9xsolar

Hi everyone, nameste again from India. I've searched the forum for past threads on Deye and Victron and which is better/the way to go recently but I think this warrants a new thread for my specific requirements. I've been in hibernation in the forum and the last time I installed solar, I started with a 24v Axpert and upgraded to 48v with Victron multiplus - that journey is documented here if anyone's curious: (I was a solar novice back then, not so much now!) Fast forward to 2024, my Victron multiplus 48/3000 died unexpectedly during a grid outage and is out of warranty. I've been in touch with the distributor and hoping to get some help on this. Meanwhile, the 24v axpert is back in action saving the day several years later Fortunately, I'm moving places in a few months and have been exploring what kind of options I have now and Deye inverters have caught my eye. I was looking at the 6kw SG04 deye hybird inverter, costs around 1.10L INR (25k SA money) ~ however, my searches in the forum revealed drastic support experiences with Sunsynk (rebranded, different market, I know) but the number of reports with inverters being out of commission just weeks/months in is upping my anxiety a bit. Coming from victron with a failed inverter, albeit 7 years later.. I'm fully invested in the Victron ecosystem (MPPT, BMV, RPI with venus, etc) but depending on how the repair of my Multiplus goes, I wanted to see if anything else is better. The new system has to be everything new since all my other equipment is out of warranty and won't support high voltage panels anyway. In terms of battery, I've custom built lifepo4 packs and use it already, so expect to have around 20kwh (usable) of battery storage in same 48v. I choose to custom build because ready made packs are more than twice as expensive and use more or less the same cells anyway and I prefer to have some control. This is what I have come up with in terms of inverter options that I potentially have (solar to be updated, so this thread is only on inverter capacity): 2x Deye 6KW SG04 in parallel (12kw usable) (costs 2.20L INR or 51k SA money) (5kw version is slightly cheaper but this one has a fan so I chose this) OR 2x Victron Multiplus II 48/3000 in parallel (4kw usable) (costs 1.88L INR or 44k SA money) My actual usage is 4.5kw max peak, with 2.5kw mostly. If I wire the geyser on the smartload/2nd output of the multi, I will likely stay well below the 4kw limit I think. Unfortunately I missed the victron 3 phase promotion (buy 2 get 1 free), would've been nice to have that now. Redundancy is important for me, that's why I picked two for both inverters in the equation. However, with victron, if 1 were to die, I cannot use all of my loads anymore unlike the deye where 1 is enough already. My mind says to go deye (12k output... don't have to spend on MPPT) but the heart says to go victron. Perhaps some input from the community will help sway the mind Thanks everyone in advance. PS. I asked around about the RS models from victron (48/6000 and the likes) but it is not available here. The inverter RS is available (more or less same price as Multiplus II due to a promotion) but it does not have a grid input.

I've been talking to a local supplier (relatively speaking, they're 1200km away lol) for a custom built 48v Lifepo4 battery pack to use with my Victron Multiplus 3000 / MPPT 150-70 / BMV-702. Since it's not a branded off-the-shelf product, I've been trying to get more information on the pack itself -- 1) Total size of 210ah using 45 CALB CAM72 cells (15s3p) 2) Some OEM BMS (I'm trying to push for bluetooth/connectivity based one) so I can get all the voltage information a bit easily -- but I understand it's not gonna be able to talk to my inverter Now, I have some interesting questions that (I need @plonkster's and everyone else's opinion on!) -- 1) Do you think 15s makes sense? I've seen people building 16s -- I guess both can work either way right with a Victron setup? Does the axpert not care too? (I'm thinking of getting an Axpert to run off of the same battery, but that a very future setup, just poking my brains into it) 2) Is it possible to identify the "cell" more accurately? I know this is a stupid question, but how to ensure I'm not being taken for a ride with a cell that isn't what is being promised? 3) Is there a preset (in Victron) that I can use to specify a custom charge profile? (i.e let's say I want to charge only up-to 90% and not discharge beyond 20%, for example) -- I'm not sure how reliable it would be to use voltage for this calculation? 4) Do you think it's possible to parallel with a similar pack in the future (provided both packs are same voltage during connection?) 5) Instead of a complete pack of 210ah, do you think it'd make sense to have 3 different packs (i.e 3 separate packs with their own BMS)? Different packs mean higher cost but I'm not sure how common it is to use the same BMS for a parallel pack. Thanks -- look forward to everyone's feedback! Hope y'all are safe. (sorry I haven't been so active here, life is pretty hectic ... hoping to be a regular member again!)

