Solar for Beginners [ask your questions here]

unkel

That's exactly why I am looking for an inverter that can charge my battery at 10kW!

ELM327

Yes. The way things are going there's likely to be a 2-4 hour window in the future overnight to charge batteries.

Therefore 200A charge rate is needed. I believe Victron can do this. Certainly the 15kva

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119871030#Comment_119871030

bit annoying with electric ireland.. phoned them early this morning to avoid the long waits.. and wasnt to bad.. anyway if i want to switch tarrif its a 50 euro fee and also an automatic renewal of 12 month contract.. didnt want to do either so sticking with the plan i have at the moment.. only 2 months left in the contract so will shop around then.. will still load the battery at night just to get used of it. Re the battery.. can it charge and discharge at the same time? So if i start it charging at 11 on a cheaper rate.. can it also cover the base load of the house at the same time?

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119871769#Comment_119871769

I usually set mine to charge at 4am-8am. Four hours x 2.5Kwhr = 10Kwhr, so plenty to fill your battery by the switch over to day rate. This is assuming you have a Day/Night meter - if you haven't a D/N meter look at getting one. If you have a smart meter, I'm not sure what the current guidance is if you can get a D/N meter or not. Some people are saying yes you can swap a smart meter -> D/N, others are saying no.

You typically DON'T want the battery charging/discharging to cover night rate. There are (~10%) losses putting energy into the battery to take it out again, so better just pull from the grid directly rather than put energy into a battery and then take it back out again. Night time (cheap electricity) is really only for filling the battery to use later on in the day when it's more expensive.

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119861396#Comment_119861396

Just off the phone to the installers.. they said they can't do the backup socket.. something about seai regulations not allowing it (sounded more like a we can' t be bothered dont annoy us).. didnt want to push it to hard with them.. not the end of the world.. without even asking they credited my account 120 euro for it.. then onto the invertor.. they have no idea when they will get the gen 2 in.. could be next March.. but they are happy to swap out for a gen 2 when they come in - they suggested holding back 500 euro payment till its in which i thought was fair enough as well.. they organising the ber assessment and grant paperwork later in the week so happy days.. at least im up and running for now and will get the gen 2... plus saving 620 off the final bill for now!

unkel

Nice work, they sound like decent installers, @micks_address

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119872186#Comment_119872186

ok so ei switched me over the night boost rate with no fee or new contract.. have 2 months left with them so will see how i get on... im thinking i can charge the battery from 0155 to 545.. and set the battery to only discharge between 755 to 2305.. does that make sense?

the rate is 20 cents from 11pm to 8am and 12 cents from 2am to 4am.. 42 cents 8am to 11pm

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119873030#Comment_119873030

looks like the battery won't charge from solar if i set dc discharge time the battery won't charge during that time? i had it set there to discharge from 0700 to 2300 and power was being exported from solar instead of going to the battery..

micks_address

These are the setting im playing around with

bullit_dodger

You want "Eco mode" switched on first and foremostly. <- This is key.

As for the times, you want

• AC charge 1 start time as 2:00 -> AC Charge1 end time 8:00
• Discharge 1 start time as 8:05 -> Discharge 1 end time as 23:05

The logic there is that you'll start to charge your battery at 2am and then continue to charge it until 8am. Most of the battery charge will be taken at your cheap (cheap) rate from 2am -> 6am, and then if there's anything still left to put into the battery, it will fill it at the cheap rate, but most nights will be full by 6am anyway, so marking the timeline to 8am just stops it from discharging from 6am -> 8am

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119873382#Comment_119873382

what does the 'Eco mode' do? Also with Discharge time set.. should the battery still charge from excess solar?

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119873418#Comment_119873418

Never seen a good explanation for "Eco mode", but you can think of it as the "solar" part of the installation. If you want to use the battery with Solar generated electricity then you have to have ECO mode on. Otherwise the battery can only be charged/discharged with the mains. In your case (and mine) you want both solar and mains going into the battery - hence "ECO mode = on" is needed.

Yeah, it's a little misleading, but that's what you want to set them as.

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119873470#Comment_119873470

thanks im all set i think! now to stretch the battery as much as possible during the day and see where i end up..

micks_address

Just wondering.. charge for battery worked fine overnight but it doesn't seem to be taking any excess solar back to recharge the battery. For example below. Solar is covering house load and excess is being exported rather than going to the battery. When the solar drops below house load battery kicks in to cover the balance

Maybe that's the way it's supposed to work?

