Bobster.

Hi Bobster, I've not been on the site for a while. I logged a fault on the Goodwe website on Sunday 18 th May and called them the next day. Sisanda from Goodwe help desk ran some remote checks and within a hour gave the following feedback.
"the inverter appears to be physically disconnecting from the grid. We have reviewed the settings on our side, and everything is configured correctly.
 This type of issue may indicate a potential problem with the grid connection itself, such as fluctuations in voltage or frequency, poor wiring, or an unstable grid supply. It could also be caused by external factors like loose connections, faulty breakers, or grid protection triggering due to irregularities.
 We recommend checking the physical wiring, grid stability, and any external protection devices to ensure they are operating as expected."
Only logging a faults normally takes longer than a day to get feedback.

Noted. You're right about the routines. That's the key. When I look at how much my property consumes, it hasn't changed much since solar, but we just do a lot less at night now. So we have a 10kWh battery, and we (two adults) get through the night with quite a bit to spare if the battery is fully charged at 16:00. So, as you say, we run the dishwasher during the day, we heat the water during the day. At night the house is really just ticking over - 200 to 400 W.

The real point here is that there can be a greater saving, though in COJ where I live you always run into the fixed fees for being connected to the grid. If you're on the default tariff here you'll pay a grand before you use any electricity.
There are some not so good hardware options, but if you're buying good equipment (and Sunsynk is good hardware) then how you use it makes at least as much difference as what you bought. In my case, for years, we were under-panelled. I expanded the solar array and now we are not totally off-grid, but we are doing better - especially when the weather isn't so good. We did have to learn to make best use of the system, but we were sort of expecting that. At our previous house we had a solar geyser installed and had to learn what should have been self-evident: To maximise the benefit you have to change your routines so that you make best use of the free water heating.

The electrician traced the high voltage to the substation that feeds our street. He is only allowed to work on low voltage so can't do anything inside the sub. He showed me the readings he had taken - 253V! He handed over to the MV team that can work in the street subs.

About an hour later our power went down for about a minute (which is how all the trouble started). When it came back up it had dropped about 20V.

Neighbours and I will monitor. He asked me to call him in the morning and give an update.

Well slap the cow and paint the barn red! City Power sent me an SMS this morning to to say my job had been allocated. Then my phone rang - it was the electrician who was outside my house.

We had a chat. I told him it's the whole street. Showed him screen shots from last night (and midday yesterday) of a nice fat 257 V coming in. They're now off to look at the substation that feeds our street.

Low voltage is usually bad for fridge compressors, anything below 180V you should immediately disconnect fridges to prevent the compressors from being damaged. (Usually the diaphragm melts/deforms if not properly cooled)
High voltage best to disconnect everything, that's why the inverter cuts off or alarms to protect itself and connected devices/appliances.

High out of control voltages are bad news for almost anything with electronics.

Most electronics are ok at 250v +- 2% (pretty much where your inverter starts complaining) but ideally should be in the 220v - 240v range for peace of mind.

To get the correct description search for ITS patented loading valve. What the supplier at the time agreed was with temp at 55 deg before a bath was half full the hot water coming from the geyser was like warm. This was a disaster and the pump was changed.
It the time only ITS had a loading valve as an external item. It would not just circulate the cold incoming water with the remaining hot water in the geyser. The way I understand it it was ensuring the pump outlet water was hot before sending it back to the geyser.
Also called a diverted valve. It is the 3 way valve that circulates water in the pump before discharging it to the geyser. In this case the valve is adjustable and comes pre-set at 40 degrees.
Years ago I found this problem also at holiday resorts that did not have this valve fitted. So 2 guys can have the same pump and the one with the valve will have a much better performing system. The key is installation.
Recently y burst geyser was replaced. The insurance plumber was clueless as far as heat pumps go. He installed a non return valve from the heat pump to the geyser hot water connection which meant no hot water could get into the geyser. He argued it is correct. Only after I showed him an installation guide with pics from Google did he remove the valve. This took place after I inspected the work at the geyser. Just my luck as the guy seemed to be on top of plumbing work and was ready to leave and was not prepared to wait to ensure all is working fine.

Spot on.

I haven't dealt with Ecohub, but be very very careful that what you think you're buying is in fact what you're getting.
I say this because even though they call it a 6kW inverter in the linked webpage, the technical specifications are in fact for the 3.6kW Sunsynk hybrid.
Note the Three-Comma-Six kiloWatt (3.6kW), and not Six kiloWatt (6kW).
The Ecohub web page is inaccurate in matching the product description to the specs, which can be misleading, but I cannot say whether that is accidental or intentional.

