Remote control for Goodwe ES. Does anybody have this working?

[Bobster.]

I am able to control everything that is controllable for me ES when I'm at home. However, there are times when control when away from home would be useful. Mostly what I want to do is to set up eco mode in order to get some charge into the batteries.

Some forumites reported that this was possible via a "configure" button in the SEMS app. It turns out that you need an installer account on SEMS to get that button. I applied for and got this access. 

But now I find I still can't get what I want. In fact things have actually got worse. I get the configure button. I tap it and I get a disclaimer. Then I get the safety code settings. 

I can then tap "mode", "working mode" to set the inverter into eco mode. That gives me this

The time slots shown are correct, but everything is shown as turned off. One should not be, but in fact SEMS has turned them all off.

OK... not yet the end of the world, but if I try to change anything to do with any of those four sets of settings I get this...
 

And so apart from the initial disabling of all the settings (which I don't want), I am unable to set anything up and change it. When I get back home I can set everything the way I want it, but I could do that already. So what's the point?

Is anybody actually able to do this? Can you advise me please?

Checkcode is 038478

Firmware is 1212113

[Bobster.]

It seems to me that I need a proper VPN set up. Then I can connect the phone to the VPN, and use PVMaster/SolarGo as if I were connected to the LAN at home.

[Bobster.]

43 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

The time slots shown are correct

Actually they aren't. They should be

1. 9:00 to 11:00 on Sundays
2. 00:00 to 00:00 every day
3. 15:00 to 16:00 every day (the one that should be on)
4. 17:00 to 18:00 every day

So only one of the time slots shows correct times and days, and it is off when it should be on.

[FixAMess]

I use general mode, let the PV supply the house, battery, in that order.

I use the app just to set DoD when I see weather etc messes with the plan. Ive just set it to 10% DoD now, battery will charge from PV. Tonight before I go to bed, I set it to 50%, discharges overnight...

I do have enough panels to keep the battery charged by midday though.

[Bobster.]

10 minutes ago, FixAMess said:

I do have enough panels to keep the battery charged by midday though.

I usually have it fully charged by midday, but if the weather is foul and there's load shedding that falls between 15:00 and 16:00 then I might want to set up another program just in case. Which I can't do remotely.

[BGb]

I've also experience problems connecting to my Goodwe, recently added an additional pylontech and unable to configure it, turned out I'm suppose to use solargo however only able to connect very infrequently mostly get "failed" message. Logged a problem with Goodwe support who said they are experiencing problems, and have notified their office (assume in China) however no indication of when it will be resolved.  Support were able to add the battery.  Must say the poor communication makes it difficult to recommend a Goodwe inverter.

Goodwe support upgraded my firmware to 1252517, looks like you are a few couple of versions "behind".  I've been able to make changes to DOD with SEMS but did not try to change eco mode settings.

 

[Bobster.]

I certainly can connect to the inverter remotely and I now get the "configure" button. But I can't actually configure anything, and, which is worse, I lose certain settings that I previously made and saved. I need to engage with Goodwe again, but these days it's like pulling teeth.

[BGb]

On 2023/06/15 at 10:06 AM, Bobster. said:

I certainly can connect to the inverter remotely and I now get the "configure" button. But I can't actually configure anything, and, which is worse, I lose certain settings that I previously made and saved. I need to engage with Goodwe again, but these days it's like pulling teeth.

I have the exact same problem, to scared to change anything, unless during the week when support is available, not impressed.

[Bobster.]

1 hour ago, BGb said:

I have the exact same problem, to scared to change anything, unless during the week when support is available, not impressed.

All I change, and all I want to change remotely, is the time slots to charge from grid, and the operation mode. That's if the weather is bad and I'm not home. Everything else I leave alone, and the stuff to do with the battery I can't change. Well... I can, but the BMS immediately resets everything to what it wants. So I'm not worried about blowing stuff up.

[FuzzyBullets]

It seems that Goodwe SA is of no technical support.

I have a problem where Sems Portal indicates my LOAD (wattage) higher than what it actually is and the wattage that it is higher is missing on my charge going to the battery.

I will be charging the battery at 2400 W but the graph only indicates 1200 W. The load will indicate 5000 W but the actual load is only 3800 W. There seems to be some calculation error on the server or from the server ( data from server). This problem started in April after the server went down with some ridiculous figures on the data.

All the data from the past is effected and makes all the graphs and data useless. 

Here is an example:

This is data from the past. It used to be correct but is now all useless. Look at the yellow line. That is the load. The load increases with the pv generation.

Battery is charging because SOC is going up but with 0 Watts doing the charging. What the hell is going on. I am trying to get technical support from Goodwe SA but they cant see the problem. I assume they did not take math's as a subject at school.

This is the graph with Current to battery. Next picture is Voltage to battery. ( Voltage is correct 250V ). Do you guys see the problem.

The purple line on the top graph indicates 0 Watt charge to the battery but the current and voltage indicates that the battery is charging.

How do I get SA support to get this sorted out. I'm Gatvol.

