Craigm

@TaliaB thank you again for your advice. I was eventually able to go around and restarted the system. We got it back up and running again and the SOC is accurate again. Really appreciate your advice

Thank you, that is great feedback, very detailed and easy to follow. I will try this and report back - thank you!!

Hi all. I am trying to help my neighbour with his system. I have helped with settings before as his installer did a runner, but his current situation has me stumped. I need to maximise his battery usage to improve efficiency, but the SOC does not seem to be accurate. The battery is charged and discharged daily. However, the SOC never seems to change (fixed at 72%). This has been the case for the last couple of months. I will post screenshots from the Sunsynk web portal. I still need to check the inverter settings, but wanted to see if I could figure out the problem before going over there. I have access to his Sunsynk plant - If there are settings that might be helpful with diagnostics, please let me know and I will post the relevant screenshots. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks. System: Sunsynk 8kw, 2x 7.1kw batteries (cannot recall the brand). c

Something like this from Solarman? Doesn't show current, but shows they are barely used. My area isn't subject to loadshedding, so they stay full. The only times I use them are when we have our Pretoria east outages.

Thanks! How would I get the battery stats?

What is the market like for slightly used equipment? I am looking at upgrading, but it might make financial sense to toss out what I already have and replace with new, rather than add on to what I already have. Could anyone give me a rough price on what I could ask for this equipment. And also recommend a place to sell it? 2x Pylontech US3000C batteries. 2 or 3 x 420w Canadian solar super high power poly PERC HiKU with EVO2. All equipment is approximately 28 months old. Batteries have not been used hard at all.

That's a good point. I stay in Pretoria east, where we have regular unscheduled blackouts for extended periods. My current system is adequate for our needs, but has some limitations. The biggest pain point is hot water. I want to put in a changeover switch, so that I can switch the non-essential side over the essential in the event of a longer term grid failure. I'd be more comfortable having more PV capacity when switching over. The system is paying itself off nicely so far. The upgrade is less about pay back, but more for extra convenience at this point. That's on top of our increased usage as my wife continues to install aircons and have babies 😂

That was the only picture I had on my phone. Shading is only before 8am and after 16.30, so not a concern for me. When you say the same panels, do you mean the exact model, or same spec? I have not been able to find the same model panel available, but I've managed to find some Trina 420w panels at a reasonable price. Would I be able to add these in series with my existing panels? Or rather change the exiting panels setup and add the new panels on another string?

Thanks, I hadn't even considered that option. Referring to my picture above, would it make a difference if the additional 3 panels per string were a few metres away?

I've uploaded a picture, taken early morning. The shadows are only before 8am and after 4.30pm, so I'd say irrelevant in my case? Top row is string 1, bottom row string 2. I can't tell you why it was configured the way it was. But at the time, there was no brief by myself to the installer to consider future upgrades. But since then, our consumption has increased enough to warrant the upgrade. I intend to add the new panels on the top right corner of the open roof space.

Im not sure which section to ask this question, so I'll drop it into the newby section. I have an existing system and I would like to increase my PV capacity. I had a quick discussion with my original installer, who said that I need to stick with the same or similar size panels to what I already have. Further research shows possible alternatives. Please help on which way to go. Current system: - 8kW sunsynk inverter (2 MPPTs) - 12 x 420W Canadian solar panels 48VOC, arranged in 2 strings of 6 panels each, to the two MPPTs. Intended upgrade: 3kW of additional panels. Something like 8x 420w or 6 x 550w, more or less. I need 1kw, I want 2kw, I might as well go 3kw as I'm unlikely to upgrade again. What is the best way to configure the panels? Can the two existing strings be connected in parallel and connected to 1 MPPT, therefore freeing up the other MPPT for another string, configured as mentioned above?

You aren't really comparing apples with apples. Assuming you're talking about the geyserwise pv kit, this will generate more power to heat your water. Your listed alternative is another battery, which is storage. If your objective is to save more, get a water heater. If it is to run your house off battery for longer, get a battery. It's not worth it to heat water from a battery. Personally, I'd add more panels and heat your current geyser through your new system.

The way I understand how this system works, is that it uses the DC element when there is PV available. The DC element would not be reliant on AC. Maybe someone who has experience with the system can comment.

Agreed, real time would be great. The only time I would want to change settings, is if there was a combination of a long term outage, bad weather, and not being at home. But for now, the happy to let the inverter do the work.

Bull 6.4kWh. I just prefer to step it down gradually over the course of the evening, to make sure there is enough capacity for a longer term outrage. But his night time idle load seems pretty low, so it should be sufficient. It's all trial and error at the moment, as long as we get the basics right. He changed soc to 75% and caught it there, battery stopped discharging as expected.

Thanks! So then it's about managing the SOC throughout the night.

Firmware was updated on Friday. We were trying to get the house in the pic, as the panels were not powering the non-essentials as expected. We managed to get that sorted, but now it's chewing the battery. Help 🤦‍♂️

A buddy of mine has just installed a 5kW Sunsynk with a Bull battery. We've been adjusting settings totry to optimise the system, but have run into a problem. The batteries are powering the whole load, including non-essentials. He has a prepaid meter, so is not feeding back into the grid. Attached is a pic showing the loads and another showing the system settings. However, priority load is now ticked. Any ideas on what setting to change?

Very exciting this!! I'd be keen to give the BETA dongle a go! Does anyone know how to get hold of one? Any installers that I could arrange to get one from, when they arrive, please?

They are compatible and work well together. I have the 8kW inverter and 2x US3000C (one of which I bought from them, which I regretted after my installer got my second one for cheaper). They probably don't mention Sunsynk as they rather punt their own rebranded version of the inverter, called the "Fusion".

I guess I'm lucky I didn't see smoke. Didn't trip either. Wife was baking 🤦‍♂️

Here is a picture from the TSE manual. The old models didn't have this (my dad's TSE doesn't have this) but the two units that I bought over the last 2 years work like this.

I agree with the logic of heating the water just before you're going to use it. So if you know you're going to be using the grid to boost the temp, I think your logic is sound.

Well I call BS on point 2. I have the data and savings to prove it worked in my case. Anyway, don't want to derail the thread. I use a geyserwise and heat the water to the required temp that I only need hot water in the shower. Call it 44 degrees in the morning for me, 50 in the evening for the wife and kid. Sunday I pump it up to kill the bugs. This is the advantage of the geyserwise over a timer, you can set different temperaturea at different times of the day. My objective is to decrease consumption, not utilize excess pv. Different objectives will result in different solutions.

I am currently maxing out on about 80% of my installed capacity. Actual numbers will depend on variables, such as the roof pitch (my pitch is quite steep). Also some days are just better than others.