Why power from the grid when I have spare PV

hi guys

Why do I wattage coming in from the grid when I know I can double my load and the PV would cover it…

We have bright sun atm, I can double my total consumption and PV would do all of it… but I still have this “leakage” from grid ?

G

If you are using ESS there is a grid setpoint at which point the ESS tries to keep the grid:
image

The default is 50W and as it becomes more ‘noisy’ at lower levels it’s not always recommended to go a lot lower. I know in my case at my set 40W I tend to feed a little bit back occasionally, but at 30W I feed quite a bit back to the grid.

But it’s possible to set it lower if you want.

Here’s a link to the manual:
https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/Energy_Storage_System/en/configuration.html#UUID-d5ba0921-8b24-03ea-5400-f17704a4071c

And a community post with a good reply from Guy covering it in depth especially the next question to follow which is why 0W doesn’t keep it at 0W:
https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/165462/grid-setpoint-3.html

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to stop fed back to the grid… should this not be different.

G

Personal view … don’t go there. Switch it off unless you want to feedback.

Accept it will ALWAYS draw some back from the grid. Way to stop it … switch off the grid.

If you want to see how bad it can get … switch on an induction plate, microwave, or air fryer, and check what those things do - draw like ±2000w - push back ±2000w.

. :slight_smile:

no… think I stated this wrong…

I’m not allowed to push back to the grid (not in Cpt)… in that case, is this configured correctly.

G

Something is always pushed back. Hence we have PAYG meters that can take it.

That setting, switch it off.

Switch off both AC and DC Feed in excess.

Based on your screenshot you only have DC-coupled PV available in your system (Victron MPPTs). AC-coupled PV is when you have a PV inverter like a Fronius that outputs AC power.

But yes. Just switch them both off.

Man, you guys are seriously confusing things.

Short answer: Because measuring nothing is extremely hard. So we rather measure something small.

The engine people who have had to mess with narrow band oxygen sensors will understand this too. I digress.

So you want to keep the grid at zero, but that entails regulating the power you feed in based on measuring nothing. So you end up like a donkey cart going down a dirt road. Ever notice how the wheel prints are only in the middle of the road as the cart is crossing from the left side to the right side? The same happens here. If you aim for zero, you will constantly feed in a little, draw a little, feed in a little, draw a little, etc etc.

Solution: Pick a value you can stably measure. In my experience, 20W is the lowest that sort-of works. 50W is the default.

On the default setting, you will use about 1.2kWh a day from the grid (24 times 50W). Unless you’re completely self-sufficient already… that is to say if you still use some grid power at certain times of the day… then who cares! :slight_smile: Small price to pay for stability.

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