NigelL

@Scorp007 Is correct - you can normally add extra battery units in parallel to get extra capacity. Your installer should be able to advise you on this. Note that you have a large solar array (4860Wp) and a small battery (3.7kWh). This means that the solar panels can possibly fully-recharge the battery by mid morning - long before the max power from the panels is achieved. After the battery is full, the solar panels will just supply the house loads (assuming no feedback to the grid). It would be useful to see the PV-Yield over a 24-hour period (on a sunny day). See my PV-Yield from a few days ago (I have 9 x 330W panels = 2970W).

The BMS in the battery will communicate with the Multiplus and MPPT to keep the charge current within sensible limits for the battery. I see the max charge current for the battery is 100A, so you should theoretically be able to charge at around 5kW. Assuming there is nothing wrong with the wiring of the panels, then I would get the installer to check the BMS comms and ESS settings on the Multiplus. Obviously Winter weather in Cape Town will also limit the max power output (I am getting about 65% of summer peak on a clear day).

"Solar MD 3.7kWh Lithium-Ion" The problem is likely to be the limited charging current of the Battery. The BMS will throttle the charge current from the MPPT to protect the battery. This battery is significantly underspecified for the system.

One other suggestion - earth-leakage problems can also be caused by faulty surge protection devices (e.g. MOV). If these devices have been exposed to a large surge, they can be partially damaged, resulting in excess leakage. This leakage is typically very temperature dependent, so could explain the problems you are seeing. However, I don't know if your stove has any MOVs fitted...

Have you checked the plug/cable to the Oven?

Reminder: An Earth-Leakage trip means that somewhere in your oven, or in the wiring from DB to your oven, there is an unintended current path to earth. Some suggestions: Does the EL only trip when the stove is on a particular setting? This could help diagnose whether the problem is upstream of the stove input, or only one of the downstream elements. Have you recently installed any nails, screws etc into the walls near the stove? Maybe a screw has just pierced the insulation of the cable, without breaking the connection? Check the double-pole isolator that should be installed near to the stove. Also check that a gecko didn't crawl into the isolator box! Check for loose wires, insects etc within the wiring area of stove itself. They are often attracted to areas that are not too hot (displays, control electronics etc.). Stove wiring normally uses high-temperature Silicone coated wires to withstand high temperatures. The insulation on normal electrical wire (e.g. Twin and Earth) is not rated for extended high temperatures and will become brittle and break off the wires. Good luck!

I am not familiar with the Infini Plus 10KW inverter, but most inverters disconnect from the grid when the grid voltage drops below a threshold value (e.g. 190Vac). This feature causes your inverter to operate in "Islanding mode" until the grid voltage returns to a normal voltage range. The low grid voltage is most likely caused by many people turning on ovens , geysers etc in the early evening - since this loads the local transformer in the street. The LED bulbs that glow slightly - is an unrelated issue. This is normally caused when you have a dimmer module controlling the LEDs - since it needs to pass a small amount of current to remain operational (they generally do not have a separate neutral connection). You would not normally notice this with regular incandescent bulbs, but this low-level current can be enough to light up some LED bulbs. A solution to this is to fit a capacitor shunt/load, in parallel to the LED bulbs, which allows this low-level current to effectively bypass the LEDs. You should be able to buy these at a good lighting store.

I think this may be a Firmware issue - see https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/45673/victron-smart-solar-15035-charging-shutoff-malfunc.html Have you tried updating the firmware?

This sounds like an intermittent USB connection issue. Have you tried another cable? [Edit] Also worth trying to clean the USB contacts using some alcohol and a thin cotton-swab.

