The Dashboard shows that we are generating more energy than the house is consuming, with the excess energy charging the battery. I'd like to understand why is there a small amount being imported from the grid? The system was commissioned yesterday, the inverter is in Eco Mode and we are on the Octopus Flexible tariff.
It is very normal to see small amounts of energy being imported and exported. This is quite normal, but can increase for short periods of time, when larger house loads switch on or switch off (as the system adjusts/settles down). What sort of values are you seeing?
ToothyChris Thanks for your reply. Only small numbers, 25 - 45W. I wondered if it's down to the resolution of the measuring technology rather than actual import? We're learning about the system!
Yep, that's quite normal. It could be measuring resolution or it could be the hysteresis in the control system - either way it is mere noise in comparison to the energy you will save!
Chris_M The inverter calls for data from the battery and EM115 every few seconds. When the five minute update is due, the inverter posts the current contents of the registers to the portal. The parameters posted can therefore be from different points in time (albeit only seconds apart). If the inverter is not operating at a steady state (eg kettle just switched off, or a cloud just passed over the PV), it can appear that the inverter is doing strange things. If you want to see what is happening "here and now", the app in local mode gives the best indication.
The portal is fine for looking at data trends over a longer period of time.