Technical Specifications:
Product Type: Hybrid Inverter
Enclosure: IP65
Ambient Temperature: 45ºC ~ 60ºC (>45ºC derating)
Protection Level: Class I
Battery Voltage: 48Vd.c (40Vd.c ~ 60Vd.c)
Battery Current: 90Ad.c (max.)
AC Input Voltage: L/N/PE 220/230Va.c
AC Input Frequency: 50/60Hz
AC Input Rated Current: 16.4Aa.c
Max. AC Input Power 3960W
Max. Apparent Output Power: 3960VA
Max. PV Input Power: 4680W

Adding the link here to a different supplier that gives the specs of the 3.6kW Sunsynk on their wegpage, just as a comparative reference.
Sunsynk 3.6kW 1P Hybrid PV inverter 48v C/W Wifi Dongle IP65 for Sale Online

Just to add to @Antonio de Sa there is 3 methods of coal fire power plants to controll the frequency nation wide(grid).
Turbine Governors (Primary FrequencyControl) Mechanical/electronic governor attached to each steam turbine to
automatically adjusts the steam input to the turbine when a frequency deviation is detected (typically from the standard 50 Hz).
Immediate correction of small frequency fluctuations (within seconds).
If grid frequency drops (demand > supply), the governor increases steam flow to boost power output.
If frequency rises, it reduces steam flow.
Automatic Generation Control (AGC) Secondary Control
Centralized control system operated by Eskom’s System Operator (national grid control centre in Germiston).
Sends setpoint adjustments to generators across the country based on real-time frequency data to restore frequency to exactly 50 Hz and balance area control error (ACE).
Uses SCADA and telemetry to monitor load and frequency.
Adjusts output from multiple plants in real-time, every few seconds to minutes.
Governor Droop Control (Part of Primary Control)
Conceptual Setting: A droop characteristic (e.g., 5%) allows generators to share frequency control effort proportionally.
Example: If frequency drops, a unit will increase output according to its droop setting — larger power stations contribute more.

The way the system works is quite simple.
Every unit will be synchronized to the grid frequency before delivering power to the grid regardless of if they are Eskom, private wind farms, solar etc...
Remember that load shedding is done at local substations, the power is disconnected at local substation level by means of medium voltages circuit breakers, for individual neighborhoods, But the main HV on the power lines are still on.
Eskom will have the majority of the units on what it's called base load, a big % of the demand, usually the bigger power stations are used for that.
A X number of units, depending on the predicted load and time of the day, they will be used to rump load up or down to control the frequency within established parameters.

That makes more sense. Inverters are likely to be connected to the Internet via the owner's WiFi.
But
1) Huawei. The favourite bogey man. The US government already put the kibosh on their phones & 5G network kit
2) They have to have a way to find an inverter. Goodwe can update firmware on my inverter without knowing where it is (and have)
3) Utilities may want the remote control feature. Too much PV power when you can't deal with it? Turn those suckers off! Or at least stop them feeding back into the grid. Rental companies may want this too. Your debit order bounces, they turn your inverter off.
The feature in itself is not that sinister.

This will vary from household to household as we all have different needs and routines. But since you asked, mine is about 350 to 400 in the evening until we go to bed, thereafter more like 150 to 210.

Constants through out those two time slots are the refrigeration, security, external lighting, fibre & wifi, USB chargers. So really the TV is making the difference. I didn't know it consumed that much.

We did some things deliberately, but we didn't got hard at it. EG water heating is on a timer, all lighting is LED, fairly new appliances which are more efficient than the old clunkers we had before (especially the deep freeze).

10kWh battery. Usually I will have 65 to 70 % remaining at 6:00, which is the first water heating time slot.

NB: Two adults, no kids. But when we have a guest over I don't see that base going up a lot.

There is no real answer to the question here. I was the first person in my street to install solar power (one of the first in the suburb). At one time I got several queries along the line of "can you get through the night on battery?" The only honest answer one can give is that the battery is a resource, and like all resources you have to manage it. The easiest way to manage this particular resource is to reduce demand during the period in which you are not generating any power via the panels on your roof.

Also set the system to not deplete the battery when grid is present, My system is set so that it will not discharge the battery past 40% SOC when grid is present. So my battery will always be at least 40% charged when an outage happens.

There is no real answer to the question here. I was the first person in my street to install solar power (one of the first in the suburb). At one time I got several queries along the line of "can you get through the night on battery?" The only honest answer one can give is that the battery is a resource, and like all resources you have to manage it. The easiest way to manage this particular resource is to reduce demand during the period in which you are not generating any power via the panels on your roof.

Also set the system to not deplete the battery when grid is present, My system is set so that it will not discharge the battery past 40% SOC when grid is present. So my battery will always be at least 40% charged when an outage happens.

