SpeedSeeker Posted April 9, 2022 Posted April 9, 2022 Hi, Should the setting for the grid trickle feed stay at 0, or is it better to put set it to a small amount like 50 watts. Currently my setting is set to 0 for trickle feed and 8000 for powershaving I am a newbie so still learning as I go Thanks Quote
FixAMess Posted April 9, 2022 Posted April 9, 2022 The way I understand it is that you will always have some trickle feed into/from the inverter. Apparently 50W is low enough to not rip the new meters as well. Quote
TimCam Posted April 9, 2022 Posted April 9, 2022 I have set mine to 20W, and all is working fine, but I don't have a "new" digital meter. system32 1 Quote
CapeTown Posted April 15, 2022 Posted April 15, 2022 Everyone suggested 20W to me, but being a cheap bastard, I put in 10W and no issues with pre-paid meter. TimCam, WestCoastUPS, Jeppe and 1 other 2 2 Quote
system32 Posted April 17, 2022 Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) I have the Landis Gyr CoJ pre-paid meter and use 20W - all good so far (6 month) This model uses "power line communications" to link to the meter. The keypad needs to be on the grid side and you need to isolate the inverter when loading units. Edited April 17, 2022 by system32 Quote
ByronZ Posted June 1, 2022 Posted June 1, 2022 On 2022/04/17 at 9:14 AM, system32 said: I have the Landis Gyr CoJ pre-paid meter and use 20W - all good so far (6 month) This model uses "power line communications" to link to the meter. The keypad needs to be on the grid side and you need to isolate the inverter when loading units. Excuse me for asking but what happens if you don't isolate the inverter before? Quote
system32 Posted June 2, 2022 Posted June 2, 2022 On 2022/06/01 at 8:19 AM, ByronZ said: Excuse me for asking but what happens if you don't isolate the inverter before? This model of CashPower Landis keypad (above) communicates via power lines back to the meter (Similar to Ethernet over Powerline) The SynSynk is a hybrid inverter that can power equipment on the grid side (feed back) and this interferes with the communications. Newer keypads use Bluetooth / WiFi / Zigbee to wirelessly communicate with the remote meter. Quote
Engel Posted June 5, 2022 Posted June 5, 2022 50w is being recommended. For me its 1.2 units a day. Ave use only 50 units a month, so line rental is more than power usage. Quote
HiTech Posted June 7, 2022 Posted June 7, 2022 On 2022/04/09 at 1:51 PM, SpeedSeeker said: Hi, Should the setting for the grid trickle feed stay at 0, or is it better to put set it to a small amount like 50 watts. Currently my setting is set to 0 for trickle feed and 8000 for powershaving I am a newbie so still learning as I go Thanks There are multiple reasons for ensuring you have trickle feed, primarily used to reduce the chance of tripping pre-paid meters, should current be fed onto the grid, thus through ensuring the Inverter draws current consistently, you prevent the feedback onto the grid. Secondly the constand feed can also ensure accidental feedback is minimised when you have large consumption devices turning on and off, in which time the inverter may not always respond quick enough and you could result in feedback, thus the greater value in trickle feed may assist in this regard. Powershaving is a subject all on it's own, with it primarily being used to limit the amount of power being sourced, be it Grid (in this case) or AUX/GEN under those settings. This could be used to balance requirements where limitations are present. E.G. Only have a 5kW Generator, then to ensure you remain within spec, one can apply a Shaving value below 5kW to GEN input. Same on Grid, it you never wish to draw more than XXkW from grid and supliment remainder from Battery/other, with would apply this to the grid settings. Quote
Pumba Posted June 7, 2022 Posted June 7, 2022 My 5 kW Sunsynk is set for Zero feed in and one can see it it take a few watts in and feeds a few watts out every now and then. This is the Cape Town meter which the City installed free of charge for zero grid feed in. During summer I am using about 6 units a month. Nexuss 1 Quote
Nexuss Posted June 7, 2022 Posted June 7, 2022 17 minutes ago, Pumba said: My 5 kW Sunsynk is set for Zero feed in and one can see it it take a few watts in and feeds a few watts out every now and then. This is the Cape Town meter which the City installed free of charge for zero grid feed in. During summer I am using about 6 units a month. I also have 0 watts trickle feed with no issues . Scorp007 1 Quote
TaraZA Posted October 13, 2022 Posted October 13, 2022 Hi All, Jumping onto this topic, if I have an ancient rotary meter, can I set the trickle to zero? Is there any disadvantage to do that? Thanks! Quote
wolfandy Posted October 13, 2022 Posted October 13, 2022 5 minutes ago, TaraZA said: if I have an ancient rotary meter I am not the expert, but to my understanding in your case, you can actually easily feed back into the grid (turn the rotary backwards). For as long as your feed does not exceed your grid usage, you should be fine (otherwise the municipality will start complaining). A couple of safety things to consider, but if I were you, I would actively feed back into the grid (which would also offset your trickle feed consumption) WestCoastUPS 1 Quote
TaraZA Posted October 19, 2022 Posted October 19, 2022 well since our geyser and oven are still connected directly to Eskom i doubt we'll turn the dial back enough Quote
P1000 Posted October 19, 2022 Posted October 19, 2022 On 2022/10/13 at 11:10 AM, TaraZA said: Jumping onto this topic, if I have an ancient rotary meter, can I set the trickle to zero? Yes. Setting it to zero is the legal thing to do. People set it to a positive value to prevent some meters from going into tamper mode and disabling the output. In your case that won't happen. On 2022/10/13 at 11:10 AM, TaraZA said: Is there any disadvantage to do that? No. Feeding back without approval (like one of the suggestions) might result in hefty fines if caught. Quote
