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martinsteer avatar image
martinsteer asked

Possible to use solar for AC out 0?

Hey there,


I am trying (and failing) to use solar energy on my EasySolar for the AC0 output.


My installation is on an RV, I have an Easysolar with the build in MPPT, some solar panels on the roof, a 200ah victron lithium battery, a BMV 712, a digital multi control and a CCGX.


As for the wiring, some loads are connected to AC0 of the multi as this is only available when a AC input is available. This is needed as for example my fridge prioritizes AC over gas thus there should be no power available when I am not connected to the grid. The fridge switches to gas automatically and my battery is not sucked dry overnight (I have no way to manually set the power source for the fridge). Same goes for the air conditioning or the electric water heating, both should not run on battery so I put them on AC0.


My issue is that when I am somewhere with power available I would like to use my batterie and the solar to power the loads on AC0 as it otherwise goes to waste and I have to pay for the consumption from the grid. But whatever I try I cannot get it to work. What I tried so far:


  • using victron connect to put the multi to default island mode
  • using the virtual switch to ignore AC
  • setting up an ESS


Same result, no power to AC0 (all firmwares are up to date).


I am thinking of adding a wire with a switch to connect AC0 and AC1 but that sounds like a hack I should not need.


So before I start doing that my question to the community, is there a way to use solar on the AC0 loads? In case yes, what do I need to do?


thanks in advance,

Martin


ESSEasySolar All-in-Onesolarvirtual switch
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seb71 avatar image seb71 commented ·

My issue is that when I am somewhere with power available I would like to use my batterie and the solar to power the loads on AC0 as it otherwise goes to waste and I have to pay for the consumption from the grid.

So AC0 never has power, or it only has from the grid?

It's not clear to me.

If it never has power, maybe the relay is defective (it does not close when it should).

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martinsteer avatar image martinsteer seb71 commented ·
Hey Seb,


AC0 only has power when I am connected to the grid, yes. I would like to use my solar power (or my battery until it reaches a certain SOC) for the AC0 loads as well.

So for example the fridge pulls around 350 watts, I have more than enough to power this from the solar panels with the battery to bridge the night. But because my fridge is connected to AC0 it does not receive power when I switch on ESS or the virtual switch even with a full battery and full sun.

Another example would be the air conditioning, that pulls around 1700 watts. I do not have enough solar to sustain this load but it would be nice if the available solar would be used to power it as much as possible and the grid only covers the remaining load...

I hope I did not confuse you further :)

Cheers,

Martin

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seb71 avatar image seb71 martinsteer commented ·
So let's take the case when you use ESS.

You have grid connected to AC In (grid is present).

In this case, you say that AC 0 does not have power/voltage?

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martinsteer avatar image martinsteer seb71 commented ·
exactly...
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seb71 avatar image seb71 martinsteer commented ·

But you wrote:

AC0 only has power when I am connected to the grid, yes.


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martinsteer avatar image martinsteer seb71 commented ·

Hello Seb:


Behavior in case of no ESS / virtual switch or island mode:

  • grid connected: AC-out-0 has power
  • no grid connected: AC-out-0 has no power


Behavior in case of ESS active:

  • grid connected: AC-out-0 has no power
  • no grid connected: AC-out-0 has no power


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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ martinsteer commented ·
This is by design. It's not a fault. Please do not try and connect AC0 to any of the other AC outputs.


We're looking at some options to try and help. Please be patient.
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4 Answers
martinsteer avatar image
martinsteer answered ·

Hey there,

just to give an update on this, I switched the loads from AC0 to AC3 (the 16A output) and it worked. No need for ESS, I just had to switch the Easysolar to default Island mode in victron connect and it worked. I now have a switch to force the fridge to use gas instead of AC as fuel so all good from my side.


There are some glitches left, for example the SOC provided by the multi us different compared to the BMS but for this I guess I will try to find some info and / or open a separate thread.


Thanks for the inputs!

regards,

Martin

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Kevin Windrem avatar image
Kevin Windrem answered ·

Have you looked at the programmable relay assistant for the Multi? You can set it to control the noncritical AC output ("AC Out 2 relay") with battery SOC, AC input present as well as other conditions. You may need a separate assistant to turn the AC output on and another to turn it off.

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kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

I was thinking of something similar to previous suggestion. This for consideration/discussion.

Move free up AC1 by moving connections to different outputs, not AC0.

Get an AC relay that will be normally open, but with AC connected it will close and pass AC through output terminals.

Feed output side of relay from AC1.

Move connections from AC0 to switched output side of relay.

Using PC, MK3 USB interface connect with VEconfig software and go into settings for the multi.

There's the option there to configure AC Input Control. Set this to kick in at, say 50% discharge of batteries.

Net result is the heavy loads on AC0 will draw through the inverter, but only when AV is present. And AC will not be used until quite a lot gone from batteries. This should achieve what you want, albeit in a very ugly way

If you have Victron connect already installed, use the demo library to play with the AC Input control settings



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martinsteer avatar image
martinsteer answered ·

Hello Kevin Windrem & kevgermany,

many thanks for the replies and the suggestions. Unfortunately when running the relais assistant non of the options provided (K1, K2, main relais, AUX1 - 3, ACOut2) seem to match. They are also not mentioned in the manual, appendix B does not identify anything but the ground relais. There seems to be nothing here in the boards as well...

I do not want to risk damaging something if I use the wrong relais so I think I will try to rewire the 3 heavy loads to AC2 (or whatever the 16A output was) and hope that the easysolar is smart enough to use grid current if the load is too much for the inverter. There was a setting for this so hopefully this will work.

I will not use the AC or electric heating when camping with no grid and for the fridge I can install a switch to select the input so this should hopefully work out.

In case not at least I know that installing more solar on the roof does not make sense so I save some effort. Kinda win/win...

thx again,

Martin

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·

As a base Easysolar feeds AC loads direct from AC in until batteries fully charged.

With solar and fully charged batteries, it feeds AC loads from the DC inputs and supplements from AC in.

There's a configuration setting in the Multiplus part of the easysolar to limit AC in. This may help limit AC draw, but if you set it too low, you will run your batteries down..

Set battery voltage slightly higher in the solar controller than the multiplus. This will stop battery charging from external AC unless batteries get low.

Mine is set up like this. No heavy loads most of the time. Only gets plugged into external AC when the panels are covered in snow. And there's plenty of power for occasional heavy loads.


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