wolfandy

As much as I like and agree with what you wrote, I think we just need to be honest and admit that for certain parts of the year you will not be able to generate sufficient PV and will still need to draw from the grid - and hence not achieve the targeted savings. With the weather that we have been having in the Cape for the last 2 days, my 9kW of panels generated 5.9kWh yesterday and 2.8kWh the day before... So definitely agree with pre-paying your electricity, just I would be a bit more conservative on the rate calculation

I can't comment on the history, but I take it you are aware of the split of the company into 2 parts at one point - which caused this problem for us end customers... I was running the ICC (not Centurion) variant and it was running (mostly) stable for me. If you can get the upgrade to the ICC version for R250, then I would definitely give that a try first. I understand your pain regarding their customer service (even though I already received prompt service when I had a problem) - but is that really worth throwing R20k at it? Alternatively consider Solar Assistant. I am running that now as it was the only software that supports Sunsynk that I could find. Am happy with it, even though at the moment it is only data display and no active management of settings for Sunsynk. I know that it also has similar features as you are looking for for Axperts - but have no experience with it. If you already have a Pi and the Pylon comms cable, then all you are looking at is the R800 software license

In the online shop, you can put the software only version into your basket and proceed to payment. I did not venture further than that

You know that ICC split into 2 'branches' a while back, right? Which one did you reach out to? One of them (Centurion Solar - they've renamed their product SMH now) I cannot comment on because I never dealt with them. The other one (still called ICC) you can buy the software from separately here: https://iccsoftware.co.za/about/shop/

Cheapest option would be to keep your current setup and add a control software like ICC or Solar Assistant and the Pylon comms cable to your system. I ran my system (2x Apert and a couple of Pylons) like that for 2 years and could do everything you are looking for (my pool pump would switch on if SOC was above certain value and if I had more than X watts of spare PV) If you're willing to spend the cash, then the Sunsynk will be the better long-term solution. I recently did the upgrade (also because I wanted to add more panels) and am happy with it. However, out of the box the Sunsynk currently also only provides time-delayed metrics for remote viewing. Supposedly an upgrade for this is in the works, but I had to get Solar Assistant to remotely access real-time data. And remotely changing parameters currently is not supported on the Sunsynk (which you can do on the Axpert with either of the control software mentioned above) My 2 cents: If your current inverter size and PV amount is sufficient for you, I would probably go the ICC / Solar Assistant route to add the features you are looking for. Investment for that will be around R3k (depending if you go ICC or Solar Assistant. You can save a couple of R if you buy the Raspberry Pi separately elsewhere and just get the software and comms cable from them). If you are planning to further add to your system in the near future, then the upgrade to Sunsynk will be the better option - but obviously also much more expensive

Sorry - have recently changed my setup and am no longer running Axperts But what info are you looking for exactly?

For the less programming-inclined (like me), I can recommend SolarAssistant. Purchased the license and connection cable from them, used my own Pi. Gives good real-time insights into my system, also accessible remotely

I did the same in my old setup with Axpert and Victron MPPT. Worked like a charm. More detail in my old post here

I have to admit that I have never played around with that function on the Sunsynk (only on my old Axperts). But I will still give it a try to change that setting and see if it makes a difference

You've got "Batt First' enabled under 'Energy Pattern'. If I am not mistaken, that will limit only supply power to charge your batteries until they are fully charged. And in combination with your charge settings, this is probably why you don't see more PV production. Try setting it to 'Load First'. Then it will use available PV to power your loads and use any excess to charge your batteries. That should unlock higher PV production

Thanks For essential loads I have the settings pretty much down to what I want them. It is only when non-essential loads run, that things get a bit more complicated If I increase the SOC too high, then I will draw grid for essentials even though I usually would not need to (and hence reduce savings)

Hi Leshen thanks again for helping me with the firmware update the other day. I have now clocked more than 9.9A on the MPPT - but have not enough sunshine to see if I can make it past 11A One feature that in my view would be great to have is the option to restrict non-essential loads to be powered by the battery when grid is available. I obviously want to be able to push excess PV to my non-essential loads, but I would prefer not to discharge the battery if excess PV is not sufficient to power them - and rather use grid to make up the difference. Do you think that the existing hardware could support this - and hence could be implemented by a firmware update? And if yes, would you mind placing that thought with Sunsynk please? Or am I the only one that thinks this would be a useful feature? Thanks and cheers, Andy

Yes, managed to get it up on the wall yesterday. Happy to report that I have no problem with the new one

VNC Server comes free with the Raspberry Pi OS - so that is free when you purchase the Pi

I take it you are running your Axperts in parallel, correct? Then you only need a connection to 1 of them and you can access the data of both through it There are a few options for Axperts: I used to run ICC (https://iccsoftware.co.za/) Another product (formerly also called ICC - but different companies) is SMH (https://centurionsolar.co.za/) Then there is Solar Assistant (https://solar-assistant.io/) All of them run on a Raspberry Pi and you remotely connect from your PC/phone/tablet (you can source your Pi separately and just buy the license (usually cheaper) or purchase both as a kit) I ran ICC for 2 years (the one that is still called ICC) and was really happy with it Have now changed from Axperts to Sunsunks and just purchased a Solar Assistant license. Looking to get it up and running this weekend, so do not have any experience to report yet