Help - SunSynk 8k prioritising battery over solar!

[system32]

Hello Gurus,
Hopefully someone here can provide some insight into this strange behavior and provide a fix.
I have a SunSynk 8k with firmware Ver. M 6.0.0.9 / C E.4.1.C

I have the following load:
2.8kW to load/UPS
5.4kW from PV - bright sunny midday
2.5kW into battery

 

I then turn on a 3.6kW device and UPS load goes from 2.8kW to 6.4kW - this exceeds the 5.4kW solar capacity.
What I expected was
6.4kW to load/UPS
5.4kW from PV - bright sunny midday
~1.0kW from battery

What I observed is that the inverter is prioritizing battery over solar PV when the load exceeds PV.
6.4kW to load/UPS
1.7kW from PV (there is 5.4kW available)
5.1kW from battery

(There is also ~400W unaccounted for)

As soon as I turn off the 3.6kW load, the inverter reverts to the correct priority as in image 1.

Any ideas how to get the SunSynk to always prioritise available PV?
Is there a setting for this?
 

Edited April 26, 2022 by system32
Typos

[mzezman]

Can you post images of both your System Mode screens - it will help us diagnose whats going on

[system32]

10 minutes ago, mzezman said:

Can you post images of both your System Mode screens - it will help us diagnose whats going on

As requested:
(I've included the other settings if that helps)
(I'm using AGM-V as advised by Hubble)

[Leshen]

5 hours ago, system32 said:

Hello Gurus,
Hopefully someone here can provide some insight into this strange behavior and provide a fix.
I have a SunSynk 8k with firmware Ver. M 6.0.0.9 / C E.4.1.C

I have the following load:
5.4kW PV - bright sunny midday
2.8kW load
2.5kW into battery

 

I then turn on a 3.6kW device and load goes from 2.8kW to 6.4kW - this exceeds the 5.4kW solar capacity.
What I expected was
5.4kW PV - bright sunny midday
6.4kW load
~1.0kW from battery

What I observed is that the inverter is prioritizing battery over solar PV when the load exceeds PV.
1.7kW PV (there is 5.4kW available)
6.4kW load
5.1kW from battery

(There is also ~400W unaccounted for)

As soon as I turn off the 3.6kW load, the inverter reverts to the correct priority as in image 1.

Any ideas how to get the SunSynk to always prioritise available PV?
Is there a setting for this?
 

All your settings seem ok. The inverter should always prioritise the PV power. And I’m assuming that there wasn’t a cloud that blocked the sun. 
 

Send me your inverter serial number and I’ll do a firmware upgrade and will see if that helps. 

[system32]

1 hour ago, Leshen said:

All your settings seem ok. The inverter should always prioritise the PV power. And I’m assuming that there wasn’t a cloud that blocked the sun. 
 

Send me your inverter serial number and I’ll do a firmware upgrade and will see if that helps. 

Thanks for the feedback.
Perfect blue sky.
I tried it a few times to make sure.
When the load exceeds the 5.4kW PV, the inverter starts prioritising battery instead of using the 5.4kW PV available.
I suspect it's a firmware bug or an incorrect setting or I misunderstand the device.
8 days ago, I logged a call with support at sunsynk.com and got an acknowledgment. Still waiting for useful feedback.

Has anyone else seen this behavior?

Edited April 26, 2022 by system32

[Leshen]

14 minutes ago, system32 said:

Thanks for the feedback.
Perfect blue sky.
I tried it a few times to make sure.
When the load exceeds the 5.4kW PV, the inverter starts prioritising battery instead of using the 5.4kW PV available.
I suspect it's a firmware bug or an incorrect setting or I misunderstand the device.
8 days ago, I logged a call with support at sunsynk.com and got an acknowledgment. Still waiting for useful feedback.

Has anyone else seen this behavior?

Would you like me to request a firmware upgrade for you?

[system32]

31 minutes ago, Leshen said:

Would you like me to request a firmware upgrade for you?

THANKS for the offer - really appreciate it.
I've previously requested an upgrade and am familiar with the process so I should be good.

I'm going to try a setting I got from the Sunsynk forum tomorrow (limit to load) and see if that helps.
Weather app says it 100% sun tomorrow in JHB so I'll do the test tomorrow at about 11am and provide feedback.
If the setting does not help, I'll request a firmware upgrade.

[Scorp007]

4 minutes ago, system32 said:

THANKS for the offer - really appreciate it.
I've previously requested an upgrade and am familiar with the process so I should be good.

I'm going to try a setting I got from the Sunsynk forum tomorrow (limit to load) and see if that helps.
Weather app says it 100% sun tomorrow in JHB so I'll do the test tomorrow at about 11am and provide feedback.
If the setting does not help, I'll request a firmware upgrade.

My weather APP shows only 8hrs sun tomorrow while today was 11hrs. Luckily cloud only after 14h00.

[system32]

9 hours ago, Scorp007 said:

My weather APP shows only 8hrs sun tomorrow while today was 11hrs. Luckily cloud only after 14h00.

Looks like your weather app is better than mine
There is grey mist outside at 8am - very unusual - hope it clears.

[Scorp007]

A very clear day but cold wind in Centurion. Yes I must say the APP I use is very good and like the hours a day sunshine forecast at a glance for 7 days.

10 hours ago, system32 said:

My weather APP shows only 8hrs sun tomorrow while today was 11hrs. Luckily cloud only after 14h00.

Edited April 27, 2022 by Scorp007
Added pic

[system32]

Good news the sun came out and I was able to test various settings.
As suggested by others, I tried setting the SOC to 100% (53.6V), but this disabled usage of battery when clouds appear.
I'm trying to avoid unnecessary grid as prices are expensive.




I tried various permutations of settings (as recommended above) on Work Mode 2, but that did not help resolve the issue.
The issue is I expect the inverter to use all available PV.
"MAX PV First -> Battery Second -> Grid Third" instead of:
"Limited PV First -> Some Battery Second -> Grid Third"
This issue happens when load (UPS) exceeds available PV.
The PV is then limited (see first post).
I reread the installer manual specifically section 3.1 System Diagram and see no reason to limit PV.
I reread the installer manual to confirm Work Modes and AFAIK, mine are correct for my system.
I sized the battery to last about 16h and still have about 20% SOC left in the morning.
The 6.4kWp PV normally charges to 100% by about 13h00.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I've request a firmware upgrade and see if that fixes the issue.

[system32]

Good News,
The firmware upgrade I requested via https://www.sunsynk.org/up-grade has been installed - THANKS
Old Ver. M 6.0.0.9 / C E.4.1.C
New Ver. M 6.0.1.4 / C E.4.2.4

The new firmware seems to have resolved the prioritisation issue as can be seen below:

Thanks powerforum for all for the advice and @Leshen for offers of assistance.
Thanks SunSynk for the prompt service on the firmware update and fixing the issue.

Would be nice if SunSynk published a firmware change log.