Good day to all.

I had 2 Goodwe 5Kva inverters in 2 of my guest houses.

Recently replaced one with a Sunsynk unit as we needed to add in a generator.

Both Goodwe units used to charge the batteries during load shedding. I always new even if batteries were low, come load shedding for 2 hours the batteries would be fully charged as we can only draw small amounts of power on the "essential loads" rail on the DB board.

But I see Goodwe have made some changes to the app and to PV Master.

Now the batteries are not charging during a power out, and to make matters worse, when the power comes back on, all the power made by the inverter goes to geysers, air cons etc and the batteries are simply last in the queue.

 

Is any one else experiencing these issues? I dont think finger trouble is the cause of this, any input will be valued.

 

Cheers. Howard.

Hi, yes, I have the exact same problem!!!

I have been onto the Goodwee support desk now for months trying to get this resolved, but in their eyes this is NOT a problem!!!

I was hoping to get some extra support here.

How or where can I escalate this issue?

What is your firmware version?

Firmware 1242415

 

What is the working mode set for your inverter in the PV Master app?

General mode will never charge batteries from grid.
Backup mode will charge batteries from grid, but will only use batteries when the grid is offline.
Offgrid mode, the inverter disconnects from the grid and will not use it at all
Eco mode, depends on how you have the schedules configured.

1 hour ago, Tinuva said:

What is the working mode set for your inverter in the PV Master app?

General mode will never charge batteries from grid.
Backup mode will charge batteries from grid, but will only use batteries when the grid is offline.
Offgrid mode, the inverter disconnects from the grid and will not use it at all
Eco mode, depends on how you have the schedules configured.

I think what he means is it does not charge from PV when there is loadshedding. I have seen before where this inverter essentially disables PV when the grid falls away, but that was with earlier firmware than he has. Perhaps it is worth checking if a firmware update solves the problem. Otherwise perhaps reset the settings?

Usually the Goodwe will charge the batteries from PV as long as 

1) battery not already fully charged

2) PV > load. 

That's in general mode. So during the day it should try to charge batteries from PV. Assuming the two factors I mentioned above. 

I have the latest apps, but an earlier firmware version. I don't have the problem you describe. 

We need to start with your data from the SEMS portal on a day when your batteries didn't service the load. You don't mention mention what batteries you are using, and their age. 

Also please check to see which mode you are running in (see explanation from @Tinuva above) and the settings related to the batteries IE what the app is reporting. 

Oh @LLTHB... And what comms do you have between the Goodwe & the batteries? 

I had the same issue after the software upgrade. Iogged a ticket for goodwe to downgrade my software and this resolved the issue.

Hi Howard

This is a longshot. Try to find an older version of the app or if you can remember the version of the app you were using, then download it. I am assuming the old app worked fine.

 

I have a similar situation for last few months. I was in UPS mode and in the past the battery would charge as soon as Eskom comes back on line. Lately the battery only charge when there is access PV available. 

Good news everybody!!!

I am finally back up and running. I cannot explain my frustration with the Goodwe support. The first line of agents refuse to let you talk directly to technical personel, so to try and explain the issues directly to call center staff is extremely frustrating.

Anyway, so finally my problems was resolved. Still waiting for exactly what they changes to make it work, as at one stage they said the unit is faulty and I must return it for repairs.

Currently on Firmware Version 1242415

I had the same problem recently more than once, where the batteries did not charge from the PV panel (grid power off). They also stopped charging from the grid over night at around 35% charge, even though the minimum charge was set to 50%. I then changed the basic setting from "general" to "backup" mode. On re-starting the inverter, the batteries charged again.

The Goodwe service desk gave poor support, only stating the obvious. We have a Pylontech battery bank of 12 kWh (5 x 2.4 kWh), with a data cable to the inverter.

I still do not know whether it was the change in setting or the re-start that caused the difference. We are nervous about when the system will drop us again, as we are dependant on the power.

2 hours ago, heini said:

I had the same problem recently more than once, where the batteries did not charge from the PV panel (grid power off). They also stopped charging from the grid over night at around 35% charge, even though the minimum charge was set to 50%. I then changed the basic setting from "general" to "backup" mode. On re-starting the inverter, the batteries charged again.

The Goodwe service desk gave poor support, only stating the obvious. We have a Pylontech battery bank of 12 kWh (5 x 2.4 kWh), with a data cable to the inverter.

I still do not know whether it was the change in setting or the re-start that caused the difference. We are nervous about when the system will drop us again, as we are dependant on the power.

1. We are in Centurion, South Africa.
2. Model number: GW5048D-ES
3. Serial Number: 95048ESU19500847
4. Firmware Version: 6232315/0

Hi Heini,

Yes, I have to agree that Goodwe support is extremely slow and tech support is more a call center where nobody knows anything about solar.

Regarding your battery charging, why charge from the grid? This does not make sense if you have PV connected.
Rather set your On-grid discharge low, like 40% or 50%.
Then your Backup to 80%.
So under normal day to day operations you will only discharge down to 50%, leaving you a further 30% for backup when the grid is down.
This is something you would have to play with depending on your demands on the system.

General Mode is still the best. Backup mode basically ignores the grid so then you actually running off Eskom grid and only from PV and batteries.

