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Is this stuck at 60V issue ?

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My solar input during the day looks like the attached image. There is a tall building to the east of my roof.

Is the delayed output due to the building, or is it caused by the voltage being stuck at 60V, which could be solved by a firmware fix?

Also, why do I have voltage spikes at 07:00 PM?

IMG_6641.png

IMG_6636.png

4 hours ago, esmail-kassir said:

Is the delayed output due to the building, or is it caused by the voltage being stuck at 60V,

In the morning, as soon as the current is significant, the voltage has shot up. So that's not a firmware problem.

However, at about 5:30pm, the voltage collapses to around 90 V well before the current has gone to near-zero. The current, when the solar charger is operating, is fairly proportional to solar insolation (light intensity), so you would get higher power from then till sundown with better firmware.

What main firmware is this?

  • Author
4 hours ago, Coulomb said:

In the morning, as soon as the current is significant, the voltage has shot up. So that's not a firmware problem.

However, at about 5:30pm, the voltage collapses to around 90 V well before the current has gone to near-zero. The current, when the solar charger is operating, is fairly proportional to solar insolation (light intensity), so you would get higher power from then till sundown with better firmware.

What main firmware is this?

It is 60.76

 

so do you believe that if I upgrade to 60.89 I will have more PV power after 05:00 PM ? 
 

knowing that I have a small shadow from metal pole after 05:10 PM ( not on my roof so I can’t remove rhe source of the shadow) 

16 hours ago, esmail-kassir said:

It is 60.76

 

so do you believe that if I upgrade to 60.89 I will have more PV power after 05:00 PM ? 
 

knowing that I have a small shadow from metal pole after 05:10 PM ( not on my roof so I can’t remove rhe source of the shadow) 

My guess would be that it is possible, but very unlikely. Even a small shadow can cause a massive drop in power. Worth a try though.

19 hours ago, esmail-kassir said:

so do you believe that if I upgrade to 60.89 I will have more PV power after 05:00 PM ? 

No. None of the VM III or VM IV firmwares seem to have fixed the stuck at 60 V issue. All the 60.xx firmwares seem to have the same simple firmware with no variable control gains at all.

Your best chance would be to update to patched firmware version x60.95, where you have to choose x based on your expected Vmpp in shady conditions. Choose the patched version with a minimum MPPT voltage lower than this value.

Edit: Oops! I see that there has been a problem reported with this patched firmware, and I haven't gotten around to investigating it as yet. Sigh. There is also x60.06, based on factory firmware version 60.06, only slightly older than 60.95 (that patched firmware versions x60.95 are based on).

Edited by Coulomb

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