Alright, I resetup everything from scratch again and now the Multi doesn't support loads at all (not even from the battery) and no matter what limit I put in RPI for discharge it doesn't do anything. Also, now the voltages are different. (screenshot below with no limits on discharge, and plenty of sun and yet nothing's happening) Here's the networked operation charge voltage from the MPPT : Setting from VEConfig : DVCC is enabled right now. I will pm you my email. Edit ---------------------- Reverted back to my old SDCARD for the time being and everything works as intended (with your script)

I can confirm Assistant loaded (ESS) is up-to date. Gotcha - I also see that the wattage displayed (especially for Grid meter) are 1s delayed. L1/L2/L3 values below the main value appears faster than the global value. Just nitpicking as this didn't happen before too. Thanks, that explains number 7. I tried to power cycle everything (including the MPPT) and had no effect on this. In addition, I see that the MPPT flashes "absorption" orange LED in-between the blue "float" LED that flashes in accordance to "being in control of ESS". I haven't seen this before, and this happens to be at the same time when I see "discharging" happening as PV power drops. I've noticed this to drop even when there's no change of sun (i.e no cloud). Got one more customer in the link below who mentioned it too : https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ess:ess_mode_2_and_3 (had to attach screenshot as Disqus doesn't allow linking by comment) I also double checked the values in VEConfigure and they're lower than what's in the MPPT settings. For now, I have disabled DVCC and will try to monitor tomorrow to see how it works.

Yes, I updated the inverter to 430 (with ESS Assistant). Here's the exact steps I did: Update MPPT to latest (via Victron bluetooth) (reconnected to old RPI SDCARD after update and it worked) Attempt to update Battery monitor (no update) Disconnected inverter from old RPI SDCARD Updated inverter to 430 after backup, and reconfigured using VEConfig - also added back ESS assistant Replaced the SDCARD with latest image you linked, added ssh, updated wifi, etc Connected everything to new image on RPI Now, I have : DVCC enabled / STS shared temperature sense enabled Mode - Keep batteries charged Grid Meter Installed (yes) With this, the inverter only floats the batteries using very little solar. When I move back to Optimized, it uses all available solar. I use this mode in combination with your script above in order to use the additional solar available with 100% SOC (float). However, this is no longer stable unlike before, as the inverter constantly moves from "float" to "discharging". Granted, there's way too much cloud movement today, but I haven't seen this behavior before. Added screenshot (shows discharging issue) whilst using the script. Screenshot that shows excess energy not being used when using "Keep batteries charged". Both taken at same time, so you can see difference in power. Edit. I now see a weird 'ESS #7' in the image below, any idea what that is?

Thanks again - I've updated everything and have enabled DVCC and 'Keep batteries charged'. However, that doesn't seem to use the excess solar available. Instead, it only uses the exact amount required to float/absorb the batteries. When I use 'Optimized with battery life' I can see the solar power increase drastically (200w to over 700w). Is this normal? Edit: Inverter keeps changing from 'float' to 'discharging' constantly (and I can see battery discharge for a few secs and charge again whenever I use the script above).

I don't have the DVCC feature - looks like I need to spend some time upgrading the firmware of Inverter, MPPT, Battery monitor(?) along with my PI. It's been quite a while. I'm on 2.09~03. Thanks. But if I understand it correctly, it's still a lot low if we compare it to Fronius (at least in the price point). If I for some reason get Fronius in the future, will it work when there's a power outage when paired with Victron?

