Hello, I just wondered if anyone could confirm if they had managed to get hold of GE recently? Tried phone (can only seem to get a silly Ai agent pretending to be a person), tried emailing, whats app etc all several times but no responses. Has GE gone under?
Just wanted to check what's required regarding swapping a GIV-HY3.6 for a inverter for a 8KW version and if its compatible with some GE batteries (two GIV-Bat9.5).
There is a multi week wait/queue for getting a response from GivEnergy at present. For issues causing a system to become inoperative it seems to have been about four to five weeks recently, so expect at least that.
Keep in mind that - depending what you are hoping to achieve - upgrading from a 3.6kW to a 8kW inverter is likely to involve a new G99 application to your DNO.
Have you considered speaking to an installer in the first instance? You are likely to get a quicker response, especially for new business.
My Inverter failed Saturday, managed to get a call raised Monday afternoon (not by phone, that didn't work, but by email).
Not waiting for the hopefully within 5 days for a first response.....
Guessing it could be a 4-5 week wait for replacement from the above.
Took me 2months to get anything done. Lost a good proportion of my export money by having to use the grid. I month to answer e mail. I just wonder if other companies are as bad? Feel sorry for you.
They did post a £5Mil loss in 2024, so understandable that something had to 'giv' and support must be a big financial drain. It's probably small comfort if you have an issue, but it is better than the alternative if the losses were to continue (assuming they've got a grip on things obviously)
jon22 Just wanted to check what's required regarding swapping a GIV-HY3.6 for a inverter for a 8KW version and if its compatible with some GE batteries (two GIV-Bat9.5).
the short answer is that you throw all of that existing kit away and start afresh. As mentioned below the 8kW is a high voltage system, the older hybrid and AC coupled inverters and batteries are low voltage, the two are not compatible and there's no upgrade route.
If you want to discuss upgrade options then best you talk to your installer rather than givenergy support
@geoffreycoan
@wrighar
Thank you for your info and help. At the moment, my friend has the 3.4 hybrid and he is going over the max the inverter can provide (e.g. washing machine and heat pump = over his max discharge).
Do you know if the 5kwh inverter would work with the two times 9.5 kwh bats? I'm assuming that is the highest he can go without having to replace the batteries? They are only a year or so old so replacing them isn't really an option. Originally when he ordered the plan was to double up the 3.6 inverters and link them but the device to link them was not available at that point in time. Now he just wants to go as simple as possible. 5kwh should cover most of the house load but if there is higher it would be great. Tried looking on giv's website but half the links are dead / lead to 404 when trying to view inverters.
The 5kW inverter can still only take 3.6kW from the battery feed so would not help in the case. It is the same hardware as the 3.6kW but without the software throttle.
Our 5Kw inverter has two 9.5Kw batteries attached and I believe could have a third one. However as PaDav6 says the output from the inverter via the batteries is limited to 3.6Kw but will go up to 5Kw if your solar is also putting in more.
jon22 Originally when he ordered the plan was to double up the 3.6 inverters and link them but the device to link them was not available at that point in time
you can install two inverters to get increased battery discharge rate even without the hybrid EMS which hasn't been launched yet
what will happen is the two inverters can cross charge. There are ways around this, there are some implications, but it is do-able, just not as flexible as with the EMS which is still in development/test.
I have two Gen 1 5kW hybrid inverters and get about 5.6 combined discharge rate off my two inverters and batteries (2.9kW off the one attached to the 9.5kW battery and 2.6 off the one connected to the 5.2 battery).
Thanks all for your replys (massive help). Shame that GE can't support the 5kwh discharge from the two 9.5 batts. I personally have a myenergy 2 X 5kwh batts + 5kwh inverter and that can reach 4.8kwh discharge from the batts. Surprised that GE can't offer something similar without doubling up the inverters. ME app is shocking though (ended up using home assistant which is actually quicker to control the ME system),
@geoffreycoan regarding the EMS, I'm assuming that this is not the same thing https://www.evergy.co.uk/givenergy-ems-v1-energy-management-system ?
