Advice sought from experienced three-phase domestic installations, please

We have just had our system commissioned and we now realise this is more complex than we expected. We have a three-phase supply. Our PV array is 30 x SE facing (93%) panels with a 12.45kw potential. We have three 9.5kw GE batteries each with an AC3, one on each phase, and a Huawei string inverter. We use around 18,500kWh annually so we needed to scale up. Now we have to make it work and first impressions of what we need to do are scary.

The electrician who commissioned our system was capable and helpful. His work seems good so far. The issue is that his experience of domestic three-phase and that of the firm supplying the system are very limited.

The first major challenge is to discover just how inadequate GivEnergy’s data management is for a three-phase supply. We have to have an online account for each battery on each phase - three. This makes assimilation of the data on the cloud portal challenging, having to switch between the three account pages all the time. I feel an expansive spreadsheet may be needed.

First impressions of the GE mobile app are that it is worse than useless for a user who has to have three separate accounts. I managed to set the app up on my iPad but the app hangs when you switch accounts - you have to delete it and re-install. I cannot get the app even to work on my iPhone (8). This is because of GE’s need for an overall email username and password plus the underlying three email accounts and passwords for each battery/phase. The app has had a fit and refuses to recognise any login attempts.

Has anyone else got the three-phase blues? Can someone give one or two heads-ups for getting started meaningfully? Am I missing something? Maybe, I am just being a dork?

Dougal Even for single phase installations regular members of this forum would recommend setting up your own monitoring and control through somehting like givTCP. You could for example set up givTCP to monitor each inverter every 10 seconds or so and dump all the data you need to a database rather than a spreadsheet. givTCP also gives you access to control functions which give you much better granularity and combinations than either the app or the portal. If you use Home Assistant or any other automation platform that can use MQTT messaging you can also set up as much automation as you like.

givEnergy havee not completed their 'Plant' management stuff yet but my guess would be it would at some point include proper monitoring and control of multi-phase installations such as yours. They are a bit distracted at the moment with a BMS firmware issue causing enough customers grief to warrant serious work.

Your guidance seems to belie your chosen handle. But then in the land of the blind the one-eyed man ...etc.

You assume I am more technically competent than I am or that I have assimilated more knowledge of the GE system than I have. I have no knowledge of what givTCP is? Is Home Assistant a GE-led app? MQTT messaging is definitely above my knowledge level. Suggestions as to where I can develop a fast learning curve understanding would be appreciated, please

Talking to Tech Support the other day "end of Q2, early Q3' was the quoted date for apps, combination for grouped/multi-phase installations. My commissioning electrician got another answer "early next year". HIs comment was "Don't hold your breath". I presume BMS is Battery Management System. What is the issue? What should I look out for?

Have a look at the videos here : https://youtube.com/@SpeakToTheGeekTech

There are users on this forum that have written standalone python programmes to interfae with the inverter(s). I think there's even one that handles multiple inverters and this might be an easier place for you to start. As you were talking about spreadsheets I guess the most important aspect for you to start with is monitoring and these should at least collect information and store it in a DB for you which you can then use as you wish. Hopefully someon will bounce in and offer you what you need.

For a non techie Home Assistant and givTCP is a steepish learning curve but not one too steep if you are brave enough to start. Take a look at this you tube video: https://www.speaktothegeek.co.uk/2022/06/givenergy-giv-ac-3-0-battery-home-assistant-and-solar-forecast-automation Whilst you might not understand it all, you should get a really good idea about whether you want to consider this route. With such a large array and high usage the ability to limit charging overnight to alllow maximum solar charging during the day might be more than useful to you.

Note Home Assistant is an all encompassing platform for home automation so knowing and using it will have plenty of other benefits if you want to control your power usage within the home.

cluelesscris Your guidance seems to belie your chosen handle. But then in the land of the blind the one-eyed man ...etc.

You assume I am more technically competent than I am or that I have assimilated more knowledge of the GE system than I have. I have no knowledge of what givTCP is? Is Home Assistant a GE-led app? MQTT messaging is definitely above my knowledge level. Suggestions as to where I can develop a fast learning curve understanding would be appreciated, please

Talking to Tech Support the other day "end of Q2, early Q3' was the quoted date for apps, combination for grouped/multi-phase installations. My commissioning electrician got another answer "early next year". HIs comment was "Don't hold your breath". I presume BMS is Battery Management System. What is the issue? What should I look out for?

I am currently expanding my system from a single phase Giv 5kW + battery to include an additional 12kW 3phase inverter. At first I was considering a Victron system, but many of the strengths of the Victron system evaporate when connected to the grid, and especially when multi unit systems (3 x Multiplus 2) are configured for 3 phase operation. After 6 months of consideration I went for a 12kW SunSynk, which is a single inverter tailered for on-grid, 3 phase operation and has the ability to swing 8kW onto a single phase from battery. The app is easy to use without Node Red addons etc, and is able to import and export a full 12kW from battery. My conclusion was that 3 individual phase systems was technically possible, but would be a nightmare for my wife and myself to operate (forced import /export). Good Luck!

Brookydave My supplier/installer specified the system. Since commissioning I have discovered the management of the system might be quite challenging. You are right this appears now as if I have three separate systems, thanks to the limitations of the GE software – cloud portal and web app – one page for each and a web app does not switch accounts as it should be. Presumably we can overcome these limitations. It would help if you could be more specific about "technically possible, but would be a nightmare [....] to operate", please?

We make a few pennies by forced export. The challenge for us is remembering to make sure the inverter is set to forced discharge at the correct times, and there are a few each night. The water heater off ( Otherwise it just goes into your water), and setting battery discharge limits) Even on a simple system like Giv, this often leads to errors. This winter I was going to automate it fully using node red and local control, but now realise the larger system is far easier primarily because it has a big battery that can feed any/all phases. I think it will be challenging having separate inverters with individual batteries. Surely you are going to have to split your loads across phases. Unfortunately having worked in a power station, I know how hard 415v bites and poisons, which led me to not split loads. I would explore placing the batteries on a range, as per Victron, but then you would need a supervisor for the 3 BMS (VenusOS) along with canbus / rs485 coding and snooping skills to stitch it all together. That would be a step too far for me I am afraid. I just wanted my wife to operate ours!