You are very lucky that Voltronic seem to have given up on fault code 90; maybe it caused too many issues and few clones are being caught with it. This one being an exception.
Just update to the latest firmware (72.08), or the latest experimental software with the presumed good MPPT logic (72.75), but NOT to firmware version 72.66 or patched firmware based on it, such as patched firmware version 272.66.
All these are available in the post below, as is the link to the upload instructions, explaining the two options (RS-232 versus OTG cable).

See

This is protectionism. Very popular at the moment.
It may drive prices up. The bargain, in theory, is a stimulus of the local industry and thus job creation. Let's wait & see what happens in the USA.

Hi
I see the pictures show only one with grid use at 5:21 in the afternoon, which I failed to see. I find it interesting about the lag of the MPPT response, which makes complete sense.
The PV panel won't produce more than is needed. The excess power produced can't be stored anywhere other than the batteries, which show they are fully charged.
The PV panels will give more power if fed back into the grid.
There is most probably no problem at all, as KM has indicated.
To get the most out of the PV panels installed (8880w) is to do all the heavy-duty work and use the power-hungry appliances (electric geyser, electric hotplates, electric kettle, iron, aircon, etc) during the day if you can't feed back to the grid. Be sure to switch a geyser and aircon off at night, as it will be expensive, or they will drain the battery quickly if not tied to the grid.

Hi
I suppose it depends how tall you are.
I think eye level would be best with the specified clearances given in the manual.

Now under construction
Rates and Tariffs Calculator

The residential rates and tariffs calculator is currently under construction to incorporate amendments which clarify the following:
that the property value to be used is the municipal value indicated on your latest municipal account and not the market value; and
that the electricity tariffs are only applicable to City supply areas.
I'd have thought that everybody knew that rates are calculated on the City's valuation and not on perceived market value. Also that you'd know if you were getting power from Eskom or the City. But that's just me.

I have seen where I live how many residents have no idea about how their municipal is calculated or even that it is broken up into different sections with the details for each charge. They just look at the grand total and then die wet van die Transvaal is applied.

I'd like to add that some not very reputable sources have been blaming Greta Thunberg. But she was 3 years old when the 2006 outage happened, and so she is not the only possible cause of a large scale grid outage.

Consider the battery & inverter as a pair. Make sure they can talk to each other. Don't take for granted that they can.
When my system was installed I had a different brand of battery than I have now. There were various problems which left me concluding that having to restart the system at least once a week was just the way things were. A recurring problem was that the inverter would stop recognising the presence of the battery.
Long story short: the installer recommended a switch to Freedom Won LiTE. This was a game changer. Now BMS & battery got on & the system was stable. When the cable from the BMS was plugged into the inverter the BMS took over & manipulated the settings on the inverter to be what it wanted.
So be aware of that. Ask those questions. In my case Goodwe are not aware of Freedom Won which is a local brand, but Freedom Won know about Goodwe & the two get on just fine.

According to this wikipedia article, not only Morocco, but also Algeria and Tunisia across the Mediterranean are linked to the Continental Europe Synchronous Area. Also some other countries which aren't part of the EU seem to be linked, electrically...

Poor @Justin91 . We've taken his enquiry way off topic.

It depends :-)
My outbuildings and my pool pump are not backed up. On a sunny day with the grid up the inverter will run the non-backed up circuits with surplus PV. On a non-sunny day it will use battery, then grid for those circuits. So I still save on them, but I lose them when the grid goes down, even if it's sunny. As suggested in this thread I am thinking of a change over switch so that we can use the laundry when there's load shedding (at present we run it off an extension cord).

For water heating I have a heat pump. This is more efficient than a conventional element and draws a lot less, so I can get away with it on the backed up side.

There is no one right way. The household needs to decide what is essential to them and what they can live without. But the big loads are generally geyser, stove and kitchen appliances. TVs, lighting, wifi, electric fence don't draw much. Kettles and microwaves do, but not for long. Dishwasher... check the manual and see what it consumes on different programs.

There are limits that you need to be aware of
1) The sustained output of your inverter
2) The sustained output that your battery can deliver
3) The capacity of your battery.
4) The C rating of your battery,

Good batteries these days are 1C. That means you can use the entire capacity of the battery in one hour (and recharge at the same rate). This means that a 10kWh battery can deliver 10kW at any given time, but you probably don't want to do that for a whole hour.

Try to do as much as possible during the daylit hours when you have free electricity off the roof. EG I never run my dishwasher at night. It runs in the morning when I have lots of PV. I try to do all the heavy lifting (so to speak) during the day, so the loads at night are minimal and so we easily get through the night on the battery.
Finally, most systems have a way to reserve a portion of the battery for use only when there is no grid. On my system I have this set to 40%. It will not discharge the battery past 40% when there is grid power. So I go into any load shedding our outage with at least that much power available.