You are essentially trying to simulate ESS like behaviour with cheaper DIY components.

ESS comes natively bundled with Victron and other solid inverters once you buy the required GX control.

You may get finer control of your system if you incorporate HomeAssistant as @Ojeysky and @Adrusa are doing.

Someone on this thread read your post and challenged me to implement a good ESS with a basic inverter and sensors so now I am in trouble

I will still reach out to my Ogas Ojeysky and Adrusa for some insights.

My current struggle is an optimal powersharing algorithm e.g in a Victron ESS, if the loads called for 5kw while solar can only give 4.5kw, ESS would smoothly source the extra 500w from grid and drop grid use once loads drop or solar increases to catchup. If I try to DIY this behaviour, I can only turn on grid to assist and grid will override PV production to provide the needed 5kw directly from grid! The inverter is essentially pass through once grid is in use. Clearly this is not optimal as 4.5kw of PV is available for use - PHCN bills will be higher than they need to be and solar production will be wasted in this DIY solution.

I probed further and can see clearly that the native ESS in a Victron for example works so well because the internals can sync with the grid and combine power from AC (grid or gen) and DC (solar and battery) to feed a load. The ESS can take just the exact amount of extra energy needed from grid and therefore maximise PV usage and minimise energy bills. This is indeed the engineering miracle that justifies the price tag.

Still I have to cook up something acceptable with DIY parts as I was commissioned to do.

netotse:
Hi Guys,

I'm looking for a cheap way to maximize/prioritize my solar use and want to use a relay-contactor combo.

I will set an under voltage relay to close when battery voltage is, at say, 50V and supply the coils of the contactor which will then close and supply AC to charge the batteries through the inverter, so as long as voltage is above 50V, relay(and therefore contactor) should be open and you are using the panels to power your house. This should mean that you don't need to be manually switching of AC power supply to maximise solar.

....
I'm also open to suggestions on easier ways to achieve this.

BR

Please point me to the undervoltage relay you are using for this project?

Is it external/add on or already built into your equipment?

netotse:
Hi Guys,

Does anyone know where I can find a 48VDC contactor in lagos? I'm look for a cheap way to maximize/prioritize my solar use and want to use a relay-contactor combo.

I will set an under voltage relay to close when battery voltage is, at say, 50V and supply the coils of the contactor which will then close and supply AC to charge the batteries through the inverter, so as long as voltage is above 50V, relay(and therefore contactor) should be open and you are using the panels to power your house. This should mean that you don't need to be manually switching of AC power supply to maximise solar.

The relay is easy to find but the 48 VDC coil contactor is what I have been looking for, does anyone here know how I can find one?


BR

NiyiOmoIyunade:
You are essentially trying to simulate ESS like behaviour with cheaper DIY components.

ESS comes natively bundled with Victron and other solid inverters once you buy the required GX control.

You may get finer control of your system if you incorporate HomeAssistant as @Ojeysky and @Adrusa are doing.

Someone on this thread read your post and challenged me to implement a good ESS with a basic inverter and sensors so now I am in trouble

I will still reach out to my Ogas Ojeysky and Adrusa for some insights.

My current struggle is an optimal powersharing algorithm e.g in a Victron ESS, if the loads called for 5kw while solar can only give 4.5kw, ESS would smoothly source the extra 500w from grid and drop grid use once loads drop or solar increases to catchup. If I try to DIY this behaviour, I can only turn on grid to assist and grid will override PV production to provide the needed 5kw directly from grid! The inverter is essentially pass through once grid is in use. Clearly this is not optimal as 4.5kw of PV is available for use - PHCN bills will be higher than they need to be and solar production will be wasted in this DIY solution.

I probed further and can see clearly that the native ESS in a Victron for example works so well because the internals can sync with the grid and combine power from AC (grid or gen) and DC (solar and battery) to feed a load. The ESS can take just the exact amount of extra energy needed from grid and therefore maximise PV usage and minimise energy bills. This is indeed the engineering miracle that justifies the price tag.

Still I have to cook up something acceptable with DIY parts as I was commissioned to do.

Chief, is what you explained not same as this? �
This us from Sorotec, though common to most hybrids

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Wetin inverters like Victron, SMA, Magnum, Studer come be o?

