Delay Solar charging

[ppk300]

Hi,

I have a little 3kv "Mecer" like inverter with 2x 500W panels. I try to to use the batteries as minimal(to save cicles) as possible so most of the time we are the grid, except for once a day when we have loadshedding for like 2hours.

The issue i have, i did set my inverter to "Solar first" but the issue is that when the sun start coming up like 6:00 in the morning, the solar start generating some voltage and then the inverter switches over from grid to solar+battery. The issue is at 6:00 the solar doesnt prduce any usefull power so the mijority of the power comes from the batteries which then drains the batteries. Only around 8-9:00 then the solar panels start producing enough power to run the house without touching the batteries. And the same things happens in the afternoon again.

So my questions is, how can i delay the system to only switch over to solar like +-8-9:00? I thought of adding a Solid state relay to the solar cables and have a geyser time to only switch the solid state relay on at 9:00 and then off at 16:00 when the sun start going down. Any suggestions? Thanks in advange.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

try to to use the batteries as minimal(to save cicles

Batteries -LiFePo- will die of calendar age before cycle life is up.
Use the batteries to get your value from them.

2x 500W

Not knowing battery voltage I’d say you might consider adding battery capacity if you’re depleting the battery bank in three hours. Because overnight (for backup in an outage) is 6-13hrs in North America depending on time of year.

did set my inverter to "Solar first" but the issue is that when the sun start coming up like 6:00 in the morning, the solar start generating some voltage and then the inverter switches over from grid to solar+battery. The issue is at 6:00 the solar doesnt prduce any usefull power so the mijority of the power comes from the batteries which then drains the batteries

Other than the short run time depletion of the battery bank I do not see this as an issue.
With 1000W of panels that’s 5kWh of daily production; if battery bank is currently matched to that and you are recharging I’m wildhat guessing you have ~1kWh consumption on 2-3000Wh of useable battery storage.
Adding some battery capacity will let you run grid-down overnight but that may not be your goal.

Just food for thought and hopefully some useful information.

 

[timselectric]

Solar first is a horrible setting.
Use SBU and set the transfers based on SOC.
This way, you can control how much battery you will use and how much you want to save for emergencies.

 

[Rednecktek]

Solar first is a horrible setting.
Use SBU and set the transfers based on SOC.
This way, you can control how much battery you will use and how much you want to save for emergencies.

Isn't SBU the very definition of Solar First? Solar, Battery, Utility?

 

[timselectric]

Isn't SBU the very definition of Solar First? Solar, Battery, Utility?

It's solar and battery, first.
Utility is the last resort.

 

[schmism]

Solar first is a horrible setting.
Use SBU and set the transfers based on SOC.

for OP, the unit is likely going to take a battery voltage instead of SOC. but the point is, SBU and then set a voltage that is higher in the pack SOC so you charge more of the battery before switching over.

 

[TomC4306]

Change your "back to battery" setting one volt higher and see how it behaves.

 

[timselectric]

for OP, the unit is likely going to take a battery voltage instead of SOC. but the point is, SBU and then set a voltage that is higher in the pack SOC so you charge more of the battery before switching over.

Exactly