18kpv application mode and settings

[EZPZ]

Firstly, i like the 18k but its documentation for the settings is sorely lacking. And inconsistent across the lcd, app and web.

So this is a question for EG4 guys…. @EG4_Jarrett @Markus_EG4

Let’s start with I am on firmware 1717 and lcd 13
It’s a grid tied setup with whole home backup wired as per diagram 4.4 in the manual

With the lcd screen having different options with wording compared to the iOS application and also the web interface makes using the system very confusing. So for this purpose I will only be using what I see on the actual lcd screen.

So, these are the options….
Application mode as per app and web - there are none on the lcd that says anything about application mode. See the confusion already??
App says this



Web says this


And lcd says nothing application but here is the advanced screen which has some of the above options.



So my question is, what needs to be set to have the following situation.

PV powers house load first, battery second, back feed into grid last with any excess, and if insufficient pv and/or battery then use grid to power house load. And should the grid fail, use pv and or battery. I do not want the grid to charge the batteries.

Now the first sentence I can get working with the following settings - none of the advanced boxes above checked. Everything works like a charm. But if I simulate a grid outage by killing the main utility grid breaker the power dies in the house. And granted that could be how it’s supposed to be with nothing checked.

Then to get the inverter to power the house in a utility outage, logic says enable lcd “offgrid output” which then enables “power backup” on the app and “power backup enable” on the web. Notice how that is not “offgrid-grid mode” on either the app or the web…. But doing this then breaks the first sentence of how I want the system to work. Now it uses utility power 99% of the time and only works properly as per sentence one for less than a minute before reverting to utility power. It does however switch to eps and powers the house when I kill the utility power breaker.

So I cannot have both? Kinda pointless not been able to use pv if the grid is down. Yes I expect the system to not try and backfeed energy to the utility grid when it’s down but shouldn’t it also power the house…..

We, me and SS, have been messing with this for 2 months now so would appreciate any help.

Thank you.

 

[EG4_Jared]

Firstly, i like the 18k but its documentation for the settings is sorely lacking. And inconsistent across the lcd, app and web.

So this is a question for EG4 guys…. @EG4_Jarrett @Markus_EG4

Let’s start with I am on firmware 1717 and lcd 13
It’s a grid tied setup with whole home backup wired as per diagram 4.4 in the manual

With the lcd screen having different options with wording compared to the iOS application and also the web interface makes using the system very confusing. So for this purpose I will only be using what I see on the actual lcd screen.

So, these are the options….
Application mode as per app and web - there are none on the lcd that says anything about application mode. See the confusion already??
App says this

View attachment 194356

Web says this
View attachment 194360

And lcd says nothing application but here is the advanced screen which has some of the above options.

View attachment 194369

So my question is, what needs to be set to have the following situation.

PV powers house load first, battery second, back feed into grid last with any excess, and if insufficient pv and/or battery then use grid to power house load. And should the grid fail, use pv and or battery. I do not want the grid to charge the batteries.

Now the first sentence I can get working with the following settings - none of the advanced boxes above checked. Everything works like a charm. But if I simulate a grid outage by killing the main utility grid breaker the power dies in the house. And granted that could be how it’s supposed to be with nothing checked.

Then to get the inverter to power the house in a utility outage, logic says enable lcd “offgrid output” which then enables “power backup” on the app and “power backup enable” on the web. Notice how that is not “offgrid-grid mode” on either the app or the web…. But doing this then breaks the first sentence of how I want the system to work. Now it uses utility power 99% of the time and only works properly as per sentence one for less than a minute before reverting to utility power. It does however switch to eps and powers the house when I kill the utility power breaker.

So I cannot have both? Kinda pointless not been able to use pv if the grid is down. Yes I expect the system to not try and backfeed energy to the utility grid when it’s down but shouldn’t it also power the house…..

We, me and SS, have been messing with this for 2 months now so would appreciate any help.

Thank you.

I would make sure to have Run Without Grid checked for this, since it will allow the inverter to run in the instance of a grid outage. As for the settings, we're currently in the process of making more settings accessible to our end users and standardizing naming conventions across the board. Our goal is to continuously enhance the end user experience, ensuring everything aligns seamlessly. As part of this effort, we're offering a wide range of customization options to our users. As well as the addition of working modes for everyone.

 

[EZPZ]

I have whole house backup and don’t use smart load at all….is that setting not related to smart load?

It works fine, and switches to eps power like it should when utility grid power goes down, it’s when the utility grid power comes back online that it starts misbehaving…..

 

[EZPZ]

Super shout out to @Markus_EG4 for having a look at my system and fixing the issues. Issue was the utility grid voltage and frequency so he tweaked the inverter settings and things are humming along nicely now.