Did a search and didn't find this. so with apologies for simple question:
My new GivEnergy battery has capacity of 8.2KW. The app has options to adjust charge power and discharge power. The charge power max is 2.6KW. Is the reason for that to protect the battery? Even now in Nov I am seeing 3.5 kw from my 4.2 KW solar array when the sun puts in sporadic appearances. Seems a shame not to capture it all. But if that's all the battery can take, understandable ...
Nope, the limit is just the limit of the hybrid gen 1 inverters. The AC3 for example can charge at 3kw and the gen 2 hybrid can do 3.6kw
Thatsaboutit If you look at the datasheets for your battery and inverter, they will state the maximum voltage and current. Our Batt8.2 maximum is 60A and 59V (3540W) and HY5(g1) is 50A and 57V (2850W) rated with a nominal power of 2500W. Therefore, it's the inverter that is limiting the battery charge/discharge rate in our case. I don't know if the gen2 HY5 has a higher output on the app as it can charge/discharge to battery at a higher rate. We have about 3.5kW on the roof at the moment but that's over two arrays, two inverters and two batteries. We haven't exported more than 1kWh since last Friday, so capturing fleeting watts hasn't been an issue for us.
THALL "Nope, the limit is just the limit of the hybrid gen 1 inverters"
I didn't question the choice of inverter the company that surveyed and carried out the installation selected. Could your answer mean that they have specified (or I have not required) an "underpowered" or inappropriate, or previous generation inverter? Or is that just me overthinking now?
Thatsaboutit It is incredibly difficult to get a gen 2 inverter at the moment. But yeah it would of been nice if your installer had pointed out the charge/discharge limit and offered a second choice. But the kit is ok, just needs more time to charge. 3 hours would give you 7.8kw on a gen 1 which is ok.
I have a similar issue. I have a single AC3 3kw charge discharge and 17.7kw of batteries. My East facing solar even this time of hear hits 4.4kw so 3kw to the battery, house during the day sucks about 400w and the 1kw goes to the grid for a few pennies. On the weekend my EV is at home and takes a load of the excess. I don't mind a bit of grid giving, only 4.1p per kw but thats ok.
Thatsaboutit Or is that just me overthinking now?
It's almost impossible to have PV that exactly matches the inverter capability that aligns perfectly with the battery capability; there will almost certainly be a bottleneck somewhere. Just enjoy that you've got an inverter that will never clip your PV and a battery that should be able to soak all your surplus PV. If it's a real niggle, save your dishwasher or washing machine duty for good forecast PV days.