Octopus Flux & Inverter Work Mode

gard09 · Tue May 23, 2023 10:17 am

Good morning all,

I have just moved to Octopus Flux and would like some advice on the optimal inverter mode to take advantage of the low 0200hrs-0500hrs rate (battery charging time) and high export rate between 1600hrs and 1900hrs.

I have read the manual for my H1-3.7-E but the descriptions are different to the options in the web interface.

I have the following options - Self Use, Feedin, Backup, Power Station and Peak Shaving. Self Use and Feedin are explained in the manual but would anyone be able to explain what the other 3 options mean.

And then, finally, what option would you pick (with the correct settings in other parts of the system) to maximise benefits from being on the Tariff.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

canton7 · Tue May 23, 2023 1:32 pm

In backup, the inverter prioritises charging the battery over supplying the house. We're not sure what the others are, but they don't seem to be supported currently.

I'm also on flux, and I'm experimenting with putting the inverter into Feed-in first over the 4-7 peak period, although I'll probably need some logic to make sure the battery is charged enough first: maybe putting a charge period just before 4 with a max soc of 75% or something. Haven't yet given it enough time to see whether it's optimal.

See also

gard09 · Tue May 23, 2023 5:14 pm

Thanks for taking the time to reply, it's much appreciated.

I've also emailed Fox to ask for an explanation but nothing heard back yet.

Ched · Tue May 23, 2023 9:01 pm

We set our batteries to charge between 2amand 5am each day and 2:30pm and 4:59pm each day. That way we charge at the cheap rate early in the morning so as soon as we start producing it's mainly going to the grid. Then we charge in the afternoon even if the battery is full as then the inverter won't use battery power till peak charges. So during peak export hrs we maximise solar to grid. We do avoid cooking between 5pm and 7pm as that eats battery power or would need supplementing from the grid!
In our first month our average import rate was 21.06p/kwh and export rate was 25.47p/kwh. We are quite pleased with that.

calum · Tue May 23, 2023 11:23 pm

Ched wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 9:01 pm We set our batteries to charge between 2amand 5am each day and 2:30pm and 4:59pm each day. That way we charge at the cheap rate early in the morning so as soon as we start producing it's mainly going to the grid. Then we charge in the afternoon even if the battery is full as then the inverter won't use battery power till peak charges. So during peak export hrs we maximise solar to grid. We do avoid cooking between 5pm and 7pm as that eats battery power or would need supplementing from the grid!
In our first month our average import rate was 21.06p/kwh and export rate was 25.47p/kwh. We are quite pleased with that.

Congratulations on becoming a provider of grid stabilisation services

gard09 · Wed May 24, 2023 10:32 am

canton7 wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 1:32 pm In backup, the inverter prioritises charging the battery over supplying the house. We're not sure what the others are, but they don't seem to be supported currently.

I'm also on flux, and I'm experimenting with putting the inverter into Feed-in first over the 4-7 peak period, although I'll probably need some logic to make sure the battery is charged enough first: maybe putting a charge period just before 4 with a max soc of 75% or something. Haven't yet given it enough time to see whether it's optimal.

See also

Hi Canton,

Just a quick one - how do you set a max SoC? I can see how to set the minimum SoC but not max? Cheers

canton7 · Wed May 24, 2023 11:43 am

You need an agent or installer account, or you can set it if you've set up an RS485 connection to your inverter.

calum · Wed May 24, 2023 1:32 pm

You can also set it via the front panel of the inverter

Primitive maybe, but it works!

SolarJunkie · Thu May 25, 2023 8:49 am

Good morning,

For what it is worth, I do not set any charge or discharge parameters for this time of year. I run entirely on battery and solar and as my batteries are now fully charged (08:40), there will never be any need to charge during the day either. The only thing I need to be careful of, is the overall load on the emergency power supply, as I haven't yet wired in a changeover.

Everyone has a different usage profile though, so there might be some need to charge at the cheap periods, but there are a lot of variables, not least of which are the different time of use tariffs available that will drive the way we all use our systems.