 

 

[Narek]

I am taking the fight to Goodwe. for 3 years zero support apart from some emails from Sisanda China and smoother talker David. 

See emails to them as below. We in South Africa are treated differently to other countries that Goodwe sells at.The only way to win is to take a legal class action and force them to replace,refund or fix the problem. They conn the installers who in turn conns the customers. I    have the same problem with Goodwe as thousands of other customers and the only ones smiling while taking our money is China Govt who owns all Chinese companies globally. 

Here is my last emails to David and Sisanda as below: Sadly they just dont care:

 

 

25 Aug 2023, 11:18 email after David responded stating nobody has Goodwe problems except me --

David.Your response is incorrect!!

I fully understand how to balance my loads on the inverter and what happens if I overload from day one of the installation!!! In fact I studied Godo we products for more than 3 years before I can make comments. 

Everyone from Goodwe keeps singing the same song that the customer is wrong and not the product but nobody wants to help. 

Local media forums have indicated that you have done this to everyone that had Goodwe inverters and never helped a single customer to date who can post positive feedback.

Some Goodwe customers gave up with Goodwe and carried their own loss to replace the defective inverters.

Instead of making a good name for China as your Chinese President is doing right now at the BRICS summit,goodwe is doing the opposite and bringing China into disrepute. 

I will also send my communication to the Chinese embassy and China high delegation if I have a chance to meet them at the Brics summit and share my bad experience of Goodwe in Africa.

Maybe they will investigate from China and force you to take action and replace the defective inverter or refund me fully. That is the only solution.

 

The installer is being taken to court to claim damages for defective product (Goodwe) and other damages he caused on my property.

I have said this to over 100 people at Goodwe and Goodwe representatives but nobody seems to communicate so I say it again. 

 

You can log into the device from China and easily check all the faults,software updates and challenges that I face.You are fully aware that end users cannot see what Goodwe China sees in a customer's own device. 

I hope not to escalate this to a presidential level but we cannot continue Brics expansion with unreliable partners like Goodwe whom China should keep on a red list for future expansion and funding.

We are partnering with China for Brics yet Goodwe treats us the worst from all the other countries that Goodwe has presence.Australia being given most preference by Goodwe and they are China's worst trading partner after the USA. 

Trust you see the gravity of how much reputational damage a single small customer can cause to point of derailing the "Belt and Road initiative"  after being ignoring the customer for over two years.

Your urgent personal intervention is anticipated!!

 

 

 

latest reply to David email-  dated

Wed, 13 Sept, 14:15 (4 days ago)

David

I understand that you have to send courtesy emails just to make yourself and your employer happy and tick the box that you replied.

To prove me that that I am the only customer having problems and Let’s just say everyone’s comments globally and more specially on the power forum media is wrong and only you the all mighty and the employer as I can can ruler of the communist world are correct,send me reviews of all the installations done and the breakdown or customer care response’s showing the integrity of your comments.

If you cannot do this then please don’t waste any of your valuable time on me sending more useless emails to make yourself happy.

I have done my research and can easily challenge you and Goodwe in public court( democratic one and not communist courtroom).let me know if you and your paymaster are up to the challenge.

If not,please go back and hide in your dark corner as you did for the past few years avoiding me when I struggled with the Goodwe defective product.

It’s typical of your behaviour that distributors are not keen to sell your masters products anymore because they all know you are a social media champion who can never really help in any way.

I look forward to you and your Communist masters challenge to take this matter to public court for independent review and restitution of you are man enough to do this.

I mean where in the world,in this day and age can a communist product sending and receiving information to China as programmed but refuses to let the person in the democratic country access to his/her own system,,,go figure why people hate the product after market service.It seems the Goodwe product was a reverse engineered product from a very successful democratic country product but they lack the IP software to allow the customer access,which is why only China can send and receive information and of course access anything commented to the home WiFi and your know this very all too well.even if you pretend that you don’t know!!!

Otherwise,as I said please go back to your dark corner,hide,send emails like a puppet and get paid while you annf your master offer zero help!!!

I humbly request that you and your communist masters stop playing games and sending silly emails and fix the problem,otherwise we both get our lawyers and fight this out in democratic courtroom.

 

 

On 13 Sep 2023, at 13:55, David Havenga <[email protected]> wrote:

Good Day Sir,

Goodwe is the Inverter manufacturer for the GW5084-ES inverter you have. We did not sell you the device. The device along with other branded batteries and components were purchased from a distributor by the installer that you purchased the device from. The installer in question is not a representative of Goodwe, he may have had training from us on how to install and commision our products.(this does not cover basic PV design and system deign). Goodwe holds the device warranty as per our warranty terms and conditions. The device in question is working normally and has been tested previously by the distributor and has been deemed to work normally under normal operating conditions. 

 

Goodwe Warranty does not cover installation design or physicals errors nor does it cover any 3rd party components. Should the inverter itself have a fault it would be covered under our warranty and we could replace the device. 

 

We are sorry to hear that the device does not fit the required purpose as well as problems you are experiencing with your 3rd party batteries(As I have identified this problem in a previous mail). 

