EG4 8k firmware update 09.19.23

[fromport]

This looks like a graph from solarman, which I have limited experience with since I switched to Solar Assistant soon after moving my PV to the Megarevo. The other obvious source of DC power would be the batteries, so could it just be that the inverter pulled that extra power from the batteries?

this the battery graph of the same day.

There are dips on the battery but they do not correlate with the peaks of the inverter EG 3PM.
There are more dips on the battery compared to peaks on the DC input graphs

 

[nunit]

During the super off peak, i would like to charge my batteries from the grid (maximum charge of 90% if possible) so that I will be ready next day with almost full batteries so I will be feeding back to grid way faster than currently (if ever with the overcast we currently have).
Does anybody know what settings need to changed to realize that behavior ?

I played with the TOU settings when I first deployed mine. I hope what I learned might help you:

• Advanced mode (16-1) needs to be anything but disabled for any of the other settings in 16 to take effect. You probably want SFC. BuySell
• TOU (16-2-2) needs to be enabled (naturally). The other 16-2 options can override charging behavior across all timeslots.
• Within the individual timeslots, the SOCis the target. The inverter will charge or discharge at the specified power to reach that SOC. You probably don't want this at the maximum 8kw.
• Setting the start/end times on the hour (e.g. 17:00) and having them overlap between time slots seemed to work OK, e.g. no need to end the previous slot at 08:00 and start the next at 08:01.

I've since abandoned the Advanced menu altogether as my use case doesn't really need it. I don't have TOU rates but want to adjust charge/discharge based on demand-respond events in my area and hope to automate this via Solar Assistant and Home Assistant.

 

[fromport]

I played with the TOU settings when I first deployed mine. I hope what I learned might help you:

• Advanced mode (16-1) needs to be anything but disabled for any of the other settings in 16 to take effect. You probably want SFC. BuySell

That is the option I haven't touched yet because no manual explains those options.
I have been trying to think of what SFC could be the abbreviation off.

• TOU (16-2-2) needs to be enabled (naturally). The other 16-2 options can override charging behavior across all timeslots.
• Within the individual timeslots, the SOCis the target. The inverter will charge or discharge at the specified power to reach that SOC. You probably don't want this at the maximum 8kw.
• Setting the start/end times on the hour (e.g. 17:00) and having them overlap between time slots seemed to work OK, e.g. no need to end the previous slot at 08:00 and start the next at 08:01.

Thank you , thank you!
This is my current setup:

16 ADVAN SET
    1: Mode Set
        1. DISABLE
    2: Advan Ctrl
        -ADVANC CONTROL-
        1. Grid Chg En  2.ENABLE
        2. TOU En    -TIME OF USE-     2.ENABLE
        3. ChargeFirst    -CHARGE FIRST-     1. DISABLE
        4. OnlyPVChg    -OnlyPVChg-    1. DISABLE
        5. PVEnergy1st    -PVChg First-    1. DISABLE
    3: TOU Set
        --TIME OF USE--
        1. Slot1
            --SLOT1--
                1.SLOT1
                    Start: 00:00 End: 07:59 Power: 05:0 kW  SOC: 090%
                2.GridChg1
                    2.ENABLE
        2. Slot2
            --SLOT2--
                1.SLOT2
                    Start: 08:00 End: 13:59 Power: 05:0 kW  SOC: 090%
                2.GridChg2
                    1.DISABLE
        3. Slot3
            --SLOT3--
                1.SLOT3
                    Start: 14:00 End: 19:59 Power: 05:0 kW  SOC: 090%
                2.GridChg3
                    1.DISABLE
        4. Slot4
            --SLOT4--
                1.SLOT4
                    Start: 20:00 End: 21:59 Power: 05:0 kW  SOC: 090%
                2.GridChg4
                    1.DISABLE
        3. Slot5
            --SLOT5--
                1.SLOT5
                    Start: 22:00 End: 23:59 Power: 05:0 kW  SOC: 090%
                2.GridChg5
                    2.ENABLE

I've since abandoned the Advanced menu altogether as my use case doesn't really need it. I don't have TOU rates but want to adjust charge/discharge based on demand-respond events in my area and hope to automate this via Solar Assistant and Home Assistant.

These are my current TOU rates:

Weekday Winter Rates
Off-Peak: 41 cents from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Super Off-Peak: 20 cents from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
On-Peak: 53 cents from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

I only want to charge it on super-off peak so I will wait till 22:00(10PM) to see if it starts charging.
I wil change 16.1 -> 3 SFC. BuySell as you suggested.
Again: thanks a lot!

 

[fromport]

As soon as I changed the 16.1->3.SFC. BuySell this happened on the graph:

Instead of still using the power from the batteries it started using (very expensive) power from the grid!
I hope it is just a setting I don't understand (yet) that is causing this.

