Lost PV - IDLE after attempting to connect to invert IP

Recently commissioned system PV - HY5.0 - GIV-BAT9.5

All has been working for the last 4 days.

I tried to connect to the IP 10.10.100.254, but was unable to - the webpage did not come up. From that point on I saw that the PV had gone to IDLE.

I also noticed that the Battery was now exporting 2.5kW to the grid. I have since disconnected the AC and DC from the inverter.

I switched of the AC and the DC to the inverter, then restored the DC and then the AC. I also restarted the Inverter from the cloud.

None of these actions restored the the PV from IDLE.

Also noticed that the "Remote Control History" showed "Commission Completed" at the time I tried to connect to the Invertor IP.

Looks to me like it has lost the commissioning data

Entering 10.10.100.254 in a web browser only works when you have connected your device to the WiFi network generated by the GE inverter/dongle.
If you phone/tablet is still connected to your home broadband WiFi, it will not be able to communication with that IP address.

The dumping to grid is part of the commissioning process. End of commissioning, it performs a calibration. That you have interupted.

Suggest you now seek Installer/GE support.

The 10. address isnt for connecting to, its a local setup

Thank you both for your replies.

The 10.10.100.254 is for the dongle, I understand now.

However attempting to connect to the dongle should not cause the invertor to lose all its setup for the PV, or am I wrong ??? I didn't actually manage to connect.

The discharge, in my opinion, is a symptom of the loss of config.

...and yesterdays announcement worries me, is there a link;

Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where the make, manufacturer and wattage of a solar panel would disappear on the commission page after a refresh

Tell your laptop or phone to connect to a new WiFi network and look for one with a name something like WF12345678 or similar, where the number is the serial number of the dongle. By default there is no security. If needed you can reset the dongle by pulling the rubber cap of the bottom and pressing the little button inside.

Once you've managed that, then head to the 10.10.100.254 address with a browser.

No, attempting to logon/check the WiFi connection should not cause loss of inverter setup details.

I would flag the loss of settings with your installer.
The instructions for the setup and commissioning process do include a 'Save' action on each configuration page which may have been missed.

Simon_C

I think that maybe the issue :-(

Seems slightly worrying that "touching" the dongle IP can seemingly cause a reset - "Commission Completed".

TheDragon2 days ago
The dumping to grid is part of the commissioning process. End of commissioning, it performs a calibration. That you have interupted.

It seems TheDragon2 is right. This from GivEnergy;

"The reason for the discharge and loss of PV is because the server was trying to run a calibration charge. This is a standard practice after the commissioning has been completed, and ensures normal operation of the battery, and will see your battery fully discharge before recharging. As you have a hybrid inverter the PV will switch off during the discharge to ensure there is not a surplus of power in the system. You will need to allow this cycle to run to completion."

I'm willing to listen to others on this, but here is my opinion

I'm guessing that my attempting to connect to the dongle triggered the final Battery Calibration at the end of commissioning.

I'm sure you can understand how alarming it is if the system had been running for 4 days, then suddenly the PV goes to IDLE and the battery starts dumping power at 2.5kW !!! With no indication why, I'm sure you would understand why I switched it off ???

So the Battery is now going to be fully discharged and then fully charged (does this happen from the PV or from the grid ???)

So the PV is now off during this process.

It would be nice if there was some kind of indication of what is going on.

My battery is discharging at 2.5kW to the Grid, my PV is in "IDLE" state, and apart from the information I have given above there is no indication as to why, or whether this is normal.

... further to the above, the battery discharged to 18%, then went "IDLE 0%"

The PV returned, and the battery, after 5 mins or so, started charging again at 2.5kW - it is currently importing at 1.3kW, and 1.5 kW from the PV.

The response from GE does raise a number of questions:-
1/ If the calibration is triggered from 'the server', who or what decides when this should happen? Is there a list of recently commissioned systems that a GE staff member works through during normal working hours to trigger the calibration? Strange how it was 4 days on from commissioning.
2/ Given the systems are supposed to be saving energy and costs, I would rather a calibration takes place when I have an EV plugged in with capacity to charge rather than dumping many kWh to the grid, then allow charge from solar PV rather than grid.
3/ Is there a specific charge and discharge rate used for calibration, and who sets it?
The 5 kW hybrid Gen2 with 9.5 kWh battery is specified as being capable of 3600 W maximum battery charge/discharge rates, so why did you experience 2500 kW discharge then charge.
4/ Has anyone experienced any change in reported operating mode either via the App or web portal when a calibration is taking place? It would be useful, rather than users thinking their system has a fault.

Simon_C I fully support this. Battery calibration should appear in the Notifications in detail (eg calibration scheduled; calibration discharge commenced .... calibration charge completed). The notifications should include all the remotely initiated events, whether automated or manual. Currently (as far as I can tell), the inverter remote control logs only contain those initiated by me and do not include anything triggered automatically or remotely by Givenergy.

As well as the Notifications and/or Remote Control Logging being made more granular, it would be highly beneficial (to me at least) to also receive an email when something out of the ordinary happens (such as a firmware update or battery calibration).

Finally, if a battery calibration is required, it would be really useful to be able to agree a time slot so that the EV can soak up the discharge and the charge can be fed (at least in part) by PV when possible. I have put these points in Feedback but there's no indication on that system whether they have been looked at, are being considered, have been discounted or are being worked on. At least my plant is behaving, so I'm not going to give Givenergy a bad review for being victims of their own success.

You used to be able to see it do Calibrations from the remote control page as a guide to what it was upto.
DISCHARGING, LOWER LIMIT, CHARGING, UPPER LIMIT and so on it used to report.

You used to be able to trigger them yourself at a time to suit you but alas that all went a few months back and now it's Engineer Tier users and above that can run them remotely.

Initial calibration on commissioning is a bit of a one-off. A couple of quid's worth of electric per battery is neither here nor there. The commissioning is controlled by the supplier with their engineer access on the portal when they get around to it as Hoggy says. It can also be GE, if they need to.

Thus the initial calibration run could happen at any time after installation.

mrand31 .
Initial calibration at the time of commissioning might be a one off, but there seem to be an increasing number of people reporting the battery SOC% going out of sync, that then needs a further calibration cycle to be run. How many couple of quid's worth is then deemed acceptable if a re-calibration is required once per month say.

Simon_C Well I guess I'd accept a couple of quids worth per battery with one battery, given that I'm currently saving £3.75 per day on the electric.

The original problem on this thread seemed to be about the first, commissioning, calibration cycle. It would be nice if subsequent, upgrade related, calibrations could be scheduled at the convenience of the customer. I guess that goes on to the ever growing list of 'things to add into the software when they've got time'

mrand31 It would be nice if subsequent, upgrade related, calibrations could be scheduled at the convenience of the customer.

Spoke with the guys who installed and commissioned the system, and they said this was the first system they had installed with this new invertor and battery configuration.

When they commissioned their second unit they noticed this shut down of the PV and sudden Battery export, which we didn't see when they commissioned mine ( as I said before - my attempting to connect to the dongle possibly triggered the final Battery Calibration ) and at least they were aware that this could happen, because they could have thought this was a fault.

GE could you please indicate this is happening somewhere on the interface, and that it is normal ???