Photovoltaic System Drawing 100% Energy from the Grid Despite Full Batteries and Sunny Weather

Q&A and troubleshooting
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Hi everyone,

I’m experiencing an issue with my photovoltaic system. It started drawing 100% of energy from the grid, even when the sun is shining and the batteries are fully charged. The system has been running for about 9 months, all devices are updated to the latest firmware.

My setup includes:

  • 3x MultiPlus-II 48/5000/70-48
  • 5x Pylontech 3000C batteries
  • 3x MPPT VE.Can 250/85 rev2
  • Cerbo GX

I’ve gone through all the settings, but the problem persists. Every time I switch from Inverter Only mode back to Mode - On, the system exclusively draws energy from the grid instead of using solar power or batteries.

Has anyone experienced something similar or can suggest what to check? I’d appreciate any advice.

Thanks in advance!

2

Do you have a cerbo gx? Is it set to keep batteries charged or minimum battery 100%?

3

Hi, my settings are set to Optimized (without BatteryLife) with a minimum SOC (unless the grid fails) at 20%.

The issue is shown in the attached images:

  • Image 1: Mode is set to “ON,” and as you can see, the energy is being drawn only from the grid.
  • Image 2: Mode is switched to “Inverter Only,” and suddenly it starts drawing energy from the panels and the battery.

Thank you for looking into this! Let me know if you need more details. :blush:

fig1 - mode on
fig1 - mode on1000×677 49 KB

fig2
fig21011×663 44.7 KB

A few more observations: I discovered error code #66 in the logs of the MPPT tracker. After some research, I found that others have encountered this issue, and it seems to be related to the latest firmware version 3.16.

Why do I mention this? Because I suspect my entire system started behaving strangely after the update. I rolled back the MPPT trackers to version 3.15, but unfortunately, this didn’t resolve the issue.

What’s interesting is that I can change the ESS settings and the minimum battery SOC, but the system still behaves the same, as if it prioritizes input from the grid. I’ve also tried adjusting the “grid setpoint” and “feed-in” parameters, but even these changes didn’t affect the system’s operation.

4

Don’t know if your issue is connected, but I found a similar unwanted change in behaviour of my (same) MP2 was reset by power cycling the MP2 and pylon batteries.

5

I have restarted all the devices within the system, including the batteries, but so far, nothing has helped. I am still looking for a solution. Thank you very much! :slightly_smiling_face:

7

This has a number of causes, the main one is usually the mix of a smart network and using the GX in the system which is not recommended.

8

Have you set up and programmed as descibed here.

9

Have you firmware updated your inverters, gx and mppts? Or did you skip the inverters?

10

Hi, yes, I’ve already updated to the latest version, and I’ve also updated the inverters.

image
image1081×512 27.4 KB

11

Yes, I have a smart home controlled by Loxone, and I’m using data from the Cerbo in my system. Would it be better to disconnect it from the Victron system?

12

If it only reading data then that shouldn’t be a problem

13

I had this problem on a motorhome system I just can’t remember how I cured it! I recall it was very simple, just a simple setting somewhere with an obscure name

14

I managed to resolve the issue :+1:. After various configuration attempts and exploring solutions, I eventually performed a complete reinstallation of the Cerbo GX following a verified procedure. The subsequent setup went smoothly, and the system is now running flawlessly. :slightly_smiling_face:
I followed this guide: https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/Cerbo_GX/en/reset-to-factory-defaults-and-venus-os-reinstall.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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