Solis Hybrid Inverter, Pure Drive battery & Myenergi integration

mag

Apologies if this is covered elsewhere here, I had a good search and could see some bits & pieces which helped but im still in the dark on some key questions... despite trying to make sense of some manuals 😳

I recently had installed a 8.1kw array, 6kw Solis hybrid inverter, 5kw Puredrive battery, Eddi & Zappi. At the initial installation the battery wasnt available so they went ahead and installed all without it, battery to come later. This was all fine, I could see/control all from the Myenergi app & see exactly how much power was coming in / exporting, etc...

The issue is, when the battery eventually came & was installed I didnt get a chance to talk to the installer and how the battery is integrating with the system just doesnt seem right to me. It may be right, and my thinking just isnt properly tuned into how it all should be operating, but I just want to be sure.

For example - see the pic below - 6.1kw is coming from the panels and yet the system is pulling in 0.6kw from the battery. In this instance 6kw+ is going into the Zappi in Eco+ mode. As i understand it, the Zappi sees the Inverter as the panels/battery combined, so the issue here is with the battery settings(?). Also, the Solis doesnt have the CT and so im 'limited' to changing the settings through the onboard Solis interface.

Where i would appreciate some help :

• Is it possible in the Solis panel settings to set a minimum threshold of kw coming from the panels before the battery kicks in... if, for example, I only want the battery to kick in when there is nothing coming from the panels? I dont need to be draining the battery when theres e.g 5kw coming from the panels into the Zappi.
• Is there a layman frendly (easily implmentable) integrated app/sw solution which allows me to see the panels/battery/myenergi elements seperately and control them all. I saw mention of this in the automation thread but it seemed to require raspberry pi + a fair bit of customisation which felt wildly daunting! I guess i will need to get the Solis CT for this either way? As i understand it - the Puredrive is AC and only DC batteries can be integrated into the Myenergi app, which is a pity as the app is very good.
• Or has anyone got a similar Solis/Battery/Myenergi fit and could they share how they have it setup to best perform?

Thanks a lot!

silver_sky

I've the same kit although a smaller set of panels at around 4.5kWp. new install this week so still trying to figure it out. Also battling a bit trying to get it play together nicely.

Sometimes Zappi is going OK but then just chances it's luck and pulls everything. 😫

graememk

The my energi system can only see "AC batteries"

Ive put that in quotes, as all batteries are DC, but what I mean is that it can only see storage inverters + batteries connected to them.

In the zappi and eddi settings, you will need to increase the export margin to stop the hybrid inverter from "making up the difference".

mag

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119208319#Comment_119208319

Thanks for the steer..

The Zappi is the master in the ME system and so I changed the export margin on it to 100w. I assume that the Eddi will lock into that as I couldnt find an option in its settings to set an export margin. Even at that the Zappi is still pulling from the battery in Eco+ when theres plenty of juice coming from the panels (see below pic).

Im just looking to setup a very simple logic, something like -

If power from panels is less than current demand (Home, Zappi Eco+, Eddi) = Pull from battery

If power from panels is greater than current demand (Home, Zappi Eco+, Eddi) = Put excess in battery

Maybe im missing something, is this not how you would setup any system?

reklamos

Here is my take:

• Yes, anything is possible. Yuo can do that through automation but you'll have to build it and program it yourself to suit your needs
• There are no of the shel solutions since the equipment comes from diferent vendors. See point above
• Think you automation thread is the best place to check. I have plenty automation/monitoring done myself to suit my needs.

silver_sky

@mag I changed my Eddi to the master as it seems that it has finer controls to avoid digging into the battery. Once it's the master you can set the Export Margin, Export Threshold, and Response Delay. These are in the advanced settings (0000 is the passcode).

I've set this as follows -

Export Margin - 100W

Export Threshold - 150W

Response Delay - 30S

Now, I've only got all three set like this since this afternoon but so far so good! Based on this Eddi will only kick in if there's 150W export for at least 30 seconds and will need to leave at least 100W of a margin being exported. For example, say I'm exporting 700W for 30 seconds straight - Eddi will kick in and try take 600W.

Zappi should respect this also but needs a minimum of 1.4kW (or 1kW-ish for some cars) at 100% green level.

EDIT: the battery gets first priority for power. This should just avoid it charging and then being discharged due to the myenergi stuff being a bit eager.

mag

@silversky thanks for the ME setup tips, good to have someone else with the same kit! its looking like i need to be able to link the two elements (ME + solis/battery) together to get the control required.

@reklamos i did have a look at the automation thread before. i have the ME hub, which as i understand it enables using the ME api. is the best route here to get a raspberry pi w/home assistant? i got bamboozled pretty quick reading the automation thread. whats the most 'user firiendly' solution here? :)

Jonathan

Get a raspberry pi, install Home Assistant on a SD card, add the MyEnergi integration, and add the Solarman integration from the HACS (community store). That will give you realtime information on the inverter/battery and will allow you to create automations to enable/disable Eddi/Zappi when battery SOC% above/below a certain value. This avoids phantom loads draining your battery.

Post over in the automation thread if you are interested in going down this route. Plenty of posters there to give you a dig out.

mag

Thanks @Jonathan , guess ill need to get my nerd on