I can imagine. Where I live WhatsApp and FaceBook groups were full of questions like “what’s the name of that app we use to have?” Followed by “what block number are we?”
People do forget a lot. I was surprised a bit. I’d kept ESP on my phone, though not on the home screen, and I’d left the notifications turned on.
I note that nobody at Eskom or in the Ministry had ever said that load shedding was over.
In our home we kept up the same disciplines we had during load shedding. Mostly because I am a pessimistic nag who would remind anybody who’d listen that nobody worth listening to had ever said that load shedding was over.
That’s how some of these rental companies work. They monitor all their systems (they say) and adjust your system’s settings as necessary (they say).
Sometimes they have to call you and ask you to check such-and-such or confirm that some LED is burning and what colour.
Friends of mine do business with one of these companies. Recently the wife answered the phone and it was the solar company saying they needed to confirm something. She says “yes. Ok”. The guy at the other end says “is there a man there?” Not good PR.
The right question:
Whom can I talk to re checking something on the solar system?
For as I’ve seen, some of the females are more astute than some males, even in our house.
And over the phone, I will say “do exactly what I ask/say, don’t interpret what you think you hear/understand” … again I find the females more astute to do exactly what I’m asking.
This is not my experience with any family member of either sex.
I say: “Can you see the little red button?”
The answer: “Yes, nothing happens when I press it”.
I reply: " What if my next sentence was, don’t ever press that button".
Strangely enough I have spent a career trouble-shooting remotely over the phone with electricians, I have never had one “push-the-button” without being specifically instructed to do so.
There are FB reels about people doing exactly that … see the button … yes, and they press it … do not press it … if you have pressed it, don’t … it is a “thing”.
It is also years of living with said person, that makes them “listen, and hear” and not “hear but not listen”. Training as you point out.
I am normally trying to make sure they are standing in front right thing.
More along the lines of: Can you see this (prominent thing), OK, 10cm to to left of that is a dial, what does it say?
Nowadays, I have to spell it out beforehand, that unless I specifically tell you to touch something, keep your hands in your pockets.
But, I still get caught out if I don’t spell it out every single time.
For my inverter, Goodwe can push firmware updates onto it.
The installer can change nearly every configurable parameter, just as if they were standing in front of it using a smart phone & blue tooth.
These days I am registered as the installer, so I know what they can change.
About the only thing that can be done physically that can’t be done via Bluetooth / WiFi / internet is the physical on off switch on the underside of the inverter. But you can do a restart remotely.
There is also a reset button for the WiFi module, but you’d only want to do that if you could not connect via WiFi, and you’d need a screwdriver and a flash light because it’s underneath a panel.
I don’t see a way to disable the inverter, though they could set it to not provide any backup if the grid is down, and not to use PV for servicing loads.
They can set the WiFi password and I won’t know what it is and thus couldn’t use the Goodwe app on my phone.
This is what I’m trying to get my head around: Your loads at night should be minimal (a couple of fridges and lights) but the duration is long and will discharge your batteries so why run on your batteries?
Better to keep that capacity for the heavy daytime loads that your PV can’t cope with…
Probably because the default self-consumption algorithm that just about all inverter makers use is what we might call optimistic. It is also far less work to implement, especially on small microcontrollers. It assumes you will make it, so the moment the sun sets it starts discharging the battery. For many people, that means the battery is empty by midnight, or at least long before dawn. That’s good for the grid operator: You’re reducing the peak. But it might leave you without backup if there is an outage just before 6AM.
That’s at least one reason that Victron has the scheduled charge levels feature. I can set a time slot within which I want no self-consumption below a certain limit. That way I can pass the evening peak to the grid, and start discharging the batteries after midnight. Bad for the grid operator, but potentially better for me.
All of these require tinkering however. Making assumptions that don’t always hold when things change. People on a TOU tariff, for example, WANT to run on battery before midnight, but once load shedding hits, they have to change gears. So the problem is somewhat unavoidable as well. Strategies change.