@geoffreycoan any chance you could share more details on how you have yours set up / how it works with the GE cloud? My friend has home assistant as well so I may be able to bypass some of the implications you mentioned (assuming they can be resolved with software tweaks).
UPTADE: just reaslised that link above is for the AC coupled. Technically he doesnt have any solar connected to the hybrid (he has an old setup of panels into an fronos inverter so technically the hybrid was just to future proof the system). However, if ditching the 3.6 hybrid and going to AC-coupled would help the situation, I think he may go for that. e.g. 2 X https://givenergy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/UK-Datasheet-AC-Coupled.pdf hooked up each to 1 X 9,.5 batt + the EMS (or am I missing something)
jon22 you are correct, the EMS is at the moment only for the AC coupled inverter. It requires a specific firmware on the inverter to talk to the EMS so you can't use it with a hybrid inverter.
In terms of my setup, I have two hybrid inverters on my account, I can control them independently as to when they charge, discharge, etc. I use predbat with Home Assistant to manage my inverters but that is basically just programming the charge and discharge times for the inverters to be the same based on rates, forecast solar, etc.
So there is nothing special with Home Assistant or the portal to enable these to coexist.
Where the problems occur is when the inverters are in Eco mode and they are both responding to varying house load. in short, they can very easily start to cross charge, and this can ramp up to a full rate discharge and charge across the two inverters. For me this happens most often at night so I program the inverters (via Predbat) to not charge after the sun goes down unless it is a charging period, and this stops most cross charging.
I get a bit during the day if its dull and there's not a lot of solar generation, but it is manageable.
The EMS for hybrid inverters is apparently under development. With what I have and how it works, I probably won't get one when it does launch as my setup works well enough
@geoffreycoan again, thank you for your feedback here (really helps me a lot).
So with two hybrids (If I am understanding correctly), you can end up seeing one battery respond to a house load, then when that load drops, e.g. dishwasher finishing, the other battery taking the load. I'm assuming this is because of the following:
1) Dishwasher ramps up kwh usage e.g. to 2kwh.
2) Inverter 1 ramps up to 2kwh to cover battery.
3) Dishwasher cuts demand as it no longer has to heat water
4) Inverter 1 can't just instantly stop drawing power so 2kwh for 5ish seconds ends up being pumped down the grid.
5) Inverter 2 see the 2kwh going down the grid and starts charging.
6) Inverter 1 sees demand from inverter 2, thinks its a house usage and ramps back up discharging the battery.
7) Loop continues until your at max discharge on one inverter and max charge on the other inverter.
Does that sound correct?
Also side note, if you had the 5kwh and you hooked up some solar panels to it, would that allow you to pull more to the house e.g. power from the battery + 2kwh of solar to get closer to the 5kwh on the inverter?
I think the Hybrid EMS has been kicked into the long grass from what I gather.
However Mick from Givenergy seems to have a personal project that would essentially do similar. It doesn't use GivTCP and seems to use some sort of home brew modbus (or maybe it's just the normal library - it's not released yet)
He did set out his stall over on the GivTCP group which is as follows:
ok just putting together the README.md for the giv_balancer thought you might like to have a read (it's a work in progress however read and writes and decoding is all self contained)
🇬🇧 GivEnergy PID Balancer
Home Assistant Custom Component
Dynamic SoC balancing and power control for multi-inverter GivEnergy systems.
⭐ Overview
giv_balancer is a Home Assistant custom integration that implements a PID-controlled charge/discharge balancing system for dual-inverter GivEnergy setups.
It continuously monitors inverter SoC, grid import/export, PV generation, load, and optional rule sets, then computes the optimal charge/discharge targets for each inverter independently.
This prevents:
One inverter charging while the other discharges
Grid import due to imbalance
Inefficient SoC divergence
Cycling when PV is low
You can enable or disable the balancer at any time using the built-in “PID Balancer Enabled” switch.
