How clean is the power of a battery-less operation on SunGoldPower TP6048

[aussiesam]

Hi Everyone, I am new to this, need some feedback to prevent (further) damage.
I recently installed a SunGoldPower/ BluePower TP6048 hybrid inverter. I purchased this model because I do not have the budget for batteries, while I fully intend to add some in a few months. The TP6048 allows me to connect the inverter with grid as backup and so I figured its a good way to get started with some solar savings. I am not feeding back into grid. I set this one up as a "mobile" power station with the intention of using it for a mini split and a few more appliances. Everything seems to work ok, but I am seriously wondering what the power quality is like when using it in this configuration. The manual says that certain devices cannot handle power fluctuations but does not specify under what conditions the power would fluctuate.

After speaking to an electrician I was told that if not configured with a battery , the unit needs to balance the load back and forth between utility power and solar and that this constant re-balancing is felt by equipment attached to the inverter and can do damage on the long run. My question is, is his explanation correct?

So far I have connected a few devices and have noticed the following:
1) while connecting a UPS I have seen no voltage fluctuations, no flicks or clicks while on a APC UPS.
2) I connected a small mini split and did notice temperature fluctuations, but since these are hard to measure I am not sure if its all in my head.
3) I connected a larger mini split (took 50% from solar, 50% of grid to power), it didn't cool properly, turned if off for an hour and after turning it on for a second time I got a non power related error and it shut down, the error was related to a refrigerant leak, but the timing of it was very suspicious.
4) I connected an espresso maker and while it was heating up, I heard a transformer click on and off. A sound I have not heard before.

All of this is making me nervous as the equipment I am intending to use with it is worth thousands and I would like to better undertand what the power quality of these devices are when using it with grid as backup. If you have any experience in this field, I would greatly appreciate it if you could help me understand how this all works.

 

[Crowz]

You might want to check your wire connections to the unit to be safe.

I started out with my tp6048 like this :

Tp6048 with power coming in from power company and going out to a sub panel.
No batteries and no solar.
Moved all computer equipment over to it and it worked fine with about 5 ups's on those circuits and none complained.

Next I added solar to it. The solar covered all needs during the day and the power company handled night use.

Next I moved the bedroom and the refrigerators and freezers over to it. The bedroom has a window air conditioner.
Worked fine.

Next I added a battery to the Tp6048 but its there in case of power failures and that's all. Worked fine.

Next I moved the heat pumps over to it. Again works fine.

At this point I have everything in my home running on it basically battery-less since the battery is just for when the grid goes down.
The stove, hot water heaters and a few outlets in the kitchen are all that isn't running thru it. No issues what so ever.

 

[timselectric]

In SUB mode (which is what I assume that you are using), the output power is as clean as the (grid) input power. As stated above, double check all connections.

 

[Buddy G]

You might want to check your wire connections to the unit to be safe.

I started out with my tp6048 like this :

Tp6048 with power coming in from power company and going out to a sub panel.
No batteries and no solar.
Moved all computer equipment over to it and it worked fine with about 5 ups's on those circuits and none complained.

Next I added solar to it. The solar covered all needs during the day and the power company handled night use.

Next I moved the bedroom and the refrigerators and freezers over to it. The bedroom has a window air conditioner.
Worked fine.

Next I added a battery to the Tp6048 but its there in case of power failures and that's all. Worked fine.

Next I moved the heat pumps over to it. Again works fine.

At this point I have everything in my home running on it basically battery-less since the battery is just for when the grid goes down.
The stove, hot water heaters and a few outlets in the kitchen are all that isn't running thru it. No issues what so ever.

Are you still running this system this way?

 

[Crowz]

Are you still running this system this way?

Yep. Runs my entire house solar wise. Still haven't expanded the battery part yet past the one battery.

 

[Buddy G]

Learning

 

[Buddy G]

Yep. Runs my entire house solar wise. Still haven't expanded the battery part yet past the one battery.

I installed this TP6048 from Sungoldpower without batteries and using 3000 watts of solar (12 x 250 watt panels intending to add more to max out later). I am hooked to the grid but not feeding it. I monitor my power usage daily but have not noticed any change or drop of power from the grid. I am using the settings out of the box and wondering if I need to change something. My daily usage is about 13 kWh from the grid so I expected to see some drop in that for day time use. Any suggestions? I am about to add AGM batteries 48 VDC to test if that's my problem.

 

[Crowz]

I installed this TP6048 from Sungoldpower without batteries and using 3000 watts of solar (12 x 250 watt panels intending to add more to max out later). I am hooked to the grid but not feeding it. I monitor my power usage daily but have not noticed any change or drop of power from the grid. I am using the settings out of the box and wondering if I need to change something. My daily usage is about 13 kWh from the grid so I expected to see some drop in that for day time use. Any suggestions? I am about to add AGM batteries 48 VDC to test if that's my problem.

Did you set it to solar/util/bat? aka sub?

If not it won't use the solar panels to make power.

 

[Buddy G]

Did you set it to solar/util/bat? aka sub?

If not it won't use the solar panels to make power.

Under the output source priority (program 01 to SUb - default) I set it both ways SUB or SBU but didn't really see difference but I'll try setting it to SUB again.. Should I reboot the unit so to speak? I know the unit will run off grid as long as I have enough solar coming in. Perhaps I am not getting enough power from the 3k panels. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks for your help.

 

[aussiesam]

Under the output source priority (program 01 to SUb - default) I set it both ways SUB or SBU but didn't really see difference but I'll try setting it to SUB again.. Should I reboot the unit so to speak? I know the unit will run off grid as long as I have enough solar coming in. Perhaps I am not getting enough power from the 3k panels. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks for your help.

your settings seem correct. When you have solar power press the arrows on the inverter up and down to see how much is coming in from PV and how much you are using at that time. The inverter consumes about 135 watts itself, so if you are using more energy at night or have shading on your panels you might not be using enough during the day to offset the idle consumption. Keep monitoring the inverter during the day and you should be able to figure it out.

 

[Crowz]

I would highly recommend getting solar assistant since it shows you exactly how much power the grid is providing and how much the solar is handling.

Also you can cycle thru the readout on the display to show how much is being used by the grid side and how much is going out of the inverter. If the amount going out is higher than than what is coming in from the grid side its working

 

[Buddy G]

I would highly recommend getting solar assistant since it shows you exactly how much power the grid is providing and how much the solar is handling.

Also you can cycle thru the readout on the display to show how much is being used by the grid side and how much is going out of the inverter. If the amount going out is higher than than what is coming in from the grid side its working

I think you are right about the output source setting.. now that I got batteries hooked I can see the difference. I have notice a slight difference in the power but I need to collect more data. The batteries I am using are from my farm tractors (short testing time) and used but functional until I get lithium. Thanks for the help.

 

[Buddy G]

your settings seem correct. When you have solar power press the arrows on the inverter up and down to see how much is coming in from PV and how much you are using at that time. The inverter consumes about 135 watts itself, so if you are using more energy at night or have shading on your panels you might not be using enough during the day to offset the idle consumption. Keep monitoring the inverter during the day and you should be able to figure it out.

so far nothing has blown up since connecting the batteries and there are no errors. I've now started dividing my data gathering into day time and night time so that I can see how much difference there will be. Thanks for the suggestion.