SolarEdge battery profile switching by owner (privileges)

[Srrndhound]

I saw that, but it doesn't make sense to me either. I don't know what they mean by "AC Grid Charge" as well.
Oh, I guess it means allowing the battery to be charged from the grid, which normally, I don't want that to happen, given the price of electricity here.

Yes. In my understanding, the Weather Guard option is the only way I would normally be able to charge the batteries from the grid, and then only if the right sort of dire weather were forecast.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. The intent is that, when the grid fails, to run off battery. When the battery depletes, switch to generator. Have the generator charge the batteries so that the amount of generator use is minimized.

I think you're saying that using the generator to charge the battery is preferable because it is a constant load for the generator, thus maximizing the transfer of energy, as compared with the sporadic load of the household, which may draw very little even though the generator is running all the time. Delivering the same amount of energy to the house would require running the generator a longer period of time.

I wonder how much the propane intake varies with generator load. Does the manufacturer provide any data about that? I'm sure it is not constant regardless of load (output).

[darkskies]

Oh, I guess it means allowing the battery to be charged from the grid, which normally, I don't want that to happen, given the price of electricity here.

[darkskies]

Thanks for your ongoing pioneering efforts to get answers about generator integration. The App Note that warx referenced (post #21) states:
Emphasis added. Yet none of the 10 diagrams shows any means for the generator to touch the inverter. Anyway, will await your further findings.

I saw that, but it doesn't make sense to me either. I don't know what they mean by "AC Grid Charge" as well.

Conjecture: it seems like they are talking about an integrated situation, but they reference figure 8, which is one for the case where the generator is connected to the panel with a manual interlock switch. Diagrams 9 and 10 show the third party ATS mode. The "operational instructions" don't mention this variant at all.

I'm a little confused. If you want to minimize propane use, why use the generator to charge the battery instead of letting the sun do that? Using the generator to charge the battery and using the battery to run house loads is less efficient than using the generator to run the house loads directly. No?

Sorry, I wasn't clear. The intent is that, when the grid fails, to run off battery. When the battery depletes, switch to generator. Have the generator charge the batteries so that the amount of generator use is minimized.

If there is sun during the outage (and the panels aren't snow covered), then sure, the inverter would charge the battery. For most cases here though, when we have a large snow storm and the power goes out for more than one night, there is a good chance the weather is bad on subsequent days with no sun.

[warx]

warx can you elaborate on the master-slave LG RESUs? Do you have both batteries attached to the same inverter? I am planning a SE - LG RESU with 2 or 3 batteries but each battery has its own inverter. In that case does one battery still have to be designed master and others slaves? Or if they each have their own inverter they can all be masters?

I have two RESU10 (both Master) connected to same inverter. I actually have tried them both as a single and they work. When two are connected there is communication errors reported. My installer told me they have changed some hardware and firmware since then (these are only a year old!) and the master/slave as hardware/wired goes might not be an issue - it is all very unclear though. Anyways, hoping a slave becomes available soon.

[Srrndhound]

What was interesting, however, was that the tech said it sounded like a design concern and that I should contact the installer as SolarEdge has a "designer line" that only installers can call. I'm trying to get a hold of my installer to see if they have done that, or if not, if they can do that to get an answer about the status of the "integration".

Thanks for your ongoing pioneering efforts to get answers about generator integration. The App Note that warx referenced (post #21) states:

When the PV power and the batteries have been depleted, the inverter will go to sleep, and the generator will provide backup power. The generator will be able to charge the batteries if “AC Grid Charge” has been enabled. Once there is sufficient energy to power the home loads, the inverter will resume production. The generator's auto transfer switch will isolate the generator and the backup system once the grid has been restored.

Emphasis added. Yet none of the 10 diagrams shows any means for the generator to touch the inverter. Anyway, will await your further findings.

The whole plan was to have battery backup, then generator, with the generator recharging the batteries, so we don't use so much propane.

I'm a little confused. If you want to minimize propane use, why use the generator to charge the battery instead of letting the sun do that? Using the generator to charge the battery and using the battery to run house loads is less efficient than using the generator to run the house loads directly. No?

[darkskies]

Just an update on my situation...