 

Since its clear that the inverter is not at fault here we are unable to assist you. Should your device fail in future we can ship you a replacement device. Should you like to upgrade your system to a larger inverter and batteries you can contact one of our distributors to purchase new products or get recommendations for installers that they work with. Our current distributors are https://krannich-solar.com/za-en/  https://www.ibc-solar.co.za/ and https://shop.rubiconsa.com/

 

Kind Regards

David Havenga

Technical Manager for Southern Africa

GOODWE POWER SUPPLY TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD.

 

[Bobster.]

 

It seems that Goodwe SA is of no technical support.

I have a problem where Sems Portal indicates my LOAD (wattage) higher than what it actually is and the wattage that it is higher is missing on my charge going to the battery.

I will be charging the battery at 2400 W but the graph only indicates 1200 W. The load will indicate 5000 W but the actual load is only 3800 W. There seems to be some calculation error on the server or from the server ( data from server). This problem started in April after the server went down with some ridiculous figures on the data.

All the data from the past is effected and makes all the graphs and data useless. 

Here is an example:

This is data from the past. It used to be correct but is now all useless. Look at the yellow line. That is the load. The load increases with the pv generation.

Battery is charging because SOC is going up but with 0 Watts doing the charging. What the hell is going on. I am trying to get technical support from Goodwe SA but they cant see the problem. 

Or they don't use SEMS, they look at some other system. 

I've seen this. Current data is OK, and the last couple of months data look OK, but something does go pear-shaped at some point in the past. The historic reports that I extract still seem plausible 

I think this is beyond the control of Goodwe SA. They can report it, but that's all. I can't believe that users in other countries haven't  reported it. 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Bobster.

[FixAMess]

@Narek, what problems are you experiencing? Maybe we can assist...

[Bobster.]

Time to revisit this, because in an idle moment I tried again to configure via SEMs

And it worked! 

I haven't upgraded the SEMS app (unless it is auto upgrading), I have updated SolarGo (automatic version check, but elective upgrade), and the firmware version shows as unchanged. 

So IDK, but one less reason for buying a new inverter. 

[Greg]

I have given up with any form of intelligent support from Goodwe. Neither solargo or pvmaster are in any way reliable. Sisanda and Crystal help as far as they can. My solution has been to have the support ladies set my inverter to ECO mode with charging set 24/7 @50% charge rate and have a contactor on the "in" side of the inverter which I control remotely via a Sonoff smart switch. I monitor my system remotely in real time using CEF's clever software, and energise my contactor if and when I need a little boost during rainy weather. I have not had to connect to the grid since about early August anyway, so am kinda off grid for 8 to 9 months of the year. 7kW of panels and 10,5 kWh of Pylontech US3000 batteries. Wife well trained w.r.t usage.

[Bobster.]

21 hours ago, Greg said:

I have given up with any form of intelligent support from Goodwe. Neither solargo or pvmaster are in any way reliable. Sisanda and Crystal help as far as they can. My solution has been to have the support ladies set my inverter to ECO mode with charging set 24/7 @50% charge rate and have a contactor on the "in" side of the inverter which I control remotely via a Sonoff smart switch. I monitor my system remotely in real time using CEF's clever software, and energise my contactor if and when I need a little boost during rainy weather. I have not had to connect to the grid since about early August anyway, so am kinda off grid for 8 to 9 months of the year. 7kW of panels and 10,5 kWh of Pylontech US3000 batteries. Wife well trained w.r.t usage.

I've not had problems with solargo or pvmaster, save the obvious one that they are designed for local operation (you must be on the same wifi segment as the inverter) and not remote.

Now that I can switch modes via Sems, I have all the remote control I need.

Support used to be better a couple of years ago. Now somebody seems to have "rationalised" everything, and the local guys are now just a front end for Goodwe in the EU. This made nothing faster no more rational. One of the problems I picked up when trying to get installer access to my inverter was that they run different SEMS instances for different parts of the workd, and the guys in the EU office seem pretty confused about where Africa actually is, and kept on setting up a login for me on the wrong system.

But after some hiccoughs, and me actually resigning myself to the idea that I would never have this access, it's all working now.

I do though dread having to find assistance in SA for my Goodwe. Luckily it seems reliable. But there seem to be very few brains to pick. This is not a problem with, say, Sunsynk.

[FixAMess]

I swapped out a lightning damaged Goowe for a working, used one a few weeks ago. I had to get support to change the "owner"/ installer of the used one so the new owner could access it.

1 phone call and it was done! I was rather surprised.

They're reliable inverters, mine is 5 this year, no issues,never skipped a beat. I'm hoping another 5 yrs to go.

[Bobster.]

34 minutes ago, FixAMess said:

I swapped out a lightning damaged Goowe for a working, used one a few weeks ago. I had to get support to change the "owner"/ installer of the used one so the new owner could access it.

1 phone call and it was done! I was rather surprised.

They're reliable inverters, mine is 5 this year, no issues,never skipped a beat. I'm hoping another 5 yrs to go.

Oh great. My inverter is going to go pop just as my earning power hits zero and my disposable income is in terminal decline.