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Grid voltage errors - help with reading inverter data

4 comments started 2023-10-25 last 2023-10-25
GivEnergy Products
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#1 multiplemaz

Hi folks, new forum person here. We've been having issues with flickering lights as the nights are drawing in, and it seems we're getting repeated errors on our Givenergy inverter - just says "grid voltage error" in the dashboard - which are causing the battery to cut out. The flickering is happening when it's grid power in use, not our battery power.

I am a deeply non-technical user trying to get to grips with what's happening and I'd really appreciate a little help if anyone has it. My current suspicion is that this is an issue our DNO will have to fix related to low voltage, but I'm trying to understand our inverter data so I can confirm. I know what PAC, VAC, IAC and FAC stand for but I'm not totally sure what these things actually mean. During these errors, I'm seeing this pattern:

  • PAC drops from normal values -5 to 50, down to large negative values -400 to -500.
  • VAC which is normally between 205 and 230, drops to 180 to 200. (I'm pretty sure this is way too low!)
  • IAC drops to a flat zero
  • FAC remains hovering around 50, no discernable pattern.

Can anyone help me understand what's going on here, or suggest avenues to explore to isolate who needs to fix what?

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#2 geoffreycoan

multiplemaz yes your input voltage which is VAC on the portal display is way too low. FAC is frequency which is ok.

There's previous entries on this forum, mainly about the voltage being too high, but you need to call your DNO and register the fault. They will check your supply and often fit a monitoring device for a week and then will adjust the transformer voltage

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#3 multiplemaz

geoffreycoan Thank you, that's really helpful confirmation. And as well, I've spoken this morning to a neighbour down the road who's complained about her lights dimming dramatically at the same time as we're seeing these errors, so it looks like it may not just be me!