SunGold Power SP6548 Flickering lights after new install

[nc73]

So with the grid off the load shifts to the battery. Looks like all the standby power usage of the unit is drawn from the grid if it is available with no option to disable it. THAT IS DUMB!

I dunno it sounds like a good idea to me. Saves your battery SOC.

 

[nofear72784]

2-3KWh of usage a day comes from the grid if have it connected! This explains why my calculations have been off for how much the power bill should be.

 

[nofear72784]

I have 45kw of battery... I am not worried about that. If it defaulted to grid for that load there should be an option to put that load on the solar/battery. If it is on SBU it should default to that automatically.

 

[nc73]

I have 45kw of battery... I am not worried about that. If it defaulted to grid for that load there should be an option to put that load on the solar/battery. If it is on SBU it should default to that automatically.

well check with sungoldpower see if it's by design, just in case

 

[nofear72784]

I sent them an email. They are still "working" on a resolution for the flickering lights so I have little faith this will go anywhere. The point of a hybrid unit is to use as little grid power as possible. Drawing the standby load from the grid when there is solar and battery available makes 0 sense to me.

 

[nc73]

I sent them an email. They are still "working" on a resolution for the flickering lights so I have little faith this will go anywhere. The point of a hybrid unit is to use as little grid power as possible. Drawing the standby load from the grid when there is solar and battery available makes 0 sense to me.

Well they seem similar to MPP solar. I fixed my issue but I decided I don't like the transformer buzz and the fact that I can't parallel without issue so put in a preorder for Eg4 6500ex. Time to sell the LVX!

 

[midahar]

Just finished installing an SP6548 with 2 48v packs I built from eve 280k cells and 6kw of panels. Having a bit of a problem and hope someone can point me in the right direction. Upon firing everything up I noticed that any fixtures with a dimmable LED flicker. We have dimmable LED cans in our kitchen, family room and some ceiling fans. All wiring sizes are correct and I checked my wiring multiple times. So far I tried:
adding more load to the system up to 2kw
isolating the load so only the breaker for the lights was on
turning off the panels
turned off the AC input to the unit
disconnecting the batteries and running off of just solar

All the above still resulted in flickering. I can get the flicker to go away by putting it in bypass mode or running the same sub panel off the generator so it's not the panel wiring. I see threads here and there talking about flickering but no real solution. Hard to watch TV or cook when your lights want to put on a strobe show. Everything else works just fine. Ideas? Thanks in advance!

Yeah I would suspect the problem is in the dimmers try to eliminate the dimmers and see if the flicker goes away

 

[midahar]

Yeah I would suspect the problem is in the dimmers try to eliminate the dimmers and see if the flicker goes away

Or maybe some kind of capacitance is happening somewhere in the circuit

 

[bones1]

Do you have a soft start on your a/c? Even if it will start your condensing unit, our inverters will last longer if they're not loaded with that inrush current every single time. Plus it is better for your compressors, contactor inside the unit, wiring, terminals breakers, etc 25-30% the inrush current. Two of my hvac systems are fully variable speed, the other two have standard PSC compressors, so they got the soft starters. I don't know if my little 2 ton PSC and 1.5 ton PSC compressors would have caused any problems or not.

Do your variable speed units start ok on the inverters? I have two EG 4 6.5K in split phase and a newly installed Lennox 4-ton variable speed heat pump system installed with propane for the heating, dual fuel no electric elements. I know my old unit had104LRA to start but with these new variable ones, I think a lot less is required. I am hesitant to try to start the HVAC because I don't want to damage it. I can start my deep well pump fine which pulls 40A per leg inrush current.

 

[bones1]

When I first connected my two inverters in split phase I didn't have the power use balanced between legs and I got the flickering lights. Once I balanced the output loads the flickering instantly stopped. I had three fridges on one leg with hardly anything on the other. When I added a window ac to the mix on the other leg all is fine.

 

[DanielS]

@Quattrohead have you checked the power usage on the grid supply? Just hooked up monitoring on the entire service and see 90-100watts being pulled from the grid by the inverter at all times when grid power is supplied to the unit. This can not be normal.

I have the same on my LV6548’s. It’s due to the inverters staying in sync with the grid so they can swap between. I haven’t really looked at the circuit to see why it’s that much, but it’s reasonable to assume that it’s not zero.

 

[DanielS]

I too have the LED on dimmers flicker issue on the Lv6548…the issue for me is more prominent when the overall load is low. If the AC comes on it usually reduces or eliminates the issue. Oddly enough I have a Sous Vide cooler that will exacerbate the problem. It’s a 1000w load at 120VAC with a resistive load and an inductive circulator motor. I live with the issue so far but would be interested in any solutions y’all have found. I feel like that fact that not everyone has the issue lends to this being a neutral or ground issues

 

[nc73]

I too have the LED on dimmers flicker issue on the Lv6548…the issue for me is more prominent when the overall load is low. If the AC comes on it usually reduces or eliminates the issue. Oddly enough I have a Sous Vide cooler that will exacerbate the problem. It’s a 1000w load at 120VAC with a resistive load and an inductive circulator motor. I live with the issue so far but would be interested in any solutions y’all have found. I feel like that fact that not everyone has the issue lends to this being a neutral or ground issues

Have you tried a 20uf cap like the OP?