@plonkster Just to update and a few questions - the system has been working pretty good so far. I only had to intervene to make adjustments to the temperature sensor; it seems to be causing too many errors (only happened a few times so far) and whenever I just move the cable a little bit on the battery, it goes back to normal. Now that rainy season is approaching - I tried to make the battery stay at 100% and use solar only directly. I noticed that when the batteries are floating yesterday, they still go back into the Bulk state the next morning, and Absorption state, and so on. Why can't they stay in Float when they're not used? I feel like I'm putting in too much into an already full battery. Any tips appreciated - thanks :) Also, we have Grid-tie getting popular here and I might have the option of enabling this (although I'm not 100% sure if I should, too much bureaucracy) - what do you think theoretically, the amount of power I can feed back into the grid with my MultiPlus? Is it going to be 2200w or perhaps much higher?

In the inverter or the RPI? In case of former, am I theoretically reducing the lifespan of the flash inside the inverter by too many read/writes? Should I be worried? Also, my batteries never reach float (usually they'll just be in Absorption for a few hours) and then sun will be down by then, and the cycle repeats. Should I make sure they float more often? Can we make adjustments to your script so that the batteries are being fed whatever they want to eat, and only the remaining gets sent to load? Any tips appreciated The firmware has been amazing, the overview screen never defaulted; and more importantly, neither the MPPT or the inverter disconnected from the RPI even once!

So far so good, I have not seen any weird behaviors so far. Edit : Started monitoring w/ your script - so far so good too! I've changed the default 60s to 5s as I felt more updates the better as the clouds here are wrecking havoc.

Bingo - works in release candidate v2.09~3 I've had some issues with the previous firmware, like randomly the screen view (?) changes to the default one randomly throughout the day as if the venus hardware itself was restarted (which is wasn't). Plus, Multi and the MPPT will constantly disconnect and reconnect randomly throughout the day... nothing serious, but still concerning. Hope this firmware works better haha.

@plonkster - I've updated the venus image to version 2.08 (directly via venus, no manual flash) and since then, Multi has disappeared from venus. I've rebooted Multi, tried disconnecting all the cables and connecting one at a time. Energy meter, MPPT and BMV are the only ones connecting. Should I upgrade the firmware for the Multi? I've upgraded the firmware of the MPPT from 1.23 to the latest via bluetooth; obviously can't do that to the Multi.. any assistance appreciated. Thanks! Edit: Rolled back firmware to 2.07~26 and Multi connects immediately. Super awesome to have backup firmware within venus, super helpful!

Sorry for the rather long delay! Haven't been in the country and couldn't do this remotely ;( Will experiment and get back - unfortunately the weather has not been so kind lately and I'm barely charging the top 20% battery usage these days.

That would be something that will make this perfect! Right now, I'm finding that as long as I keep the battery charging in Bulk, the MPPTs are maxed - things get tricky once they enter Absorption or Float in which case I manually change the Max Inverter power to keep things balanced. It seems I'm just too paranoid to use batteries above their C20 rate, and the ability to maintain battery + grid in parallel is something that I absolutely love so far. Week long data:

This still ensures the Inverter continues to run, except it will be in bypass mode and is ready to kick-in when the Grid fails, right? I think I may have triggered that as I was messing around the SoC levels. In that case, the Min Discharge SoC if set to 80%, means if it drops less than that (let's say, Grid failure) and then Grid comes back, the inverter will charge to 80% and then leave it alone? Is that how it works? What if I don't want the inverter to charge anything at that level, and only want it to interfere at the Sustain level? Edit> You've talked about it just before, I misread! What if the Min Discharge SoC is 100% - will that trigger the MPPT to power down? Because at some point in my tinkering, the MPPT went all the way down to 0W. I don't remember if it was when I had it on 100%.

