Any ACTUAL experience with EASun?

[Miles B]

Any ACTUAL experience with EASun?

I'm talking about my experience with EAsun, that's the title of the topic.

That's the title, but it is not the entirety of the topic. Please read the first paragraph of my initial post. You have jumped in and talked about inverters that my initial post did not ask about. Then you have brought up Victron, which costs almost 4x the EASun/MPP units, has lower charger output and lower max array size.

I'm trying to not be rude to you, but you have just launched into topics that I never asked about, and you're wasting my time because I have no interest in any of those products. You may have started talking about EASun, but now you are all about Victron. Which I never even remotely asked about.

So you have to buy more batteries to get the same. And given the price of batteries, maybe a more expensive inverter is worth it.

No I don't. As I have to buy cells in groups of 16, I will have enough spare capacity. And even if I did, an extra kWh of batteries is about 200 AUD. Two Victron inverters is an extra 5500 AUD.

 

[Miles B]

I would advise limiting PV on any MPPT to no more than is listed the MPPT's specifications.

Why? The only component I can see that could be affected would be a DC contactor. Does anyone actually know what happens if you exceed the rated PV, or have an array with greater Isc than the inverter's Isc max? I'm interested to know.

It's really a moot point. I said that in response to that silly video saying to stay under 80% of the rated PV max. It's obviously a guy with little idea what he's talking about other than "Victron good, everything else sucks".

 

[Miles B]

No need to continue this thread.. I found a great deal on a pair of Growatt SPF5000ES inverters locally.

 

[Sleeper85]

I'm sorry if I strayed a bit from what interests you. I just wanted to share some info about EAsun and maybe it will be useful for other people.

 

[Mattb4]

Why? The only component I can see that could be affected would be a DC contactor. Does anyone actually know what happens if you exceed the rated PV, or have an array with greater Isc than the inverter's Isc max? I'm interested to know.

It's really a moot point. I said that in response to that silly video saying to stay under 80% of the rated PV max. It's obviously a guy with little idea what he's talking about other than "Victron good, everything else sucks".

Over panneling would not be an issue if these units were built to handle max output for long periods of time. This requires beefier components and better design to prevent internal heat buildup. However over paneling can be a strategy when short days or excessive shading is going to limit output from an array. It is just something to consider. I upon usage have de-rated my EAsun unit to ~1200w max panels versus the 1440w in the specifications. I overcome the need for more wattage by adding another MPPT SCC with additional panels.

ETA: It is about Duty cycle. A lot of things are rated based on limited Duty cycle versus continuous duty. Bit like rating me as good as a Marathon runner because I can for a short time run as fast. Like for about 30 seconds versus 3 hours. My Duty cycle would have me dead way before I reached 26 miles.

 

[wattmatters]

Why?

They don't give it a maximum power rating without good reason.

The manufacturer designed and built the charge controller and rated it accordingly. Components are selected to manage a given load for a given amount of time/frequency/cycles before failure. Increase the time spent at maximum rated capacity and failure will arrive sooner. Components are going to run hotter, for longer and as a result they will die sooner.

Sure, it will work, but its lifespan will be reduced and not using an item in accordance with the manufacturer's design specifications would breach warranty conditions.

I advise not exceeding the manufacturer's specifications. Whether you choose to ignore them is up to you.

 

[Sleeper85]

It's clear that it is important not to exceed the specifications because the components of the Voltronic / SRNE inverters and surely others are dimensioned as accurately as possible.

When it says "Max Open Voltage 500V" on the label, I can tell you that the capacitors on the board are 500V!



In addition, do not forget that the Voc voltage (STC) of the panels is given for a cell temperature of 25°C and it is necessary to calculate the Voc voltage at -10°C (unless you are certain that this will not happen never at home) depending on the temperature coefficient.

Here is the calculation for my panels:



String of 10 panels :

• Voc @ 25°C = 379,2 V
• Voc @ -10°C = 412,4 V

That makes a difference of 33 V and could exceed SCC MPPT specs if miscalculated.

 

[Miles B]

I'm aware of that calculation, but I'm also aware it's of no use. Panels will never see stc irradiance at the lowest ambient temp for my location. Because that temp was at 4am in winter. The whole process of calculating that voltage is stupid. The only time voc is encountered is on mppt startup. So somehow we would have to go from massive shadowing to full sun, at around midday summer irradiance, and middle of the night winter cold. The only time my location has ever received enough irradiance to show high voc numbers, the minimum temperatures ever recorded in those months is 20C higher than the annual minimum, and that temperature was at night too. And we'd somehow be needing full shade with panels at ambient to full sun, instantly.

 

[Mattb4]

I'm aware of that calculation, but I'm also aware it's of no use. Panels will never see stc irradiance at the lowest ambient temp for my location. Because that temp was at 4am in winter. The whole process of calculating that voltage is stupid. The only time voc is encountered is on mppt startup. So somehow we would have to go from massive shadowing to full sun, at around midday summer irradiance, and middle of the night winter cold. The only time my location has ever received enough irradiance to show high voc numbers, the minimum temperatures ever recorded in those months is 20C higher than the annual minimum, and that temperature was at night too. And we'd somehow be needing full shade with panels at ambient to full sun, instantly.

Sorry but you are not correct. You can frequently have Voc Midday simply due to the SCC cycling down with state of battery charge and loads. I have seen the lensing effect drive the Voc much higher during that time.

Now while I agree it is rarely an issue, it is a possibility, and therefore considering the potential loss, it is cheap insurance to keep 10% below your SCC max Voc rating.

