question

dylan-hyslop avatar image
dylan-hyslop asked

Enable UPS Function with ESS

I have an MP2 installed with solar, battery and mains/grid connection.

When the mains fails my computer turns off? (Lights etc seem to stay on, I don't even notice a flicker, but my computer restarts.

This shouldn't happen.

However, when I open Ve Configure, I see the UPS function is no longer there under grid? I assume this is because I have ESS mode enabled?
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Multiplus-IIvictronups
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3 Answers
jm0278 avatar image
jm0278 answered ·

Starting with the basics, are you 100% certain the computer and the lights mentioned are indeed on the same circuit? I was unable to select South Africa for the grid to see if the UPS checkbox disappears when that grid is selected. But if the UPS function wasn't working, and the lights are on the same circuit as the computer, the lights would have turned off as well.

Have you measured the voltage during an outage? It may be that the computer doesn't like the voltage produced by the MP2 for some reason while the lights are less sensitive.

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dylan-hyslop avatar image dylan-hyslop commented ·
They pc and lights are not on the same circuit. One is plugs and one is lights, however, the whole house is on the Victron. So it's not that the PC doesn't have power, The computer stays on it just reboots, it's very obviously a loss of power for a few ms which causes it to reboot.
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shaneyake avatar image
shaneyake answered ·

The UPS function is always enabled when ESS is selected for SA. It is because the grid code sets the transfer time. There is a small dead time when the system switches on or off grid.

It is possible that your computer power supply is on it's way out, I have quite a few Victron sites in SA all with SA grid code and none of the computers drop out.

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dylan-hyslop avatar image dylan-hyslop commented ·
I remember in my last house with the 3kva mp2 it would only drop out sometimes.


I have a feeling that LOM detection is way too low. Surely anything under 210V should count as LOM.

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shaneyake avatar image shaneyake dylan-hyslop commented ·

South African grid spec is 230V +-10% so 207V-253V but voltage dips can go as low as 195V as long as they are less than 10s


LOM is not using voltage but rather frequency shift, the inverter try's to shift the grid frequency constantly, if successful then it triggers LOM disconnect. This is really fast 2-20ms but can sometimes let the voltage sag if the grid isn't cleanly disconnected.

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dylan-hyslop avatar image dylan-hyslop shaneyake commented ·
I suspect this is what is happening. I will test. But here is my theory.


If I kill the mains breaker, it will be quick, if it's load shedding and they kill it, I'm sure the voltage or frequency slowly drops, causing the Victron to kick in Slowly.

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shaneyake avatar image shaneyake dylan-hyslop commented ·
You could try "Other grid code" and set the disconnection voltage higher and see if that fixes it.
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Jason - UK avatar image
Jason - UK answered ·

@Dylan Hyslop Do you have AC in ignore selected / active by any chance? I accidently had this option selection along ESS and when I had to isolate the grid connection for maintenance, there was a flicker of the lights and appliances would restart because the power cut off for a few milliseconds after the grid disconnect. When i removed the AC ignore, the problem went away.


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dylan-hyslop avatar image dylan-hyslop commented ·
I will certainly look into this, I do not knowingly have this enabled.
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dylan-hyslop avatar image dylan-hyslop dylan-hyslop commented ·

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It does not appear to be on.

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ponzoa avatar image ponzoa commented ·
I can't seem to activate AC in ignore on any of my ESS sites. How do you manage to activate this with ESS Assistant activated?
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shaneyake avatar image shaneyake ponzoa commented ·
ignore AC can be used with ESS if you use the General Flag assistant, not really needed any more as you can just set inverter Switch to Inverter Only via Modbus or NodeRed these days.
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ponzoa avatar image ponzoa shaneyake commented ·
I'll try that in combination with the ESS assistant. Thanks
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ponzoa avatar image ponzoa ponzoa commented ·
Yeah, still can't activate ignore AC In with ESS. I must be missing an incompatible config somewhere. Suggestions?
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shaneyake avatar image shaneyake ponzoa commented ·
Under what conditions are you trying to ignore AC?
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Related Resources

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic

MultiPlus-II Product page 

MultiPlus-II Manual

MultiPlus-II 230V Datasheet 

VE.Bus Error codes