Battery sending power to grid

16 comments started 2023-01-10 last 2023-02-13
Commisioning
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#1 STUBBS_B49_6EE

Just constantly dripping away
27 w up to 140w everytime I refresh only when kettle or tv amp on does it solely come to home

Only had system fitted a few days ago but starting to notice it .

Company say watch it and if not right contact giv energy but sure its them I mean it might be them not fitting it right?

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#2 chris_p

You will see bits of export here and there, it is normal. No more than a hundred watts cumulative on a day like today though, portal for me showing 0kW for the day so far.

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#3 Nick.B

I got a similar issue with my system, the inverter is seeing the house as the grid and is exporting everything from generation and battery to the grid thinking that it is the house.
At night time the system is showing nothing, no house consumption or grid import.
The installers had re-checked the system and said that everything was installed correctly.

I wonder if this is caused by a faulty meter, CT or a connection done incorrectly.

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#4 Zakalwe

Small amounts will "bleed" when a heavy load switches off....for example an electric kettle. The battery and inverter will not react instantaneously. Electric irons are a killer for this as the switch on and off frequently. In reality though, you are talking about very small amounts, so don't fret it. You will be massively quids in with the system over time.

Nick.B I got a similar issue with my system, the inverter is seeing the house as the grid and is exporting everything from generation and battery to the grid thinking that it is the house.

That sounds like the CT clamp is on the wrong way round. Very easy to test with an electric kettle. Pick a time when the overall system generation is low and the house is not drawing a lot of power. Switch the kettle on and see what the system does. If it sees the load as export then the CT clamp is on the wrong way round. It's also very easy to sort out as long as you are comfortable doing so. if not, then the installer needs to come back and sort it out.

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#5 Nick.B

Zakalwe
The instalers had come around and reverse the clamp, 5 days later Octopus app is still showing that everything is getting exported. still not able to see the house consumption for exemple last night when almost everything was on including the boiler immersion heater, the house consumption on Givenery cloud was 0. As soon as there is sunlight the house (actually the grid) is eating all the energy.
This issue was raised with the installerers about two month ago and company is not very goot as responding to faults.

I'm considering buying a GivEnergy EM115 and having it swapped. basically paying for a product twice with no warranty whatsoever. The problem is that as soon as I touch the installation the warranty will be void.

Is a shame that I have paid 15k for a system that I can't fully use and a year later the price promised warranty on it is gone....

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#6 Zakalwe

Thats terrible! Theres something not right in there and the installer should be fixing it for you!

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#7 Tim

Nick.B What data is logged to your your meter tab in the inverter card on the portal? If there is data, the EM115 is working. Whether the CT is the right way round or in the wrong place is another thing. When the installers came round to swap the CT, if they removed it, checked the direction of the arrow and then put it back on "correctly", they could have been making the original mistake again. ie They may not actually have changed it round, just confirmed that it was the way they (incorrectly?) thought it ought to be.

Is your inverter charging the battery from PV/off-peak? What does the meter data look like when charging from grid?

#8 Simon_C

The direction marking on the grid CT will only work correctly if the installer kept the same polarity of connections at the EM115 as it was supplied from the manufacturer.

I have bought an equivalent meter from Owen Brothers (OM115 with a solid core CT), and that came with the CT pre-wired to the meter with the White core to terminal 1 (LHS), and the Black core to terminal 2 (RHS).

May be someone can check their official GivEnergy EM115 and confirm which core colours are wired to which of the meter terminals.

The GivEnergy installer training also states that the 2m long cable from the EM115 to the CT 'must NOT be cut down or extended'.

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#9 Nick.B

I am shocked of what I have discovered.
The white cable coming from the CT is melted/fused with the Neutral cable coming from the invertor.
In the first instance I will try to get the installers back ASAP as this is a fire safety issue. If no response I will contact GiveEnergy.
Hopefully everything will be sorted before the house goes on fire.

google drive

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#10 Tim

Nick.B wow! Yes get them back asap. In a previous post you mentioned buying a replacement EM115, so I take it that there is an existing EM115? If so, it should have a 240V supply to provide it with power and the voltage reference. In addition, it should have the two wires to the CT and two wires to connect it to the inverter over Modbus. The CT wires carry a voltage reflecting the current in the main incoming supply but should be of the order of <5V. The 240V supply to the EM115 will likely be on a fairly small Twin and Earth cable with a fuse or MCB at the supply end (consumer unit or fused outlet) and the Modbus cable can also be fairly small as it is carrying <20V and no current, just a switched voltage to indicate digital values. Many installers use Ethernet cable for the Modbus; it just needs to be twisted pair if more than a few metres.

If you have melted cables, it feels like there’s been an error with connections somewhere because none of the wires should be carrying more than a few milliAmps.

#11 positor1

the heat came from a poor connection on the neutral buz bar, the other cable was close enough to get melted.

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#12 dragon2905

Nick.B
100% that is a fire risk!!!

Contact the installer. Tell them you have a melted Neutral Wire in the PV Sub Main and melted CT Wire.
If you don't get an IMMEDIATE RESPONSE then I recommend that you TURN IT OFF and then contact the NIC EIC IMMEDIATELY to report the installer.

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#13 Nick.B

The installers replaced the EM115 meter and now the system is working fine, however, they checked the bush bar connection and it was good, strange.
I will keep an eye on it.

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#14 Anomnomnomaly

STUBBS_B49_6EE I've reported this to my installer too... My system will generate just enough to cover the house use (avg between 400-600 p/h) and then as soon as I boil a kettle or something, generation jumps up a huge amount. I've seen it go from 400-600 to 3.1kw... Same happens when I force charge the battery... When I stop forcing this behaviour... generation levels drop again and instead of sending excess top the battery, it sends it to the grid.

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#15 cluelesscris

Anomnomnomaly This is suspiciously like a CT clamp is installed incorrectly.

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#16 Anomnomnomaly

cluelesscris That was suggested in the thread I created about this.

I've asked the installer who was out on thurs and is due back today to finish setting up and re-comissioning the system with the replacement dongle.. and will ask again this afternoon.

I'll try to remember to take a pic of the CT clamp if I can.