I've just had a 5kW Inverter and a 8.2kWh battery installed and I was wondering what is stopping the system exporting excess solar energy to the grid? Do I need a smart meter for it to happen or do I have to set up a Timed Export to force the system to export?
Any info would be much appreciated?
Chris
I'm fairly new to all of this, but.....
Check what mode the system has been set up to operate in. My is in Eco which will export only if the batteries are full (or charging at their maximin power), and the solar production is greater than your household demand.
I believe there is also a setting which can limit the amount of export power, so if you can find that make sure it is not set to zero.
A smart meter is not required for export to happen, but of course you can't sell the exported power until you do have one.
Chris
(In general I have found a significant failing when it comes to information for new GE customers. I had to find this community myself, and the https://givenergy.freshstatus.io/ web site. But slowly, I am beginning to better understand how the whole system operates - particularly the obscure way you have to connect to the dongle WiFi hotspot, to access those settings. My dongles were left by the installer with no password protection, so I would strongly suggest you check this, to ensure that a password has been assigned to the WiFi hotspots, otherwise anyone can connect to the internet via your home internet connection - strange but true!)
Just to add, I think you can only see the mode information if you use the web portal (https://www.givenergy.cloud. click on inverters and then settings), while the GE app only gives you operating statistics.
C
ToothyChris the app also gives the mode but sadly does not use the same name :-( In the mobile app select the cog (top right). From there make sure charge mode is set ot Solar+Grid and Discharge mode is Dynamic. This is the equivalent of eco.
locked
That's curious - I don't see a cog in my app, in either the Home or Away views.....or any of the other views.
Chris
ToothyChris Go to the three bars top left on the app (AKA Burger icon) - Settings - Preferences - set Show System Modes Button on. Then you get the cog top right.
Tim
Many thanks Tim.
It's a shame they hide that away and even more worrying that they use completely different terminology, compared to the web portal.
Based on comments from others, I get the feeling that GE is very much in a fire fighting mode at the moment, with so many new customers etc.
ToothyChris to put it in perspective, im customer number 1,500 from Dec 2020.
A month or so back they were over 10,000+
I know it may seem like everyones kit is playing up but in the grand scheme of things it probably isnt anywhere near as bad as it looks.
So over the pass few days, I have played with all the settings in web portal (and sometimes via the phone app) and I can't get it to export. I did find it exported minor amounts of electricity if the battery is at 100% but that's it.
I have also noticed that the battery only charges in "Solar + Grid" mode. With all this lovely solar about, its really easy to test and there is definitely sometime wrong with my system. I also noticed that the battery never performed the calibration on the first evening from installation, as mention in posts on the forum and from my installer. I wonder if this is the missing link. Time to contact tech support again!!
Andrews01 Just set your inverter to ECO mode, disable all timed charge, discharge and export settings and set your battery charge and discharge to max. Make sure you Submit the settings. Close your web portal and reopen it. Check settings have saved. Turn your back and come back to it in an hour.
If the battery calibration hasn't been done yet, it will in time. Hopefully this is what Givenergy would explain for you to do anyway.
The issue has now been solved by Tech support. On my install, I was set up as a zero export from my DNO. This limits the functionality of the inverter as it can't export any electric to the grid and it struggles to charge the batteries from solar because the solar fluctuations. Tech support modified this value to allow a marginal amount to flow back to the grid therefore allowing the software to regulate the battery charge. I've now got to speak to my DNO to get this changed so I can export the full 3.68kW.
Andrews01 Maybe speak to your installer. They should have liaised with the DNO to get permission to connect your plant to their system. I've never heard of a DNO agreeing to a connection but refusing to allow export. It's very common for them to limit this to 3.68kW and I took it that they had to allow this amount. Your installer should not only be able to tell you exactly what the DNO terms of connection were (and they should send you a copy as you will need it for your SEG tariff application), but they will be able to set the inverter export settings to the DNO-agreed value.
Please post what the outcome is when you have an answer.