Here I switched it off again, and on my Sense monitor I can see that it is no longer drawing from the grid

 

[nunit]

As soon as I changed the 16.1->3.SFC. BuySell this happened on the graph:
View attachment 171591
Instead of still using the power from the batteries it started using (very expensive) power from the grid!
I hope it is just a setting I don't understand (yet) that is causing this.

Here I switched it off again, and on my Sense monitor I can see that it is no longer drawing from the grid

The SOC in the timeslots are what you want the inverter to trend to, so for the on-peak times they should be low (like 20%). A high value like what you've set means you want it to charge up to 90%. But you should know that even if you set the on-peak SOC to 20%, the 5kw power setting will cause it to dump 5kw regardless of your load. I see you do have grid charge disabled, but that may not be working as expected due to the CTs (see below).

This thread by @Mpgrimm2 was very useful to me when first learning the nuances of the Advanced settings:

Our EG4-8KEXP-240 (MegaRevo R8KLNA) Hybrid Inverter & EG4 LP4 Battery/PV Install

The first thing to confirm is that the CTs are installed correctly, especially since there are several sources that have it backwards. They should be installed on the Grid L1 and L2 wires with the arrows pointing away from the inverter (toward the grid). He also decodes what SFC SellEn means (now renamed to SFC BuySell).

 

[fromport]

The SOC in the timeslots are what you want the inverter to trend to, so for the on-peak times they should be low (like 20%). A high value like what you've set means you want it to charge up to 90%. But you should know that even if you set the on-peak SOC to 20%, the 5kw power setting will cause it to dump 5kw regardless of your load.

That doesn't make sense. When I don't enable "GridCharge" for a certain time-of-use slot, it will never charge during those times.
I assumed it would totally ignore the SOC% setting.

I see you do have grid charge disabled, but that may not be working as expected due to the CTs (see below).

This thread by @Mpgrimm2 was very useful to me when first learning the nuances of the Advanced settings:

Our EG4-8KEXP-240 (MegaRevo R8KLNA) Hybrid Inverter & EG4 LP4 Battery/PV Install

The first thing to confirm is that the CTs are installed correctly, especially since there are several sources that have it backwards. They should be installed on the Grid L1 and L2 wires with the arrows pointing away from the inverter (toward the grid). He also decodes what SFC SellEn means (now renamed to SFC BuySell).

I can confirm my CT's have the arrows pointing away from the MR towards the grid.

This is the graph from midnight till now

During the time that "grid charge" was enabled (90% SOC) the battery was partially providing power to the grid to the point where SOC was down to 88%.
The loads used 5.2 kWh, the grid provided 4.09 kWh, rest came from the batteries.
I still have a lot to learn about this unit.

Will now re-read the other thread.
Appreciate your feedback very much!

 

[nunit]

During the time that "grid charge" was enabled (90% SOC) the battery was partially providing power to the grid to the point where SOC was down to 88%.
The loads used 5.2 kWh, the grid provided 4.09 kWh, rest came from the batteries.

Did you have TOU enabled after midnight, and if so, were the timeslot settings the same as what you previously listed?

Based on my current understanding, I would try setting a single TOU timeslot for super off-peak with SOC at 90%. Leave the other timeslots unused at 0:00-0:00. With SFC BuySell, for all times outside of super off-peak, it'll behave like the non-advanced self consume mode, i.e. offset your load from PV+battery until you reach the DoD setting, or until you hit the super off-peak timeslot when it'll start grid charging at 5kw.

 

[fromport]

Did you have TOU enabled after midnight, and if so, were the timeslot settings the same as what you previously listed?

Yes, and I didn't change the ToU settings back then.
I have changed them since this morning to this:

16 ADVAN SET
    1: Mode Set
        3. SFC BuySell
    2: Advan Ctrl
        -ADVANC CONTROL-
        1. Grid Chg En  2.ENABLE
        2. TOU En    -TIME OF USE-     2.ENABLE
        3. ChargeFirst    -CHARGE FIRST-     1. DISABLE
        4. OnlyPVChg    -OnlyPVChg-    1. DISABLE
        5. PVEnergy1st    -PVChg First-    1. DISABLE
    3: TOU Set
        --TIME OF USE--
        1. Slot1
            --SLOT1--
                1.SLOT1
                    Start: 00:00 End: 08:00 Power: 05:0 kW  SOC: 095%
                2.GridChg1
                    2.ENABLE
        2. Slot2
            --SLOT2--
                1.SLOT2
                    Start: 08:00 End: 14:00 Power: 05:0 kW  SOC: 030%
                2.GridChg2
                    1.DISABLE
        3. Slot3
            --SLOT3--
                1.SLOT3
                    Start: 14:00 End: 20:00 Power: 05:0 kW  SOC: 030%
                2.GridChg3
                    1.DISABLE
        4. Slot4
            --SLOT4--
                1.SLOT4
                    Start: 20:00 End: 22:00 Power: 05:0 kW  SOC: 030%
                2.GridChg4
                    1.DISABLE
        3. Slot5
            --SLOT5--
                1.SLOT5
                    Start: 22:00 End: 00:00 Power: 05:0 kW  SOC: 095%
                2.GridChg5
                    2.ENABLE

Based on my current understanding, I would try setting a single TOU timeslot for super off-peak with SOC at 90%. Leave the other timeslots unused at 0:00-0:00. With SFC BuySell, for all times outside of super off-peak, it'll behave like the non-advanced self consume mode, i.e. offset your load from PV+battery until you reach the DoD setting, or until you hit the super off-peak timeslot when it'll start grid charging at 5kw.

