EG4 18kPV Q+A general thread

[xzyn10]

I am still not understanding where there would be an issue.
View attachment 177422

1. When the grid is down or disconnected, load C is the only load seeing power.
   
   
2. When the grid comes up or is reconnected, Load A and Load B would immediately see power... but that is a 'normal' turn-on event that they should be able to handle.
   
   
3. After the grid is back on or reconnected, the inverter will sync its voltage, phase & frequency to the grid (This could take several seconds). After it is synced, it will close the isolation relays and switch from a grid-forming mode to a grid-interactive mode. If the inverter does this correctly, load C will see no sudden change.

Note: The above image is from a presentation about power flows with a hybrid inverter that attempts to explain this very subject. I have never published the presentation but I will attach it here. Comments, suggestions & criticism are welcome.

I like the document, and I think I will have a couple of hypothetical questions to ask, but I need to clarify them in my own mind (and possibly create a drawing to help explain them) before asking. Well done. Thanks.

 

[Zakharov]

Battery voltage high error

I have an EG4 18k with 12 LiFEPower racked batteries and the independent battery controller module that came with the package. I charge from the grid for free at night and discharge during the day with peak shaving set to ~100W to prevent grid backflow. Occasionally near the end of the charge cycle the EG4 iOS app alarm section is returning a battery voltage high error. Is this a concern? Any ideas on troubleshooting?

 

[Zapper77]

Battery voltage high error

I have an EG4 18k with 12 LiFEPower racked batteries and the independent battery controller module that came with the package. I charge from the grid for free at night and discharge during the day with peak shaving set to ~100W to prevent grid backflow. Occasionally near the end of the charge cycle the EG4 iOS app alarm section is returning a battery voltage high error. Is this a concern? Any ideas on troubleshooting?

What voltage do you have charge at?

 

[Zakharov]

Charging based on SOC, Stop AC Charge Volt is 56V

 

[BKY2003]

Is this what everyone else is getting for self consumption on the 18Kpv? Put my amp meter on L1 and L2 and I am pulling 1.1 amp per leg. I am set up with a sub panel with my 18Kpv. No loads. And I do have an AC coupled inverter which I suspect is drawing power also.

 

[Zapper77]

Is this what everyone else is getting for self consumption on the 18Kpv? Put my amp meter on L1 and L2 and I am pulling 1.1 amp per leg. I am set up with a sub panel with my 18Kpv. No loads. And I do have an AC coupled inverter which I suspect is drawing power also.

Need more details.

It's hard to check the AC side on the 18Kpv. It has active load balancing.

Edit...I know you are thinking but it doesn't have a load. It's still going to actively balance the two legs.

 

[BKY2003]

I see, thanks for the reply

 

[BKY2003]

Yea..I'm limited there.

I've been looking at the web portal "Data" section in the bottom right corner "F Backup Output (Hz)" and seeing if anything changes there...which may just be useless for my testing...but it's what I got and I haven't seen any ramp up in Hz.

It's mostly just "on/off" once I hit my desired SOC...but I could be missing it.

I'll try the 99/100 settings Markus is recommending and do some more testing tomorrow.

I also had an updated firmware on my SolarEdge inverter that I just installed and haven't tested with yet either.

Did the 99 Setting work for the AC coupling?

 

[y0bailey]

Did the 99 Setting work for the AC coupling?

I chickened out and went 94/95, but so far so good there!

 

[BKY2003]

My EG418Kpv is set the Export to the grid for net metering. But it only seems to be exporting when the battery is charging. What settings are needed for exporting all day? Thanks

 

[Zapper77]

My EG418Kpv is set the Export to the grid for net metering. But it only seems to be exporting when the battery is charging. What settings are needed for exporting all day? Thanks

I would assume it would only export after the batteries are charged.

