IdlePhaedrus

Mine did too on G59. This was at least tested, but loads like the well point pump weren't running at the time. The well point pump also has a pressure switch so it switches on and off repeatedly every few seconds or less depending on the pressure for the station. I have no idea why the inverter did this. But it did. But everything is behaving better since the change. Am still fascinated by the issue though. If anyone is interested feel free to pm me and I will send the raw data from the portal for the day. It is sitting on my desktop.

I have an interesting story to tell in this regard. I have a Solis inverter. The installer never set the grid standard to NRS from the default G59 UK standard, or failed to set it after the firmware was updated (they managed to brick it first by installing the wrong firmware, another long story). The PR Eng who signed off on the system also didn't check the settings. But the long and the short of it is that various items in my house, mostly pumps and motors behaved abominably and there was one prepaid meter trip which CoCT had to reset in the box down the road. And then, one day, while the well point pump was running and load shedding hit the inverter failed to switch off. It has a CT so it shouldn't feed back into the grid but it definitely remained on. The voltage in the house was all over the place but I realised what was happening and shut the inverter down manually. But it had run for a good few minutes. I checked the settings myself at this point (in theory I shouldn't have access to the the service menu on the inverter, another oversight by the installer / PR Eng and I had purposefully not gone there because it was not my job) and saw the G59 setting and said to myself, nah, this can't be right. So I got hold of Solis UK (installer hadn't responded to my issues, or checked the settings as asked, repeatedly). Friendly Saffer chap from Cape Town actually; and I set the grid standard to NRS. Now everything is much happier including the pump and motor in the washing machine and well point, and the inverter actually does stop when the grid goes and the pump is running. The rest of the settings still need to be checked and I am not qualified to do it. Installer promised me end last year they will come this year, but so far this year nada. A mate of mine who installs large scale wind farms was gob-smacked that the grid standard had not been properly set and checked after the firmware update, and then further by the PR Eng. But essentially, it would appear, in some circumstances, a grid tied inverter (well the Solis in this instance) will not turn off when the grid goes down. Never had this problem with my (non NRS approved) Fronius. I still owe my installer the remainder of the installation fee (paid a 75% deposit). Who thinks I should pay them the remainder?

That sounds a little like the "Solar Generators" I looked into a little while back (bit of a misnomer): https://www.takealot.com/lithium444-power-pack-by-flexopower/PLID53187537 https://www.loot.co.za/product/goal-zero-yeti-1250-portable-generator-with-cart-220v/rcbw-5596-g510 https://www.sustainable.co.za/goal-zero-sherpa-100-solar-power-kit.html https://solagize.co.za/product/goal-zero-yeti-3000-lithium-portable-power-station/ @Energy I did a bit of calculating yesterday and I think a more complete battery solution to compliment my grid tied setup is still too expensive per watt hour to my frugal mind. I went to chat with Cooper Power this morning who I got my UPS from in 2014 and it kinda confirmed my suspicions regarding cost. So I am likely just going to replace the batteries in that for now so I can work during load shedding, and tackle a more comprehensive solution down the line when the watt hour for batteries gets a little closer to the price from the utility.

I don't dispute this at all. Any 110/220 AC source that needs to be stepped down by inverter to DC (regardless of specific voltage) will not be as efficient as feeding the device from a DC battery directly. But an online UPS is only generally required where the device is absolutely critical, like medical devices for example, and are usually more expensive than offline UPS's. But this is all pushing this thread off track and not overly relevant I don't think. Feel free to poke me in the ribs by DM 🙂, but I would like to see more about what others are doing or going to do given that load-shedding is back, and is likely to be be around for a bit given that Eskom were short of 16gw of capacity on Saturday morning. I really liked @Energy 's solution, but the cost is beyond my pocket. If similar could be achieved for two thirds the cost then we are talking cool bananas, especially in relation to existing grid tied situations.

I thought this was entirely down to whether the UPS was online or off-line. As far as I understand it any inverter that has a "transfer time" to switch from failed utility to battery is essentially off-line and won't run the load off the battery all the time. Apologies if I am not correct in this assumption and please correct me if I am wrong.

Love this feature 😂:

That's really lekker. Is that Growatt the SPF-3000? I have to replace my 4x100ah Guardian UPS batteries (R8k) as they have done their five year duty, and two of them are no longer chargeable (the top two in the enclosure in series interestingly or coincidentally) after stage 6 and two 8 hour outages as a result of transformer trips / repairs last month. I've been thinking of getting something like that to supplement my grid tied solar to cover my night time usage (between 2.5 and 3 kwh) over and above load shedding, but struggling to justify the cost. That looks around R40k of kit at retail prices before labour, shipping, commissioning etc etc. @plonkster would you suggest two 200ah batteries instead? What would be the direct benefit of 4x 100ah batteries of similar quality besides saving a bit of space? Might just start with upgrading my UPS inverter to something similar to the Growatt for now. The one I have is a 24v 2000Va/1200w SantakUPS, not dissimilar to the Ellies one I expect. I see there are some comments above about staying away from these little inverters, but honestly this device has done exactly what it was supposed to do within the usage parameters originally specified. But I want something 'smarter'.