 

[nc73]

Seems pretty close to the issue I had with the lvx model. The cap did fix it.

 

[nofear72784]

So far none of the fixes proposed have alleviated the issue. Still a work in progress. The wife's hair straightener causes all kinds of havoc on the lighting just like your sous vide cooker.

 

[Quattrohead]

I have not been able to check any power draw from grid as they alarm when I connected them, not sure why yet and have not investigated any further.

It was on sale the other day now back to normal

https://www.amazon.com/HQRP-2-Pack-Ceiling-Capacitor-Coaster/dp/B01N5NLYY9/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=capacitor%2Bfan%2B20uf&qid=1663342435&sr=8-4&th=1

Not sure I would trust that type of capacitor 24/7/365. You should use Class-X or Class-Y something like this - 22uf-310vac real cap !!! Although everything seems to be out of stock ATM so maybe they decided to ship inverters without them lol

 

[Quattrohead]

@Quattrohead have you checked the power usage on the grid supply? Just hooked up monitoring on the entire service and see 90-100watts being pulled from the grid by the inverter at all times when grid power is supplied to the unit. This can not be normal.

No I have not, my pair alarm as soon as I connect them to grid, not sure why yet.

 

[RV10flyer]

Do your variable speed units start ok on the inverters? I have two EG 4 6.5K in split phase and a newly installed Lennox 4-ton variable speed heat pump system installed with propane for the heating, dual fuel no electric elements. I know my old unit had104LRA to start but with these new variable ones, I think a lot less is required. I am hesitant to try to start the HVAC because I don't want to damage it. I can start my deep well pump fine which pulls 40A per leg inrush current.

The vs compressors are so gentle ramping up. The current on the whole system just gradually increases to stabilize at 3-14A, at 240VAC. There is no inrush. A soft start is the next best thing, with a 19-20A inrush current on a typical modern 14 SEER 2 ton hp system.

 

[bones1]

The vs compressors are so gentle ramping up. The current on the whole system just gradually increases to stabilize at 3-14A, at 240VAC. There is no inrush. A soft start is the next best thing, with a 19-20A inrush current on a typical modern 14 SEER 2 ton hp system.

Excellent information, thanks. I noticed that the A/C unit did ramp up slowly when it started. Shouldn't be an issue starting the 4 ton unit on two EG4's then. One day I will try it out. That's the only thing in the house I have not tried so far.

 

[Quattrohead]

My pair of SP6548 start up my 3 ton heat pump no problem, and it is a hard bastard to get going sometimes LOL. Both Growatt 6000T and Solark 12k (but not really) had trouble with it. The Growatt would growl and not manage it maybe 1% of starts, the Solark was about 50%.
Your inverter based heat pumps should be easy to start.

 

[RV10flyer]

Excellent information, thanks. I noticed that the A/C unit did ramp up slowly when it started. Shouldn't be an issue starting the 4 ton unit on two EG4's then. One day I will try it out. That's the only thing in the house I have not tried so far.

as long as the compressor is variable speed, if it's only the blower that is variable speed then you might have a hard time.

 

[bones1]

It's their top of the line inverter model

 

[BenFromSignatureSolar]

I too have the LED on dimmers flicker issue on the Lv6548…the issue for me is more prominent when the overall load is low. If the AC comes on it usually reduces or eliminates the issue. Oddly enough I have a Sous Vide cooler that will exacerbate the problem. It’s a 1000w load at 120VAC with a resistive load and an inductive circulator motor. I live with the issue so far but would be interested in any solutions y’all have found. I feel like that fact that not everyone has the issue lends to this being a neutral or ground issues

We've noticed in R&D application that dimmer switches can be rough on HF inverters. Especially low cost dimmer switches. Seems like if we used a dimmer that cost $20+ everything was fine.

 

[DanielS]

We've noticed in R&D application that dimmer switches can be rough on HF inverters. Especially low cost dimmer switches. Seems like if we used a dimmer that cost $20+ everything was fine.

Yeah, I have Homeseer dimmers. Regardless is still says there is something unstable on the line. Mine isn’t as bad as OPs hence why I’m not pushing a solution that hard, but I’d just like the comfort of having the output stable

 

[midahar]

We've noticed in R&D application that dimmer switches can be rough on HF inverters. Especially low cost dimmer switches. Seems like if we used a dimmer that cost $20+ everything was fine.