Schneider XW Pro - Open Loop with EG4 LifePower4

[kram]

I am having problems with configuring the XW Pro to use Open Loop. Followed instructions from EG4. However, I see the inverter cycling in and out when on voltage based control. No problems when using SOC from the BMS.

1) voltage based control at 6:08 AM
2) SOC enabled at 6:13 AM
3) Page 16 has Open loop settings.

 

[BentleyJ]

So the pics are of the Emporia energy monitor app. Power is fluctuating between about 200W and 550W. Is that due to the battery charger in the inverter surging like that? Is the charger in Float? That does seem odd.

What does the InsightHome show for the battery power flow.

EDIT: Not sure why on pg16 it is recommending "External BMS" when SoC is disabled. Seems like you would want Charging set to 2 stage or 3 stage.

 

[kram]

That is correct, energy monitor installed on the Load Center monitoring power flow. I also have a WattNode meter to adjust how much I export to the grid, which is set at -120 watts.

Inverter status cycles between "Sell-to-Grid" and "AC Pass Through" every few seconds.

Attached Battery Power flow, I was able to simulate the same behavior at 2:00 PM.

 

[BentleyJ]

Based on what's been posted from other XW Pro users. Enhanced Grid Support functions with the XW Pro are problematic and you are having a commonly reported issue. The manual as well as tech support seem to persist in telling users to set grid support volts to 64 which should activate Enhanced Grid Support features but does not seem to work.

The fix seemed to be:

Inverter Charger Setting = 2 Stage
PV Charge Controller Settings = 3 Stage
This is the important one: Grid Support Volts = Float Voltage Setting on Charge Controllers.

 

[goodoleme]

Do you have a Schneider CC? 60/150, 80/600, 100/600 etc. What firmware is the 6848 running?

 

[kram]

No charge controller, Inverter and Batteries for TOU, charge at night and discharge during specific time slots.

XW Pro is running 2.04, and Insight Home is running 1.18

 

[goodoleme]

No charge controller, Inverter and Batteries for TOU, charge at night and discharge during specific time slots.

XW Pro is running 2.04, and Insight Home is running 1.18

Ok, how is the 6848 setup? Do you have a CLP or the BCS? Also what grid-code is the system set for? Enhanced Grid Support is only when used with a CC, just keeps the batt. @ 100% SOC before export.

 

[kram]

No BCS, I used a WattNode Meter that the BCS uses, configured the same way. Grid Code is California Rule 21-2018.

Inverter is connected to the load center, charges 4 LifePower4 batteries at night and discharges during the day. There is a EG4 Comm Hub between the inverter and the batteries, version 12.4. I have removed the Comm Hub to confirm the same problem with the inverter when connected to the batteries directly through their BMS.

Since voltage control is not working as I expected, I have set the SOC enabled in the screenshots with Export sell block covering only one window. 6 PM to 8 PM.

My original plan was to use Node Red and program multiple time slots throughout the day with voltage control using Open-Loop configuration. I do not use Peak Shaving feature now, the backup panel is empty.

 

[romangeek]

I have not found SOC control to work properly, and the support techs admit as much. The Schneider hardware seems very good but the software is insane (I am a programmer). Are you happy with your setup now? If not, I could post my settings.... I found voltage control to work well.... but there are a few tricks. For one thing, since I have EG4 Li batteries with their own BMS, I have my Charge controller to not do any temperature compensation and have the battery setting on COLD. The 3 stage charging is set to 54 volts for bulk, boost and float.
Then on the inverter, I do not have SOC enabled. For grid support I have that below the 54 v charge... and is set to 53.6.
One note, I am grid tied and keep my batteries charged all the time. They only come into use when grid goes down and there is no solar. So for my use, the Backup mode is enabled.

 

[kram]

Schneider helped trace through the log files and found the issue to be a higher recharge voltage (52.7v) and my Grid support voltage was set to 51v. Setting both at 51v solved the issue. I am using Node Red to perform voltage-based control, a variant of n2laws post for TOU, without solar. I struggled with SOC control from this post and gave up, not suitable for TOU use case. The programming on both the Insight Home and inverter is trash. I cannot wait to see if Schneider polishes some of the TOU capabilities with a new firmware update.

 

[hwy17]

Schneider is moving on to market a new product line. Whether that means a revitalized effort including for Conext or abandonment of Conext idk.

Schneider Home Solar and Battery Storage | Schneider Electric USA

Schneider Electric USA. Browse our products and documents for Schneider Home Solar and Battery Storage - High performance solar and home battery system for backup power and electricity bill savings

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[BentleyJ]

Schneider is moving on to market a new product line. Whether that means a revitalized effort including for Conext or abandonment of Conext idk.

That new Pulse Panel with a 225A split bus, BCS and Energy monitoring built in looks like a winner. I'm sure the price will be impressive also but at least the new panel is much more compact than than the Energy Center Smart Panel.

 

[goodoleme]

Kram, in your screen shot you have the export start @ 8pm to 6pm.

 

[goodoleme]

That new Pulse Panel with a 225A split bus, BCS and Energy monitoring built in looks like a winner. I'm sure the price will be impressive also but at least the new panel is much more compact than than the Energy Center Smart Panel.

I talked with Eric on Friday and asked him about the l1 to l2 imbalance and he told me that he has one installed @ his home and put 9k on one leg with no problems. He also told me that the xwpro will be made for years to come. I also told him that the xwpro with the BCS and no CLP will need the pulse panel to be as good if not better than the span panel.

 

[BentleyJ]

Minor correction. Schneider refers to the disconnect switch built in to the Pulse Panel as a Back-Up Control Module (BCM) rather than BCS.

 

[BentleyJ]

Kram, in your screen shot you have the export start @ 8pm to 6pm.

The timers are for when Export Block (disabled) starts and then resumes. Its the same with the Charge Block Timers.

Just to add confusion, the Peak Load Shave timers are the opposite, Start is when Peak Load Shave begins and end is when it stops load shaving.