For 1, look at these: https://openenergymonitor.org/ https://shop.openenergymonitor.com/emonpi-3/ You can buy one ready made, but if you like you can build one yourself. Here are some hardware options depending on how many CTs you want: http://lechacalshop.com/gb/internetofthing/26-raspberrypi-1x-current-sensor-adaptor-1-voltage-emoncms.html http://lechacalshop.com/gb/internetofthing/27-raspberrypi-7x-current-sensor-adaptor-1-voltage-emoncms.html

For 2 there are might be short codes for your meter. What make and model do you have? Have the codes for two or three.

Have found what is causing this. The well-point pump (with pressure chamber and pressure switch) appears to confuse the Solis into not switching off when the grid goes down.

So, today, when load shedding started the Solis decided not to stop feeding back into the grid 😮 It ran for a few minutes before I realised. Before I turned it off the voltage readings on my UPS inverter were all over the shop (as one would expect). NOT A GOOD DEVELOPMENT! 🙄 Have subsequently tested it manually and it has worked as expected, but ja, dunno.

Good luck. As a matter of interest what is your firmware version on the logger? According the the portal mine is MW_08_0501_1.58. I believe there are newer versions.

Let us know how you get on, would be interested to know. Have a pi running pi-hole which I could do something with.

Did some research into this a while back but didn't come up with anything definitive, or try any of the solutions as I haven't had the time. Here are some links you might want to look through: https://github.com/XtheOne/Inverter-Data-Logger https://github.com/Crosenhain/ginlong_poller https://github.com/graham0/ginlong-wifi/issues/5 https://www.domoticz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=7941&sid=41a51fc93c63ad9dc1e331f06a572349&start=160 https://www.domoticz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7941&start=140 https://sourceforge.net/projects/ginlong-inv/

Have a 3kw Solis, it has been running for about two months. So far it appears to be a good inverter given the price, it is doing what it is supposed to be doing (it replaces an old 4kw Fronius that wasn't on the NRS list). Personally I would stick with what is on the approved NRS list. The last time I looked the Kodak's weren't on it, but that might have changed. You might consider updating the firmware depending on your installation, newer versions appear to handle the non-feedback / CT scenario better. Mine had firmware from 2016 out of the box. Just be careful to make sure you get the right firmware else you will brick the inverter (my installer managed to do just this, but there is a recovery procedure). You also need a special usb stick that plugs into the inverter to do the firmware upgrade (or brick recovery) on the Solis, don't know if the same applies to the Kodak. The wifi stick's software does appear to have an upgrade function, but I don't know if this works. It is a question I have queued up for Solis UK next week, along with where to get new firmware which doesn't appear to be generally available. My installer got the files for mine.

Absoloodle!

Yes, that is part of the bundle waiting to be submitted. Am not entirely sure that the settings are correct regardless of the sign-off, hence this thread (partly). Will pursue that separately for my own peace of mind.

Right, so there is a key-press combination to get the Solis inverter into "recovery mode" during boot, so it can be re-flashed (phew!). It isn't easy to get the key press timing right, but it can be done. Did this yesterday afternoon, so now we are back in business. Once again it was me who had to RTFM and step the installer through the process. This time I made doubly sure the software supplied was the correct software for the inverter. So, we are back in business. The version jump was 11 to 18, quite a big one. The display has changed a bit with regards feedback limiting, so some work has been done on that between the versions. Anecdotal evidence suggests the feedback situation has improved as a result, but I will do more in depth testing when I have time and there's less cloud. Have also struck up a conversation with Solis UK and will work through wrinkles directly with them going forward. They seem amenable to this. Not letting installer anywhere near my installation again, they are now just responsible for submitting the paperwork to CoCT. It is ready and bundled and has been since last week, but still not submitted, so if I don't have confirmation that this has been done by mid day tomorrow I will go and fetch it and do it myself.

If anyone here in the Cape Town area would like to assist it would be appreciated; have pretty much reached end of my tether and I am not sure how best to proceed. If so, please PM. Will take it up tomorrow afternoon.

Update: So, last week Friday, after waiting about a month, the update device and software arrived with the installer (this was in anticipation of mitigating the over / under supply issue). After the update the Solis was bricked. All the lights come on, including the alarm light, but there is no display or generation. I phoned the supplier afterwards and it appears, so far, that the software supplied was for the hybrid range, not the 4g. <some expletives go here> Missing TTT on the forum.

