NOTE: I have changed the title and my premise in this thread as my eyes were opened to some information that I did not have before. Learning is a great thing.
So this might only be of interest to a few since most here do not use Li-ion batteries, but since I did not see it discussed when I looked over the forum posts regarding the 12k before I purchased it, I want to at least state this issue here for anyone else who might be considering it.
I cannot speak for their other inverters, but the Growatt 12k 48V inverter might not be the perfect choice if you intend to use Li-Ion battery packs and want to use the grid as a backup when your battery gets low.
The problem is the limitation in Setting 12: The point in which it switches from (low) battery to utility.
Since 14S 48V Li-Ion battery packs have an operational voltage from 35.0V to 58.8V, and Growatt has chosen to set the lower end of this range to 44.0V, it only allows you to use (about) 50% of your batteries capacity.
When I asked Growatt if they could lower that value down to 35.0V, they responded (after several weeks of bugging them) with "We were not able to enlarge the voltage window as your request, it is out of the inverter voltage range."
So then I asked them to at least lower it down to 40.0V since that clearly was in the operational range of the inverter (as indicated by Setting 21) but the response was "We double check with our RD team and was told that 440Vdc is the lowest voltage. Thank you.".
WHY? To me, if the inverter will operate reliably down to 40.0V (Setting 21), then (Setting 12) can also be as low as 40V. Am I missing something?
Very frustrating that they say this inverter will work with "Lithium/Lead Acid" batteries but what they really mean is that it will work with "LiFePO4/Lead Acid" batteries, but telling the WHOLE truth seems just like too much trouble for so many companies these days.
Also, to an engineer, not telling me WHY they cannot lower the value below 44.0V is also very frustrating.
Honestly, I have been running this inverter for a few weeks now (and although it has high idle consumption and is loud with fan noise) it seems to be running great except for this one setting that does not allow for me to use more than about 50% of my Li-ion battery bank. It seems something that would be so easy for Growatt to fix if they would just open their eyes and actually listen to their customers when they make requests, ask questions and provide feedback.
So this might only be of interest to a few since most here do not use Li-ion batteries, but since I did not see it discussed when I looked over the forum posts regarding the 12k before I purchased it, I want to at least state this issue here for anyone else who might be considering it.
I cannot speak for their other inverters, but the Growatt 12k 48V inverter might not be the perfect choice if you intend to use Li-Ion battery packs and want to use the grid as a backup when your battery gets low.
The problem is the limitation in Setting 12: The point in which it switches from (low) battery to utility.
Since 14S 48V Li-Ion battery packs have an operational voltage from 35.0V to 58.8V, and Growatt has chosen to set the lower end of this range to 44.0V, it only allows you to use (about) 50% of your batteries capacity.
When I asked Growatt if they could lower that value down to 35.0V, they responded (after several weeks of bugging them) with "We were not able to enlarge the voltage window as your request, it is out of the inverter voltage range."
So then I asked them to at least lower it down to 40.0V since that clearly was in the operational range of the inverter (as indicated by Setting 21) but the response was "We double check with our RD team and was told that 440Vdc is the lowest voltage. Thank you.".
WHY? To me, if the inverter will operate reliably down to 40.0V (Setting 21), then (Setting 12) can also be as low as 40V. Am I missing something?
Very frustrating that they say this inverter will work with "Lithium/Lead Acid" batteries but what they really mean is that it will work with "LiFePO4/Lead Acid" batteries, but telling the WHOLE truth seems just like too much trouble for so many companies these days.
Also, to an engineer, not telling me WHY they cannot lower the value below 44.0V is also very frustrating.
Honestly, I have been running this inverter for a few weeks now (and although it has high idle consumption and is loud with fan noise) it seems to be running great except for this one setting that does not allow for me to use more than about 50% of my Li-ion battery bank. It seems something that would be so easy for Growatt to fix if they would just open their eyes and actually listen to their customers when they make requests, ask questions and provide feedback.
Last edited: