Scubadude

Not sure why they need it but they do. Afterwards you will be able to control on either Smart or Pro, with either web or mobile app. I'm on the same firmware as you are - please give feedback regarding the update process and subsequent performance.

20% is a very high setting form low battery cutout. I run my batteries down to 20% overnight, but my LBCO is way lower ... 10 or possibly 5. Maybe (partially?) avoid the issue by setting lower cutout and restart values?

I have Hexing.

Powerline adapters are a waste of money. Use that money to buy a networking toolkit and a roll of cable and make your own cable. May work out cheaper than powerline and guaranteed to work much better.

The dongles are all RS232 - under that cover sits an RS232 port. There are some Solarman dongles going cheap - if you need basic functionality it is quite ... erm ... functional.

You connect where the data logger normally goes, using a special RS232 to USB cable. Solar Assistant sells the right type and I've seen them on Takealot as well. You could also use a special RS485 to USB cable, but that is only available from Solar Assistant.

I had this ... my installer guy didnt get the difference between essential, non-essential and smart load (aux). After the DB was rewired several times the oven is now correctly non-essential, between the CT coil and the inverter. I wired by meter directly to the back of the oven and have had no issues since.

Lekker system you got there! Would love to see your production and usage ... Post a couple of Solarman trends.

As long as your CT coil is positioned at the main incommer the granny flat will be solar powered during the day. A "second cable" (is that an extention cord?) is a quick and easy way to give the flat basic power during loadshedding. Of course that would bypass the prepaid meter.

From what I've seen here and elsewhere the Aux port is difficult to get right. 8kW goes a long way - I have 8kW Deye and after toying with smart load (Aux) a couple of days decided to put everything except my oven (gas hob) after the inverter. I schedule my geysers to run at times of maximum solar production and can drop the temps on the Geyserwise panels or flick the switches in the DB if there is a prolonged outage. This setup works for us.

The brands you listed are all good and you can add Longi to the list of freely available Tier 1 panels. Just note the tier system is a very indirect means of measuring quality. "This tiering system is mainly based on the bankability of the manufacturers and doesn’t guarantee high quality. Thus, it’s recommended to consider other factors to determine if one of these solar modules is best for you. " It is about panels used in more than 6 large projects funded by major banks. If one or more of those were for the SA Government (and I suspect most other governments) you can make absolutely no conclusion regarding the inherent quality of the panels.

Gerrie my guess is either you did not tick the right export settings or your CT coil.is fitted the wrong way round.

Like renting a house, you keep on paying but it is never yours. You end up funding someone else's assets. So there cannot really be a breakeven. The sum you have to make is current and future electricity spend vs LCOE (levelised cost of energy considering your specific use case and expected solar fraction) of the hybrid system. There should be some sort of monthly saving, which should increase at a rate equal to the difference between electricity increases and rental escalation. I'd say its only an option you dont intend to stay long (or you are in a rental property ... hmmm) or simply dont have access to the capital or do not think you will get your capital back when selling. In all other cases I'd think an outright purchase is the better option.

I had the same problem but never got clear feedback from the installer / electrician what the problem was and what caused. What I do know is my month-old inverter was removed with burnt terminals and replaced with a brand spanking new unit. I can only suspect the inverter was damaged due to a wiring fault (like mains on the inverter output side?). When the new unit was installed it worked perfectly - not too sure if it was the replacement or yet another DB board rewire that fixed the problem for good.

Very smart installation! Congrats!

Mains/inverter changeover. An electrician (not the cable guy) came and sorted out the wiring. My DB was rewired half a dozen times and the installer, cable guy and electrician learned by doing what the difference is between essential, non essential and aux loads, and how to properly install the CT coil. After one of these the issue disappeared.

I had F18 error caused by a faulty changeover switch. The inverter would take the load perfectly but tripped on F18 when the mains came back on. Whether ot not the changeover switch was faulty, I dont know but this is what I was told. Could have been a wiring error as well, as this was changed and changed again.

January was my first full month of production, somewhat compromised by running with one or zero batteries for a couple of days. Despite generally miserable weather my 6.37kWp system produced 630.7 of the 782.7kWh we consumed for a solar fraction of 78%. So it exeeded my target of 75% - happy I am!

... and disable grid charge

Mine was made 31 Aug 2021. I sent you a PM that may be or may not be of value.

The inverter filters out the powerline communication signal to the unit on pavement outside. I had the same problem and fixed it by wiring my meter to the Oven circuit, the only one before the inverter.

@branderplank @Terminal3k I have Deye not Sunsynk, so I contacted [email protected] and they were quite helpful to get me sorted out. I reckon they would be able to do the same for you as Deye is the OEM for Sunsynk, and you just need somebody with access to the Solarman backdoor to give your user permission to mak changes. There is an oddity in that they ask for your Solarman username and password, possibly for identification purposes. So best to change the password after all is done.

Both. But you need to get Sunsynk / Deye to authorise your user to be able to do it. Once authorised you see a remote control button on the inverter screen of the app. The pic is from Smart.

If that was aimed at me I'd be very interested to know which part of my post offended you.

I was dead keen on getting SolarAssistant (runs on a dedicated Rasberry Pi, not using any dongle) until I got to know Solarman. The platform is actually not bad with a good array of graphic tools and easy data extraction, even remote control of your inverter if you take the trouble to get it enabled. I can see myself "upgrading" at some stage, but for 99 out of 100 people the free, bundled Solarman solution should do just fine.