If we get stage 6 load shedding in the heart of winter, a LOT of us simply flip the inverter onto Keep Batteries Charged, actually making things worse for the grid.
Your RIO is best if you can use your battery during the night and fill it up for free during the day. Because PV is so cheap a client very seldom if ever have to little PV, the battery is an issue. For 10 months without Load shedding, all the batteries were used to minimum allowed SOC to maximise savings. Keeping your battery at 100% will result in you paying for kwh’s from the grid that you did not need to pay for.
During Load shedding its a different story all together, you then have to decide between savings and leaving enough storage to get through a 4 hour load shed.
Having enough of both is the ultimate, but not everybody has that money.
Our idea of low loads at night is also based on our personal experiences and preferences. A few years ago i had a baseload in my home of 150-300 watt during the nights. Over the years my daughter started building a fish room that brought my baseload up to roughly 2kwh constantly resulting in my drawing 28kwh from the grid every night just to keep the fish tanks on temp. Some clients will double and even triple that and expect their systems to run offgrid. I have clients with a base load of 6kwh 24H per day and they chose to install enough battery capacity to get through a night without using grid (This is residential).
Yeah I don’t get some of these default strategies.
Which is why I have Home Assistant manage the inverter for me. It is now at the point, where I basically never touch it, it all just happens.
Essentially, I let the batteries discharge over night.
If there is a spike in load from the batteries, the inverter DoD is changed to force the high power load over to eskom. I call these spikes.
Once the high power draw has dropped, DoD is set back to a level that is “expected” to be able to recharge the next day based on solcast’s PV forecast for me.
If there is loadshedding, or the aircons are running overnight, the DoD is set to the level it would have minus 10% for extra buffer for the next morning in case there is unexpected loadshedding to give just enough for breakfast time.
So in summer, it sets a deep DoD on the batteries, to allow for maximum PV use during the day.
In winter, the DoD usually not very far, so the batteries generally however around 60-80% ready for power outages. I get the same use out of them compared to defaults which would have left them at ~30% mostly in winter if I didn’t use home assistant.
I would say, this is a very nice blend of getting the same out of the system as someone running it for maximum use, but I am more ready for unexpected power outages.
Not sure who uses default strategies, as some of the automation is next level on some of the peoples sites I’ve seen.
Me, I just want to keep the Red under control with 10 people and 3 geysers, with very much KISS ito automation.
If LS enters the fray suddenly, last round had no impact, with weather different matter, probably will run out of power one early morning.
Bleh.
Will only then adjust.
Don’t have this “must have spare” …people can go without power for a morning.
ROI the main drive for me - LS gone was just a side bonus.
Ps. I use the batts down to 10-15% if it is a good weather week too.
My biggest nemesis are 2 of the 3 geysers. Day they pop, will strongly consider gas geysers to move that cost to the people using that geyser.
… prepping the areas for future rental.
Well, like I said, I get the same ROI as you, except I will have more battery available in the event power is out. You can only charge as much as there is sun/PV available. The whole idea is, ROI should be the same, or close enough.
Anyways, if what you have works for you, then good
It is, the battery were designed to be cycled to a certain level. Staying within those parameters is okay. Over discharging over charging will definitely mess things up, but so will keeping it at 100% at all times. Some Lithium manufactures will void the warranty if kept at 100%. The Cells needs to balance and they recommend discharging them to allow for cell balancing during charging. Then the last point to remember, there is still a design life as well, keeping the battery at 100% will not add enough life to the battery to warrant no ROI at all. You bought the battery, it will only last that long, use it dont abuse it and make the most of your investment.
Normal people. People who paid an installer, and never touched the thing again after that. People like my father in law… who I have to call and ask to power cycle the LTE modem because the damn thing has disconnected again.
(The system has a dedicated LTE modem… just for me).
