There are currently various applications that can change inverter settings via MODBUS or whatever protocol.

Solar Assistant does this, other open sources do this with MQTT and some external hardware, etc... For various automation purposes.

My question is, does this shorten the life of the EEPROM, or whatever type of memory the inverter uses? 

AFAIK, EEPROM are limited in number of writes in thier lifetime, before failing.

I suppose that when you change settings via inverter communication, these get written to the onboard memory.

I am asking in general, but mainly Voltronic and clones interest me.

Should we be worried about this, or is it a non-issue? 

Thanks.

Edited July 5, 20233 yr by meetyg

Anyone ?

Maybe @Coulomb ?

Everything has a certain mtbf, use your equipment within the parameters and do not worry too much about things failing or wearing out. The electrolytic caps will likely fail before the flash fails. That said do not write unnecessary settings if there is nothing to change. Values like lifetime kWh are also written to flash (well for other inverters at least) and they still outlast the caps

In x years you will likely have to replace it in any way. Even the expensive equipment fails after eg 20 years.

On 2023/07/05 at 3:44 PM, meetyg said:

There are currently various applications that can change inverter settings via MODBUS or whatever protocol.

Solar Assistant does this, other open sources do this with MQTT and some external hardware, etc... For various automation purposes.

My question is, does this shorten the life of the EEPROM, or whatever type of memory the inverter uses? 

AFAIK, EEPROM are limited in number of writes in thier lifetime, before failing.

I suppose that when you change settings via inverter communication, these get written to the onboard memory.

I am asking in general, but mainly Voltronic and clones interest me.

Should we be worried about this, or is it a non-issue? 

Thanks.

This will be very device specific, you can typically write an EEPROM anywhere from 10000 times to a million times before they fail depending on the specific chip used. If you only change the settings once in a blue moon it will not be an issue.

I was hoping to just point to a post I made on this years ago; alas, it's full of edits and re-edits.

In summary: In an Axpert, they use a chip rated at 1 000 000 cycles, so you should be fine. Other brands and clones of Axperts may use different chips with lower ratings.

 

Edited July 7, 20233 yr by Coulomb

Thanks, I look into that post.

Since my MUST AIO inverter can do grid feedback with excess PV that's not in use, I was thinking of DIYing some automation: Using an external CT sensor, to control the maximum feedback to grid parameter. 

Currently I have a "dumb" analog meter, that actually spins backwards when back fed. But as this is illegal and in the future the power company might install some new "smart" meters, I was looking for a away to avoid backfeeding more than household use.

But, that would mean changing the parameter every few seconds. 

But my worries are about EEPROM lifespan, so I guess I won't take the risk.

I'll just have to disable the grid feedback option altogether.