MrTWales

Thanks - can you link to the blog? It's just the way it is I guess but it seems odd that the installers don't mention this. Overall I've got more solar than I thought so I'm happy overall but they must get loads of queries about this.

I posted about this before, but now the summer is (almost) here I've been looking again. I suspect that there is nothing that can be done about this and it's just one of those things, but why not check! Getting anything out of the installers is a nightmare but I will ask them without expecting a reply. This month, ie the two days, the battery hasn't been depleted or even close. I don't think there have been any times when the consumption is greater than the battery limit discharge amount plus the solar coming in. If there was then it wasn't for long, maybe the oven + kettle for two mins when the sun has hidden or something like that. But, the inverter app tells me that I imported 0.7Kwh today. Now I know that this isn't totally correct as the meter says the import has been 0.65Kwh since the end of the last month whereas the app tells me 0.7Kwh + yesterday's import (which I can't now see but I think was maybe showing as 0.3Kwh), so the actual import is lower than what the app says but still over 0.3Khw a day. My question is whether 0.3Kwh per day is fairly typical? It seems to have been less on many other days tbf and there was more cooking today, but still it seems a lot if it's just a small cross over period. What really was irritating was importing 0.3Kwh on the best day I've had since getting panels (24.8Kwh, last week) - this just seems freaking annoying when I was pushing loads back to the grid! The setting seem faily simple and nothing stands out, not that I want to change anything unless I know what is happening. I tried wiggling the CT clamp position a bit but I don't think this helps. I also seem to be importing sometimes when in theory I shouldn't be, or at least the app says so. I will get getting a diverter fitted to feed the immersion heater, but I suspect that this won't help. This is less of a concern though as it seems to happen more when the solar rate is high so I'll be getting enough anyway mostly. Anyway, any thoughts would be appreciated.

lol fair enough. It's still useful though as I've noted it and if it ever changes then at least I'll know that the installer updated it.

Thanks - splitting the most natural looking was will work for the shade and there is a spare connection. In fact, the form that the installer used to register (he wanted my signature so I saw it) did actually say that it was 2 x 6 panels feeding into the inverter.

Ah thanks, I missed that. Do you know if there is a way to find out if this is the latest version? I can't see anything online.

Appolgies in advance for using the wrong terminology... I have a set of 12 panels, all facing the same way, on a flat roof. They work well but at some times of the day (at the end and start), some of the panels are in shade. In the summer I guess the sun will be higher, but at other times it will make some difference. They are all connected to the same inverter input, but I was wondering whether splitting into two 6-panel rings would make sense? An installer has to come back at some point anyway, so I was going to ask about this. I was thinking that, as you can get on the roof with just a chair, it's just a question of getting a bit more cable and changing the connections and then poking another cable through an existing hole to the inverter. But, are there downsides (other than the cost) to doing this? Eg is there more that can go wrong as the inverter is doing something a bit more complicated?

That makes sense, but I get the impression that some installers won't do this. I'd hope that if there is a new update then they would update all installs for that hardware, but based on the fact that I can't get any response at the moment and when I asked Luxpower there was an update due it doesn't fill me with much confidence. However, I got a response from Luxpower in hours so it's not that much hassle to ask every year or so until software support would stop I guess.

I will say, it's very odd to me that a user can't even see the firmware reference to see for themselves whether there may be an update. Maybe it's possible via the actual device but it's not anywhere in the app.

Just to update: you weren't wrong about Luxpower being quick. They asked for the SN and online details and have just emailed saying that they are updating now. I did ask about the battery and recommended settings and they said "better to be keep discharge cut off soc 90% and storage 10% soc to long life your battery". Seems a bit of a crock to make a big deal of being able to use 100% really! I'll set the discharge to go to 4% or something, but increase it over the winter to 10%.

Thanks, I've fired off an email now!

It seems like I can't look for a firware update myself? I've Googled it and they talk about contacting the installer, but if I can't get a reply from them now even with some cash outstanding I'm not sure what response I will get in a year or two! I've just used the hob again, and a few other things in the kitchen, and the meter says 0.1k1 import so far today and the inverter says 0.2kw import so I guess that's a good thing. Maybe it was a quirk but I'll keep checking the meter.

Thanks, good point about trying to contact the manufacturer. Not sure if they can really do much about these issues if the basic set up is OK? It's a shame as I intended to use the electric hobs in the summer, so with the diverter to the immersion heater we'd not use any gas in any good sunny spells. I've taken note of the meter reading and I'll use the hob again at lunchtime so I'll see how it goes.

Thanks. I don't think any of this was mentioned - would this be an optional extra? The work was subcontracted but they have to come back to fit the immersion diverter at some point so I wonder if something can be done then. Re the battery, the website seems to make a big deal about being able to use 100%. I wonder about using this in the summer but in the winter, when you never charge over 90% anyway, to set it back to 10% if that's better for the batteries.

