Adding AC3 invertor to existing setup

5 comments started 2024-07-26 last 2024-07-28
GivEnergy ProductsAC CoupledHybridBattery
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#1 michaelmcgoldrick

Hi folks,
I have a gen3 5.0 hybrid invertor with one 9.5kwh battery and one 5.2kwh battery. My challenge is that my optimum nightly tarrif (ireland based) is only 3 hours long. In winter (December is worst) this means that I can max get about 10.2kwh into my batteries in 3 hours leaving about 3kw on the table of empty battery capacity. What I was toying around with is adding a AC coupled invertor and putting the 5.2 battery on this. Have this along side the hybrid invertor. Im just not sure of how it might all work together? In that way both batteries could be charged at the same time allowing me to charge them up in 3 hours - how do they service house load though? Can the house then draw from both batteries at the same time via both invertors? Can I cover 3.6kw from the hybrid and 3 from the ac couples so in theory 6.6kw peak power from the batteries at any one time? How does it all work in the giveenrgy portal/set up etc?

Thanks,
Mick

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#2 DD

michaelmcgoldrick I believe that, at the moment, they'd operate independently, with each making their own decisions about how much they need to discharge to cover house load. So between them, they would cover house load, but there's a risk of cross-charging: one discharging more than needed to cover house load, and the other charging to consume the excess. There may be an EMS product coming, but I don't know details.

What's your typical daytime usage? I assume you've done the sums to determine whether the potential savings warrant the outlay.

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#3 michaelmcgoldrick

DD yeah it would only really make sense if I could get one cheaper off eBay etc and could get it wired in realistically cheaper, neither of which might be possible.

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#4 Graham_Harrison

I'm in the UK and have been looking into doing pretty much the same thing but for a different reason.
I have 2 x 9.5kw batteries and 1 x ac3 inverter and would like to be able to discharge at 6kw rather than my current 3kw max with the 1 ac inverter (we have a 10.5kw electric shower). I don't currently use any off peak tariffs (and would prefer to stay like that and only charge my batteries using my solar panels (great in the summer but poor in the winter)
I've had some good feedback via posts on this forum and also some advice from the local company (UCS Renewables) that installed my batteries and some of my solar panels.
Apparently GivEnergy aren't currently officially supporting running 2 inverters (I know some people do have that setup)
Buying equipment via ebay or elsewhere (new or used) and installing it yourself appears to be a BIG no no.
So I believe we must wait for the mythical "EMS" to arrive to give us what we require.

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#5 Smk82

Graham_Harrison I have a twin inverter(AC3)/twin 8.2 setup. At the time I was told EMS was “around the corner). It’s now been almost 2 years since install, and no sign yet (apart from a few limited prototypes that they used in a beta trial). I went the home assistant route, so now balance that way but need EMS to go to the new AC3 firmware.