Solar panels and battery - any real world recommendations?

Gazanimal · Monday at 15:37

reef said:
You can see the export limit that is set (and possibly change it) in the v2 version of the Fox Cloud:

https://www.foxesscloud.com/v2/login

Click on "Plant name"
Click "Devices" in the left menu
Click on "Inverter1" then Settings
Click "BatteryCapacityControlAndOff-GridSettings"
Look at the number in "ExportLimit" - That is your number. The default with no limit is 60000.

Can't see that specific setting in the Inverter Settings.

Only the following:

SystemTime
BasicParameters1
WorkModeParameters
ChargingTime
BasicParameters2
SafetyStartParameters
SafetyVoltageParameters
SafetyFrequency
Safety-P(f)
Safety-LVRT
Safety-P(u)
Safety-DCI
Safety-ActiveDispatch
Safety-Reactive
AFCI
PeakShaving
Operation
SegmentedTimeModeEnable
SegmentedTimeMode1

Although under BasicParameters2 I found an ExportLimitedPower which is currently set to "13000 ( 0-30000 )W"

reef · Monday at 15:47

Gazanimal said:
Can't see that specific setting in the Inverter Settings.

Only the following:

SystemTime
BasicParameters1
WorkModeParameters
ChargingTime
BasicParameters2
SafetyStartParameters
SafetyVoltageParameters
SafetyFrequency
Safety-P(f)
Safety-LVRT
Safety-P(u)
Safety-DCI
Safety-ActiveDispatch
Safety-Reactive
AFCI
PeakShaving
Operation
SegmentedTimeModeEnable
SegmentedTimeMode1

Although under BasicParameters2 I found an ExportLimitedPower which is currently set to "13000 ( 0-30000 )W"

That will probably be it (mine is a H1, not a KH so options will be different). Try setting it to a value like 2000 temporarily and see what happens to your export out to the grid.

Gazanimal · Monday at 15:59

I'll give it a try. Typically it's gone a little cloudy here so the PV generation is only at 1.53kW

And I've noticed you can't be logged into to the mobile app at the same time as the web app - it boots you out of one or the other.

Gazanimal · Monday at 16:10

@reef Looks like that might have done the trick! Setting that to 2000w

reef · Monday at 16:15

Gazanimal said:
@reef Looks like that might have done the trick! Setting that to 2000w

Yep, looks like the installer didn't set it. All you need to do is set it to your export limit.

Gazanimal · Monday at 16:19

reef said:
Yep, looks like the installer didn't set it. All you need to do is set it to your export limit.

Just done that now and it seems to be working correctly - sending 5kW to the grid and the excess to the battery.

Thanks again. No further questions (for today) your Honour

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · Tuesday at 09:56

Technically a user should not be able to change the export limit. Its supposed to be installer only in the UK
Obviously because if your export limited many would simply increase it if they were being clipped

rangor gubbins · Tuesday at 14:25

We've finally had our survey for a battery installation done and received their recommended install.
This is for a Fox ESS H1 G2 6kw inverter (but used without PV for now), plus either 2 x EP11 batteries, or 3 x EP5 batteries.
I asked the surveyor to include the cost of EPS backup. They have quoted for a dedicated EPS circuit (max 26 amps), and a manual switch.
Having a dedicated circuit and mini CU added seems overkill to me. I looked at our max peak draw during the winter and it very occasionally hits 8 kW , but that is with the ASHP running.
I thought that it would be possible to just install a manual change over switch and feed our existing CU but with our ASHP circuit manually turned off.
This seems relatively straightforward to me (although I'm not an electrician!).

Does anyone have experience of EPS for supplying whole the whole consumer unit in the event of mains power failure?

b0rn2sk8 · Tuesday at 14:31

Your assumptions are correct, it can be done in the same way as the mini consumer unit approach, you just tie in the main consumer unit rather than the additional one.

If you exceed the 26a the inverter shuts down but you can restart it again once you have turned your offending appliance off.

rangor gubbins · Tuesday at 14:54

b0rn2sk8 said:
Your assumptions are correct, it can be done in the same way as the mini consumer unit approach, you just tie in the main consumer unit rather than the additional one.

If you exceed the 26a the inverter shuts down but you can restart it again once you have turned your offending appliance off.

Great, thank you .
If I ask the installers to just provide the manual change over switch, wiring from EPS out into the existing CU, and any setup changes on the inverter side, is that all? Or is there something else I'm missing?

b0rn2sk8 · Tuesday at 14:56

Nope, what you are asking for is not unusual.

