new system issues and questions

[Max678]

Hi
completely new to all this so thought I would post to get some help.

I had a solar and battery system installed 2 days ago (fox ess 42kw battery and 10kw inverter) and am struggling to understand what is going on.

Please note i still have an old meter waiting to get upgraded to a smart meter so i wonder if this is part of the problem?

My experience:
Day 1 of install
-system appears to work and battery charging
-app shows home usage at 20kw the whole day even though only running appliance is a fridge and tv in standby
-app shows that the 20kw is coming from 10kw grid and 10 kw battery
-end of day (evening) battery seems to discharge quite a bit
-night everything shows '0' with battery charging (assuming from grid)

Day 2
-my usage starts at 0 and slowly creeps up
- through out the day my solar seems to be generating to charge battery and home usage (approx 5kw, again nothing on in house) 0 on grid.
-once battery is fully charged my home usage matches my solar almost identical
-at end of day everything is 0 with battery fully charged 100%. Now home with several appliances on and still registering 0.


Could this be caused by the meter not being upgraded? or any other issues possibly related to the install?

I've read about the 'ct' clamp being wrong but could it cause this? Or some other wiring issue?

thanks

[Dave Foster]

In the app if you could click on Daily Production and post that graph it would help to diagnose, but from what you have said It does sound like your inverter is not reading the CT clamp.

First thing to check is that it has been enabled, at the inverter screen if your click Settings (password=0,0,0,0), Feature, Meter/CT it should be set to >CT< (you may have to click on Set to see the current value depending on your firmware version). The video here is a quick guide for it https://youtube.com/shorts/WoOPmAlFTuc? ... 5QEZ8NjKtd

The CT is wired from the meter connector underneath the inverter and will be clamped to the live feed of your supply meter so worth while checking that it hasn't become unclipped (it's a small toroidal clamp that clips round the wire).

[Max678]

Thanks.
I found that video myself but didnt want to try anything given it is a new install. Last night nothing changed, battery remained at 100% and everything else at 0w.
It looks like I couldn't get it to use the battery at all through night.
Very frustrating

I have attached images of what i see this morning and yesterday's production.

Really appreciate the help.

If I dont get help from installer ill try the ct menu item

[MaterialBarracuda48]

If you follow Dave's advice, you can look but not adjust, so this way you verify the setting on your Inverter.
You won't break your system.

[Max678]

This is what happens as daylight comes.

Thanks for all help

[Dave Foster]

Yes definitely looks like your CT is not reading, so either it has become disabled or there’s a wiring fault.

[Max678]

Thanks for following and help.
I will check the setting and contact the installer.

Would this also cause the problem that through night I wasnt using my battery at all?

[Dave Foster]

Yes, the system cannot measure any load without it so it’s unable to balance it from the battery - at the moment it’s working more like a solar only inverter than a hybrid.

[Max678]

Thankyou so much for the advice!

[Max678]

I checked settings and inverter did not have ct selected.

Once I selected ct things started to work but it was registering like I was using a huge amount of electricity, see attached.
Only thing I have going in the house is 1 fridge and 2 TV standby.

Thanks for continuing help

[Dave Foster]

Now that the CT clamp is enabled, it appears to have been fitted facing the wrong direction - if you can locate it you can unclip it and turn it through 180 degrees, it has a small clip on one side and opens on a hinge, it’s easy enough to turn it round but it might be easier to get the installer back, this system was not commissioned properly although they do have an option that will allow them to flip the sign of the CT remotely.

Just to add a bit of context, the CT clamp measures the power flowing at the supply entry to the home (the meter), the hybrid inverter works by applying just enough power from the batteries to zero the sum at the CT in which case there is no power flowing into the house and the batteries are balancing the load. It does this many times a second and reacts as the load changes to make sure you do not import power when it’s running on batteries.

If the CT clamp has been fitted facing in the wrong direction, it will start to apply power to balance the load but the more power it applies, the more it appears to it (because the value is the wrong sign) the load is getting bigger so it keeps turning the power up, until the inverter is running at the maximum power it can (which is what you are seeing above).

[MaterialBarracuda48]

An example picture of clamp

[Max678]

Thanks.
This is definitely beyond me.

I spoke to the installer and he seemed convinced the ct is going the correct way. I remember on install day they were switching it but I feel they didnt leave it long enough for the system to refresh.

Hopefully when he comes back it's just turning the direction and nothing else. He seems convinced its not that.

[evilbunny]

I feel they didnt leave it long enough for the system to refresh.

The refreshing inside the inverter is lightning fast (milliseconds) so it and the battery can respond to demand like they do, the app refreshes much slower (seconds).

This is definitely beyond me.

Not that hard, just need to unclip the plastic clamp wrapped round the main wire, flip it 180 degrees, and then re-close it. Not like you have to re-wire the meter board

He seems convinced its not that.

The app and inverter goes hay wire exactly as you described when not clamped in the right direction or around the right wire. I found out when trying to exclude the hot water system from drawing from the battery.