Na chiefs and high chiefs dey use those Inverter makes ����

durodee:
No I have not done a capacity testing myself. I don't know if Ojeysky might help in that regards since I got the battery off him a few months back.

Which of the batteries? The 200AH battery pack or the 280AH cells? For the former I got about 175AH at 25v and for the later I have not pushed it that much, highest I have done is 250AH unfortunately I didn't take screenshot but attached is screenshot when I used 560AH 24v setup

NiyiOmoIyunade:
You are essentially trying to simulate ESS like behaviour with cheaper DIY components.

ESS comes natively bundled with Victron and other solid inverters once you buy the required GX control.

You may get finer control of your system if you incorporate HomeAssistant as @Ojeysky and @Adrusa are doing.

Someone on this thread read your post and challenged me to implement a good ESS with a basic inverter and sensors so now I am in trouble

I will still reach out to my Ogas Ojeysky and Adrusa for some insights.

My current struggle is an optimal powersharing algorithm e.g in a Victron ESS, if the loads called for 5kw while solar can only give 4.5kw, ESS would smoothly source the extra 500w from grid and drop grid use once loads drop or solar increases to catchup. If I try to DIY this behaviour, I can only turn on grid to assist and grid will override PV production to provide the needed 5kw directly from grid! The inverter is essentially pass through once grid is in use. Clearly this is not optimal as 4.5kw of PV is available for use - PHCN bills will be higher than they need to be and solar production will be wasted in this DIY solution.

I probed further and can see clearly that the native ESS in a Victron for example works so well because the internals can sync with the grid and combine power from AC (grid or gen) and DC (solar and battery) to feed a load. The ESS can take just the exact amount of extra energy needed from grid and therefore maximise PV usage and minimise energy bills. This is indeed the engineering miracle that justifies the price tag.

Still I have to cook up something acceptable with DIY parts as I was commissioned to do.

Normally the common axpert variants should do prioritization if there is a "solar first" option. In that case no need for any external automation. When I used MPP, with solar first if the grid is on and load is more than solar input it takes the rest from grid i.e if the rest is 500w it takes it all but it can't take 300 from grid and 200w from battery so what those inverters cannot do is taking specific X power from grid, solar and the rest from battery. That's what Deye (and I believe victron?) could do easily.

I now use node-red and morbus to read my data on Deye and push to emoncms via mqtt. I have not seen anything yet to automate on Deye because the settings is quite flexible. Only use the data from BMV/Deye to automate other things basically my sonoff switches.

Edit: I should add that axpert variants that I have experienced, behaves this way after after battery is fully charged

netotse:
Hi Guys,

Does anyone know where I can find a 48VDC contactor in lagos? I'm look for a cheap way to maximize/prioritize my solar use and want to use a relay-contactor combo.

I will set an under voltage relay to close when battery voltage is, at say, 50V and supply the coils of the contactor which will then close and supply AC to charge the batteries through the inverter, so as long as voltage is above 50V, relay(and therefore contactor) should be open and you are using the panels to power your house. This should mean that you don't need to be manually switching of AC power supply to maximise solar.

The relay is easy to find but the 48 VDC coil contactor is what I have been looking for, does anyone here know how I can find one?

I'm also open to suggestions on easier ways to achieve this.

BR

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Please point me to the undervoltage relay you are using for this project?

Is it external/add on or already built into your equipment?

You can use this device to trigger a relay at set voltage [url]https://www.banggood.com/XH-M602-Lithium-Battery-Charging-Control-Module-Overcharge-Protection-p-1279764.html?cur_warehouse=CN[/url

The good thing about it is that the input/output is AC. So you can use AC coil relay instead of looking for expensive 48vdc coil relay.

earthrealm:


Chief, is what you explained not same as this? �
This us from Sorotec, though common to most hybrids

My dead SMK has this setting when it was alive too.

IYGEAL:


My dead SMK has this setting when it was alive too.

hello i searched the facebook page and couldn't see the post again. however i will contact thier main distributor in Nigeria, to see if he can help u get the board at cheaper price. i use smksolar too.

Valto:
hello i searched the facebook page and couldn't see the post again. however i will contact thier main distributor in Nigeria, to see if he can help u get the board at cheaper price. i use smksolar too.

