pspspeed

Wow, I got ICC-Solar on Pi running yesterday. This is absolutely brilliant.  Awesome piece of software. Is Manie no longer on these forums - havent seen his posts since about Jan 2018. Anyway thanks Manie.
Just had to comment on it.

I present this program that I share with you in its VERSION 2.0. It is only for Goodwe Series "ES", that is, for GW3648D-ES and GW5048D-ES.

It has been developed solely for academic and hobby purposes, without any commercial objective.
With reference to Version 1.0 of the download area of the forum, beyond the correction of errors, small aesthetic changes, elimination of erroneous information from Goodwe itself (e_day and e_total), the self-discovery of the Power Inverter within the LAN network and adding battery self-defining parameters, I found it interesting to focus on one of Goodwe's weak points, which is the error log.

Like most users who have experienced them and beyond the degree of technical knowledge, I would have liked Goodwe some more information when a "trip" occurs due to different circumstances during the use of batteries, normal operation or provoked with reference to The Working Load and Maximum Powers allowed, either in essential or non-essential loads or in both.

The operating parameters in the event of an error, the SEMS PORTAL shows them with 1 (minute) between data, a true eternity, this is of little use and the resulting query is frustrating, generally.
This topic has been mentioned among other threads here:
https://powerforum.co.za/topic/4272-victron-easysolar-5kva-or-goodwe-5048d-es/?tab=comments#comment-68163
https://powerforum.co.za/topic/6782-goodwe-tripping-problem/
https://powerforum.co.za/topic/5068-tripping-of-goodwe-inverter/
https://powerforum.co.za/topic/6275-goodwe-5048es-not-restarting-after-backup-output-trips/page/2/
https://powerforum.co.za/topic/5304-goodwe-cutting-power-to-house/
https://powerforum.co.za/topic/7085-goodwe-5048d-es-fault-tripped-with-a-bang/
Trip events ARE NOT REGISTERED by GOODWE, at least not in all circumstances from what I have seen.
Goodwe records some events that are of some use, but there are not many. These can be consulted in the PV Master application as you already know and with a descriptive text. In this system that I make available to the PowerPhorum community, the option * Error / event log * shows the GOODWE events registered in PV Master, whose code I have been able to associate with a description in red letters on a white background and with the In order for this to have a greater sense and utility, I have added to this register the fundamental parameters of Operation at the time of the Device Error, such as Temperature, Apparent Power (workload), Effective, Voltages, Loads, Batteries, etc.
The rest of the Events appear with the name "System", of these there is a group in black letters and a red background that are the Reset and Trip events, because when Goodwe is reset it does not leave any record. To partially solve this, the parameters that I show in these cases are the live values taken "1 (one) sample before the event", that is, if the update of the live data you want to set it to, for example, 1000 milliseconds and The this system finds that Goodwe rebooted at 10:25:30, for example, in the Event Log you will see the live data logged up to 10:25:29.
To be more accurate than what the Goodwe readings give, if you have higher precision instruments than the device sensors, for example with external AC meters like the Eastron SDM series,Carlo Gavazzi, etc., or for batteries using a multimeter or with a Victron BMB600 or BMV702 connected between the batteries and the Inverter, in the OPTION "PARAMETERS" the AC Voltage values can be corrected and, on the other hand, Current or DC Voltages in the state of charge or discharge of the batteries in +/- to the hundredth of a volt or ampere. In this case, in the "LIVE DATA" section of the left panel, the parameter with the [c] indication will appear. If you accept the direct Goodwe values without any correction, just leave the values at "0", I have also added the Goodwe "Self-Consumption" Value for better precision in energy calculations. My device draws between 60 and 66 watts, which is more than the manufacturer reports. You can adjust other values for greater precision that are self-explanatory.
They will also have an idea of the actual maximum daily PV voltages and amps under load conditions (V imp and A imp) of each string, which can guide us to make modifications to our strings by pushing a little further towards the Goodwe limit in a more safe.
The maximum daily values of some parameters appear on the main screen of the scheme. I emphasize that to update a maximum value, internally I consider it only if 2 (two) consecutive samples are higher than the previous one, this in order to avoid peaks due to AC harmonics and / or other electrical disturbances with very instantaneous peaks.

Your comments and suggestions welcome!

You can use the EzManage app to view - but don't do settings with it and PV master - it will jumble your settings if you use both for settings.
 

Hi - yes the power to the 'back-up' output.  The normal grid connected stuff is not affected like the stove, aircon, geyser and the garage.
I will check on the connection of the EZMeter.
 
FixAMess - I'm all for going to that firmware version but lets wait and here what Goodwe says.
EZMeter test runs successfully.
 
I will report back here once things are sorted.
 

I just checked, and I have that same issue too. Starting, as you say, on the 20th.
Annoying, because a month's worth of data is how I can accurately track ROI

Just some feedback: It was the breaker on the street pole that is faulty. 🤜

Just some feedback: It was the breaker on the street pole that is faulty. 🤜

Just some feedback: It was the breaker on the street pole that is faulty. 🤜

A dodgy circuit breaker, connection or switch between the inverter output and the lights could cause that flickering.

It was the "street" 60A breaker to our house that had corroded on one side, and was slowly dying.  Also had low 210V moments.

Hmmm. Tried using Edge rather than Chrome and it works just fine. In fact a little better, because it's using different, more easily distinguished colours for the graph. 

Ok - thanks for the emails - it came back online at around 16:10 by itself - we still in loadshedding till 17:00 (or17:30).  Luckly I do not need a range extender.  Neighbour reports his is back as well.
 

[email protected]
or
[email protected]

I agree @plonkster 51.8 V, or 3.45 V per cell, is enough to have a 80% of LiFePo4 capabilities.

