So I have been operational for a week or so. But only rewired DB on saturday..

Multiplus II

Venus GX

MPPT 150/100

2x Pylontech US3000

ET112

Runs like a charm. If you look at the DB. from left to right. Mains Breaker, ET112, Geyser (Mains), Some plugs(mains), Timer (geyser) and then the load form the inverter. Lights and plugs.

ps: yes still need to close busbar... waiting for a piece of plexiglass...  Nice little hidden busbars for PV inputs

 

I have one issues though.. I was running without the ET112 for a week. It would feed in to my mains load the excess MPPT without a problem. Now with the ET112 installed and hooked up it empties the battery as well to the mains load. That is no good... And I cant seem to find the setting that allows only MPPT excess to be fed into the main load... Dont want that hit on my battery bank..

 

Edited April 8, 20197 yr by JTK

59 minutes ago, JTK said:

... it empties the battery as well to the mains load.
1) ... find the setting that allows only MPPT excess to be fed into the main load
2) ... Dont want that hit on my battery bank..

It is all in the settings.
1) Feed-in Excess Solarcharger power must be OFF.
2) Set ESS to:
2.1) Keep Batteries charge OR
2.2) Optimized with Battery Life then set the Min SOC, like 80% of some such, to use some of the batts.

 

2 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

It is all in the settings.
1) Feed-in Excess Solarcharger power must be OFF.
2) Set ESS to:
2.1) Keep Batteries charge OR
2.2) Optimized with Battery Life then set the Min SOC, like 80% of some such, to use some of the batts.

 

With that setting I will not get benefit form my MPPT's during the day?

Also keeping the Min SOC of batteries to 80% makes me not use then every night? Currently I cycle them at night to my critical load. My issue is that it works perfectly fine without the ET112. MPPT excess is fed into mains load...

Edited April 8, 20197 yr by JTK

1 hour ago, JTK said:

I have one issues though.. I was running without the ET112 for a week. It would feed in to my mains load the excess MPPT without a problem. Now with the ET112 installed and hooked up it empties the battery as well to the mains load. That is no good... And I cant seem to find the setting that allows only MPPT excess to be fed into the main load... Dont want that hit on my battery bank.. 

It's designed to work like this, it attempts to zero the ET112 meter so it will feed back as much power as possible to accomplish this (so if your geyser turns on, it will run flat-out at 2.4kw).

If you don't want the batteries to take that hit, then on the ESS menu there is a setting to limit the maximum inverter power. You can set that to something lower.

2 minutes ago, plonkster said:

It's designed to work like this, it attempts to zero the ET112 meter so it will feed back as much power as possible to accomplish this (so if your geyser turns on, it will run flat-out at 2.4kw).

If you don't want the batteries to take that hit, then on the ESS menu there is a setting to limit the maximum inverter power. You can set that to something lower.

Thanks. I figure as much. but feel that there should be an option to exclude battery discharge for this? On a day like today (overcast) my batteries would stay flat as they will discharge faster than they charge? The reason I feel the setting should be available is because the inverter quite happily does exactly this when no ET112 is installed?

22 minutes ago, JTK said:

Thanks. I figure as much. but feel that there should be an option to exclude battery discharge for this? On a day like today (overcast) my batteries would stay flat as they will discharge faster than they charge? The reason I feel the setting should be available is because the inverter quite happily does exactly this when no ET112 is installed?

There is. "Keep Fully Charged".

But also note that with ESS, it will make sure the batts are not damaged, so what if one day they are not fully charge?
ESS will sort that over the next few days. 

Sit back and relax with ESS. 🙂 

And IF Eskom comes back with a vengeance, set it back to: Keep fully charged.

6 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

There is. "Keep Fully Charged".

But also note that with ESS, it will make sure the batts are not damaged, so what if one day they are not fully charge?
ESS will sort that over the next few days. 

Sit back and relax with ESS. 🙂 

And IF Eskom comes back with a vengeance, set it back to: Keep fully charged.

  I hear you. but I dont get the mileage from this I would want... Will explain offline

Just now, JTK said:

  I hear you. but I dont get the mileage from this I would want... Will explain offline

Please do give feedback from the offline conversation, I also want to know because this is exactly what I also want to do..

