Buff Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 (edited) Hello, I recently purchased a 5kW inverter from Sunsynk. The installation was quite an ordeal and my relationship with the installer is not the best. They seem to not be willing or able to share information about how the system works. Thankfully I have found this forum, which seems to have it's fair share of experts My problem is that when there is a grid power outage, the inverter trips constantly. My suspicion is that it is related to the geyser being on. I do not expect to see the load on the app follow the schedule I have for my geyser. As you can see from the pic below my load goes highest in the early morning and in the evening when my geyser is running. Should this be happening if my geyser is supposed to be non-essential? This becomes a problem when there is no power because the geyser draws too much current and the system constantly trips. If this is because the geyser is not in the non-essential part of my circuit, how could I test this? Would it be enough to put that section down on the DB box and see if it affects the load? Edited July 17 by Buff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 (edited) Sounds like geyser is on the essentials side, this is usually ok BUT only if the loads are then managed correctly and operation fully explained by the installer. In most installations the geyser is usually on the non-essentials side along with other high load appliances like e.g. the stove. I have mine on the essentials side, BUT it is smart controlled to prevent the issue you describe. OR!! Your CT coil may be incorrectly installed and settings not correct. OR!! Your bonding is not correct Best would be to get a reputable knowledgeable person to check everything for you. Mention your area and maybe someone will reach out to offer assistance/advice. Edited July 17 by WannabeSolarSparky TimCam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 13 minutes ago, Buff said: Would it be enough to put that section down on the DB box and see if it affects the load? That would be a good point to test if it is the geyser causing the trips. If they geyser is isolated(Switched off) and it then still trips then most likely you have a E/N bonding issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abd7 Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 With solar assistant it would be easy to assess this, when you see high loads switch the geyser breaker off, and monitor load. Then switch back on and monitor. Could do it with the Sunsynk app although it would take longer. Seems like it's on the essentials from the looks of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abd7 Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 (edited) Depending on which area you are in, I would get someone well recommended on the forum to assess and rectify issues. Edited July 17 by abd7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenFields Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 1 hour ago, Buff said: Hello, I recently purchased a 5kW inverter from Sunsynk. The installation was quite an ordeal and my relationship with the installer is not the best. They seem to not be willing or able to share information about how the system works. Thankfully I have found this forum, which seems to have it's fair share of experts My problem is that when there is a grid power outage, the inverter trips constantly. My suspicion is that it is related to the geyser being on. I do not expect to see the load on the app follow the schedule I have for my geyser. As you can see from the pic below my load goes highest in the early morning and in the evening when my geyser is running. Should this be happening if my geyser is supposed to be non-essential? This becomes a problem when there is no power because the geyser draws too much current and the system constantly trips. If this is because the geyser is not in the non-essential part of my circuit, how could I test this? Would it be enough to put that section down on the DB box and see if it affects the load? Can you confirm what battery(s) and battery settings you're using? The graph doesn't show the geyser or any loads exceeding the inverter's rated capacity of 5kW, and it also doesn't show the battery ever exceeding around 3kW output. Could still be anything else, but I just want to eliminate one of the obvious possibilities like a 0.5C discharge rate. Scorp007 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 15 minutes ago, GreenFields said: Can you confirm what battery(s) and battery settings you're using? The graph doesn't show the geyser or any loads exceeding the inverter's rated capacity of 5kW, and it also doesn't show the battery ever exceeding around 3kW output. Could still be anything else, but I just want to eliminate one of the obvious possibilities like a 0.5C discharge rate. Yip that is quite a very good possibility as well. @Buff have you checked the sunsynk error logs, that should point you in the direction of the reason for the trips. Scorp007 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buff Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 Thankx everybody. Below is an example of one such occurance which I sent to the installer. You can see the spikes from after 18h30. We came home to find it tripping about every 5 mins. Nothing else was on i.e. the pool, we have a gas stove and heaters. The geyser is on at that time. The fault I see on the app when this happens is 56 DC Volt Low. The installer has indicated this is because the battery is running low, the system was updating, I have too many appliances connected. All of these don't really make sense besides the system updating which may have been a valid reason on one of the occassions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buff Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 (edited) @WannabeSolarSparkyThese are my battery settings Edited July 18 by Buff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buff Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 (edited) @GreenFields Is solar assistant the app? The home assistant one? I don't have that installed. @abd7 How would I get somebody from this forum? Is there another page with people who can come out and have a look at my installation? Edited July 18 by Buff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalahari Meerkat Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 7 minutes ago, Buff said: You can see the spikes from after 18h30. The cursor at 18:30 seems to indicate a power draw of 3-odd kW, what battery/ies have you got? That kind of power smells like the HWC is on the essential side and making short work out of your stored energy... GreenFields 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalahari Meerkat Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 (edited) @Buff, I guess you can have the HWC on the essential side, but then have it fed from a contactor/relay that is switched on when commercial power is available, but really, the HWC should be connected in the DB before the inverter, on the non-essential side... Edited July 18 by Kalahari