Okay. Do you use it with a lithium battery? How is the performance?

omotoda:
Good morning Team, does anyone has first hand user experience of Felicity GEL 200AH batteries.I spoke with the company and they claim their AGM GEL battery has one year warranty but we all know what most warranty in Nigeria means so I would like anyone who has usedvit for a first hand performance review.The data parameters on their data sheet looks good though.

Any one has experience on above please?

Any experience sharing please?

IYGEAL:


Okay. Do you use it with a lithium battery? How is the performance?

works very well with 24V 280A lifepo4 coupled with 150A DALY 8S Bms!

omotoda:



Any experience sharing please?

i will advise u get an original Fullriver 200Ah. gel batteries is good to be bought premium, which felicity is not.

Valto:
works very well with 24V 280A lifepo4 coupled with 150A DALY 8S Bms!

Nice.

Valto:
i will advise u get an original Fullriver 200Ah. gel batteries is good to be bought premium, which felicity is not.

Thanks bro.I just wanted another conviction ;DI will just close eye buy Amaron Quanta!!Its almost same price as fullriver

omotoda:


Thanks bro.I just wanted another conviction ;DI will just close eye buy Amaron Quanta!!Its almost same price as fullriver

good. hope your inverter have adjustable settings as quanta charging profile is quite different from similar AGM in the market.

Valto:
good. hope your inverter have adjustable settings as quanta charging profile is quite different from similar AGM in the market.

Inverter does not have adjustable settings but it's connected to solar and the charge setting can be adjusted via the mppt charge controller

I guess you mean the cycle voltage at 13.8v.Most batteries cyclic voltage is between 4.1-14.5 and standby use is between 13.5-13.8v.

babaegun:


@adrusa

Could you expantiate a bit on how you achieved the item in bold? I have been able to extract the data through Victron BMV (see attached screenshot) however, am yet to trigger anything but that's my plan. So it will be faster for me if you can describe it here. A lot of us will learn from you. You will also notice the Battery consumption and voltage is multiplied by x10 which may be confusing but thats the way its extracted.

Quite easy. I use node red with home assistant. I hope you do too, it makes automation much easier than just using the automation built into home assistant. So, I have a node that monitors the SOC and the Voltage and if they are below preset values, a switch is triggered which turn on a relay that supplies AC powers to the inverter.

An example is attached here.

babaegun:


@adrusa

Could you expantiate a bit on how you achieved the item in bold? I have been able to extract the data through Victron BMV (see attached screenshot) however, am yet to trigger anything but that's my plan. So it will be faster for me if you can describe it here. A lot of us will learn from you. You will also notice the Battery consumption and voltage is multiplied by x10 which may be confusing but thats the way its extracted.

By the way your modbus config is missing a parameter called "scale". That is why your battery voltage is 513V instead of 51.3V

ojeysky:


Which of the batteries? The 200AH battery pack or the 280AH cells? For the former I got about 175AH at 25v and for the later I have not pushed it that much, highest I have done is 250AH unfortunately I didn't take screenshot but attached is screenshot when I used 560AH 24v setup

The 200AH battery pack.

Please house, I need a layman explanations on how best to charge this battery with NEPA and what LVD (low voltage disconnect) value should I set for it to prolong it life.
General advise based on usage of this type of battery and the attached spec sheet.

IYGEAL:


That may be possible but very unlikely. The sound was reminiscent of a capacitor forced to discharge.

What the inverter does now is produce a massive spark on trying to connect it to the battery. Sometimes it shorts off the battery. The sparks are big enough that they almost washed off the threads of the battery terminal.

Since the repair guys don't seem to have any clue as to how to fix it, I'd go take it back and try to feed it PV first to see if it would wake up.

@Bolded.
Sorry about the inverter. Can be pretty distressing not having an instant backup for periods like that.

With that spark, something is definitely wrong with the appliance.

A 500 watts 24v inverter I recently replaced the burnt fuse (I had loaned it out to a guy who misused it and returned it not working) worked again when I connected it to a DIY 24v 18650 pack. That was weeks ago. And I thought I was rest assured I have a functional backup inverter.

Two days ago, the main 2.5kw inverter started acting up. So I decided to bring the 500w inverter online to handle the inverter freezer in the interim.

I connected the battery but noted that the DCB (between battery and inverter) instantly springs back to "off" each time I flip it on. It was protecting against a potential spark, I guess. So I decided to leave it in "on" position while I connect the battery to inverter terminals.