After fiddling with settings such as these > MinSoC @ 80% Limit Inverter Power to ON Max Inverter Power @ 350w The Inverter started to utilize the exact battery settings and supposedly does the balancing act : After reaching 80% it seemed to have correctly started utilizing Grid more, although I'm not sure if this battery usage is fair (i.e randomly uses 80/40/20w as shown below), is that like a float charge and is it important? I thought it will completely stop battery usage, not trickle use it. Or is that the usage requirement for the inverter itself? Finally, since I have enabled Max Inverter Power - could you share me your snippet/cronjob so I can set something similarly? Otherwise I guess even in the morning the max I'd get out of my panels is 350w haha. I got '2' - but that's after I fiddled and got the inverter to stop charging. Will this value change on its own? Also, here's the ideal setup I'm looking for > Don't use battery in the morning whenever there's PV available. When PV is missing once in a while, take the requirement from Grid first and not battery. Charge battery from PV only. i.e loads get second preference. I realize that my first requirement is kinda vague, and hence we setup for the top 20% (i.e discharge SOC 80%) to use whenever there's shortage etc. I thought, in ideal world, I'll use this 20% in the evening when there is no PV whatsoever.

You asked, I shall deliver. Completed install just now. Took some time to figure out how to install ESS assistant, I was trying to change settings on VEConfig and was scratching my head on why it doesn't change or save. Then realized I need to send the settings back instead of expecting it to save on its own, haha. RPI venus setup : Now, I'm scratching my head as to how the hell do I get the inverter to stop using the batteries and rely on grid? When I change the discharge battery soc to 100%, it doesn't discharge. But by doing so, the PV charger dials down and I don't get anything out of it. Help? EDIT > Changed Grid Setpoint value from 50w to 850w and everything looks OK so far! However, how do I stop from charging the batteries using Grid? I only want to charge them using solar. BatteryLife is set to self consumption but I was assuming it will help. Also, I changed the port and added an usb extension, but that spawned multiple devices on venus which I'm unable to remove? How do I remove them? Thank you so much for your help so far!

Update: Got the Multiplus 3000 and the Energy meter. So far : Flashed RPI with your latest image; It is booting and have switched it from Ethernet to WiFi. Got the energy meter with sufficient amount of additional cabling, although I'm probably expecting to have excess. Will update the current 2 series 3 parallel MPPT setup to 3 series 2 parallel strings. Will retain 25mm^2 cabling. Total seems to be just a little over 5 meters. Will switch inverter AC-in from current Phase 3 to Phase 1 so ESS can operate on Phase 1. Will disable Phase compensation. Reusing same batteries, have ordered additional 2 for 48v, expecting delivery tomorrow. Electrician coming to setup Energy Meter tomorrow. Will update with more soon!

Roger that! I already have the desulfator, and there are some questionable videos out there :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zityJFXJEEs Got it for someone else who doesn't want it anymore, so I guess worth a try at least? Also got the HA02 this evening.

Yep, just was in touch with the Victron distributor here, will be getting EM24. Good to know you've fixed the boot issue! Will install the new one once I get hold of a power cable. Update soon! Will 25mm^2 be OK for 48v? :-) I've decided to get the same batteries and setup for a 48v. Both the batteries are less than 6 months old, and there's been a HA01 for most of their lifetime so I'm hoping they'll cope well. In any case, I'll also add a desulfator (battery extra http://www.recovermybatteries.com/ex01-12-48-200.html) to the mix and hope for the best. This will also allow me to increase the discharge wattage to maybe around 500w

Amazing, thanks for all the information! I will get the energy meter setup as soon as possible. This three phase thing might be tricky, but if that's the case, I'll just disable the two phases as only 1 or 2 applications are on different phases - will experiment with this and report back! I'll just do a long wire run, this is going to be very interesting. I'm using version 2.05 which I found from here : https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/victron-dev-venus/lgw94GJb054 - haven't been able to connect with the MPPT and BMW as I'm running short of power cable near the inverter, haha. Does the latest one have the boot fixed for the RPI3? I really want to go 48v, but these things are very hard to ignore in my case : Already have 24v, 2 batteries less than 5 months old. Ditching them as seconds is a loss. 24v system with 6v batteries are possible in the future, maybe even 2v if space allows... so, in terms of better backup per se, that's still possible. Wiring would be thicker, is 25mmsq I'm using now OK? I could go 48v if I can use the existing batteries, which means buying 2 more of the same variety and they're c20 rated. But, considering I already have the MPPT 150/70, I don't know. Simple question would be, can I series connect 2 new batteries with 2 old batteries and expect them to work properly? I'll definitely have a HA02 in between. Thanks again for your feedback so far, really appreciated.