Thanks,

Mick

ELM327

Remember the app is only a screenshot and point in time. The battery may be charging. However, given the definitive 0W and the fact it's at 92% SOC would indicate to me that perhaps it's not charging because the SOC is too high?

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119876308#Comment_119876308

Thanks i think i figured it out - on the invertor there's a dc discharge time - which i had set from 8am to 11pm.. when i switch that off it is allow charge from solar again.. i had this set as i figured i don't want the batter discharging at night but i have the ac charge time set for 1.55am to 8am.. so the battery will use the most of the nightbost rate im on with EI.. then finish off charge at the night rate.. i think that makes sense.. i just didnt expect the DC discharge time to stop solar topping up the battery with excess..

bullit_dodger

I think you wanted it setup the way you had it, but perhaps your DC discharge 2 was messing you up. Here's what I have (you obviously may have to change the times to fit in with your low rates)

micks_address

ok so this is what i have now.. the only setting i can see you have different is 'enable dc discharge' is set to off.. i had that set to on.. battery full at the moment so need to wait for it to run down a bit to test :) my cheapest rate kicks in at 2am so thats why im starting charge at 1.59..

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119876735#Comment_119876735

With those settings my battery won't discharge at all.. maybe we on different software versions or something?

bullit_dodger

Different versions - nope shouldn't be.

You have some other differences. You have "Enable AC Charge Upper % Limit" set to OFF while I have mine set to ON. (You can leave enable it and set it at 100% as the target)

Also, I've seen issues when playing with the settings on the web site and the phone app at the same time. I'd stick to the web site until you get it "dialed in", and you can just use the phone to monitor the energy flows (and stay out of going into the settings on the phone)

In reference to....

With those settings my battery won't discharge at all.. maybe we on different software versions or something?

How can you tell? It's sunny, so won't the solar panels be supplying all your houses energy needs? How can you tell that the battery won't discharge? Did you turn on a kettle for a few minutes or something?

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119877313#Comment_119877313

exactly that re testing.. i had the washing machine on, George foreman and stuck on the kettle.. the balance required was taken from the grid.. and battery just stayed idle.. im thinking im ok if i leave it off.. and dont set a discharge time.. if i set a charge time from 2am to 8am.. i dont think the battery will discharge anyway during those times.. and im assuming when its charged.. it just sits there idle.. until the charge time ends..

ive only made changes the via the web portal.. re your settings.. can you see your battery top up from solar with the dc charge time set and enable dc charge to off?

when i set that the battery will discharge but wont charge from solar..

ELM327

Unfortunately as I have not received the grant yet, I'm still on the pre grant setup. Meaning that there is only 1 2*10a plug wired to the EPS output of my inverter (among other things I dislike). We have a scheduled power outage tomorrow and I have set up a system buffered with 2 spare truck batteries I found in my garage and 2*12v inverters. Have made my office all off grid except for the light circuit. When the grid is connected I use grid power to recharge the batteries. When the main house battery has charge but there's no solar, it's topping up the 12v (enabled by manual switch on off). When the power goes, I have 286AH of lead acid batteries to power my office equipment - laptop, tv, wifi, etc. I just need to buy a low voltage 12v kettle and I'm sorted! (I have a stovetop kettle too, which will do in the interim).

Annelab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119825308#Comment_119825308

Hi all. First post, and first of all - a major *Thank You* to all the contributors here. It's been a steep learning curve for me reading through the 30 (ahem, THIRTY) pages of Q&A here (especially when I didn't even know what questions to ask let alone the answers to anything!). I really, really appreciate the time taken to share your experience for the benefit of noobies like me.

We'll be having a very similar setup to Hellrazer above installed next week:

10 x 430 panels E/W orientation, 4kW Inverter, Eddi, App etc (no EV, no battery at the moment but Inverter is hybrid so maybe later).

Cost is 7.5K after grant. Installer is fronting grant, we're paying the balance only.

Our usage is approx 4,300-4,500kW pa. 3 person household, 2 WFH. No electric heating or cooking bar toaster/kettle. Oil-fired central heating plus a solid fuel stove that also heats the water/rads. We have an electric shower plus an immersion (which we rarely use at present) so we reckon the Eddi will be used mostly April-Oct.