The spark I got no be here. It welded/chopped off a large chunk of the battery wire terminals and also the threads on the inverter screw terminals distorted.

I honestly keep wondering what could be wrong after it had initially worked well following the fuse replacement weeks ago.

Gladly, I trouble shot the main inverter and discovered it was the inside nuts holding the negative terminal battery lugs on the inverter that got a little lose. I wonder why that happened. A tough re-tightening solved the problem.

So your inverter with that much spark, something big is wrong. Just consider changing the board jeje, if it's available.

Peterlove11:


It happened to me when I was installing my new felicity inverter, gave off big sparks, at a point melted the lead of one f the battery terminals and one f the battery rack iron rod. My wife was scared. I made 3 attempts, similar event happened the 3 times, until I called an installer friend who put me through. First be sure the batteries are properly connected. My problem was I was moving from 24v to 48v system, battery connection is different. Be sure there is no short circuit. You can call an installer to take a look at the connections

On the alternative, after you must have ruled out lose connections on the battery and also ruled out short circuit, a discharge resistor can come in handy. Will Prowse in his you tube videos uses some big a55 resistors to stop those sparks.

justcallmenuel:
450w Era solar panel now available in stock, #78,000. Call/WhatsApp us on 08168986461

Na wa o. One would probably need a crane to carry this 450 watts panel during installation.

To manually lift a 360 watts during installation is ardous already.

durodee:
Good morning house, I was recently faced with a challenge. I have a 24v 5.4kwh LiPO4 bank and a 600amp 24v used Ritar battery bank. Tested alone the LiPO4 did not meet my daily need. It will usually go off around 2-3am (when I personally need it most!) and the used batteries much earlier at around 12mn at times.
I was discussing this challenge with a friend and he told me he connected his LiPO4 and SMF bank together(in parallel) to the same busbar and that has resolved his problems.
So I checked online https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/19981/mixing-lead-acid-and-lithium.html and realized many others have tried it with the pro and cons, different charging and discharging profiles mainly.

So I connected 200amp of the Ritar to my lithium bank to test run. I also used 28.2v bulk and 27.4 float charging profile on my inverter and CC. All connected yesterday evening. I was able to use the system overnight and even ironed with it this morning, however I was aware there was grid supply at some points overnight and therefore I can't say if it works or not.

It is early days yet. The risks are shortening the lifespan of the lithium and undercharging the lead acid but based on what seems to be happening as described by others, due to the BMS, lithium charges and discharges first and the lead acid charges and discharges last.

I will update the house on my experimentations and hopefully, no big bang episode!

What I can forsee is that the pack that discharges earlier will parasitize (parasitic discharge) on the pack that discharges late.

Worst case scenario is that in the event the late discharging pack or both packs hit Low Voltage Disconnect in the night before a recharging current is introduced from either sunlight or NEPA, the early discharger will overdrain (because they are connected in parallel) the late discharger, in an attempt to equalise the voltage.

For instance let's say the LFP stops at 11.8v LVD as dictated by the BMS, it will draw the lead acid pack down to something close to that if charging current is not introduced soon.

From personal experience using LFP and 18650 packs connected in parallel. The LFP are new packs while the 18650 are DIY used cells. This worked beyond expectation for over three weeks as I got more than 5hrs extra backup from the 18650 pack. But it soon became apparent I might lose the LFP packs earlier than its lifetime cos of progressively deteriorating backup performance (due to progressive cells imbalance) from the 18650. So I had to disconnect the parallel thingy.

A workable alternative may be you connecting and charging the two packs separately. Then a connect-disconnect switch/changeover DC switch can help you switch from one pack to the other without interruption in power.

ojesymsym:
When a standing fan begins to have a humming sound when on and only starts rotating when the blade is rotated, what needs to be repaired? The capacitor at the regulator part has been changed, the refusal to rotate still persist.

All the fan repairers I used to see in the area seem to have disappeared.

Likely there is asymentrical energisation of the coil which may be the driving coils (that acts the role the permanent magnet plays in smaller motors) or the rotor coils itself. This could be from one of the three arms of the windings (star or delta winding) being improperly energised. Also I think the capacitor has a role to play in energising the coils.

Another reason may be that the replaced capacitor isn't the type required. Capacitors for AC motors usually are of two types - starting/torque capacitors and running capacitors. The former is to start the motor while the latter is to keep it running.

