (15kWh) are full at around 10:00!! The benefit of being "overspec'd" on production capacity during summer is that we tend to have many cloudy or rainy days so with the extra capacity we always manage to fill up the batteries and warm up the geyser. You might only have 3 or 4 hours of sunshine on some days but with your production capacity spread over 3 directions it doesn't matter when you get some sunshine.
This has become a really interesting discussion!
Regards,
Rudolph
 
 

Hi Rudolph @Freakazoid,
If this blue curve is typical for a sunny day on your Mppt 1, then I'm surprised and impressed.
      1) Its a wiiide steady curve with strong production early in the morning already.
      2) In April you are getting very close to the 4kW (+-) upper limit of your Mppt for a good wide chunk of the day.
      3) It appears as though the two string directions is actually not affecting your Mppt's production bad at all. It actually looks benificial...

Would love to see a December curve on this blue Mppt. Guessing you are producing close to 30kWh/day on a sunny December day?
Fascinating!

Compare your april curve above width mine below from a few days ago.:

You are spot on that the current 2 strings in parallel can never match what you get if the E and N would be put in series. In the morning the N panels would throttle the good output of the E string. In the midday the E would be blocking the good output from the N string.
A number of wrong inputs in some of the replies. Different directions and angles are not ideal but it is not true that you should never do it. One can just position it in the best way based on the space and different roof portions.
The MPPT will still get the maximum the combined strings can provide. The stronger one will provide most current and weaker one less. This will alternate during the course of the day.

I want to explain my findings on how my Smart load output functions.
In my opinion, there are discrepancies in Youtube videos from Sunsynk as well as their newest Installer Manual explaining this function.
I have a 150 litre geyser connected to mine and it operates as follows :
1) The solar power setting has nothing to do with the max power output - which is how they explain it. It is purely the PV power limit at which the relay will close and power the aux load Or open to disconnect, if it falls below the setting for a certain duration.  It does not limit the power output.
2) If you have grid available and the total load - normal loads + Smart load - exceeds the PV available, it draws the balance from the grid and not from the battery.
3) If grid is not available it draws the balance from the battery - Starting when battery reaches the "Aux load ON Batt" setting which is 100 % in my case.
   It switches off when the battery reaches " Aux load OFF Batt" - 95% for me.
   It will not come on again - even if PV surpases the Power setting (4000w for me)  until the battery reaches the ON Batt setting again.
4) On grid always on  will always supply power to the Smart load output, when the box is ticked and grid available.
   This can only be useful if manually enabled, after a rainy day, to "top up" your geyser.
Hope this is useful to someone.

With only 3 of those panels on a string the voltage is probably just too low to get the mppt to start up and produce power. *Edit , yea i just checked ,you neet 150v to start up the MPPT. 

I was taught there is no silly question, those questions that others might think is silly, is the exact ones I learn the most from.😁
In my opinion a changeover switch will work for that purpose as you describe, as long as your AUX load settings like battery SOC and the solar PV settings are within start-up range for smart load to function. 
You would just need to give a bit of extra attention to the wiring diagram from AUX load, as to maintain safety like earth leakage protection on equipment when it is switched over to position B.
Personally I don’t think it is the best way of running non-essentials from inverter when Eskom is down. I would rather install a changeover switch on the non-essential side as-well, that will also allow you to switch over when Eskom is down. That is how my DB is wired, with two change over switches but you than have to also monitor battery not to be drained to quick.

My setup has solar and batteries, so I do a full charge / discharge every 24 hours. But for you the reason would be that you shouldnt leave LFP batteries at full charge for extended periods. Maybe someone else with pure UPS experience can chime in, but I would say enable the timer and grid charge, then set all the time slots to 80%. Or maybe do your bit to help Eksom by dropping to 50% during the evening peak and recharge slowly.  But you already have the inverter and batteries ... those are the expensive bits. Why not add a few panels and start earning a return? 

That's it yes! Mine is warning at 15, shutdown at 10 and restart at 20. You can make yours warning at 20, shutdown at 15 and restart at 25 if you want tot go down to 25%

According to the Deye datasheet and label on the inverter, the max PV input current is 22A per MPPT but as per my original post, it seems as if my inverter is clipping at 20A. I'm not sure if anybody else with a 8kW Deye has seen currents higher than this??

Very satisfying curves today ... battery either charging or discharging almost the entire day. I hate a flatlining battery - if it is not charging or discharging it is not saving me money.  23kWh generated despite a semi overcast day, and only 1.4kWh purchased. I couldnt have done it better if I flicked the geyser and pool switches myself!

Hi Guys
Thanks for all the comments.
I will have a look at the sticker on the side of the inverter later today but I do remember that is lists 22A + 22A.
Here are the graphs of the DC Current, DC Voltage and DC Power. I doubt whether it was a WiFi issue as there is data available in the "flat" section of the DC Current graph and there is a variation in the other parameters around this time. The curve is just to consistent for it not to be due to the current being clipped... What's the process for updating the firmware on a 8kW Deye??



 
Regards,

Solarman is fine for what you want to do.  Assuming you're on Solarman Smart, use the web interface (https://home.solarmanpv.com/login) on Edge, Opera or any other broser than Chrome and login with the same credentials you use on the app.
Navigate to Export:
  
Then Plant Data > Daily Statistics > Date Selection > Export Now

Open the Excel file and change values to numbers if required.  Add a Solar Fraction column to see whatr percentage of your consumption came from the panels.   Then pat yourself on the back for averaging over 90% since the inveter was replaced. 

 
 

Hi all,
I listed some of the steps to get remote control working on Solarman Smart and Solarman Business in my installation thread, but seeing South African installers are generally unable or unwilling to assist it is probably worth highlighting it here under a separate heading.  This is the process and works as of December 2021 - Solarman seems to have little regard for change control so it may not work next year, next week, or later today.
Its been quite an ordeal, but I got it working in the end. As I remember the steps are: 
Forget about Google Playstore - the versions on there are outdated and do not support remote control (or maybe my users had not been authorised at the time) so better to get the latest versions from the Solarman website. Download the correct version of Solarman Smart from the Solarman website by scanning the QR code (currently V1.5.17) Enable unknown sources on phone (I used "My Files") Sideload apk file If you want to use Solarman Business (worth it for much better Web interface and more intuitive remote control function alone) you need to do the same with this app (Latest version 1.6.14).  Contact Deye support [email protected].  This is where I got the email from Jessica asking if we could do Whatsapp or Wechat instead (QR codes below). When sending instant messages be considerate about China being 6 hours ahead of us - better done in the morning SA Time. She has to authorise your Solarman Smart user to be able to make changes.  It may be easier to test this on the web app than on the phone. Note: for some reason the web interfaces work on Edge but not on Chrome.  When done you will see a "Remote Control" button on the Device tab in the app, or and away you go. The Work Mode settings we are after is under System Work Mode-3(Selling Mode Time), System Work Mode-6(Selling Mode Time %) and System Work Mode-2(Selling Mode Time charge) On the web interface, go to Device > Operation > More > Remote Control for the same.  Then Deye support (Jessica) must also authorise your Solarman Business account so it is visible from the Smart app. To link the Buisness account, there is no need to create a plant an link the logger (it wont work in any case, as it already belangs to your Smart user).  You have to link it from the Solarman Smart app. Go to Plant, click on 3 dots, Authorisations, then search for Buisness account and add it.  If the Business account does not show up, go back to Step 11 above. In Business app, your user must then be authorised as Super Admin for the Smart account.   If this all sounds a bit confusing, it is! Good luck!