Meerkat type/spare characters floating about... GreenFields 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buff Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 I was told that the battery can only deliver 2.5 MAX when there is load shedding. It is a x Sunsynk SS-BAT-LFP-5K-WM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buff Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 @Kalahari MeerkatMy apologies... I'm new to the jargon... what is a HWC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buff Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 I wanted the geyser on the non-essential side. It's a non essential for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalahari Meerkat Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 Just now, Buff said: @Kalahari MeerkatMy apologies... I'm new to the jargon... what is a HWC? Sorry dude, everyone always talk of a Geyser, as far I am concerned it is a Hot Water Cylinder... HWC for short... and yes, if the battery is specced at 0.5C for discharge limit then this is your problem, I am assuming nothing else in the house was consuming those kW's indicated... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buff Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 @Kalahari Meerkat Lol... Ok.... the TLA... I'm in that industry... the Three Letter Acronym. Like I said, I suspect very strongly that it is the geyser because there is nothing else in the house that draws that much power. I had asked for that to be put on the non-essential load on the DB. Nobody is saying this might be the cause even when I raise it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenFields Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 (edited) Repeating a bit of the above. Okay, so this is looks to be the main source of your issues, that your battery is the limiting factor of your power output. You could double up with a second battery so that you can make better use of the total 5kW power capacity of your inverter during loadshedding. It's very easy to exceed the 2.5kW limit of one battery, the geyser alone will do it, but it could be as simple as a kettle and a toaster together to trip your house. It's still not a good idea though to let your geyser chow through your battery capacity. It is better to connect your geyser as a non-essential load, so that when power goes off, that the geyser also switches off. The other alternative is to put your geyser on as a Smart Load, so that you could run the geyser as long as there is sufficient sunlight/solar power, but if that drops away, and the battery gets too low, the geyser will then again switch off. To find an installer, maybe ask directly to @Powerforum Store for the guys that usually work in your area. Some usernames come to mind, but I'm not sure who works where. Might also be a fair choice to use your first installer. Doesn't look like he's done anything obviously technically wrong except fit a system in a configuration that doesn't meet your needs or expectations. Edited July 18 by GreenFields Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawieZA Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 Just to add to what's already been said. The screenshot of your battery settings shows that the "Discharge Amps" is set to 80 Amps. If my calculations are correct, that would only allow for 3840 Watts to be inverted and could be part of your problem. TimCam and GreenFields 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abd7 Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 3 hours ago, Buff said: @GreenFields Is solar assistant the app? The home assistant one? I don't have that installed. @abd7 How would I get somebody from this forum? Is there another page with people who can come out and have a look at my installation? Where are you based? Like suggested maybe get the original installer / electrician to sort it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buff Posted July 19 Author Share Posted July 19 Thank you again everybody... I will reach out to my previous installer although I am expecting resistance and excuses. Failing that I will look on the powerforum groups for somebody that could assist me. I am in Westdene, Johannesburg... @DawieZA what is a suitable setting for discharge amps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalahari Meerkat Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 1 hour ago, Buff said: what is a suitable setting for discharge amps? I'd say 50A, since the battery is 100Ah but 0.5C... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abd7 Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 3 hours ago, Buff said: Thank you again everybody... I will reach out to my previous installer although I am expecting resistance and excuses. Failing that I will look on the powerforum groups for somebody that could assist me. I am in Westdene, Johannesburg... @DawieZA what is a suitable setting for discharge amps? In Johannesburg there is @Steve87and @Leshenthat can sort you out. Both well versed and reputable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobster. Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 On 2024/07/18 at 1:32 PM, Buff said: I was told that the battery can only deliver 2.5 MAX when there is load shedding. It is a x Sunsynk SS-BAT-LFP-5K-WM So you really only have a 2.5kW system when there's no grid. Your inverter will try to deliver 5kW, but the battery will trip. What you described earlier is a cycle of overload, trip, restart, overload again because the demand is still too high. I agree with the other posters here, get your geyser moved to the non backed up side of the DB. That assumes the DB was split. If it was split, any competent electrician should find it easy to move circuits from one side to the other. No need to call an installer in. You will still have to manage things during an outage. An electric kettle, for EG, can easily pull 2kW. Turn on that and microwave and you're back in overload territory. If you double up on the battery side, or get a 1C battery (can deliver 5kW if it's a 5kWh battery) then that will give you more headroom (also more ability to drain the battery). And that will cost you. Get the geyser moved, and learn to manage the demand side is the low cost option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawieZA Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 18 hours ago, Buff said: Thank you again everybody... I will reach out to my previous installer although I am expecting resistance and excuses. Failing that I will look on the powerforum groups for somebody that could assist me. I am in Westdene, Johannesburg... @DawieZA what is a suitable setting for discharge amps? My original install only included a single Sunsynk battery and my inverter was set at 100A for discharge amps. The battery can function at that output and I ran it like that for a month, but it should not be used at that level for extended periods of time. That is why I ended up adding a second battery within a month of the install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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