This is basically what you are asking for:

rangor gubbins · Tuesday at 14:56

One more thing, our existing CU doesn't have a surge protection. Do we need it?
We're in a rural area and at the very end of the main supply line, and experience quite a lot of power cuts and fluctuations.

b0rn2sk8 · Tuesday at 14:58

It’s recommended everyone get it but you can sign a disclaimer if you don’t want to install it (say the cost is disproportionate because there are limited options to do it without a full rip out).

Ron-ski · Tuesday at 19:42

rangor gubbins said:
One more thing, our existing CU doesn't have a surge protection. Do we need it?
We're in a rural area and at the very end of the main supply line, and experience quite a lot of power cuts and fluctuations.

If you have a lot of power cuts, would an auto changeover system be worth it?

Gazanimal · Tuesday at 19:47

Everything seems to have worked ok today. Exported a decent amount and topped up my battery. Looking great on the figures too for earning some money back.

rangor gubbins · Tuesday at 21:48

Ron-ski said:
If you have a lot of power cuts, would an auto changeover system be worth it?

I think it would be too expensive and probably not work that well.
My understanding of an auto changeover is we would definitely need an additional CU for a dedicated EPS circuit. The 6KW inverter isn't big enough to cover our house's max current draw, so the dedicated EPS circuit would not be able to have the ASHP or cooker on. I tihnk the auto changeover isn't instantaneous, so most hardware would still lose power momentarily.
If we have a manual change over switch, tied to the whole house CU, we can choose which circuits to leave on. We could, for example, turn ASHP circuit on if we turned the cooker off.

Ron-ski · Tuesday at 22:01

Some are slow, laughably slow, some are instant, like my Victron Quattro, if the grid goes off, the only way I know is the notification on my phone, computers stay on, no lights flicker.

I only have 8kW unless the sun is shining, then I could have up to 12, but unlikely. I'd just manage what we use, highly unlikely we'd exceed 8kW unknowingly. Worst case the inverter shuts down, I reduce the load, and turn it back on.

In a loss of grid situation you'd be conserving power anyway, I can turn off the ASHP even if I'm not home, presuming the Internet still works.

rangor gubbins · Tuesday at 22:06

Ron-ski said:
Some are slow, laughably slow, some are instant, like my Victron Quattro, if the grid goes off, the only way I know is the notification on my phone, computers stay on, no lights flicker.

I only have 8kW unless the sun is shining, then I could have up to 12, but unlikely. I'd just manage what we use, highly unlikely we'd exceed 8kW unknowingly. Worst case the inverter shuts down, I reduce the load, and turn it back on.

In a loss of grid situation you'd be conserving power anyway, I can turn off the ASHP even if I'm not home, presuming the Internet still works.

If i had the time, I'd love to build a system similar to yours. But unfortunately due to budget and time availability I have to go with a more basic system (Fox ESS).

reef · Tuesday at 22:07

rangor gubbins said:
I think it would be too expensive and probably not work that well.
My understanding of an auto changeover is we would definitely need an additional CU for a dedicated EPS circuit. The 6KW inverter isn't big enough to cover our house's max current draw, so the dedicated EPS circuit would not be able to have the ASHP or cooker on. I tihnk the auto changeover isn't instantaneous, so most hardware would still lose power momentarily.
If we have a manual change over switch, tied to the whole house CU, we can choose which circuits to leave on. We could, for example, turn ASHP circuit on if we turned the cooker off.

It will be a total pain on the Fox. I priced up full EPS with an automatic changover switch on a Fox KH10 and the amount of work needed meant it was just cheaper to go Sigenergy with the gateway. Fox really need to come out with an equivalent. Originally they said June for it, but there has been no sign.

I would have needed two new consumer units (in both house and garage) and the changover switch itself. Even then, it wouldn't be instant.

Like you we get regular power cuts so needed something, especially as we're all electric.

rangor gubbins · Tuesday at 22:15

reef said:
It will be a total pain on the Fox. I priced up full EPS with an automatic changover switch on a Fox KH10 and the amount of work needed meant it was just cheaper to go Sigenergy with the gateway. Fox really need to come out with an equivalent. Originally they said June for it, but there has been no sign.

I would have needed two new consumer units (in both house and garage) and the changover switch itself. Even then, it wouldn't be instant.

Like you we get regular power cuts so needed something, especially as we're all electric.

Yep, that sounds like a lot of hassel with the fox system.
I got a quote for sigenergy but it's quite a bit more expensive than the fox. In our situation, I can't justify the extra cost. Battery back up would be nice to have but we've lived with power cuts for 10 years and coped so far.
But if a manual switch over can be done for fairly cheap, then I can accept that.