Bernardf

I had a Freedom Won Lite Home 10/8 installed in May 2021. Towards the end of 2025 I noticed that it discharges normally until about 48%, and then the SoC suddenly drops to 10%. And then it will charge normally until about 55%, stay there for a while, and suddenly jump to 100%. So I basically had half of the original capacity.
In January 2026 I contacted the original installer, who logged a call with Freedom Won. The installer came to my house with his laptop and the Freedom Won guy connected remotely to diagnose. He said there were 3 cells at a lower voltage. He updated the firmware and said I should monitor it for a week or so.
There was no improvement, so at the beginning of February the installer took the battery to Freedom Won's offices (no small feat because the battery weighs almost 100kg and is mounted on a wall). Freedom Won had it for 4 weeks, and they replaced all the cells and the BMS. So now I basically have a new battery in the old box.
The only cost to me was the installer's fees. So I think Freedom Won's support is pretty good (albeit a bit slow). They responded each time the installer asked for an update.

I had a Freedom Won Lite Home 10/8 installed in May 2021. Towards the end of 2025 I noticed that it discharges normally until about 48%, and then the SoC suddenly drops to 10%. And then it will charge normally until about 55%, stay there for a while, and suddenly jump to 100%. So I basically had half of the original capacity.
In January 2026 I contacted the original installer, who logged a call with Freedom Won. The installer came to my house with his laptop and the Freedom Won guy connected remotely to diagnose. He said there were 3 cells at a lower voltage. He updated the firmware and said I should monitor it for a week or so.
There was no improvement, so at the beginning of February the installer took the battery to Freedom Won's offices (no small feat because the battery weighs almost 100kg and is mounted on a wall). Freedom Won had it for 4 weeks, and they replaced all the cells and the BMS. So now I basically have a new battery in the old box.
The only cost to me was the installer's fees. So I think Freedom Won's support is pretty good (albeit a bit slow). They responded each time the installer asked for an update.

My wife seems to need all of those appliances exactly at load shedding time.....

We should have scheduled dark mode in predetermined 2.5 hour slots to show solidarity to the poor souls who do not yet have a solar or backup power system.

We should have scheduled dark mode in predetermined 2.5 hour slots to show solidarity to the poor souls who do not yet have a solar or backup power system.

The diode's function is to block the flow of current in one direction. In an AC circuit this direction alternates 50 times per second. So your geyser alternates between using 4kW and 0kW, at a rate of 50 times per second, effectively halving the power usage. Your inverter might struggle to measure this, because it is only logging a data point once every couple of minutes.

This is normal for some BMS's. There have been a number of threads on this topic in the past.
Here is a link to one such discussion: https://powerforum.co.za/topic/4866-pylontech-soc-jump-while-charging/
 

I have a very reliable audible alarm:  My neighbour's generator starting.

I have a very reliable audible alarm:  My neighbour's generator starting.

From my experience I can confirm the following:
 
1. When Eskom is on, the voltage and frequency output on the essentials side of the inverter will equal that of Eskom.  Only during load shedding will the inverter give out that voltage that you set in the settings.
 
2. Yes it is normal for the lights to dip for an instant when certain loads kick in, especially during load shedding.  I see it when my fridge compressor kicks in, when my washing machine is running, and when my gardener uses the lawnmower during load shedding.
 
3. You shouldn't have a permanent earth-neutral bond, you should have a relay installed that only does the bond when the inverter goes off-grid.  I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what exactly the dangers are though...

It was quite easy. You don't need to remove it from the wall. There are 2 screws on the front, hidden behind plastic plugs. I removed the plugs with sticky tape, and opened up the front part of the enclosure. Then the circuit board is attached to the rear part of the enclosure with 4 screws. The cable can be unplugged from the circuit board. The battery was a very tight fit to get out and in. I suspect that the battery holder that is attached to the circuit board might have been designed for a CR1220 instead of a CR1225. The only difference is that the CR1220 is 2mm thick while the CR1225 is 2.5mm thick. I got a CR1225 from Builders Warehouse for R30. Makro and Chamberlain only had CR1220's.

No the panel frames are not earthed.

I have the same thing when it rains. My panels are on a zinc roof, and when it rains I can feel a small shocking sensation when touching the gutters while barefoot. It is a continuous sensation like alternating current. And when it rains in the night, I can see on my inverter's data graphs that the panels' DC voltage goes up to about 90V even though there is no sunshine.

I went for 20 x 365W panels instead of 16 x 455W panels because it was easier to fit them in due to their smaller size.

Maybe read this thread before buying something from Tesup:
https://powerforum.co.za/topic/7804-tesup-atlas20-review/

I suppose it's better than the R0.00 per kWh that we get in Pretoria...

Yes there is no power to non critical items during load shedding.

I suppose it's better than the R0.00 per kWh that we get in Pretoria...

We should have scheduled dark mode in predetermined 2.5 hour slots to show solidarity to the poor souls who do not yet have a solar or backup power system.

We should have scheduled dark mode in predetermined 2.5 hour slots to show solidarity to the poor souls who do not yet have a solar or backup power system.

We should have scheduled dark mode in predetermined 2.5 hour slots to show solidarity to the poor souls who do not yet have a solar or backup power system.

We should have scheduled dark mode in predetermined 2.5 hour slots to show solidarity to the poor souls who do not yet have a solar or backup power system.

We should have scheduled dark mode in predetermined 2.5 hour slots to show solidarity to the poor souls who do not yet have a solar or backup power system.

We should have scheduled dark mode in predetermined 2.5 hour slots to show solidarity to the poor souls who do not yet have a solar or backup power system.

We should have scheduled dark mode in predetermined 2.5 hour slots to show solidarity to the poor souls who do not yet have a solar or backup power system.