It is never stupid to do the math.

 

[Miles B]

Sorry but you are not correct. You can frequently have Voc Midday simply due to the SCC cycling down with state of battery charge and loads. I have seen the lensing effect drive the Voc much higher during that time.

Now while I agree it is rarely an issue, it is a possibility, and therefore considering the potential loss, it is cheap insurance to keep 10% below your SCC max Voc rating.

It is never stupid to do the math.

I wasn't addressing lensing/reflections etc, I was addressing the temperature coefficient calculation. That is garbage. If you want to give examples where a margin is valid, that's fine. But the re-rating due to assuming max irradiance at annual min temp is not realistic.

 

[uldisst]

My EASUN 3.6 kW off grid hybrid inverter completely discharges the batteries (120 Ah, 24V) in winter. Can it be? Does it also consume power when turned off? It is not possible to connect my inverter input to the grid. Do all offgrid inverters drain the batteries to 0V when the public grid shuts down and there is no sun?

 

[Mattb4]

My EASUN 3.6 kW off grid hybrid inverter completely discharges the batteries (120 Ah, 24V) in winter. Can it be? Does it also consume power when turned off? It is not possible to connect my inverter input to the grid. Do all offgrid inverters drain the batteries to 0V when the public grid shuts down and there is no sun?

Are you using LiFePO4 batteries? The BMS in them trips on low voltage which can give a 0v reading.

The AIO will continue to draw power from the batteries (if no BMS) as long as they are connected. Not as much as when switched on but still a small amount to check for PV for charging and power the electronics.

 

[Sleeper85]

My EASUN 3.6 kW off grid hybrid inverter completely discharges the batteries (120 Ah, 24V) in winter. Can it be? Does it also consume power when turned off? It is not possible to connect my inverter input to the grid. Do all offgrid inverters drain the batteries to 0V when the public grid shuts down and there is no sun?

All inverters consume, some more than others. The problem with some AIOs is that it is not always possible to turn off the inverter part to work only with the SCC MPPT to recharge the batteries without draining them at the same time. Mine doesn't consume power when turned off.

For your batteries if they are really at 0V then they are dead.

What is your EAsun model?
What battery model?

You have 2800Wh of batteries, if it is lead acid it is good not to consume more than 50% so 1400Wh. Some inverters like mine EAsun SMX 5.6kVA consumes 50Wh so 1200Wh/day which would already be almost all your battery when you don't have much sun.

 

[Sleeper85]

In winter, when my batteries are too low and there is not much sun, I configure my AIO in ECO mode (28Wh) and I only turn it on from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to recharge them.

 

[wattmatters]

If I truly want my system off, then the battery would be disconnected from the inverter. I have a DC breaker for that.

 

[Sleeper85]

When I connect the battery to the inverter I do it via a pre-charge resistor as in the video below. I also have a breaker to isolate my battery but I use it very rarely. It is necessary to redo the pre-charge procedure each time the battery is disconnected from the inverter for a long time (capacitor discharge time).

If my AIO is off, the consumption is less than 1W which is OK for me.

 

[SveinHa]

Any ACTUAL experience with EASun?

A bit on the side of the original question but beware that EASun have no technical expertise and have no particular desire for the customer to be satisfied, guess how I know...

My SMW8k inverter died because EASun sent me the wrong firmware to fix an imaginary problem and since then, 7 months have passed and quite a few emails have been exchanged, and the only offer they have come up with is for me to pay them to fix the problem...

 

[Sleeper85]

A bit on the side of the original question but beware that EASun have no technical expertise and have no particular desire for the customer to be satisfied, guess how I know...

My SMW8k inverter died because EASun sent me the wrong firmware to fix an imaginary problem and since then, 7 months have passed and the only offer they have come up with is for me to pay them to fix the problem...

EAsun only sell, don't expect any support from them. Might as well know before you buy.

On the other hand, if your AIO was working well, why did you upgrade the firmware?

 

[SveinHa]

Might as well know before you buy.

Before the purchase, I did quite a bit of research on EASun and I found no alarming negative indicators... It is whan you get in trouble you really get to know which kind of company you are dealing with, othervice all customers are satisfied...

why did you upgrade the firmware?

My local power company detected that the inverter leaked power TO the grid even if it is not equipped to do that. That was the reason for the upgrade which was why EASun sent me new firmware. In retrospect, the tiny amount of power (2kWh in 10 months) represents no real problem at all and my local power company agrees...

 

[uldisst]

Thanks for the tips, this is my first major solar project in a country house and it seems like a failure. I rarely use the 220v output of the inverter, 24V - LED lighting and radio on weekends. Could opening the inverter housing with a soldering iron and pliers disconnect the inverter, it's mppt charge controller ON, inverter OFF. My Inverter = ISolar -SMX-II-3,6kW, lead-acid batteries.

My EASUN 3.6 kW off grid hybrid inverter completely discharges the batteries (120 Ah, 24V) in winter. Can it be? Does it also consume power when turned off? It is not possible to connect my inverter input to the grid. Do all offgrid inverters drain the batteries to 0V when the public grid shuts down and there is no sun?

Thanks for the tips, this is my first major solar project in a country house and it seems like a failure. I rarely use the 220v output of the inverter, 24V - LED lighting and radio on weekends. Could opening the inverter housing with a soldering iron and pliers disconnect the inverter, it's mppt charge controller ON, inverter OFF. My Inverter = ISolar -SMX-II-3,6kW, lead-acid batteries.