🔧 Features
✔ PID control (KP / KI / KD) for stable inverter balancing
✔ SoC equalisation via configurable thresholds
✔ Grid import protection
✔ Max power limits per inverter
✔ Test mode (no register writes)
✔ Dynamic entities created only while the balancer is running
✔ Optional rules:
SoC protection floor
Target discharge SoC
Charge/discharge window enforcement
✔ Works entirely local — no cloud dependency
📦 Installation
Option 1 — HACS (recommended)
If published to HACS, the repo URL can go here.
Option 2 — Manual install
Copy the folder:
custom_components/giv_balancer
into your Home Assistant configuration directory.
load the files (TBD) link required
Restart Home Assistant.
Go to Settings → Devices & Services → Add Integration and search for:
GivEnergy PID Balancer
🏗 Configuration (Initial Setup)
When adding the integration, you will be asked for:
Name (default: GivEnergy PID Balancer)
Inverter #1 IP
Inverter #2 IP
These are stored in the config entry by the user step of the flow:
⚙ Options (Advanced Tuning)
After installation, open Configure on the integration card.
The following parameters are available:
PID Gains
KP (0–20)
KI (0–5)
KD (0–20)
SoC Handling
SoC Switch Threshold
SoC Deadband
SoC Protection Floor
Target Discharge SoC
Grid / Power Logic
Grid Margin (W)
Max Power per inverter (W)
Sample Interval (seconds)
In Charge Window (bool)
In Discharge Window (bool)
Behaviour
Test Mode — runs logic but performs no inverter writes.
🧠 How the Balancer Works
switch
switch
🎛 Entities
Switch
EntityDescription
switch.pid_balancer_enabled
Master control. Starts/stops balancing & dynamic sensors
Dynamic Sensors
Created only when balancer is ON:
EntityDescription
giv_balancer.inv1_soc
Inverter 1 SoC
giv_balancer.inv2_soc
Inverter 2 SoC
giv_balancer.inv1_ac_output
AC output
giv_balancer.inv2_ac_output
AC output
giv_balancer.inv1_pv_total
PV generation
giv_balancer.inv2_pv_total
PV generation
giv_balancer.grid_clamp_avg
Grid power
giv_balancer.load_total
House load
giv_balancer.mode
Current mode (balancing, paused…)
giv_balancer.inv1_pause_suggested
Pause mode suggestion
giv_balancer.inv2_pause_suggested
Pause mode suggestion
giv_balancer.inv1_target_w
PID-computed power target
giv_balancer.inv2_target_w
PID-computed power target
giv_balancer.inv1_discharge_rate
Calculated discharge rate
giv_balancer.inv2_discharge_rate
Calculated discharge rate
giv_balancer.inv1_battery_power
Battery AC power
giv_balancer.inv2_battery_power
Battery AC power
giv_balancer.fault_status
Inverter fault word
These same entities are removed on switch-off:
🚧 Test Mode Explained
When Test Mode = ON:
All logic runs
All targets and state suggestions compute normally
No actual inverter writes occur
Ideal for:
First-time setup
Debugging
Tuning KP / KI / KD
🛠 Troubleshooting
The balancer shows no entities
Ensure the PID Balancer Enabled switch is ON.
Entities only appear after the first tick runs.
switch
Switch turns off and removes entities
Normal behaviour — turning off cleans up all temporary runtime sensors.
No communication with inverters
Check IP addresses entered during setup or in the options screen.
📄 Manifest Information
From manifest.json:
manifest
Integration type: service
Config flow: supported
IOT class: local push
Version: 0.1.0
🙋 Support
GitHub issues page:
https://github.com/Smithmg7/giv_balancer/issues
jon22 I'm assuming this is because of the following:
...
Does that sound correct?
You are absolutely correct. I was in a rush this morning so didn't write a similar explanation, but that's exactly how and why multi inverter cross charging occurs.
