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Hi @sunshine_eggo so then would you recommend that if I'm trying to get 15,000W during peak hours I should over-add enough panels (within the solar limits) to the 19,500W maximum?

When will there be 24V firmware?

Yeah, but I didn't see mention of using the serial port, which is a cable you can just buy and plug in. ;)

If you've got LifePo4 batteries and you have your inverter monitoring the SOC on the battery bank with shutdown thresholds enabled, you don't need smart loads to protect a battery. Smart loads aren't about battery protection, they're about reducing non-essential loads during offline usage.

Some BMS' use a shunt to do their calculations of what is going in & out of the battery pack. Most FET based BMS' use an internal coulomb counter or sensors to do a similar job. Either way, they're measuring the current in/out and that measurement as indicated in other forums on other BMS...

Well, it is currently, it's my understanding the cable was different in the past, but yes if you bought your batteries recently from Signature Solar, say June 2023 or later I can confirm it's the same one. The picture of the cable on the website is out of date, the current cable doesn't have...

I dunno how large the DEV team is at SA, but I would think exposing all values that SA collects through MQTT should be something SA would want to put towards the top of their roadmap. Have you thought about bringing this to them for consideration?

All good input so far, another good point connecting that 22kW generator to the generator input limits its output to 50 amps or 12kW, so again another miss configuration choice for some installs with that setup. What about the amp conversion assuming 100% conversion 22kW AC at 240v is 429 amps...

Plugging into an outside source doesn't harm the batteries assuming the device connected to an outside source is set for your battery chemistry. Please read the article I posted, it will explain everything.

Question, does anyone's SOC on the communication hub never reach 100%? When I toggle down/up through all my batteries, they show 100%, but the overall SOC on the main screen of the COMM Hub shows 99%. I know it's probably a minor issue, but shouldn't it reach 100%? I'm running firmware v1.6...

I don't have the equipment to test, but typically you would get those numbers to use from a manual or spec sheet for your batteries. Also if the batteries have communication abilities with Sol-Ark plugging them into the communication feature will basically auto-program the Sol-Ark for your...

@BentleyJ thank you for the response, I absolutely follow you, I wasn't intending to potentially have one of the black or red wires be a separate length, just trying to not have additional feet or wire used for say the red conductors simply because the black wire has to travel another foot or...

Either method works so long as the voltage is descent enough to push the current into the MPPT. I typically try to hit about 80% of the max voltage for the MPPT, it's just a safe number that I've settled on, but can go lower or higher if needed. I would also suggest looking at optimizers if...

There is a kinda database using Sol-Ark's calculator. It has like maybe 80 -> 100 different panels from various manufacturers and I believe it's a curated list by Sol-Ark based on their understanding and estimation of the reputation and reliability of solar panel manufacturers that they would...

They’re all separate 1 ton units, so they’ll all be switched on-off separately.

I have no experience with this particular brand of batteries, but the combination of two of them would yield about 7.1kW of total energy storage and it appears the maximum output would be about 200 amps. I would suggest you utilize a balancer between the batteries to keep them in near exact...

I think PV Pro only has a 15-minute collection interval also which is a bummer. I'm just waiting on my splitter thing so I can hook up my SolarAssistant and possibly kick the PV Pro app to the curb.

For that short of a distance, they're probably right. Running your actual loads and checking the thermals will be the only way to know for certain if you can safely run your configuration.

I’ve looked for something similar to start my Firman Generator and eventually gave up because the cost of the start devices that might actually work are as much as the generator. In my case I’ll use a push notification to myself to go start the thing.

Did you try the fan idea, basically chilling the unit to see if the fan not kicking in helped with the PV production drop?

I have recently updated the firmware on the LifePower4 batteries, I've forgotten which version is it, I think 3.31 or 3.32, which helped, they're much better at reporting the low current, but it's still not as accurate as the shunt. The BMS controls those lights on the front so if the BMS...

Correct which if there is no load then it’s again more energy than can be consumed. I have another scenario with a 6k (ish) Schneider inverter that has a 24kW generator connected, which based on the conversation in this thread is even more overpowered than what can actually be consumed.

What is your question?

@houseofancients which beta are you referring to? HA, the MQTT add-one, or the MQTT integration?

Solar Assistant uses some features such as the graphing tool that I’m pretty sure needs access to the internet. You don’t need to use wifi on SA if you would rather use an Ethernet cable and connect it to your local network. But, either way SA needs to be on your local network WiFi or not and...

As @chrisski said the Victron is a decent inverter. I have the 24v version and I can easily start up my fridge and a small pump with it. The eco mode only pulls 1-2 watts and I think ? I used #4 for the wire from that batteries to the inverter. If you’re running 12v you probably need larger...

Removed duplicate post

Most of that image is from Victron and their preferred configuration.

Given your honesty of Solar experience you would need a Solar contractor/consultant to design and implement everything, which might still have some hiccups and in the end, cost you near the same amount as adding onto your Tesla system. It’s a tough call, but I think expanding your investment...

Download and extract the firmware, inside the zip file you'll find a change log that will detail all the changes between the versions. As with any firmware, staying on older firmware allows your product to drift further from the manufacturer's current baseline. The further the drift, the more...

Im not familiar with these, they seem like a cool concept specifically for running pumps. https://signaturesolar.com/growatt-2-2kw-3hp-l-spi-22000tl2-hv/

Interesting the spec sheet makes no mention of stacking. https://us.growatt.com/upload/file/SPH_10000TL-HU-US_Datasheet_EN_202307.pdf You really have to dig deep with some of these manufactures and infer functionality from user manuals cause the spec sheets just aren’t complete.

For you question, AC coupling is what it’s called when you add more power/panels using micro inverters to gen or load inputs. When you put these on the gen input it might not roll into the solar production but you should see it in the gen production. See page 16 of the 15k manual. It might not...

I don't know if you could do another full split, but that's an interesting idea, however, I think you would have trouble with two devices using the same pins, it would probably short something out. In my scenario, I go from the PI to the mid battery, #7 which is the first one in the top of my...

Awesome response @sunshine_eggo, I'm totally off-grid with no option of a grid so getting every last drop of power for cooling and battery charging will be desired. Thanks so much this totally answers my question!

This sounds really close to what you're experiencing.

No I used the cables that came with my Signature Solar order. Basically, it's the battery firmware update cables that came with my Communications Hub.