Nicholas

Here's a basic "mixture" guideline from Pylontech. US2000B US2000 PLUS US3000 Difference and Mixture Installation.pdf

I e-mailed Voltronic about Pylontech BMS communication support on a late 2018 manufactured InfiniSolar 4kW Super. Their response was that the model was currently not supported. I have not inquired about the 3kW, 5kW and 10kW InfiniSolar Inverters.

Please describe your objective of the Hybrid Power System and your equipment and then we can advise re: appropriate settings. I'm not sure what you mean when you say "switch the output from grid to solar"

Grid-Tie with Backup (I), Grid-Tie with Backup (II) etc... ? Screenshots of the settings would allow faster troubleshooting. Has the DB been split into essential and non-essential loads, and the essential loads connected to the output of the inverter? Is the Inverter Output Enabled (Light-bulb bottom right-hand corner)?

There are multiple modes in which the InfiniSolar range of inverters can operate. In Grid-Tie with Backup mode, you can de-select the checkbox that says "Export to Grid".

I've seen spurious Error 12's on the Infini 4K. Try a firmware update (You'll need to ask your original equipment supplier), it's worked for me a couple of times.

Your AC charging windows may not be open (Restricted to a certain window of time). Please take a screenshot of your settings as programmed with Solarpower and post here. We'll need the settings from "My Power Management" as well as "Device Parameters"

Where did you purchase the inverters from, may I ask? It is usually best to request support from your original equipment supplier as they should have direct contact with a Voltronic Power rep.

Check BOOST module 1 and 2 on the inverter (On the back side of the inverter, part of the DC-DC board). These modules are responsible for the 2 MPPT's of the inverter. There is a large heatsink on each module. There are IGBT's on the side of the heatsink. Check these, I am quite confident one or more of these IGBT's will be shorted/faulty/burnt. If you wouldn't mind, please could you send me a private message with all the details of the failure and the details of the installation? The serial number, time till failure, supplier and solar panel string configuration. I'd like to document and evaluate all Infinisolar 10kW failures.

The new development from Voltronic with regards to communication with PylonTech lithium batteries will take two forms; an RS485 Card (to be plugged into the Intelligent slot of the inverter) and an RS485 external box (to be plugged into the inverter RS232 port, I believe). Either of the devices will then be connected to the RJ45 port of the PylonTech battery to complete the connection. The RS485 external box allows the operator to maintain usage of other Voltronic Infinisolar accessories typically plugged into the intelligent slot (e.g. Modbus Card, SNMP Card, GSM/GPRS Card and WiFi Card). This is an important consideration by the manufacturer because many applications will require more than 1 of the Voltronic Infinisolar accessories to be used in order to achieve the desired operating mode (e.g. A Modbus Card and Eastron SDM630M to control export power to the Grid as well as an RS485 box to control charge/discharge between the inverter and PylonTech battery bank). The PylonTech communication accessories should be available in Q1 of 2019.

Apple laptops take an astoundingly long amount of time to recognise and connect to the USB serial port on the Infinisolar inverters. If that's your only option, just sit back and relax, it'll connect eventually.

ICC works perfectly well on the Replus 3kW and as far as I know, it is a simple rebranded Infinisolar 3kW. With regards to the OP's original question, the setup/programming software for Infinisolar inverters is called "Solar Power", the latest version, I think, is 1.14SP2. You can download via this thread: Solar Power 1.14

Update: Busy trying to commission this system but to no avail. The Modbus server appears to have been correctly setup. I have confirmed communication between the smart energy meter, inverter 1, 2 and 3. I have set up the Modbus cards in "Server" mode and assigned appropriate addresses/ID's via the dip switches so that each inverter knows which phase it is on (Red, white, blue). I have programmed the inverters for Grid-Tie with Backup(II) and disabled "Allow feed-in to Grid". Alas, the inverters will not allow solar power to be generated and directed down the bi-directional grid-tie connection onto "standard" circuits (Circuits not wired directly onto the output of one of the inverters, e.g. geysers and stoves). I have done a sanity check to confirm that there is a load on the said standard circuits which should allow the inverters to produce solar power onto the appropriate phases, but all 3 inverters refuse to connect the PV array onto the utility line and supply solar power. The system produces power when I change the programming of each inverter to enable "Allow feed-in to grid". Does anybody have any experience with this type of setup and/or advice?

I tried to email them for elaboration. Unfortunately no response.

This is a very important question. Mustek and Rectron have the capability (In my Opinion), but will not repair inverters not purchased from them originally. Additionally, and from experience, Rectron does not have the largest supply of spare parts which may influence the lead time of your potential repair. I found Caprica Solar online, and while they appeared ever-willing and potentially competent to perform the repairs, they too did not have stock of any spare components/replacement boards.