And here you can see it on my two inverters:
Overnight, point 1, I set the inverters not to charge, only discharge, so at point 1 inverter G is supplying the house load and inverter H is doing nothing. Then you see the Cosy cheap rate period and both inverters charge.
After sunrise I turn off the 'no charging' to allow solar charging, and on a day like today where its very dull and overcast and not enough solar to keep the batteries busy charging, at points 2 and 3 you see the two inverters cross charging, SoC goes up on one and down on the other, and you see equal and opposite battery power readings.
I could be more sophisticated with my automation as to when I prevent charging on low solar days, but its only on days where it is dull and house load is low that it happens. Overnight and when the heat pump is running, the inverters perfectly behave, discharging to meet house load.
hoggy I think the Hybrid EMS has been kicked into the long grass from what I gather.
However Mick from Givenergy seems to have a personal project that would essentially do similar. It doesn't use GivTCP and seems to use some sort of home brew modbus (or maybe it's just the normal library - it's not released yet)
Pity to hear that the hybrid EMS isn't happening, but given it was "coming soon" from when I bought my kit in January 2023, I am not surprised.
Mick's project is interesting, but seems very narrow focussed. It looks like it only does balancing so if that is something you need, then fine, but how does it coexist with givtcp and normal inverter control?
There doesn't obviously appear to be controls to enable you to set charge and discharge windows for the two inverters (unless this is "Charge/discharge window enforcement").
Questions for when its released I guess.
It wasn't worded as not happening, just put on back burner as something else has taken priority (no idea what, I've no secret internal info)
It looks like (through comments others made on it) that it might get the charge slots? Not sure. It wasn't a 'no' that it's couldn't be run along with GivTCP but it might clash a lot on reads. As all the TCP data gets spammed network wide then an option would be to run GivTCP in 'listen' mode (this doesn't exist yet in GivTCP itself but does in the underlying library it runs on & i use this feature myself for a dashboard project) - it makes no actual read requests to the inverter & instead just sits watching the network for data that GiVTP (or any other device polling the inverter) gets sent back. I don't think this would be thay much of a mod to get working in GivTCP.
I do know the Realtime registers is a must and it specifically won't run if it can't find that, so I'm unsure as to the plan for Gen 1 - I asked and got a cryptic "every inverter has the capability to have RTCL gen 1 hybrid by request as it has the be the right version. I have to enable the RTCL check and if not available report it as Error RTCL required" - so i guess you can just ask for that firmware once this is out?
I think Micks Goal is to run this whole balancer thing on a cheap Pi Zero device directly pointing to the inverter ultimately without HA involved at all (Which is something I do already, minus balancing, but don't want to be 'that guy')
hoggy interesting, thanks, I don't have facebook so this is the first I have heard of this project. I wonder if it is a grow-out of the GivEnergy software EMS that at least one person on this forum is running, or if its a personal Mick project.
For me for it to be useful it would have to either coexist alongside GivTCP, or give an equivalent set of controls that could replace GivTCP. I'm just not sure how exactly it would work with you directly controlling the inverter charge and discharge (via the givenergy app/portal) and potentially having inconsistent instructions on the multiple inverter.
Actually I just had a thought, Predbat has the option to directly talk to the GivEnergy cloud to interrogate/instruct the inverters, so actually assuming the inverters still talk to the cloud as normal that would provide a mechanism for this to coexist alongside Predbat controlling the inverters.
I had assumed that real time registers was a must for this, which puts a dependency on Gen 1 beta firmware delivery. I would bet when this is balancing the inverters the givenergy portal will get spammed with 'external change detected' messages in remote control! Its bad enough with Predbat controlling the inverters, would be different league stuff with inverter balancing.
On the Hybrid EMS and mixed mode EMS (hybrid+ AIO for example), I think Paul mentioned on the other forum that it had been de-prioritised in favour of work on EMS for Commercial installations. Whether and when it gets reactivated, not said.