A 1000V protector is going to offer no protection until the voltage rises to just over 1000V. You should be okay if your MPPT is built to withstand this voltage - otherwise select an overvoltage protector that is as close to the absolute max of your PV string voltage. The Citel part "DS240-350DC" is rated for normal operation at 350Vdc and absolute max of 460Vdc, so may be borderline for your application (I am not sure if your "400V" is normal operating voltage or absolute max). Citel DS240S Datasheet.pdf

Google is your friend. http://africa.hager.com/nf/files/download/0/232125_1/0/XP1_SF463_6S5503D_WEB.PDF

I suspect they will work okay, but I have never used them. A quick check of the specs show that they have a Neutral connection, so should be able to operate more reliably than the old-style dimmer modules (without Neutral connection). The Neutral allows them to remain powered even when the output to the light is turned off or dimmed right down to zero.

Hi @Muchachos Some dimmer modules (e.g. the type covered in blue heat-shrink) can flicker, or even turn off, if there is noise or dips on the mains supply. I recommend changing the dimmer module to the "Shuttle" brand (see http://shuttlelighting.com/) - these dimmers work very well, especially with LED downlighters.

Hi @isetech A great source of info is available in the following pdf https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Wiring-Unlimited-EN.pdf

A lot depends on whether you are looking for individual LiFePO4 Cells or a whole 12V/24V/48V battery with integrated BMS? "Reasonable" is also a rather relative term! 😀.

I think the key to this is that one should provide separate channels for different services (e.g. AC wiring and DC Wiring) where the channels ensure both physical separation and an insulation barrier between the different services. See the following extract from SANS 10142-1:2017 Ed2. I believe that the split-trunking, as mentioned in my previous post, meets these requirements by implementing two separate channels.

I am not aware of any officially published standard that says this. There was some discussion about routing solar cables in metal conduit when running over longer distances (e.g. between buildings etc.). The split trunking is widely used for routing AC and DC cables, in solar installations, in many countries.

Another option to consider is "split trunking". This is rectangular trunking that is fitted with one (or more) internal dividers - so separating the AC wiring from other wiring (DC , LAN cabling etc.). I have used the Efapel 10-Series trunking that I got at AC-DC. See https://www.efapel.com/en/products/cable-trunkings/10-series-distribution. This is a bit more expensive than regular trunking, but looks way more professional. You can buy a range of corner, t-piece and end-plates that make this very easy to work with.

I use Citel DS240-130DC for surge protection on my PV Panels. This has a max DC operating voltage of 180V, but they have other voltages versions available. I use Citel DS240S-230/G for surge protection on the AC connections to my inverter. This is rated at max operating voltage of 255Vac. I purchased both of these from Rubicon just over two years ago. Note: Ideally you want to choose a protector that is rated slightly above your maximum panel/string voltage, but not too high - otherwise it offers less effective protection. [Edit] This protection is more than adequate for Cape Town, but may need a more robust solution for more lightning-prone areas of the country!

I wonder if the fan is installed correctly and not possibly reversed? It is quite easy to remove the front cover to check this.

The "overload" warnings only mean that the AC loads are larger than the Inverter maximum power output. In this case the power difference is sourced from the Mains input. As far as I know, this is quite normal in an ESS setup and is purely "informative". The temperature warnings are not normal and should be investigated.

Hi Pierre See the following thread - it is possible that you may have a similar issue (?). https://powerforum.co.za/topic/4347-victron-behaviour/?do=findComment&comment=63697

https://www.bluenova.co.za/contact-us/ Dirk Nieuwoudt and Victor Smit have been very helpful in the past.

I have a Solar Geyser with a "Geyserwise Max" controller - its "Away/Holiday Mode" works well when you don't want your geyser to overheat. Your press the outer two buttons at the same time to engage this mode - and it displays a small "OFF" icon. Eskom power is never used in this mode. The "Away/Holiday Mode" turns on the circulation pump at night to cool the Geyser down to 50C. This ensures that the geyser starts off every morning at a maximum of 50C. If this is not working, then you may have a blocked filter in series with the circulation pump. EDIT: If you turn off your water main while away, the geyser can loose some water via the expansion valve and circulation pump can stop working - leading to very high temperatures in the collector.

I found this useful document that describes the correct wiring of DC Circuit Breakers in PV applications. Discussion-Paper-Correct-Wiring-of-Double-Pole-DC-Breakers-LVL2-131210-v2.pdf