I have the boss of the installation team coming out early next week ... the saga continues... I could but won't do a DIY insulated temp controlled heated cabinet .. they can ! or move it ... The data on the post from @ScottishBadger is bang on for what the chap at Fox told me as well...
I have had the MD of Envo Energy the Company we bought the installation from - very apologetic, .. but he says this is not a common thing .. BS I called .. pointed him to data and facts on here etc .. data from Fox re battery temps .. He promises a senior technical guy from their company here...
There seems a thread here .... happy we don't feel so alone I guess...
My take is that I need to climb into the 10ft high opening into our loft and crawl over to the installation and check what the Inverter is set to .. it has to be the battery BMS settings - FOX is a standard setting...
did you have a survey before install ? If so - def push back hard as that would be deemed as a failure if they stated ok to install in loft space given fact they are told not to... imo Interestingly - was the install team direct employees or subcontractors ?
Yes - That is what I will monitor closely .. however I doubt we will make 100% charge today ... sky is grey :(
will keep this thread open and update when I have data / information ...
Looking at weather (Ventusky) tomorrow looks to be a great day for Solar here at this time of year - almost...
Yes, exactly as you say, as I need to get on the payback tariff (SEG Payments) etc we needed certified install - but therefore they are not complaint to MCS, BSEN regs .. It is not housed where Appropriate temperature control can be maintained ...
@coolcarper1 go back at them on this, would be...
Sorry to have been AWOL from the thread for a while (kitchen remodel before xmas became the priority under direction of the house boss ;) )..
Admiring the insulated environments people have been creating however...
I had decided to push back to the contractors ... and I have just had the...
Hi All
Not an electrician and some of this is now going over my head, but new PV install with Solis inverter and Fox battery as above...
Issue is according to Solis cloud data we are seeing energy production but battery is only charging "slowly" and at times most of the energy produced is...
*NEWS *
Spoken with a technical chap from FOX - The issue is that the battery is installed in the loft space - temperature drops below 10 C and the battery will drop Amp charging - exactly what we are seeing - once it warms up the amp goes up and charging increases...
Fox have told...
My personal advice would be to def push back hard on the company you paid. They are clearly given instructions NOT to install in Lofts or other cold environments. They have to find a more suitable place - or make one - IMO - The interesting comment from the engineer today was that they must be...
Thanks Tim- I will need to climb up into loft space as this is where Inverter and battery live... I will trawl the Solis manuals etc to see what menu its all in etc... and then try and capture settings... not sure I want to go messing with any settings without being 100% sure ...
I think I have it now - just been on phone with brother in law - Electrical engineer and he has made simple sense ...
I have seen battery Chrging limit down at 12 a as a minimum when no power is being generated, when we have been making power it has gone up to 50 a ... So it is a variable set...
I have an old temp / moisture sensor round here somewhere - I have a socket in attic space - going to stick that up there and see if I can correlate ambient temp with the battery charge ..... although I am sure that he is exactly spot on - he has seen this many times before ...
Looking at historic weather data overnight 17th to 18th was "warm" much warmer than subsequent nights - so this theory is correct ... Don't install in a cold space, but if you do get some sort of insulation / trickle heat around battery ...
He suggested a data cabinet big enough to enclose...
Out of interest I have an open ticket with Solis UK support. They must have done some changes (no notification of what yet etc) on the Inverter as the battery stopped at 19% SOC yesterday afternoon and excess power is now going to battery and not out to grid... see attached screen grabs from...
It stopped discharging yesterday after midday at 19% SOC - previously since installation it had gone down to approx. 10% each day, so I deduce Solis support have remotely made changes to the BMS sometime yesterday afternoon - set the limit for discharge to 20% and also made changes to the...
Hi All, having started this thread its interesting to see how many fellow Solar newbies have the same problem... cold batteries! For us I pursued the option of getting the installation moved to a more accessible and warmer location within the house.
Envo energy did this no questions asked-...
Until I can find a different monitoring solution, I am stuck with the datalogger and the Solis cloud... If there are any suggestions I would appreciate it - what works with the Solis Hybrid Inverter ...
Ok, so you had a physical home survey and they said Loft was good . ?.. there is enough facts and information here to challenge very hard.
I wonder if there is an accreditation scheme, any standards out there ... probably not as its possible it an unregulated "industry" and falls in the gaps...
Hi, in the Solis cloud web site - select overview - device - choose your inverter and scroll down and find selections on left hand side - select the data you want to display and graph appears :)
https://mcscertified.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PV-Book-ELECTRONIC.pdf
page 84 .....
Battery banks must be housed in accordance with BS EN 50272-1 2010 and such that:
• Access can be restricted to authorised personnel
• Adequate containment is assured
• Appropriate temperature control can...
@ScottishBadger you me and @coolcarper1 all have the same issue.
Installations in low temp environments - Loft spaces...
we are all seeing the same charging issue at low temps and I also spoke to a very helpful chap at Fox this afternoon - probably the same guy !
Options it seems are...
@tyrian - you could send me your email address and I will add you to the ticket I have with Solis - the UK support contact has said he has sent to the HQ team - you could add your comments and evidence ?
@coolcarper1 - I agree, no sense at all but I am mad as hell - makes a mockery of...
I have just spoken with FOX ESS support and they promise to get one of their technical team to call me back .... lets see...
@coolcarper1 - I agree - I am about to go mad with the sales team ... they can come and rip it out and give money back at this rate ...
Am I correct in thinking the Fox lv 5200 battery should be capable of being charged at 100a approx 50v = 5000w ? Solis are still staing that there is a charge limit of 12a and they can do nothing about it ... this means max charge would be 600w ....
I suspect as previous comment that their std...
It may be me who is confused :) and causing confusion - sorry ...
Solis are saying the battery has a charge limit in BMS of 12a. As you say I get they cant change the Battery management software...
But is this "normal" a PV system can only charge the battery at 0.6kwh ?
I don't have knowledge...
18th Nov we exported ZERO to Grid and charged battery almost fully - this is the only day this has happened -IMPORTANT NOTE - Battery Charging Limit was up around 50a most of the time not 12A.
Why then - not now or since - simple ?
Ok, so I guess the only possibility here is at Tyrian stated earlier the cold weather has the battery (bms ) dropping amp on charge ... I have clearly seen the battery being charged at a much higher wattage than 600 ....
tomorrow should be warmer and brighter .... I will be watching closely ...