Fortunately, our electric usage doesn't mend well with food preparation. Everything's on gas - except for some exhaust here and there, which isn't connected to the inverter circuit yet. Does that mean that with a limit discharge setup (350w for ex), and solar is shining, the inverter will prefer Grid other than bringing in more solar? (i.e batteries in float) without the cron job running to make sure it resets during the day? Curious. Not sure if I haven't mentioned, but I already do have the 150/70 vedirect model :-) That helped a lot with production, 600w to 1200w compared to the PWM inside the inverter. I went with it as it supported both 24v and 48v. Woah, you've lost me somewhere there. The meter is used to determine if other applications which aren't connected to the inverter require power other than ones connected already? So, the feed-in part is technically just powering the other things in the house and not feeding back to the grid, is it? If that's the case, how the heck does that work? I have 3 phase connection, the inverter (current one) is on one phase, while some applications are distributed to the other phases. When there's excess solar, and if the meter (if installed before the phases(?)) is getting power from grid for other applications, then the inverter will feed-in to support that? If that's the case, my mind just blew as I was thinking of the meter being present just before the Grid connection to the inverter, so I was like, why would I need a meter there when the inverter will tell me how much I've used anyway.... lol. If that's indeed the case, then my choice of the inverter would still be the same as all my objective was to make sure I utilize 100% of solar and my current setup doesn't let me do that unless I add excess amount of loads and calculate how much the MPPT can still extract. The only reason why I talked about grid-parallel was because I was thinking of connecting the air con directly to the inverter and hoping it working on ESS with grid supporting the excess load. Excess load here being the air con. But, will this setup make sure I don't feedback to the grid? I'm not sure how running electricity the other way around within the house won't make it leak outside? Sorry, layman talking electric here... I can talk linux things all day, but this just crossed a new dimension. Some unimportant questions as my mind is still blown from above .. RPI venus seems to be its own image, and when I ssh into it, it seems to be a custom venus environment. Is there any other setup that runs on top of, say, Ubuntu with direct root ssh access? My phase panel (or DB..) is on the other side of the house. The inverter/rpi would be on the opposite side. Is there a wifi solution to connecting the meter with the rpi? Are there any downsides if I wish to get the 3000 Multiplus but in 24v? Pricing here is same for either, 24v and 48v of same price in any range. Now I'm back to the drawing board to figure out how to do this! I'm sorry for asking so many questions, but you've just opened my eyes to something very shiny and my brain is on a roll and figuring out where to store the excess light. :XD

Alright, I'm finally finalizing on these things > Multiplus 1600 24v 40/16 Continue with same batteries with ESS set to discharge wattage of 200w (20amps?) - if the need to upgrade arises, I can go for 6v batteries Some last minute questions... Doess the MPPT 150/70 have an upper limit of 2000w under 24v? Would it hamper upgrade ability down the line? Is the energy meter really required? I don't want to spend more if the Multiplus can indeed take care of not feeding-in on its own. However, if not, will get it. Will 1600 version be enough to be able to overload it with, say total of 1700w when it's grid parallel under ESS? Just a bit confused about the energy meter so far.

Uhm, not sure if that's sarcasm or not, but there are voltage stablizers for air conditioners that handle more than 1kw easily. And since I only have loads upto that much, it would make sense to connect the inverter to the output of the stablizer, and input of the stablizer to Grid. Something like this :

Hoping to get the RPI up and running soon. Is it advisable or even possible to have a voltage stablizer in between the Multi and Grid?