The last and final inverter (Inverter number 6) has failed at our commercial site. This inverter was left configured in Grid-Tied only mode, as opposed to Grid-Tie with Backup (2) and Battery charging. The inverter could no longer see the PV array/string on MPPT1. MPPT2 was still functional though. We suspect the failure/damage has been restricted to the BOOST module due to the revised configuration which resulted in no battery being connected and no battery charging taking place. We have yet to have the inverter inspected by our supplier and will only be able to confirm the damaged components after evaluation. From the damage seen on the other inverters (BOOST module 1 - MPPT1), we suspect the problem originates in the BOOST module(s) of the inverter, with a tendency to show a failure on MPPT1 and not MPPT2.

We've experienced further failures of the Infinisolar 10kW inverter, at different installation sites. The machines all failed quite catastrophically - usually blowing the DC-DC board. We have deduced that the failures seem to be attributed to a specific batch of inverters. The effected serial numbers translate into a manufacturer date of between February and April of 2017. e.g. 96161702.... Up to 96161704 The machines we purchased were of the model description: "InfiniSolar 10k-PAR-B" We strongly believe that the failures are a result of a manufacturing or design defect present in the machines produced between the aforementioned date range. We have raised the problem with our supplier and are hoping that they will invoke action from Voltronic Power.

"SP2" has been released, I'm assuming Service Pack 2? Link here: SolarPower 1.14 SP2 Will try to identify changes in these upcoming weeks.

I agree, I think the image may have been mistakenly put there for the Infinisolar Hybrids. I've bought a Modbus server and it does not come with that extra board and it says RS485 on the one RJ45 port and not RS232.

Came across this image (2nd below) on the Voltaconsolar website with regards to the Modbus server. This seems to suggest that the 4kW Infini would be supported. Does anybody know what the board in the 1st picture is? The "Modbus server" seems to indicate an RS232 port and not an RS485 port. Perhaps the little board is an RS232 to RS485 converter?

I'd love to consider this, but I'm just too unfamiliar with the Voltronic Victron (moderator edit) product line. I think the quality of their equipment and the engineering development therein is unparalleled, but the price point and extensive documentation and subsequent knowledge required to become adept with the solutions offered, has unfortunately steered us towards the Voltronic Power range. This is no excuse and I do plan to become more familiar with the product line and understand its value proposition. In this case, I'm concerned about how the entire solution would integrate without sacrificing the Infinisolar inverter too and moving over to a Multi/Quattro + Colour Control to be integrated with the MPPT charge controllers...

Thank you, that is very helpful to know. The value proposition of the Voltronic Infinisolar range continues to astound me.

So far, there is little doubt that I have that the 4kW Super is significantly different to the 3kW Plus, which is suggested by Voltronic to operate successfully in the illustration presented in my original post. Instaling 3 Eastron SDM630's is going to be quite an inelegant solution, including significant extra cost. The reason we are looking to implement 3 single phase hybrids as opposed to a single 3 phase hybrid is for several reasons: We need 3 MPPT's because of the unique roof construction at the installation site. (Infinisolar 10kW only has 2) We need a little more output than the 3.3kW per phase provided by the Infinisolar 10kW We suspect that PV utilisation is better when incorporating single-phase inverters, one per phase, as opposed to a 3-phase inverter. I shall elaborate below: I stand to be corrected, but it is our understanding that a 3-phase grid-tied inverter produces the same output over each phase. So if said inverter was supplying 3kW, each phase would be receiving 1kW. In order to do this, the inverter would need to identify the lowest load across all 3 phases and supply that amount of load per phase. This implies that if the load is not well balanced, then the potential PV supply capacity is scuppered. Experience has shown us how dynamic and unbalanced loads in a residence can be, and with that in mind, the performance improvements offered by the 3 inverter configuration is certainly worth the consideration.

That is a very good point. I just reviewed the document: Modbus card user manual and the setup is indicated for the "3-inverter" configuration.

I disagree. The only requirement for a 3-phase supply to remain synchronised and in-phase is to supply a 3-phase load. My proposed installation/configuration can indeed accommodate a 3-phase load/machine - it would simply need to be upstream of the inverter, i.e. on the grid-tied side of the inverter connections. This means that the 3 phase load will benefit from the PV generation of the 3 inverters, but will not be backed up in the event of a power outage, i.e. the 3-phase load will not be on the output (Backup) side of the inverter. With regards to your statement about follow-up installers installing a 3-phase device - I disagree: it is the homeowner's responsibility to inform the technician that there is on-site electricity generation and an alternative power supply to the Utility. This message should be reinforced by appropriate signage on all distribution boards indicating as such. I will not respond to each of your statements thereafter suggesting the illegality of the proposed configuration because I suspect that you are unfamiliar with the wiring of an Infinisolar inverter. Nonetheless, I will clarify that the output of each inverter will be supplied through a single phase live and neutral breaker (The input and output neutrals will be separate).