Funnily enough, the spike at 2pm was when I was cooking and part of that was using an electric hob that we just never use. We use the gas hobsusually but I thought I'd use an electric hob as I knew I'd have excess today. It's probably over a year since it's even been switched on. I think it's an induction hob in that it gets hot very quickly and seems to click off if there is nothing on it. I just did a test now and put it on for 5 mins, and the spike seems to be covered by the battery. Could the type of appliance make any difference?

Ah, so these things will detect the current and feed the info to the inverter via the ethernet cable? I know there is a funny looking simple thing attached to a cable in the meter box, but I thought it only detected the flow direction (so the inverter knows if there is a flow to or from the grid) but didn't realise it could actually know how much current is flowing. Damn. It almost makes sense now!

I think the inverter can do 6kwh, but I was the same with the battery in that I couldn't find out when I looked a while back. I have a feeling it may be 4kw max but I really don't know. Actually, looking now the battery was drawing at 4.2kw this evening at one point for a short time (prob the kettle + toaster or something like that) though I'm not sure I trust all of the output from the inverter chart. Re the power cut - we've had one power cut and it cut off anyway even with the battery having some juice left! I understand that it's to do with the set up and some systems can be set up to cope and others can't. It's way beyond my understanding but something I'll think about when I know the basics are working as they should. Not going to lie, I find these systems really confusing. I still can't get my head around how the inverter knows what the rest of the house is drawing when the current doesn't flow through it.

This is the battery (actually it's three x 3.2 kwh). It can go to zero and I assume that nothing bad will happen if it does get set to zero? On the grounds that they haven't said otherwise!

Thanks, I never noticed that button before. Now it looks like this. Maybe the "On-Grid Cut-Off SOC(%)" needs to be set to 0 (from 10)?

PS I just used the pizza oven and microwave at the same time and this all seemed to come from the battery!

Thanks, the only settings I can see are below. I think that there are all default. I really want to change the battery to run down 100% also as it can, but I can't work out how to do this. It looks like the "On-Grid Cut-Off SOC(%)" field maybe, as it says [0,90] but I can't change it to [0,100] as it doesn't accept it. I've asked but it's just so hard to get anything back from the installer.

The inverter is fairly big I think for this system size (LXP-6K Hybrid). The box says "Max DC power = 8000w" and "Nominal AV power (@cos =1) = 6000w". Not sure what the hell all that means though if I'm honest, but maybe it means 6kw max of solar + battery? It couldn't have been that high earlier. I would get a smart meter but I'm with Shell (after my green supplier went bust) so I want to change as soon as I can.

Thanks - I will but, honestly, it takes freaking ages to get a reply. I've still not got the warranty stuff yet, though I know the forms were being completed last month, and the immersion diverter still needs to be installed (so the full amount hasn't been paid). I guess they are still flat out busy. I'm def check the meter tomorrow am and then see what happens in the day.

Thanks, I wondered about that but the draw didn't seem all that much and wasn't for that long. A later snip is below and the later draw seems OK as the battery is used then. Next time I'm going to cook in the day I'll take a photo of the meter before and after to be sure. Re the max battery draw, if it's 4kwh max output and solar is generating 2kwh then can you in theory use 6kwh without needing the grid?

Hi all - I've had my system since 25 October, and with all the sun this week I've been looking at the figures. I get that you always get small imports from the grid, even if it in theory doesn't need to happen (as the battery + solar have enough power), but today the figures look odd. The data as per the snip suggest that I've imported 1kw today, but there has been lots of solar and the battery is almost full. This looks like it was mostly between 2pm and 3pm when I was cooking, but shouldn't the battery have been used then? Can I also check my understanding of the figures that the inverter produces: I'm assuming that the generation will be correct (as everything flows through the inverter), the battery figures are probably accurate, but all others are only estimates? It beats me how the inverter knows if I'm using a hair dryer in a bedroom as it's in a garden room, but it seems to have some idea. The inverter figures don't quite add up in that they say: solar 407, import 669 and consumption 1003. Even allowing for efficiency this makes the import look too high for that consumption but the actual import (as per the meter) is about 579, so way lower than what the inverter says. Saying that, I think that there was a draw today but maybe I just need to keep checking the meter as it's the only way I can know what it being drawn (it's not a smart meter). Overall it looks good in that I'm averaging 5.6Kwh import from the grid from 25 Oct to now which seems like about half (if that) of what it was for the same period last year, but I want to make sure I'm not missing a trick for the summer. Another aspect is that I think the battery is set up to only discharge down to 10%, though it can go to zero. The installer said that it was just set up this way to make sure it works and then it will be changed, though I suspect that this was just the default setting and they didn't change it. I've asked but it takes weeks to get a reply so if anyone has any clue how to change this then that would be great (see the second snip)! I've tried changing the 0,90 inputs but it doesn't seem to like it. Thanks in advance!

Thanks, that's very useful. Everytime I read something like this I realise that I really have almost no real understanding of how these systems work. The manual just says "LXP Hybrid Inverter". The set up is unusual, maybe, as the battery and inverter sit in a garden build which is connected to the meter by a cable through to it's own little box in the meter box. There is this little box and other that says "House". I'll have to ask the installer but I'm not too confident now 😞