Looking for a device that will use pv to carry my load

[drewb42]

Starting on Page 21 of the manual:
01: Output Source Priority [01] SBU. Switch to mains when battery is under voltage.
02: Output Frequency: [02] 60.0 for USA
03: [03] UPS. APL is ok. Depends upon how much you want to protect your appliances.


Assume 8 cell LiFePO4 for these
04: [04] 24.0 8 cells at 3.0v is 10% SOC. 22.4v is 5% SOC.
05: [05] 25.6 (20% SOC).
06: [06] OSO PV charging only. SNU is ok if you want to charge from grid.
07: [07] 20-30% of Amp Hour Rating on your batteries. up to 50% is ok. Look at your battery specs. Your actual rate is about 0.20c.
08: [08] LF08
09: [09] 28.8v is ok.
10: [10] 500 minutes. You need at least 6 hours to recharge 7500 watts @1400 watts.
11: [11] 27.2 (will's recommended rate)
12: [12] 21.0 to 24v. Maybe 1.0v under #4.
...

Ill get into these when im done with my work day so far only changing to SBU has done very well keeping the battery between 26.2 and 28 v with PV carrying the load.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

A0 28.6v is what I consider full and what the charge Controller does as well
B) The 2 times I've tested this with the grid off I had about 10% left according to the Controller
B.2) unfortunately I don't remember what the voltage was

If you fully charge the battery and let it sit (rest) six or eight hours what is your Voltage on a reliable meter not the SCC
24 hours or overnight without discharge could be more revealing.

I think interpretation and understanding mixed with settings are affecting your unfettered enjoyment.

 

[drewb42]

Starting on Page 21 of the manual:
01: Output Source Priority [01] SBU. Switch to mains when battery is under voltage.
02: Output Frequency: [02] 60.0 for USA
03: [03] UPS. APL is ok. Depends upon how much you want to protect your appliances.


Assume 8 cell LiFePO4 for these
04: [04] 24.0 8 cells at 3.0v is 10% SOC. 22.4v is 5% SOC.
05: [05] 25.6 (20% SOC).
06: [06] OSO PV charging only. SNU is ok if you want to charge from grid.
07: [07] 20-30% of Amp Hour Rating on your batteries. up to 50% is ok. Look at your battery specs. Your actual rate is about 0.20c.
08: [08] LF08
09: [09] 28.8v is ok.
10: [10] 500 minutes. You need at least 6 hours to recharge 7500 watts @1400 watts.
11: [11] 27.2 (will's recommended rate)
12: [12] 21.0 to 24v. Maybe 1.0v under #4.
...

Sorry for the late reply here I haven't tried this exactly but I have ran the unit on sbu for a week and what I see is the battery still drains to 27v which is what I have 11... so why when the charge priority is SNU and load is SBU does the battery drain at all during the day?

 

[12VoltInstalls]

why when the charge priority is SNU and load is SBU does the battery drain at all during the day?

Because you have less solar panel watts than you are consuming, generally.

Also, once charged perhaps the ‘float’ setting versus ‘bulk’ ain’t quite set right?

I didn’t read back but SUB solar-utility-battery doesn’t discharge battery.

If it’s not a software bug it’s a settings issue.

 

[drewb42]

Because you have less solar panel watts than you are consuming, generally.

Also, once charged perhaps the ‘float’ setting versus ‘bulk’ ain’t quite set right?

I didn’t read back but SUB solar-utility-battery doesn’t discharge battery.

If it’s not a software bug it’s a settings issue.

to point 1 I have 4200w pv and only 500w average load so that's definitely not the issue would it be helpful if I post all my current settings?

the setting is SBU "solar, battery, utility" so if it is in fact in that order I guess that makes more sense why the battery is touched. Im open to purchasing an AIO that will prioritize utility over battery if yall know of one.

the software on this thing is buggy for sure and it gives concerningly different battery and pv readings than my other controllers do

thanks for your reply!

 

[timselectric]

the setting is SBU "solar, battery, utility" so if it is in fact in that order I guess that makes more sense why the battery is touched. Im open to purchasing an AIO that will prioritize utility over battery if yall know of one.

You don't need a different unit. The settings can be adjusted for whatever you want it to do.
What do you mean by "prioritize utility over battery" ?
If you raise the setting for back to utility, you can save more battery capacity for reserve. If that's what you're talking about.

 

[timselectric]

For charging I would recommend SOL (solar only).
I personally don't want to charge from utility. That's what the solar panels are for.

 

[pollenface]

If you have enough PV to support your loads it won't dip into your battery while the sun is shining. That is the function of charge controllers.

That's pretty much what I'm aiming to do for day time EV charging without dipping into batteries (unless a cloud blows over)

 

[12VoltInstalls]

to point 1 I have 4200w pv and only 500w average load so that's definitely not the issue

It could be, though. If you have 4200W and you aren’t charging enough with only 500W load something is wrong and we know what you did last summer.

would it be helpful if I post all my current settings

Sure could be.
A link to the manual you are using, too

 

[drewb42]

It could be, though. If you have 4200W and you aren’t charging enough with only 500W load something is wrong and we know what you did last summer.

Sure could be.
A link to the manual you are using, too

I really think there is something wrong with my aio.



AIO manual

Current solar settings

1. SBU
2. 60hz
3. UPS
4. 26.8v
5. 27.2v
6. SNU
7. 60a
8. Lo7
9. 28.8v
10. 120
11. 28.8v
12. 21v
13. 15
14. 27v
15. 20v

22. Dl5
23. EnA
24. EnA
25. Dl5
26. Dl5
27. EnA
28. 40a
29. Dl5
35. 26v
36. 60a
37. 27.8v
38. 120v

 

[drewb42]

This seems to be a different issue. If you are not able to charge your battery to full with 4300w PV during a normal day it is time to look into your overall loading situation and possibly examine if there is a battery issue.

Your battery bank is 300ah at 25vDC giving you ~7500wh worth of power of which a usable amount of about 80% => 6,000wh
Your stated load is 500w average (I do not know if you included the AIO's idle draw of ~50w). Over a day that is 12,000wh. Understand that during night you have no PV production so the battery must carry the load.
With 4300w PV and a typical 5 hours of insolation gives 21,500wh/day.

There are some conversion losses to account for but that is the basic picture. Based on this you should have no problem charging your batteries if they are not faulty but you do have a problem with sufficient battery capacity (6000wh). Starting the nighttime at say 7pm and ending it at 8am gives 13 hours at 500w per hour average load or 6500wh. This means you likely are at low voltage cutoff or have transferred to utility bypass (setting #4) on your AIO.

Okay so i just purchased 2 more 300ah batteries for a total of 900ah with 22797wh I wouldnt imagine having this issue anymore... what do you think?

 

[Mattb4]

Okay so i just purchased 2 more 300ah batteries for a total of 900ah with 22797wh I wouldnt imagine having this issue anymore... what do you think?

Impressive amount of battery capacity. You might run into not having sufficient PV to charge in a day if you draw down the batteries over a period of a few days of low solar production. It is a numbers game. Everyone that generates their own power has to contend with load management.