question

Rob Duthie avatar image
Rob Duthie asked

AC External sensor for Multiplus 2

Re the AC sensor 100A 50mA for the Mulitplus 2 there are no setting to configure it with the VE config 3 etc
So how do you set it up to show up on the CCGX etc, no documents any were to,set it up, it mentions it in the manual
but nothing about how to add assistance etc. only for the 40A version which is not compatible for the Mulitiplus 2.
Also how do you display the AC2 out on the CCGX? it only shows AC1 outlet?

Multiplus-II
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3 Answers
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) answered ·

AC1 and AC2 outputs are shown together on the CCGX, they do not have seperate CT's and their readings are combined.

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Rob Duthie avatar image Rob Duthie commented ·

Hi Guy

I thought so, so the only way is to use a energy meter and change the setting to grid etc?

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Rob Duthie avatar image Rob Duthie commented ·

So this applies only to the Mulitplus 2 units, as i have noticed on the Mulitplus this is not the case, as they can display the AC an Critical loads separately.?

I have being given wrong advise from the dealer, so will do my fault finding from now on to confirm these issues.

I have a PV energy meter and now a Grid meter to make the system work much better.

So for the grid meter needs to be turned off with the Mulitplus 2 unit ?


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sean avatar image sean Rob Duthie commented ·

Just to add a little confusion - while awaiting the delivery of a ET112 I extended the CT cable length to a little over 30 meters (using screened Cat 5) for metering my main grid incoming within ESS - it worked very well. I know others who do that on a permanent basis.

The usual rules for extending CT wiring apply.

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Rob Duthie avatar image Rob Duthie sean commented ·

Hi Sean

Thats is good to hear, i but a wireless link on mine to save running a long cable from my switch board, from DTK electronics, works very well.

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gavo7 avatar image gavo7 Rob Duthie commented ·
Hi Rob, now looking to get mutliplus ii with battery storage. I would have the same issue where i would either need to extend the CT cable to reach the incoming supply. It is located 10-12 meters away from the supply. How did you go about the wireless link? could you share a link to what I would need to purchase from DTK or explain what I would need to do. Thanks in advance.
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Rob Duthie avatar image Rob Duthie gavo7 commented ·

Hi Gavo7

Yes i sell the units my self here in NZ.

You can buy from aliexpress as well they all work very with no issues.

The model i use are DTK-DRF2659C you ned a pair an set then up as router and a coordinator, with the controller software from DTK.

I use the sme units for the Fronius and Huawei grid tied inverters for CT wireless links.

Regards

Rob D

NZ

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image
mvader (Victron Energy) answered ·

For the “AC sensor 100A 50mA”: when installed: it replaces the internal current sensor.

Literally. So, there are no settings or anything’s else to do. It’s not meant to measure only a PV inverter, like the AC Current Sensor. It doesn’t show up in the ccgx. The ccgx will picture it as within the MultiPlus-II. It doesn’t even know if the the internal or external current sensor is in use.


Actually, the use case for the “AC sensor 100A 50mA” is just a single (very rare) one:

- MultiPlus-II must be installed within 50 centimeters of your distribution board

- No Energy Meter installed.

Then you can use that sensor; and the advantage is that you don’t have to rewire the system through the MultiPlus-II.


To most people I recommend to just forget about this AC Sensor for the MultiPlus-II, the chance that it brings any value is very small and it confuses people.

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David Borg avatar image David Borg commented ·

I just bought 3 pieces of "Ac sensor 100A 50mA" to measure my 3-phase pv inverter output to my 3-multiplus-2.

pv-inverter for my 3x multiplus-2. Completely unnecessary then, as this is not described in the manual. :-(

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ian0 avatar image ian0 commented ·
Is this still true? There is a setting in the Multiplus II, and it affects how the system behaves.
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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) answered ·

Hi Rob,

There are MANY possible configurations with these systems. It is quite complicated to talk about and describe them all.

It is possible to display both Critical and Normal loads separately on both multiplus and multiplus-2. This is enabled by turning on "Grid Meter Installed" in the ESS menu of the Venus-device. Of course that also requires that you HAVE an external energy meter installed, or the system will not perform as expected.

To get the information you require may require an external energy meter from Carlo Gavazzi.

Have you read the ESS manuals? They outline this to a degree, but it can be made better.

I will be working on some additional system diagrams this week to make these configurations clearer for everybody.

Please be patient while we improve this.

Regards,

Guy

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Rob Duthie avatar image Rob Duthie commented ·

Hi Guy

Yes done all that, i have your energy meters installed on the AC input and PV inverter.

I had to configure the energy meters mod bus address to be separate for Grid and PV

which was done using there configuration software instead of having two USB RS485 port cable as you manual says. Which i added to manuals.

My latest version is 20.22

Yes the configuration diagrams are miss leading etc.

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