Just now, PaBz0r said:

Please do give feedback from the offline conversation, I also want to know because this is exactly what I also want to do..

only solution at this stage is to remove the meter...

11 minutes ago, JTK said:

only solution at this stage is to remove the meter...

I really don't see the problem JTK. What am I missing?

I want to use the meter to monitor mains usage... So did not really want to remove it.

7 minutes ago, JTK said:

I want to use the meter to monitor mains usage... So did not really want to remove it.

So keep it in. It is not doing anything bar providing info the the inverter, and data for you.

Without it, unless you have all the loads on AC_out1 and 2, it may feed back power to the grid when the grid is off.

3 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

So keep it in. It is not doing anything bar providing info the the inverter, and data for you.

Without it, unless you have all the loads on AC_out1 and 2, it may feed back power to the grid when the grid is off.

if it is in, then it discharges the batteries to mains load.. Will play around a bit this afternoon...

1 minute ago, JTK said:

if it is in, then it discharges the batteries to mains load

Yes, see the settings on ESS, it is all controlled from there.

4 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

So keep it in. It is not doing anything bar providing info the the inverter, and data for you.

Without it, unless you have all the loads on AC_out1 and 2, it may feed back power to the grid when the grid is off.

not entirely true..  The MP2 uses phase shifting to detect grid failure and will then cut supply to the mains... The meter is not to prevent power to the mains side when there is no grid power. It is to prevent feedback into the grid. And this is also not accurate as it will not react fast enough if say a geyser switches off and all that power sits on the inverter on its way to the mains load...

2 minutes ago, JTK said:

not entirely true.

Good point ... Let me retype for clarity, as I was thinking faster than I typed: 

Without it (CG), unless you have all the loads on AC_out1 and 2, it may feed back power to the grid when the grid is ON.

2 hours ago, JTK said:

With that setting I will not get benefit form my MPPT's during the day?

2) Set ESS to:
2.1) Keep Batteries charged OR
2.2) Optimized with Battery Life then set the Min SOC, like 80% of some such, to use some of the batts.

Then it will 1) not use any batts or 2) some of the batts to at least use them between grid failures. 🙂 

If you want to keep the batts charged, and only use them at night, then there could be some interesting options, if you are into Node_RED / MQTT and all that, on the VenusGX.

5 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

If you want to keep the batts charged, and only use them at night, then there could be some interesting options, if you are into Node_RED / MQTT and all that, on the VenusGX.

I think this will become the norm with the Lithiums. That was my plan, but seems it seems it is not something delivered as part of an ESS setting. 

4 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

If you want to keep the batts charged, and only use them at night,

I think scheduled charging settings is the answer to this, discharging doesn't happen in a charging window.

1 minute ago, PaBz0r said:

I think this will become the norm with the Lithiums. That was my plan, but seems it seems it is not something delivered as part of an ESS setting. 

@PaulF007 has made a few changes on his system, to do more along these lines.

@plonkster can also add links to Github.

That is what makes VenusGX so great, you can add functionality, therein the NodeRED addition to make it easier.

Not my cup of tea ... for now ... as me an Linux don't sit around the same fire unless we have to. 🙂 

5 minutes ago, phil.g00 said:

I think scheduled charging settings is the answer to this, discharging doesn't happen in a charging window.

Could be a option!?

At one stage I wanted to use the batteries to a SOC of 80% / DOD of 20%, only between the hours of 12-6am, recharged the next day from after 10am.

Rest of the time stay fully charged.

So if I read this correctly, if you set the 'Optimised with Battery Life' and set the charging schedule to charge from 10:00 to 00:00 and a SOC of 80% then it will use the batteries from 00:00 until it reaches 80% SOC and then wait until 10:00 to charge from hopefully Solar power - or if clouded over, from Grid??

 

19 minutes ago, Ingo said:

So if I read this correctly, if you set the 'Optimised with Battery Life' and set the charging schedule to charge from 10:00 to 00:00 and a SOC of 80% then it will use the batteries from 00:00 until it reaches 80% SOC and then wait until 10:00 to charge from hopefully Solar power - or if clouded over, from Grid??

 

issue is it will use grid during that time for critical loads...  

 

first prize for me is that mains only supplemented with solar, not with battery. that is all I want

8 minutes ago, JTK said:

first prize for me is that mains only supplemented with solar, not with battery. that is all I want