If for whatever reason, you don't have an internet connection for say a couple of weeks, is it wise to unscrew/remove the dongle or just leave it and let the blue light flash for days/weeks at a time?
I gather that the batteries will still get charged each day, the system will still run on eco mode or whatever settings you selected previously right?
SteveandLinda I would leave it plugged in. You could always setup a mobile data hotspot on your phone with the same password and SSID if you wanted to let the inverter connect periodically.
I don’t know what the effects of removing the dongle would be.
As long as the system is in Eco mode when it looses connectivity it will continue charging from solar and discharging to meet house load, and run any previously scheduled charges and discharges
There is no problem to leave dongle on and blinking. It's like your phone, WiFi may be always on, it will connect when you are at home, while out in town it will continuously scan looking for known network to connect to, with no negative effects.
That being said, leaving GivEnergy equipment offline for prolonged periods of time may be a bad idea. Check warranty wording, quote from Residential Product Warranty (file Product-Warranty-13.02.2024.pdf):
- c. the new owner ensures that the GivEnergy Product has continued and constant
internet connectivity for monitoring and software upgrade purposes i.e. internet
connectivity for a minimum of 90% of the time since initial installation;
geoffreycoan
Thanks, forget mobile data hotspot, that's not an option.
I'm thinking more long term even, let's say for example you are leaving the property for months, going on a cruise for example, switching off the router and any other electrical appliances that you just don't want left on.
Thanks for replying. If I had known how complex this system were from the start, the stipulations etc, I would have looked for another system to be honest, something that could run without the need for an internet connection for a start.
SteveandLinda Your inverter can run absolutely fine without an internet connection, its just part of the warranty conditions that you maintain internet connectivity.
TBH I find it useful to be able to remotely see the battery level and that the system is behaving itself.
I’m sure if you did turn off the router and any other unwanted appliances then it would all be fine. If you are away a couple of weeks then I can’t imagine there would be an issue with the warranty. If its months and months …
SteveandLinda agreed. Next time, if I am moving home and installing battery storage again, it won't be GivEnergy always-online, always-controlled-by-manufacturer system. I will get offline thing like Victron, where is it installed once, no internet, and it always works. I didn't know any better, and also I have limited storage space for batteries, so here I am with GivEnergy AIO 😅
SteveandLinda Leave the dongle alone.
Either leave the router on, or turn the solar/battery equipment off. If your solar system burns your home down whilst you are away, data on the portal may help demonstrate that installation faults were the cause of the fire.
I have just had that situation where the landline and broadband went down for 2 weeks due to damaged openreach cable. I left the GE dongle plugged in and connected to my home network so I could monitor amd administer the inverter in local/home mode. I had to use thitd party products to do this because the latest GE app requires the internet to start up and to issue commands.
Part way through the down time, i got a mobile data sim and rigged up a mifi point so some internet was available for essential operations.
Apart from missing a chunk of usage data, the GE equipment was fine.
So yes, leave it plugged in and working.
SteveandLinda going on a cruise for example
I do that a lot and leave the router and comms on so I have remote access while away.
And also so those IOT devices that need the internet can have it.
Power consumption is minimal and i have a DC UPS to provide comms power if there is a power cut.
I also use WonderWatt to optimise Agile charging while away from home.
You make this system sound has dangerous has these electric vehicles, they are certainly exploding/setting on fire.
Like the experience alan_johnston had, what if his openreach cable damaged had happened whilst he were away on holiday? This system isn't exactly safe period then is it? Or are you talking rubbish?
These systems are perfectly safe and fires are rare. When a fire (whatever the origin) happens in an occupied property, it is often attended to quickly which makes it easier to identify a cause. If a fire happens in an unoccupied property, it often leads to a delay in response and greater damage, such that only a generic cause such as "electrical fault" can be given.
These people lost their home (and their court case) because they had no evidence for the cause of the fire.
Faulty electrical wiring often sparks and arcs before catching fire. This can leave a tell-tale "going off and on" trace at remote monitoring equipment.
There are also other reason to leave your broadband router on. For example if your router is off, it will be recorded as a fault by your provider, which may lead to the speed being reduced in an attempt to re-establish the connection.
Rubikcube For example if your router is off, it will be recorded as a fault by your provider, which may lead to the speed being reduced in an attempt to re-establish the connection.
For ADSL/VDSL services the router will send a disconnect (last gasp) message of power loss so that won't happen.
As an aside it might appear that they've reduced speed if there's a local power cut but that's more a function of lots of VDSL routers trying to sync at the same cabinet as the power comes back on. Lots more crosstalk so the dynamic line management syncs them at lower rates than they're really capable of.
FTTP doesn't care - but the "last gasp" communication applies again were the ONT to be powered down.
Virgin wouldn't notice if you never connected your modem but would still issue nonsensical bills 😃
I agree with the rest of your post though 🙂
Vestas You are correct, the advice is now dated to say the least.
It is generally advised to leave routers on, and saying it affects speed is easier than explaining routing tables, dhcp leases, and dns caches.
Here's a check list for going away, item 8 repeats the router advice.
https://www.uswitch.com/broadband/news/10-tips-to-save-money-while-away/
SteveandLinda You make this system sound has dangerous has these electric vehicles, they are certainly exploding/setting on fire.
Electric cars can and do set on fire, but twenty times less often than ICE petrol or diesel cars. The media would have us believe that it is the other way around.
If you think about it ICE vehicles are intentionally igniting a flammable liquid so it intuitively isn't surprising that they ultimately suffer from more fires.
More modern EVs have even safer battery chemistries, as do GivEnergy batteries, so I would be more worried about a vape charger or mobile phone catching fire than GivEnergy solar batteries due to thermal runaway.
The Guardian also has a piece on this https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/20/do-electric-cars-pose-a-greater-fire-risk-than-petrol-or-diesel-vehicles
pwdst “The press” jumped on the big fire at Luton Airport car park a year ago, initially claiming it was an EV. It turned out to be a diesel (Range Rover) that was seen driving into the car park with smoke coming out of the engine bay - in hindsight probably not the best thing they could have done if their car looked to be on fire