Configuration Help: Prioritise Solar/Battery Over Shore Power in RV

[Adam2 (Adam)]

Hello,

I’m looking for assistance configuring my Victron system to prioritise solar over shore power.

I’ve moved my system to a new RV which has a constant AC load of approximately 240W. Even on sunny days with ample solar available (1040W array), the system continuously draws this 240W from the grid. My goal is to power these loads from solar and the battery bank, only using shore power when necessary.

System Components:

• Inverter/Charger: MultiPlus 12/3000/120

• Batteries: 2 x 180Ah Lithium (360Ah total)

• Solar: 1040W

• Solar Controller: SmartSolar MPPT 150/85

• DC-DC: Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-30 (or specify your model)

• Monitoring: Cerbo GX

What I’ve tried:

1. Sustain Mode: This setting only charged the batteries and did not use solar/battery to power AC loads while connected to shore.

2. Ignore AC Input (Virtual Switch): I configured it to ignore AC unless SOC was <70% or AC load was >1400W. This caused issues with my battery cells going out of balance and frequently triggered absorption charge cycles that would not complete.

The system works perfectly off-grid, running the loads from solar and battery as expected. I have attached screenshots showing the available solar power when I disconnect the shore line.

Ideally, I am looking for the correct assistant or configuration file (.rvsc) to achieve this “self-consumption” model. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Adam

[MikeD (Mike)]

Firstly, the attachments failed to upload.

The ignore AC in is the correct approach to get the system running as you want.

However, to do this, it is necessary that the solar input maintain the battery voltage above the SOC threshold set for AC charging. You don’t say what type of batteries you have, and if the BMS communicates with the Cerbo. This is usually required for proper operation of lithium battery systems.

If the BMS won’t communicate with the Cerbo, I would add a smart shunt to monitor the battery current and voltage, and then use the Cerbo to share this information with the rest of the system.

[Adam2 (Adam)]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the reply. To clarify, I do have a Victron Smart Shunt installed. My batteries are Exotronic Alphas with their own built-in BMS, but they don’t communicate directly with the Victron system.

I’m happy to use the “ignore AC input” function, but I’m unsure what settings to use to prevent the system from initiating absorption charge cycle every time they reach 100% . Could you guide me on the correct configuration?

I hope ii an explaining myself correctly.

Thanks,

Adam