The installer's electrician came out on 1/27 and updated the firmware for the inverter (w.r.t having the BUI/generator integration). I didn't get to talk to him much, as I had meetings, but he mentioned that it "shows" a generator interface, but he didn't think it was integrated yet. The release note that came with the update clearly shows the BUI connected to a third party ATS and generator, and makes no mention of integration.


I've been communicating with the installer over the past month (the business owner had a power outage and pipe frozen - would have thought he would have been eating his own dog food and had generator and/or battery backed home; electrician was in the hospital last week), and reiterated the following:

• If SolarEdge is still working on getting the integration done, I'm OK with waiting longer, PROVIDED they connect a whole house ATS in the interim (there is just a 100A panel with ATS in there currently as a temp measure) AND the system will run off battery, until low and then switch to generator - it should do that, and that appears to be what the app note shows.
• If SolarEdge has given up on the BUI, then I need to know how the installer is going to make things right, given I was sold a system that doesn't do what was promised. I'm wondering about what/how to address this with SolarEdge as well, if this turns out to be the case.The whole plan was to have battery backup, then generator, with the generator recharging the batteries, so we don't use so much propane.

I was (amazingly) able to get a hold of SolarEdge on chat via the tech support page. I had contacted them for two reasons.

First, I was hoping to find out about the generator integration. They tech just posted the app note, which I already knew about and said it doesn't show the BUI with generator integration. I mentioned that the install doc, data sheet, and best practices docs all describe the BUI connected to a generator (with the firmware upgrade caveat).

What was interesting, however, was that the tech said it sounded like a design concern and that I should contact the installer as SolarEdge has a "designer line" that only installers can call. I'm trying to get a hold of my installer to see if they have done that, or if not, if they can do that to get an answer about the status of the "integration".

From some of my conversations with the installer, he did not seem confident at all, about SolarEdge getting this worked out.

Second, my system reports status every 5 minutes to SolarEdge, which, besides being visible from the website dashboard, one can query SolarEdge monitoring site using an API. I have written an application that I use to poll the status of my site every 10 minutes, so that, if there is an issue, I can proactively work towards getting my installer or SolarEdge to address any issue (I've experienced cases in the past, where I didn't notice a problem for days and neither the installer or SolarEdge monitor the system).

Well, ever since the firmware update, I see that my site experiences status issues 1-3 times a day. Each time, it shows a status change and then reverts immediately back to normal. I either see FAULT or THROTTLING status reports. They appear to be spurious, as the system is working fine and some don't make sense (like getting a THROTTLING status at 3am in the morning, when running on grid, yesterday). When I look at "alarms" from the dashboard, I don't see anything.

The tech said the monitoring team would take a look at it and email em, when they find out what is going on.

[chronos432]

So it's been a while... I'm still sitting on two LGRESU10 but only one works for the last year or so. Both are primary/masters (installer mistake) thus one is useless and have had a secondary/slave version on order for over a year. Ridiculous that this tiny difference isn't a dip switch or software setting. Makes a good 200lb paperweight though. Anyways...

On the generator side; I just read the updated documents on the BUI generator support and was very disappointed to see that it does not support the generator charging the batteries in any way. All it does is provide an output to an auto/manual backup transfer panel! Nothing whole-house about it. Basically you still need to split/dedicate those backed up loads AGAIN - since if you have the BUI you have already done this splitting. Their idea is once you deplete the batteries the generator kicks in. In summer I can generate 48kWh a day so not a big deal but in stormy winter days it's more like 1.5kWh.

On the software updating for end-user profiles; funny to hear it's still "alpha". I was told it was almost ready when I bought the BUI over a year ago - one of the reasons I abandoned my place on the Powerwall wait list and paid twice as much for this system along with the promise of full generator integration (charging the batteries).

At this point I really wish I'd just gone DIY. SE seems to be marketeers not engineers. My generator is still connected to my (RV) Sprinter Van Victron 3000VA inverter charger and 5kWh lithium. I just purchased a SE autotransformer (SE-AUTO5000) so I can convert parallel 120VAC generators to split-phase 240VAC thinking I could finally plug these into the BUI with the firmware update.