 

[fromport]

Unfortunately it isn't doing what I want it to do:
Sun is going down, I got home and start to cook and the MR hasn't touched the battery all day and now is using super expensive ToU energy from the grid instead of using the batteries :-(


Any suggestions what I could do to try and persuade the MR to use the battery now instead of the grid ?

 

[fromport]

I was desperate enough to switch sys setting 1: Work mode -> 2. peak shift (was on self consume) but that didn't help either.


:-(

 

[nunit]

I was desperate enough to switch sys setting 1: Work mode -> 2. peak shift (was on self consume) but that didn't help either.


:-(

What does the "DCDC" line in the "State" status screen show now? The options I've seen include "Charge", "Discharge", and "Standby". However, I've been chasing a problem where it shows "Charge" but doesn't actually push any current (the "Power" status screen shows less than 30w for the battery). I'm wondering if you might be having a similar issue where it shows "Discharge" but is not pulling any current. In my case, it seems to be a firmware bug and I have to power cycle the inverter to recover from it.

 

[fromport]

What does the "DCDC" line in the "State" status screen show now? The options I've seen include "Charge", "Discharge", and "Standby". However, I've been chasing a problem where it shows "Charge" but doesn't actually push any current (the "Power" status screen shows less than 30w for the battery). I'm wondering if you might be having a similar issue where it shows "Discharge" but is not pulling any current. In my case, it seems to be a firmware bug and I have to power cycle the inverter to recover from it.

STATE
SYS: BAT GRID
INV: GRID
DCDC: CHARGE


BATTERY
VOLT: 50.2V
CURR: 0.6A
STA: D
there is your 30Watt again

oh?! Power cycle.
will get permission from the CEO to go dark ;-)

 

[fromport]

@nunit what should in your opinion be the setting for

SETUP
1. -- SYS SETTING --
    1: WORK MODE
        1. SELF CONSUME 2. PEAK SHIFT 3. BAT PRIORITY 4. FORC OFFGRID

I tried 3.BAT PRIORITY and power cycled but still discharge from the battery (i have 30 more minutes to try before charge from the grid should be enabled)
Open for suggestions!

 

[fromport]

My system is currently basically ignoring my batteries.

 

[fromport]

The MR has a mind of it's own.
I didn't touch it, just looked at the stats.
And this morning suddenly:

10 minutes to noon it starts charging the battery to 90%?

 

[nunit]

STATE
SYS: BAT GRID
INV: GRID
DCDC: CHARGE

BATTERY
VOLT: 50.2V
CURR: 0.6A
STA: D
there is your 30Watt again

Since DCDC shows "Charge", the inverter must be interpreting the settings to mean that you want it to be charging at that time. Now the Battery status shows "D", which I think means the BMS is telling it that only discharge mode is allowed now. If the BMS had charging enabled, it should show "C D". This may explain why even though it's in charge mode, it's not actually pushing any (real) current.

You might consider using the peak shift work mode and disabling advanced mode altogether, as I suspect there may be some bugs in the TOU logic. With peak shift, you specify up to 3 charge/discharge start/end times. The charge current is specified in the Battery menu, and the Discharge power is in the Run menu (specified as a precentage, with 100% = 8kw).

 

[nunit]

The MR has a mind of it's own.
I didn't touch it, just looked at the stats.
And this morning suddenly:
View attachment 171891
10 minutes to noon it starts charging the battery to 90%?

Silly question, but are you sure the time on the MR is correct? I can't think of any other explanation why it would start charging with that much power (about 130a?) at such an odd time.

 

[fromport]

I just checked, seems to be off by 2 minutes

 

[nunit]

I just checked, seems to be off by 2 minutes
View attachment 172004

What app is this that allows you to make changes to the MR settings? I don't recall seeing this functionality in any of the solarman apps (at least on IOS anyhow).

 

[fromport]

What app is this that allows you to make changes to the MR settings? I don't recall seeing this functionality in any of the solarman apps (at least on IOS anyhow).

It is the standard android app.

Go to applications (at the bottom)

Choose "local mode"

It will switch to camera and you point to QR code on the dongle or enter the serial by hand on the screen.
The logger will switch to AP mode , You will have to connect your phone to the WIFI signal of the logger, go back to the app and you can control the inverter from your phone instead of LCD screen and the 4 arrow buttons.
To not clog up this forum with more screenshots I took some screenshots and put them on my (personal) webserver:

Index of /solar/megarevo/app/android/