I'd be grateful for any comments or tips you have, and again - sincere thanks!

micks_address

Hi folks,

My replacement zappi was fitted today. I was working when the installer set it up with the eddi. In the app grid import is being reported as grid import and solar production. There's two ct clamps fitted. Both on the power supply in the meter box. One using a harvi so the eddii can see it.

Will have to chat to the installer..don't know if it's a clamp/wiring config etc

Cheers,

Mick

micks_address

Am I right in thinking to accurately report solar a myenergy clamp would have to be installed on the wire from the invertor to the consumer board?

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119877431#Comment_119877431

Here you go with todays chart. Shows you it charging from the sun there about 10am onwards.

Tip: I rarely charge the battery to 100% unless I know it's going to be "pants" weather wise (like tomorrow) to allow for some spare capacity to store some solar energy should the day be good.

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119878358#Comment_119878358

ive gone with these settings for now.. ill see how i get on next few days.. rebooted the invertor as well

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119878223#Comment_119878223

was doing some testing this morning with the eddi and zappi.. zappi was waiting for solar excess and when it seen some it kicked in and started working.. i then plugged in the car and it started charging at 1.4kw.. which was the excess solar but the eddi didnt drop down.. the battery kicked in to cover the balance of both.. i wont be using either much for now but what i was hoping to be able to do in terms of priority

1) solar production goes to battery

2) solar plus battery covers house load

3) excess from solar over house load goes to eddi or grid (set timers on the eddi)

4) if i have the zappi plugged into the car it would take priority over the eddi..

From the behaviour this morning - both eddi/zappi kick in with excess solar but both kept going.. and started to use the battery.. id have preferred one the zappi kicked in for the eddi to stop.

Probably not making much sense! Anyway i talked to the guy who installed the zappi yesterday and he's going to come back to sort the clamp situation later. He's convinced you only need two clamps - on for the zappi and one for the eddi and that i shouldnt need a clamp on the feed from the invertor to the consumer board. I think you probably do need a clamp there but all it will do is monitor solar generation which probably includes battery discharge so not much use anyway... i need some more coffee :)

bullit_dodger

Many of these problems are sorted by changing the timeout values in the Eddi/Zappi. Basically you want the 4) above to set the Zappi to take excess after say 10 seconds of export, and then you set the Eddi to take the excess after say 40 seconds of export.

that way the Zappi will grab the excess, and then when the eddi comes along it sees zero excess. If they are both the same timeout, then they will both try and grab a "slice".

Go to the Eddi and set the timeout value (seconds) by

Menu / Settings / Advanced / Passcode (0 0 0 0) / Supply Grid / <scroll down to "Response delay"> ..... and then set that to 40 seconds

Save that by exiting back to main menu and then Turn on/off the Eddi. Technically you don't have to turn on/off for the settings to be active, but it will stop the export and allow the Zappi to take it, and then the timeout should take effect.

Note: This doesn't solve the problem of plugging in the car, when the Eddi has been taking the excess, but it will priortise the car if the car is plugged in (say overnight) and then the solar starts to produce

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119878198#Comment_119878198

First off. Welcome to the micro gen club!

I’m live a few months and haven’t turned on the gas heating yet – granted it’s been mild. Using electric rads instead. I'd recommend that (even for the WFH rooms to try it). Keep the room at a much more stable temp, so much more comfortable. My room used to go from sauna to igloo with gas heating. Plus means you can use more of the solar produced. It’s cleaner too, not spitting out CO2 from the boiler. Shout if you want more info on that - very cheap to setup. I’ve 2 rads heating whole of downstairs (WFH room. And sitting room & kitchen).

You’ve no battery (same as me) or no EV.

If you have a backwards spinning meter when it’s installed, you’re flying it until the meter is changed. So solar units you don’t use ‘credit’ the meter and it goes back that amount. That will give you time to suss your usage out. You’ll see it go backwards once you’re setup, so that's how you'll know.

And then take your time to get used to it. Panels will work for 20+ years, so matters less if it takes you a while to suss it out. Which it will depending on how detailed you want to suss it all out. And amount of output from the panels changes a lot at this time of the year. So get yourself logged into the inverter software (I find a laptop is much easier than the phone, size wise). Then you’ll see when you produce more and use / don’t use it. You'll clearly see electric showers (use most power in the house) and even boiling the kettle :) Enjoy!