GreenFields Posted October 19, 2022 Posted October 19, 2022 On 2022/10/13 at 11:10 AM, TaraZA said: Hi All, Jumping onto this topic, if I have an ancient rotary meter, can I set the trickle to zero? Is there any disadvantage to do that? Thanks! Firstly, I'm assuming your inverter is set to zero export to CT without solar selling if you don't have a legal approval to export power to the grid. After that, if you keep your settings to "zero export" there is still a chance that minor fluctuations could cause some power to be exported to the grid for short transient time periods until the CT coil picks up the reverse flow and scales back production. It should not materially impact your meter readings if your oven and geyser remain drawing from the grid, and your meter will also never trip for that backfeed. Maybe you can afford to keep it very low, like 10W, so that you can keep telling yourself you're on the safe side of the law by having a steady flow of power from the grid into your house, but without excessively buying in if you don't have to. Still, in the event that there is a grid power outage, where the concern is for safety of people working on the line, there is no chance that you'll keep exporting, the inverter will shut down the non-essential loads and not export anything. Quote
shovelhead Posted October 19, 2022 Posted October 19, 2022 On 2022/06/07 at 7:17 PM, Nexuss said: I also have 0 watts trickle feed with no issues . @Nexuss and @Pumba, what is the maximum feed-in to the grid that you see on your inverter with a zero setting? Mine is set to 150W and with inductive loads switching off I have noticed peak of 50W fed to the grid. Quote
Nexuss Posted October 19, 2022 Posted October 19, 2022 35 minutes ago, shovelhead said: @Nexuss and @Pumba, what is the maximum feed-in to the grid that you see on your inverter with a zero setting? Mine is set to 150W and with inductive loads switching off I have noticed peak of 50W fed to the grid. In 1200kwh's of consumption it has fed in 2kwh . Those small peaks you see on the grid side doesn't really add up to much. Quote
shovelhead Posted October 19, 2022 Posted October 19, 2022 Thanks - I am more concerned about perhaps tripping the prepaid meter or having it shut down [I have the same model] due to feeding back into the grid. Was wondering if anyone else has experience with the Ontec/Sienna/Enlight model? Quote
shovelhead Posted October 20, 2022 Posted October 20, 2022 20 hours ago, Nexuss said: In 1200kwh's of consumption it has fed in 2kwh . Those small peaks you see on the grid side doesn't really add up to much. I actually looked back in my home assistant logs, and found a peak -337 value. Would be interesting to compare peak feed-ins with your zero setting vs my 150 setting...if you or anyone else has? Quote
Ive Posted November 21, 2023 Posted November 21, 2023 Hi all. Same story here. I think my prepaid meter tripped as I am not getting a 3 - 4 day reading on Tshwane portal. Been 5 days now. Eish. 1. Who do I contact to check or restart? Tshwane pretoria smart meter in Hennopspark light industrial. 150kWp, 200ah, 120 panels (Deye 50 kW x 3) I set my zero export power to 50w initially but I am getting some leakage back to grid. Changed it now to 20w for all 3 inverters. Zero export to CT set with CT's. Newby here and I need help please? Much appreciated Quote
Chris_S Posted November 22, 2023 Posted November 22, 2023 15 hours ago, Ive said: Hi all. Same story here. I think my prepaid meter tripped as I am not getting a 3 - 4 day reading on Tshwane portal. Been 5 days now. Eish. 1. Who do I contact to check or restart? Tshwane pretoria smart meter in Hennopspark light industrial. 150kWp, 200ah, 120 panels (Deye 50 kW x 3) I set my zero export power to 50w initially but I am getting some leakage back to grid. Changed it now to 20w for all 3 inverters. Zero export to CT set with CT's. Newby here and I need help please? Much appreciated Why don't you feedback with all those panels? Look for meter reset codes on internet Quote
P1000 Posted November 22, 2023 Posted November 22, 2023 13 minutes ago, Chris_S said: Look for meter reset codes on internet They get generated the same way as recharge vouchers, so you probably won't find any that will work with your meter... Quote
GreenFields Posted November 22, 2023 Posted November 22, 2023 17 hours ago, Ive said: Hi all. Same story here. I think my prepaid meter tripped as I am not getting a 3 - 4 day reading on Tshwane portal. Been 5 days now. Eish. 1. Who do I contact to check or restart? Tshwane pretoria smart meter in Hennopspark light industrial. 150kWp, 200ah, 120 panels (Deye 50 kW x 3) I set my zero export power to 50w initially but I am getting some leakage back to grid. Changed it now to 20w for all 3 inverters. Zero export to CT set with CT's. Newby here and I need help please? Much appreciated I think 20W is usually the default/standard/recommended value on a 5kW Deye. You're talking about inverters ten times that output (granted over 3 phases, but you have 3). Depending on how high your loads are, I'd suggest experimenting with a much higher zero export load, say if you're running 120 panels, say 60kW contribution to covering your loads of maybe 100kW of heavy inductive machinery, start at maybe a zero export load of 1000W and work your way for argument's sake down to 250W or whatever value no longer feeds solar power back to your meter when the loads drop out rapidly. Quote
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