 

[Markus_EG4]

My EG418Kpv is set the Export to the grid for net metering. But it only seems to be exporting when the battery is charging. What settings are needed for exporting all day? Thanks

I can help you out if you PM me

 

[dalemeyer22]

Yeah that battery is insanely heavy, I manually set the max charge because if my solar put out the 250 amp and the battery BMS didn’t catch it , I could have a fire. But my closed loop coms did not change mine. also my HZ were set to 50hz so I changed it to 60hz. Yeah P03-LUX is correct. A problem I had, was when I put in the password 00000, I kept clicking the down key at the bottom to change to the next page. That cause my EG4 18KW to default to the main screen. Eventually I figured out that you have to click on the side cursor arrow so it want throw the password out. Was Banging my head for hours on that one.

I'm confused. Do I change the CAN Protocol setting to PO6-LUX or what should that be and should the RS485 Protocol be PO1-EG4 or P03-LUX?

 

[BKY2003]

I'm confused. Do I change the CAN Protocol setting to PO6-LUX or what should that be and should the RS485 Protocol be PO1-EG4 or P03-LUX?

Start 4 minute mark, lux for the power pro, other eg4 batteries I don’t know.

 

[Markus_EG4]

I'm confused. Do I change the CAN Protocol setting to PO6-LUX or what should that be and should the RS485 Protocol be PO1-EG4 or P03-LUX?

Pick the CAN Lux protocol

 

[dalemeyer22]

Pick the CAN Lux protocol

Thanks, what about the RS485? LUX as well?

 

[Markus_EG4]

Thanks, what about the RS485? LUX as well?

You only need CAN. Its a choice between RS485 or CAN not both

 

[dalemeyer22]

You only need CAN. Its a choice between RS485 or CAN not both

But what if I already set both?

 

[dalemeyer22]

But what if I already set both?

I set the other back to PO1-EG4 and it is fine now.

Thank you so much for the late responses.

 

[BKY2003]

Information about AC couple Growatt with the 18Kpv . On my Growatt the synchronization volts had to be changed from 252 to 262 High Voltage. The Growatt kept cutting out.

 

[y0bailey]

A potentially silly question incoming.

I've been up and running for almost a month w/ my EG4 18kpv + powerpro. I took my right side 200A disconnect directly to the 18kpv.
CTs are inside the 18kpv because I haven't been brave enough to pop the seal on the power company meter enclosure.

I just received my first power bill, and my "delivered to grid" numbers from the power company don't match what the export numbers are from the 18kpv. They are off by 100-150kwh.


Will the left side 200A panel "self consume" some of my solar excess production with the current configuration? That would make sense that the left side panel used 100-150kwh and I can't see it due to CT location, but I just don't know how the electricity flows after it leaves the 200A breaker tied to the 18kpv.

Thoughts?

 

[pvgirl]

Will the left side 200A panel "self consume" some of my solar excess production with the current configuration? That would make sense that the left side panel used 100-150kwh and I can't see it due to CT location, but I just don't know how the electricity flows after it leaves the 200A breaker tied to the 18kpv.

Thoughts?

Yes the other panel will consume excess solar to meet it's demands.

 

[BKY2003]

on mine, my kWh are always different because of the electricity consumption of the house loads, drawing from the inverter production power before it back feeds the meter.

 

[y0bailey]

on mine, my kWh are always different because of the electricity consumption of the house loads, drawing from the inverter production power before it hits the meter.

Yea...my power company gives me daily updates of how much I consumed from them.

BUT, that daily number doesn't take into account what I exported to them during the day. That comes on the once a month billing statement.

So I just add up my export numbers in the 18kpv software...which would be spot-on if I didn't have another 200A panel I can't keep track of.


I was thinking about adding an Emporia setup to the "other 200A panel" and seeing if I can make everything add up...but I don't know if I want to spend 5 hours a month doing math.

 

[zanydroid]

There are probably clever analog domain ways you can combine a second set of CT clamps on the left with one set on the right. Maybe parallel wire with the CTs on the other side flipped to subtract the current going that way.

Or does 18kpv support digital meter?