On 2022/10/08 at 1:58 PM, Heini said:

I had the same problem recently more than once, where the batteries did not charge from the PV panel (grid power off). They also stopped charging from the grid over night at around 35% charge, even though the minimum charge was set to 50%. I then changed the basic setting from "general" to "backup" mode. On re-starting the inverter, the batteries charged again.

The Goodwe service desk gave poor support, only stating the obvious. We have a Pylontech battery bank of 12 kWh (5 x 2.4 kWh), with a data cable to the inverter.

I still do not know whether it was the change in setting or the re-start that caused the difference. We are nervous about when the system will drop us again, as we are dependant on the power.

The backup mode emulates the behaviour of an old-fashioned UPS with grid keeping lead acid batteries at 100%SOC until the grid goes down. This includes throttling the charge current so as not to send the LA batteries more than they can cope with.

If you are using lead acid batteries this may be construed as correct behaviour. If you are using lithium batteries then it won't break anything, but it's probably not what you want.

As soon as you changed to general mode, the Goodwe will charge your batteries using PV according to the battery settings that have been selected/entered.

If you hadn't changed the settings from backup to general, a restart would not have made any difference.

Thanks, Bobster, for your feedback.

I was desparate in the face of Eskom's Phase 5 load shedding. My Pylontech Lithium batteries neither charged from the PV Panels nor from the Grid. They were running empty. The change from General to Backup with the subsequent re-start (all during the night) kick-started everything again. Since then the system runs normal as expected.

Maybe I can share the feedback from Goodwe through their portal, which may be of benefit to others. I am sharing both their initial feedback and our subsequent interaction:

Goodwe: The batteries will slow charge from the grid when the grid is available. The only time the batteries will not charge from the grid when set to backup mode is if the charging times and the charging rate is not set correctly. This is usually set automatically by the App. When this happen you can try to reselect the settings and check if the batteries will start charging.

Me: Please indicate where do I select the Charging Time and Charging Rate on the App, and what they must be.

Goodwe: The charging times are auto selected when setting the inverter to backup mode. If the inverter is not charging the batteries in backup mode you will have to reselect the settings and ensure you select the option to restart the inverter on PV master not click exit.

1 hour ago, Heini said:

Goodwe: The charging times are auto selected when setting the inverter to backup mode. If the inverter is not charging the batteries in backup mode you will have to reselect the settings and ensure you select the option to restart the inverter on PV master not click exit

Do not do this unless you have grid or good PV. The inverter cannot restart with out one of those two. In the dark, without grid, it will begin the restart sequence, but won't complete it until the grid or the sun comes up.

On 2022/10/14 at 10:32 AM, Bobster. said:

Do not do this unless you have grid or good PV. The inverter cannot restart with out one of those two. In the dark, without grid, it will begin the restart sequence, but won't complete it until the grid or the sun comes up.

Thank you very much, Bobster. I only see your reply now. This happened to me yesterday (24 October) when I tried to restart the system at night without the grid. It only started when the power was back on. Now I understand why! Wish Goodwe would be more clear!

Good day.

Our Goodwe Inverter continuously looses WiFi connection with the server.

It is furthermore often not possible to obtain contact with the Inverter through PV Master to adjust the settings. After trying many times, contact is made if you are lucky.

Our ES 4.6 kW inverter is on Firmware Version 2323F. PV Master is on Revision V4.4.8.

Advice will be highly appreciated.

 

Hi @Heini !

The latest firmware version I have installed is 242416. Even though my Goodwe 5048ES is the yellow one and had an old Wi-Fi module that Goodwe no longer equips, with this Firmware revision I never again had problems with the unit disconnecting from the LAN network or with the PVmaster application.

Hi There

My Goodwe ES5048 also doesn't charge from Solar when there is no grid. I have contacted Goodwe on numerous occasions and they have updated my firmware twice but still PV does'nt charge my Pylontechs during loadshedding. Any suggestions on what else I could try. Not sure when this started occurring.

Good day all.

I have a different issue with the 5kW grid tie inverter. I have an existing Victron 150/45 smart controler with 2 102 Koyo Gel batteries. I only have space on the roof for 4 panels as I live in a complex. As soon as I share the panels with the GW5000D-NS inverter iy gives me an error and can not supply power to the house. Can I connect the Panels in parallel with the GW5000D-NS inverter?

1 hour ago, itstelecoms said:

Good day all.

I have a different issue with the 5kW grid tie inverter. I have an existing Victron 150/45 smart controler with 2 102 Koyo Gel batteries. I only have space on the roof for 4 panels as I live in a complex. As soon as I share the panels with the GW5000D-NS inverter iy gives me an error and can not supply power to the house. Can I connect the Panels in parallel with the GW5000D-NS inverter?

Would have to see what panels you've got, what their specs are. But in general, if all 4 panels are in parallel, you'd be below the 80V start-up Voltage of the GW5000D-NS inverter. If you're using a DC transfer switch to transfer the solar panel input between the Victron 150V(max) MPPT and the Goodwe (80-550V operating range), then a 2S2P configuration could possibly satisfy both devices' input requirements. Depends completely on the panels you've got; ideally you'd have wanted Voc around 120-130V per string.