Hi everyone

My brother-in-law replaced his Goodwe system with a new system and sent the Goodwe system to my dad so that he can use it on the farm. The unit was installed by a professional electrician following their installation guide.

The backup system is working 100% however we need to enable off-grid mode as the  On-grid side is not working at all. We don't have this connected to the grid at all and we need to configure this as an off-grid system.

We tried doing it via SEMS, however, we got an error that it cannot be changed. Also tried SolarGo and it is asking for an installer password which we don't have. Would anyone be able to help me in getting this unit onto off-grid or by supplying the installer password?  If there is some kind of universal password? 

 

Thank you

 

 

Try goodwe2010 for the installer password.

Hi Bobster thx for the password it has worked. But now another question. This setup is completely off grid so we have set it to off grid mode which makes sense to me but the setup on seems to be producing 2.3kw anything more and it trips. 

 

The inverter does not seem to push any power from the PV to the house. It's only using the solar to charge the batteries and my dad says in backup mode the batteries will only produce 2.3kw. Sorry for the ignorance but I am no expert. This does not really make sense to me. In my brain a 5kw inverter should be able to produce close to 5kw.

He has 2x 48v Pylontech UP5000 batteries but the app still shows the batteries that my brother-in-law used Pylontech US2000b. Should the new batteries be synched or set or something? And what is the correct mode for these inverters if totally off grid? 

 

I also have a goodwe. I don't remember if the app has up5000 in its drop down battery list.

Set the battery to 4x us2000C (2400w x 4), that will give you the same capacity as 2x up5000 (4800×2), the inverter can only pull 100A max from the battery , about 4600W.

I think I am just gonna buy my dad an off grid inverter cause this goodwe thing just does not want to work right

37 minutes ago, Skimnerf said:

I think I am just gonna buy my dad an off grid inverter cause this goodwe thing just does not want to work right

I would say this might be the easy way out for you. 

If you get it set up correctly I am sure you will find it will use the PV and provide more than 2300W.

Get a video call from someone who can help you. 

On 2023/12/27 at 11:31 AM, Skimnerf said:

The inverter does not seem to push any power from the PV to the house. It's only using the solar to charge the batteries and my dad says in backup mode the batteries will only produce 2.3kw. Sorry for the ignorance but I am no expert. This does not really make sense to me. In my brain a 5kw inverter should be able to produce close to 5kw.

Check the manual or spec sheet of the Goodwe 5048EM hybrid inverter, it should indicate just 2.3kVA as an emergency backup supply, whereas the Goodwe ES-Series inverter offers a 4.6kVA as backup in addition to 4.6 kW on-grid.

Maybe see the bottom row specs on the images attached. Excuse the German.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the inverter, except that it might not meet your needs or expectations, and there's nothing you can do except accept it for what it is, or buy something else.

 

There's a lot of information missing here.

Firstly, what is the model number of that Goodwe? If it is the EM it may well have a limit of 2300W that it can supply to the backup side. All inverters have such a limit, the limits vary, but there always is a limit. And we have to make sure that we don't exceed that load. Usually this is done by splitting the DB into two sets of loads - backed up (or essential) and not backed up (or non-essential). 2300 is not a lot. An electric kettle can pull more than that. But it should keep a TV, wifi, LED lights, electric fence, fridge going. If your dad wants to back up the geyser or an electric oven during load shedding, then you need a bigger inverter.

You asked about the batteries and the battery related settings. 

Well the two batteries have to be connected in parallel, and this involves setting one as a master and the other as a slave. I'm going to talk vaguely here because I'm not an electrician nor a p'tech specialist, but it will involve some sort of network cable between the two batteries, and probably the setting of DIP switches on the front face of the battery. If you're not sure about this, consult Pylontech or somebody who knows those batteries.

Then you have to get the battery bank talking nicely to the inverter. In terms of settings you have a problem. Interestingly the continuous discharge rate for a single USB2000 is about 2.3/2.4 kW, so the inverter - assuming it can handle more than 2300W - might be throttling the discharge current because it thinks there is only one USB2000 there.

First prize is to have a communications cable between the master battery and the inverter. Then the BMS can tell the inverter what it wants. 

It might be worth upgrading the firmware on the Goodwe. Mine has a lot more pylontech options than yours does. It doesn't have USB5000s, but I'm not running the latest patch, and I'm not using Pylontech. I know it has more Pylontech options than when I first had it, because of a firmware upgrade (and because I'm nosey). 

I know you want to just get rid of the Goodwe and buy something else, but some of these challenges are going to remain no matter what inverter you get, especially setting up the two batteries to work together.

Whatever gear you decide to use, you have to manage expectations. As I said, they all have a limit as to what they can back up. If what your dad needs to backup is greater than what the inverter can handle then something has to give: Bigger inverter, some human discipline in not turning too much on, or splitting the DB so that the loads the inverter backs up are within it's capacity.

Think of a geyser. Easily 3kW. Electric kettle can be over 2 kW depending on the model. (I have seen them rated at FOUR!). So the geyser is running, your dad wants to make coffee. Well there's 5KW easily, plus whatever other small loads are running (TV on standby, self consumption by the inverter, fridge). We all have to learn to live within the means of our inverter.

 

18 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

There's a lot of information missing here.

Firstly, what is the model number of that Goodwe? If it is the EM it may well have a limit of 2300W that it can supply to the backup side.

It's in the title of the thread: Goodwe GW5048 EM, so the OP has a different model compared to yourself (Goodwe ES 4.6kW inverter as per your footer) .

The OP's EM inverter indicates a spec of Nominal Apparent Backup Power (Notstrom-Nenn-Scheinausgangsleistung) = 2300VA, while your ES indicates 4600VA.

Basically it seems more optimised for on-grid operation, with some provision for surviving on essentials during occasional outages, rather than for full off-grid living. At least in the power flow diagram above it seems like the load is being supplied by PV and battery jointly.

21 minutes ago, GreenFields said:

It's in the title of the thread: Goodwe GW5048 EM, so the OP has a different model compared to yourself (Goodwe ES 4.6kW inverter as per your footer) .

The OP's EM inverter indicates a spec of Nominal Apparent Backup Power (Notstrom-Nenn-Scheinausgangsleistung) = 2300VA, while your ES indicates 4600VA.

Basically it seems more optimised for on-grid operation, with some provision for surviving on essentials during occasional outages, rather than for full off-grid living. At least in the power flow diagram above it seems like the load is being supplied by PV and battery jointly.

Thanks again for helping us out. I didn't think without looking that the backup can  be only 2.3kW.

+1

2 hours ago, GreenFields said:

It's in the title of the thread: Goodwe GW5048 EM

Where's the doh! smiley when you need it. 

The biggest problem is nobody in Kimberley want to help cause they don't know Goodwe inverters. And the other main problem is it only seems to giving backup power which would be fine at night but during the day 2.3kw is too little and the pv does not seem to be sending any power to the house only charging the batteries.