Niel

Yeah, I'm not holding my breath on that one either.

Yeah, I'm not holding my breath on that one.

So CoCT made an interesting update to their website: http://www.capetown.gov.za/City-Connect/Apply/Municipal-services/Electricity/apply-for-authorisation-to-install-a-small-scale-embedded-generation-system "If you do not intend to feed in to the grid, .... A prepayment meter is required and will be installed by us at our cost." This is different to the quote they sent me a few months ago where I had to pay R2200 for the new meter.

So it seems the real problem is the age of our Goodwe. Here's what Goodwe China say: "According to the SN,we can see this is the NON-ARM inverter which is different from what I have talked before. For this kind of inverter,you will need use the ezconverter to communicate with the US3000 battery." Now to go and find this EzConverter thing...

The DoD setting on the Goodwe is 80% but looking at the lights on the batteries, it actually draws down to less than 10% SoC. And for some reason I can't seem to change the DoD setting using the app. I really need the Pylons and Goodwe to talk to each other.

Sorry, I need some help understanding that. It is the cable that came with the Pylontech batteries (the separate cable pack) for connecting to the inverter. I don't know the difference between normal and cross-over. How can I check that?

I wish I knew this before buying the Pylontechs. Everyone states this is a good battery for use with the Goodwe but no-one says the two doesn't actually talk to each other.

It would seem so, yes. A bit of online research seemed to confirm this so I tried it. The battery and the inverter still does not communicate with each other but at least the EzMeter still communicates with the Goodwe.

Ok, it seems it wasn't quite as successful as I hoped. I connected the Pylontech batteries to the Goodwe as instructed and everything works, but it seems the batters and the Goodwe aren't talking to each other. The App shows "Battery Communication Fail" next to BMS status. Two things: 1. The US3000 is not actually available as an option in the app so I selected US2000B*2. 2. I assume the communication cable should go to RS485 port on the Pylontech. Now here's the weird thing. As soon as I connect to the RS485 port on the Goodwe, it stops reading the EzMeter as well. Has anyone come across this issue and have a solution?

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I have the disconnects and fuses. But when someone tells me I can't muck it up, I tend to do exactly that (and then it is usually something simple I missed).

I'm looking to install 2 Pylontech US3000's with our Goodwe (basically replace the current lead acids with the Pylontechs). I have two options: 1. Find a reputable installer in CT. Apparently that is not that easy. I found an installer and got a reasonable quote but a quick look on HelloPeter raised alarm bells. Another installer never even bothered to provide a quote. 2. Buy the batteries and cables online from a reputable supplier - thanks to this forum I found a few - and try the installation myself. I'm not an engineer but I am very practical and can usually figure things out. Youtube videos make it look like a plug and play installation for the most part. Any advice? If (1), then please provide the name of a reputable installer.

Quick question, did they make an appointment or was it a surprise visit? My wife knows where the "stuff" are but that's about it. I'll have to be home when the inspector visits.

This does not limit the output of the inverter, only the feedback to the grid. My understanding is that I have to upgrade to 80A grid supply if I want to use a 4.6kW inverter, irrespective of whether I feed back or not. It doesn't make any sense to me, but I'm not electrically inclined.

I don't think there will be any change to the monthly fixed cost. If there is, I don't know what it will be. The thing is I don't plan to push back into the grid. I simply need the supply upgraded so that the 4.6kW inverter meet requirements. I don't see the need to upgrade the meter either. Does anyone know what such an upgrade should involve? Is it as simple as the upgrade of a breaker?

After two months I finally received my quote: R7,231.95! And it does not make any sense to me. I need help please. Can someone tell me why I have to replace my meter? And what does "Shared network charge" mean?

I'm probably fall into the "Dr, mechanic, family" category and all of this is getting too technical for me to follow. We have a 60A feed but the Goodwe does up to 4.6kW. Is it not as simply as applying for a 80A feed with the CoCT?

Sorry for the late reply, was on holiday. According to the app, the firmware version is 07X. When I make changes to the settings, I can select "yes" when asked to restart and sometimes this works fine, other times I get "Setup failed". I then have to shut down the inverter and start it up again.

Ok, (hopefully) final update. After a bit of back and forth with the Goodwe guys, I reset the wifi, set it up again, rebooted the Goodwe and it is now working. It seems though, after changing some settings, I need to reboot the inverter for the changes to take effect. This is a hassle, but fortunately I don't change settings often.

Update: Goodwe got back to me and sent me a new update programme (using the same firmware file though). I update the slave using this programme and the inverter is working again. Thank goodness. However, now I can't seem to connect the wifi anymore...

Update: so I received an email from Oliver (Weiqun Shen) with files and instruction on how to update the Goodwe. There seems to be a "master" and "slave" and the master updated succesfully but the slave not and now I'm stuck with a non-functioning Goodwe. Is sent them the error message details and will see what they come back with. What's interesting to me is that they said nothing about a control board, even though I asked.

Awesome, thanks Fuenkli!

Thanks Fuenkli. It seems we have an older inverter as the serial numbers starts with a 3. Did you install the new control board yourself? I'm wary of tinkering with something so expensive. Do you have a contact at Goodwe that you can recommend?

I need some help upgrading the firmware on our Goodwe ES. According to the app it still runs firmware version 1 and it seems the app has less and less ability to update the settings on the inverter ("Setup Failed"). 1. Will an updated firmware allow me to change more settings through the app? 2. If so, how do I update the firmware? Internet searches has been rather unsuccessful. Thanks

I'm happy with the data I get from my Goodwe internet portal. I'm not sure what one might need but for my purposes, it's fine. And it's free.

Thanks TTT. For now I literally just want to add 2 panels to the array and split the cabling to the two PV ports on the inverter. It should be quick and easy money but I understand the guys want to focus on the big jobs. Thanks for the list.