@Biocide Hmm, interesting one. This meter is a very odd specimen. Telaxus appears related to a payment system and also used by Itron who supplies the city of Cape Town with prepaid meters: http://content.energycentral.com/utilitybusiness/billingandcustomercare/news/vpr/4102/ITRON-ANNOUNCES-PREPAID-METERING-CONTRACT-Actaris-to-Deploy-Large-Scale-Electricity-and-Gas-Prepayment-Solutions-in-Azerbaijan? Other sources suggest your Telexus appears to be supplied by Eskom in Cape Town rather than the City, but it could also be a separate contracted supplier via an estate, gated community, property owner or whatever: https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/threads/program-codes-for-prepaid-electricity-meter.499040/ http://www.metermate.co.za/downloads/Private_Utility_Brochure_v1.pdf It would be interesting to know what your specific situation is. Given what I am seeing your first step would probably to see if you can get that meter replaced by whoever actually services your property with regards to power supply. With prepaid meters in general, some will trip when the inverter feeds back to the grid. This will happen with a grid tied inverter or a hybrid inverter. Some meters can be configured with a 'token' not to trip when feedback occurs. Getting one of these tokens is difficult. Other prepaid meters won't trip, but will charge for the same you put into the grid as you pay to pull out of the grid.

Thought I'd give an update, eventhough not much has happened. What has happened: The DC breaker has now been installed. The prepaid meter hasn't tripped again. It has been established, by the installer, at my request, that with the solar running, the house system's AC voltage increases by +- 5 volts and fluctuates. I have signed the supplemental and passed it to the installer. What hasn't happened: Engineer site visit and signoff. Inverter firmware upgrade. Regarding the voltage issue, one would expect, in a zero feedback scenario, the AC voltage difference between the inverter and the house would be lower. Would anyone with a deeper understanding of this care to speculate? Also, are there any Solis suppliers / installers out there who could indicate: The current firmware version for the Solis 1P3k-4G or the 4G range in general? I have not been able to establish this using Google-fu. Whether the wifi stick is capable of performing the firmware upgrade? According to the installer the firmware can only be updated with a usb stick that plugs into the same port as the wifi stick, of which there are only four in the country, and none of them are currently in Cape Town. They do they rounds apparently. The wifi stick interface does appear to have the facility to upgrade the inverter, but that doesn't mean it actually works. Anyway, the good news is, according to my prepaid meter, for the last two twenty four hour periods I have used just less than 3kwh from the grid per day. Weather has been partly cloudy mostly, the pool is now running four to five hours a day (largest load), irrigation between half an hour and forty minutes (second largest load), PC on all day until about 11PM, TV (plasma) and surround sound (Denon) about four hours in the evenings (yes I watch way too much television).

Ha, thanks again @Rautenk even though last week's data is not available on the main monitoring page it IS available in the inverter data as per your instructions: I have exported the raw data and will see if there is something interesting there for Saturday.

Next week the installer is going to complete the installation, including possibly updating the inverter firmware/software, checking all settings and checking db board installation. I will definitely do some testing after this has happened and report back. Am not sure if it is worth doing until that has happened. Thank you very much, that may prove to be very useful going forward. This might be of interest to those who might like to setup their own data portal for the Solis using something like OpenHab or the emonPi or similar: https://community.openhab.org/t/ginlong-solis-solar-inverter-monitoring/35386 It is quite old, and a bit of a hack, and the firmware on the wifi sticks now look different particularly for the connection protocol.

Hi @Rautenk , unfortunately the problems were manifold. But essentially this is what happened as far as I understand it: System was commissioned, but installer was still using their own v1 account at Ginlong (web addresses in the old manuals). Don't know whether they had an installer account or a user account (they are different). From their laptop the wireless stick was associated with their account based on the serial number, but the installer couldn't get the thing to upload data across my wifi. He was in a hurry by that time, and though I did some double checking on my own wireless setup and it started working shortly after he left, I suspect the data would have started flowing regardless of what I did. I couldn't access the data with my own account on the new v2 m.ginlong.com site because the stick's serial number was already associated with the installer account on the v1 platform. The data sharing issue was passed onto another body at the installer company and stalled. The meter trip happened Saturday and I switched the solar off until Monday when "the accusation" happened. On Wednesday afternoon I decided to phone the new responsible body who by the late afternoon had migrated their data from v1 to v2 on the Ginlong platform, and managed to share the plant with my user account from their installer account. If you are interested, installers use pv.ginlong.com. They also have a different mobile app. All previous daily data for my plant was lost, so I have no idea what was happening on Saturday when the trip happened. I have no idea if it is still available in the installer account, but doubt it. As you correctly point out the data on the client monitoring site is very basic, so it would have been impossible to debug the trip problem with it anyway. Nor is it sufficient to debug a possible over / underfeed issue. Also there is no export facility on the web user account to get the raw data uploaded that I have found so far, so if the trip happens again I still probably won't be able to debug issues. I don't know if the installer account has more granular access to the data, I haven't gotten that far yet and things are a bit frosty between us at the moment. So, data and other issues are ongoing. For others who install one of these units, my advice is, SETUP AND ASSOCIATE THE STICK / PLANT WITH YOUR OWN ACCOUNT and share it with the installer via the mobile app afterwards (this can only be done with the app, not on the web site as far as I can tell). Alternatively, don't do the monitoring with the Solis platform at all, spend a bit of additional dosh and get something like this. It will be far more helpful in the long run.