Perhaps, since I grew up in the UK and still have the accent, I could call the UK SE support folks instead of the never responding US team.

warx can you elaborate on the master-slave LG RESUs? Do you have both batteries attached to the same inverter? I am planning a SE - LG RESU with 2 or 3 batteries but each battery has its own inverter. In that case does one battery still have to be designed master and others slaves? Or if they each have their own inverter they can all be masters?

[darkskies]

I was thinking that the web interface would have more capabilities. Good to know.

Do you know if there is a way to get real time alerts, when there are problems with the site?

I’ve been working on an app that uses the API to text/email me when there is a problem. It also collects daily energy readings, so that I can do reporting monthly, to calculate cost without solar, savings, and ROI. I have the status checking and collection done. Been working on ROI reporting.

[soby]

Just a follow-up. The electrician gave me admin to my site, and from the app on my phone, I can now set the reserve. From the web site, I don't see where I can adjust the reserve, even though there are the extra icons including admin. There's no energy manage tab.

Screen Shot 2023-01-27 at 5.00.06 PM.png

That's how mine has been. For some reason, the backup reserve slider only exists in the app.

[darkskies]

Just a follow-up. The electrician gave me admin to my site, and from the app on my phone, I can now set the reserve. From the web site, I don't see where I can adjust the reserve, even though there are the extra icons including admin. There's no energy manage tab.

Screen Shot 2023-01-27 at 5.00.06 PM.png

[darkskies]

Did any of you ever figure this out? I see the latest notes show that with the firmware update, you can connect the generator directly. Problem is, there is no information on the dry contacts interaction to setup auto start. Also, there is no description on the interaction. Like when the battery cuts out, how long of a wait before the dry contacts close or or open. Is the generator input isolated until the battery is disconnected? That would take another relay closure or opening. Or does the battery get shutdown from discharge and the generator powers the inverter and thus charges the battery as well? Absolutely no verbiage on this and I have not experimented with my setup to figure it out. I do have a generac transfer switch to install in the third party application, but that will only connect specific loads. I have a gen set large enough for whole house and want to avoid the third party switch as another layer of failure and complexity.

Not yet. I'm expecting the installer to be out tomorrow to do the firmware update, and I'm going to ask a bundle of questions. I've been told all along that it would work with the generator recharging the battery but needed a firmware update. SolarEdge, as of July 2022, announced that the firmware to do the integration is available, but the release notes don't seem to show that integration.

I've got a lot of questions for the installer for sure... will post what I hear.

[warx]

Basically, this is a non-interface "interface" where nothing is actually changing except the release notes advisory. It's appeasing those who want to connect a generator before they release the actual integration (that has been in the marketing sheets for two years) possibly later this year - possibly never (yes, officially the word is it could be never). I think any dry contact auto-starting would be left in the hands of your favorite ATS i.e. when it loses power from the BUI (the same battery backed up power out) then let the generator take over.

[ScoTTeL]

Did any of you ever figure this out? I see the latest notes show that with the firmware update, you can connect the generator directly. Problem is, there is no information on the dry contacts interaction to setup auto start. Also, there is no description on the interaction. Like when the battery cuts out, how long of a wait before the dry contacts close or or open. Is the generator input isolated until the battery is disconnected? That would take another relay closure or opening. Or does the battery get shutdown from discharge and the generator powers the inverter and thus charges the battery as well? Absolutely no verbiage on this and I have not experimented with my setup to figure it out. I do have a generac transfer switch to install in the third party application, but that will only connect specific loads. I have a gen set large enough for whole house and want to avoid the third party switch as another layer of failure and complexity.

[darkskies]

I have a newer version (1.1) of that doc, but both are from 2020, which this wasn't working. The data sheet for the BUI also shows a direct connection to the generator.

[darkskies]

Yeah, that's what I saw. It seems like the generator is connected into the BUI, but the new release notes show it connected to a third party transfer switch.

I'm trying to get my installer out to update the firmware and discuss how the generator will be connected up. Right now, they have a temporary 100A panel with ATS connected to the generator, and a bunch of circuits have been routed to the panel, so that when power goes out the generator can run critical circuits.

I'm hoping the generator can be connected as my site was designed (generator backing up the battery). Otherwise there are some major concerns about the sizing of the generator.