Wrong type of capacitor replacement may cause that.

I learnt this when my sliding gate opener started acting up due to a faulty capacitor. The rotation began to be pulsatile and this gave the gate a very unsteady and rough opening. Couldn't get a replacement cap with the exact rating on the stock capacitor so I went for something available around - the bigger rating of similar capacitors used in Okadas. It worked but the power consumption rose from 180 watts to around 300 watts. So I had to order the exact cap from AliExpress. I've since switched to DC gate opener, so I'm yet to even fix the capacitor to evaluate the working condition.

Summary is, the replaced capacitor in your fan may be the major culprit although the humming sound is more indicative of massive eddy currents that may result from poor coil energisation.

Holding a simple incandescent bulb in line as you make the final inverter to battery connection also works to smooth out the inrush current required by the inverter internals and prevent any sparks

I did not bother making this response as it was clear there were bigger issues at play with the huge sparks users were experiencing.

In order of preference I use a suitably rated DC breaker or DC fuse to break the positive battery terminal for a permanent install and in a pinch when testing out inverter or CC use a simple incandescent bulb in line as I am about to connect the negative inverter cable. We always connect positive cable first. The bulbs are cheaply available and work just as a beefy resistor to subdue any sparks. I have also heard a diode could work but never tried one.

ceaser:


On the alternative, after you must have ruled out lose connections on the battery and also ruled out short circuit, a discharge resistor can come in handy. Will Prowse in his you tube videos uses some big a55 resistors to stop those sparks.

ceaser:


Na wa o. One would probably need a crane to carry this 450 watts panel during installation.

To manually lift a 360 watts during installation is ardous already.

Bros, increase your intake of eba, 330w is about 23kg 450w panel about 27kg

OCTAVO:

I noticed same thing about my Luminous battery. Though mine is a single 200ah battery, when there's load on it, voltage drops to 12.2v and it remains so for several hours. When there's no load, it jumps back to 12.4v.
Are you still experiencing this? Though mine never go below 12.2v even during long hours of usage.

Yes, I still experience same situation when on load of 300W upward.

I already set mine to trip-off when it reaches 24v

ceaser:


@Bolded.
Sorry about the inverter. Can be pretty distressing not having an instant backup for periods like that.

With that spark, something is definitely wrong with the appliance.

A 500 watts 24v inverter I recently replaced the burnt fuse (I had loaned it out to a guy who misused it and returned it not working) worked again when I connected it to a DIY 24v 18650 pack. That was weeks ago. And I thought I was rest assured I have a functional backup inverter.

Two days ago, the main 2.5kw inverter started acting up. So I decided to bring the 500w inverter online to handle the inverter freezer in the interim.

I connected the battery but noted that the DCB (between battery and inverter) instantly springs back to "off" each time I flip it on. It was protecting against a potential spark, I guess. So I decided to leave it in "on" position while I connect the battery to inverter terminals.

The spark I got no be here. It welded/chopped off a large chunk of the battery wire terminals and also the threads on the inverter screw terminals distorted.

I honestly keep wondering what could be wrong after it had initially worked well following the fuse replacement weeks ago.

Gladly, I trouble shot the main inverter and discovered it was the inside nuts holding the negative terminal battery lugs on the inverter that got a little lose. I wonder why that happened. A tough re-tightening solved the problem.

So your inverter with that much spark, something big is wrong. Just consider changing the board jeje, if it's available.

Yea...looking for the board. Currently using a 12V backup. Ordered for another inverter as well.

I was thinking it might be a fuse problem, but couldn't find any fuse on the board.

It's an expensive lesson learnt.

ceaser:


Na wa o. One would probably need a crane to carry this 450 watts panel during installation.

To manually lift a 360 watts during installation is ardous already.

I’m telling you bro. The weight of that panel no be here o.

Lol. I laughed so hard when I read this!

Perhaps a can of red bull and light snacks on the morning when you need to work on a roof? Wash it down with 1 black bullet and you should be able to handle anything.

I have met 2 popular sellers/installers on this forum who stood at ~6feet2inches and ~100kg with a massive pot belly. I jejely advised them both not to attempt to stand on a roof or move panels up there

earthrealm:


Bros, increase your intake of eba, 330w is about 23kg 450w panel about 27kg