May 19, 20233 yr Good day I am starting to experience power instability resulting in my home lights flickering at times. Not only does this happen when I am connected to the grid but also when my home is only drawing power from the solar panels. My average consumption is about 600w. Any suggestions? Could this be some setting on my inverter? 5.5Kw inverter
May 20, 20233 yr 23 hours ago, j14jan65 said: Good day I am starting to experience power instability resulting in my home lights flickering at times. Not only does this happen when I am connected to the grid but also when my home is only drawing power from the solar panels. My average consumption is about 600w. Any suggestions? Could this be some setting on my inverter? 5.5Kw inverter Poor or substandard quality lights would be the first thing to look at. Buy two or three proper quality LEDs and see if this has any impact. We had the same when we 1st started with solar 3 years ago, replacing all lights with quality Phillips lights solved this for us. There are other causes, which is why I suggest replacing just two or three to see the impact . We still have one chandelier in the house with 9 bulbs that flicker, but you have to stand right under the lights and focus on them to notice it. Edited May 20, 20233 yr by I84RiS
May 20, 20233 yr 39 minutes ago, I84RiS said: Poor or substandard quality lights would be the first thing to look at. Buy two or three proper quality LEDs and see if this has any impact. We had the same when we 1st started with solar 3 years ago, replacing all lights with quality Phillips lights solved this for us. I was about to say this. I have found that not all LED lights are equal. I had a pair above my work desk that flickered all the time, grid or no-grid. These were Osrams, a brand I remember from my youth. Not only did I recognise the brand, but they were the cheapest in the shop. It occured to me that the problem may be the light fitting. I had a look at the wiring, and that seemed OK. I bought a Verbatim light from Builders and that one didn't flicker. So I bought another. Problem gone.
May 20, 20233 yr I would suggest that you check your Earth/Neutral bond when attached to the grid & disconnected. You can do this either with a test plug or you can measure the voltage with a multimeter between Earth & Neutral on a three pin plug plugged into a socket (obviously don't touch the exposed pins with your hand etc, if you are not 100% confident doing this then get an electrician to check it for you). The voltage difference between Earth/Neutral should be 0V anything above a few volts indicates that there is an Earth/Neutral bonding issue and this could be the cause of you flickering LED's, something that I noticed when my system was not bonded correctly. https://www.takealot.com/mce-electric-socket-tester/PLID92091849
May 20, 20233 yr 26 minutes ago, Sc00bs said: I would suggest that you check your Earth/Neutral bond when attached to the grid & disconnected. You can do this either with a test plug or you can measure the voltage with a multimeter between Earth & Neutral on a three pin plug plugged into a socket (obviously don't touch the exposed pins with your hand etc, if you are not 100% confident doing this then get an electrician to check it for you). The voltage difference between Earth/Neutral should be 0V anything above a few volts indicates that there is an Earth/Neutral bonding issue and this could be the cause of you flickering LED's, something that I noticed when my system was not bonded correctly. https://www.takealot.com/mce-electric-socket-tester/PLID92091849 OP mentioned that the flickering happens when grid is available. This should rule out EN bond issues ?
May 20, 20233 yr Just now, I84RiS said: OP mentioned that the flickering happens when grid is available. This should rule out EN bond issues ? Should, but I would check it in any case.
May 20, 20233 yr 5 hours ago, Sc00bs said: You can do this either with a test plug or you can measure the voltage with a multimeter between Earth & Neutral on a three pin plug plugged into a socket (obviously don't touch the exposed pins with your hand etc, if you are not 100% confident doing this then get an electrician to check it for you. https://www.takealot.com/mce-electric-socket-tester/PLID92091849 I keep this in my toolbox. Spare plug top with 4mm holes drilled just above the 3 pins. Quite save when using a multimeter.
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