If you're not going to cycle them, then reduce the charge voltage and hold them somewhere around 90% SoC. For pylontech I'd say float around 51.8V or thereabouts.
I cycle mine, for the simple reason that my most expensive power costs R2.55 per kwh, and my estimated battery cost is already lower than that (it is not yet lower than the R1.85 I pay in the <600kwh bracket). So I literally aim at keeping my annual grid consumption at 7200kwh and using the battery for the rest. Presently this means I cycle the battery down to 35% DoD... but interestingly only in spring and autumn. In summer the aircons directly consume most of the PV, and in winter there is less sun, so then I run at a lower 15% DoD.

@Manie may not participate on the forum but is always available on his website. Besides ICC will tell you when a new version is available, at least my ICC-Pi does and also describes the changes. Then it is a simple matter of clicking the Upgrade button. For the last few days I have had no problems in monitoring my system from a cruise ship using the VPN connection available on the Gargoyle firmware on my router. During the past month I have tried this from an Emirates airliner, on the ground in Dubai and for the past week from the ship. The Gargoyle free firmware is really outstanding and complements ICC nicely in monitoring and controlling your system from afar, either via wifi, cellular data connections, or whatever Internet connection available at the time.

Wow, I got ICC-Solar on Pi running yesterday. This is absolutely brilliant.  Awesome piece of software. Is Manie no longer on these forums - havent seen his posts since about Jan 2018. Anyway thanks Manie.
Just had to comment on it.

Another big advantage if you have lithium batteries is that you do not have to worry about partial stage of charge.  Going through a Cape Town winter with lead acid batteries opened my eyes! 

There is a balance/tipping point involved. At some point it is cheap enough that you are prepared to take the chance even if the claims don't stack up. For example, you might say that even if it lasts only 7 years instead of the claimed 15... at the price it might still make sense (though I don't think we're quite there yet). I don't think you should (or even will) wait the whole 7-15 years before making the jump. Also, typically the decision is event-driven, just like the installation of a solar water heater is often driven by the prior event of a burst geyser 🙂
They are also pretty well tested in some applications already. Where their entire capacity is used in very short time spans (80%-100% on each cycle), we already know they last 2000 cycles. We also know that similar chemistries used in other applications (Tesla, higher energy density) typically lasts 3000 cycles before reaching the 80% mark. So my feeling is that most LFP batteries on the market today will do at least half as good (or better) than their advertising says. Per (advertised) cycle they are already cheaper... so less than 50% to go before they reach the tipping point.
But back on topic: We're talking about a UPS here, a load-shedding rig. And there is always the issue of buying something that makes expansion possible (adding more modules later), and then not doing it... and then you're stuck with an old battery some years later when you do want to upgrade and other things are on the market by then. So I am half inclined to tell @pspspeed to install good quality 200Ah AGMs and be done with it... until next time 🙂

If you can afford to go the Lithium-ion route, you will never use lead-acid again. I've started out by building my own packs with only using recycled 18650 laptop cells and the result is totally different. 

I think there are a few points deserving comment here:
1. It is not good practice to add new lead acid batteries to an existing used bank.  Batteries age both with time as well as with discharge cycles, and as they do, they take, hold and deliver energy at a decreasing rate. Adding a bank of fresh batteries in parallel with your existing ones will result in disparate charging between the two.  This can be managed to a degree, but is not ideal.  Top quality flooded batteries like Trojans are apparently less susceptible to this than your typical SLA or AGM block. This, incidentally, is one of lithium's great advantages - you can pretty-much add capacity whenever you like, as the BMSs manage the batteries at cell-level.
2. For a backup application, you need to pay attention to the "C" rating of your battery - this tells you how much energy you will get out of the battery at a particular rate of discharge.  Most lead acid batteries are rated at C10, some at C20 - in other words, a 100Ah (C10) battery will be able to give you 100Ah of energy when discharges over 10 hours WHEN NEW.  For a power backup application, and in particular load shedding, we are typically looking at a 2-3 hour backup requirement.  A typical 100Ah AGM battery would have a C3 rating of 80Ah. Most lithium batteries are rated at C1, but warranty requirements may limit use to C2, which is still fine.
3. Whilst the economics of total energy of Lithium is a clear winner, you need to be aware of your maximum power requirements.  The greater discharge depth of lithium allow a smaller battery to be utilised, but there is a limit to the continuous maximum power that can be drawn.  For example, the Pylon 3.5kWh battery coupled to an Axpert inverter (no communication) must be limited to a 37A (1.75kW) continuous discharge rate, to comply with warranty conditions. If you have a larger capacity inverter you can control this by installing a suitably rated circuit breaker on the inverter output (effectively de-rating the inverter), which can be increased at a later stage if you decide to add more battery.
3.As @DaveSA indicated, you need to decide whether you intend to cycle your batteries.  In brief, if you want to make use of your solar panels, you need to cycle the batteries.  If you intend to cycle, you need to go lithium. It's as simple as that, if you have grid power.  There is no lead acid battery which offers a warranted cost/kWh which is cheaper than grid power.
In summary, I would recommend lithium over lead acid in all but the most basic backup setups, assuming budget allows, the inverter is compatible, and you are sure of your energy and power requirements.  Its also useful to remember that you will be comparing capacities of the various batteries when new, but due to the significantly longer cycle life of lithium, the difference in usable energy after a year or two can become increasing disparate in lithium's favour.
Enjoy!
 

Ahh thanks guys for the replies - while my system is still new I can possibly get rid of my 4 x 100ah AGM's at a decent price. I think I am going to take the plunge and get 2 x 2.4kw Lithiums - that should keep me for a while. As Jaws also said - they look so much neater and yes, I am cycling the batteries during the day - running on solar and battery before it pulls in eskom if the clouds get in the way.