Greetings,

I very recently had my solar added to the SS 8KW setup, with geyser and oven both on the non-essentials side. Both are off when the grid is absent. 

I'm still busy trying to set up an appropriate time-based charging regime (especially with winter and rainy days in the Cape currently) and setting fairly high thresholds for minimum battery bank SOC (i.e. evening slot had at 80% min SOC). We had to boost the geyser briefly last night and I noticed that it was taking all power from the battery. Tested same with the oven and that also consumed from the battery - all while the battery SOC was still > the 80% threshold I set.

When battery SOC hit 80% it takes from grid (grid was present, presumably in absence of grid no charging off the battery would happen). 

I was surprised by this as it means that in future, if using the oven in the evening (while grid is present) the load will be taken from the battery down to the pre-set SOC, meaning I'll need to maintain a fairly high SOC setting to force grid use, rather than battery. 

Is this correct and expected behaviour? Or has something been wired incorrectly, or do I have an inverter setting / priority setting wrong? 

Pic 1 below is last night at around 9:30pm while grid was present and SOC was still above 80% - non-essentials using battery. Pic 2 is when it hit 80% SOC and reverted to grid use. I do obviously want surplus solar to go to non-essentials during the day, and have the zero export "limited to home" setting enabled. I had thought that the non-essentials will always only use grid and surplus PV power as input. 

Anyway who's able to guide me on this, please? 

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Non-essentials while SOC is still > 80%

 

Non-essentials while SOC is 80% (reverts to grid)

 

Inverter settings - my understanding is if I check zero export + limit to load only then my PV wont provide surplus to non-essentials during the day. 

 

 

Edited May 31, 20233 yr by Kalahari Cruiser

My setup operates the same. Seems the battery cannot distinguish between essentials and non-essentials.

19 minutes ago, ZaydS said:

My setup operates the same. Seems the battery cannot distinguish between essentials and non-essentials.

The inverter has to make that distinction. The battery supplies whatever the inverter asks for.

Given that this is a Sunsynk, I'd guess that it's to do with circuits on the auxiliary port and with settings on the inverter itself.

31 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

The inverter has to make that distinction. The battery supplies whatever the inverter asks for.

Given that this is a Sunsynk, I'd guess that it's to do with circuits on the auxiliary port and with settings on the inverter itself.

We referring to non-essentials and not aux.

See this is about non-essentials, but just incase linking the below...

A handy guide to Auxiliary inputs and the setup that I found by Craig Boswell.

 

AUX LOAD Sunsynk Explanation.pdf

Edited May 31, 20233 yr by spotity

Many thanks for the guide, have downloaded, will go through shortly. My geyser and oven aren't on aux, but standard non-essentials (to the best of my knowledge). No aux settings on app either. 

Mate with similar system doesn't have this situation, battery never feeds non-essentials, only grid and solar (surplus). 

Yes @Bobster. my understanding was that the inverter makes that distinction, based on the settings, and that the battery just does what the inverter tells it to do basically. 

Edited May 31, 20233 yr by Kalahari Cruiser

Export to CT will power non essentials from battery according to Time OF Use menu  (Also uses solar if available), you could limit the max draw during the night by adjusting the max draw power

Export to Load power only essentials from battery

 

Alternatively you could use HomeAssistant to switch over that setting during the night

 

Edited May 31, 20233 yr by iiznh

34 minutes ago, iiznh said:

Export to CT will power non essentials from battery according to Time OF Use menu

many thanks. Yes this is exactly what is happening. But then to understand, if I want surplus solar to be able to go to non-essentials, then my current situation is unavoidable? (unless I tweak things using a high min SOC setting in respective time blocks? That would mess a little with my planning, as eg overnight I want to not have the geyser doing a boost off battery while grid is present). 

If I export to load only, that also rules out surplus solar going to non-essentials during the day?

3 minutes ago, Kalahari Cruiser said:

If I export to load only, that also rules out surplus solar going to non-essentials during the day?

Yes, this is how I understand the functionality. But I do not use my inverter that way so I cannot say with certainty. 

 

You could swap the setting around during the night and switch it back during the day and report back if it achieves the desired outcome.

 

I have only the geyser on non-essential and at the moment I have to manually use solar every day to heat up the geyser.  It seems it can be automated with Home Assistant, but I do not have the time at the moment to understand how to do that.  So I untick the limit to load box when I have excess solar and then heat the geyser, once heated I tick the box again for the next heating cycle at night to be from grid only.

1 hour ago, PearlJam said:

but I do not have the time at the moment to understand how to do that.

 

8 hours ago, iiznh said:

 

Thanks.  I will have a look