Hi All
It has been very sunny these last few days (I know…I know…) and I have been on Flux exporting 1700-1900. The battery isolator has been tripping around 1830 for the last three days or so. It occurs when the solar array is exporting to grid around 1.7-2kW and I have the max exporting from my batteries at 3600W. I have 5kWHy Gen 3 inverter. I contacted my installer (who fitted my 3rd Gen3 GE battery!) who suggested that the grid voltage was getting too high - maybe due all this export (or maybe due to so many people in the street who also have solar arrays?). I checked the inverter voltage and it tripped around 248-250V and the inverter was max at 5000W. He suggested that I might mitigate this tripping by reducing the power output from batteries from 3600W to maybe 3400W…or maybe a bit lower (trial and error) while these conditions prevail. It seems to make sense to me.
I should also say that our bungalow and the neighbour’s are connected by the same power cable from the National Grid and he also has solar panels..Last summer the Nat Grid spoke to me and said that he had some high voltage readings and it was assumed that when both sets of panels were exporting and batteries were maybe that was causing voltage spikes.
What do team community members think?
One person suggested replacing the isolator switch..
I very much doubt it is directly caused by high grid voltage, it sounds more like an installation problem with cables maybe not being tightened up properly or a faulty trip switch.
The reason I can be so confident is that I have a high grid voltage problem which my DNO is resolving, but what happens is that the inverter shuts down generation or export, the trip switches NEVER go.
You can see it very graphically here, the solar power cutting out with high grid voltage
248-250V is within grid supply limits, the max voltage is 253V so again the trip switch shouldn’t go.
And even though you and your neighbour are on the same cable you should be on separate grid phases so his and your export won’t directly affect the grid supply.
High grid voltage (above 253V) can be reported to your DNO
Geoffrey - this is how Rubikcube replied to me:
First, grid voltage is nothing to do with the breaker tripping.
Second, have you been on Flux for a while? I might be interested in switching to Flux, but Octopus website says it’s currently unavailable.
Third. How many batteries do you have? Is the tripping breaker on one of the batteries (the master?) or is it a separate breaker in it’s own box.
Forth, reducing the discharge power is an excellent suggestion for now.
and my reply to him:
Thank you so much Andrew
I have been on Flux since last April/May…but I have a heat pump and in January I was using so much electricity on Flux Import/Export that I moved to Cosy. Octopus however, left me on Flux Export which has great prices for 1600-1900 which times I have been using (now with long summer evenings). I read somewhere that I was not supposed to be on Cosy+Flux but Octopus seem to be OK with it.
I have three batteries - a newish (January) Gen3 which is now Master and two Gen1 batteries which are now S1 and S2. Originally The two Gen 1 had a trip switch (TS1) for (old) Master and a separate switch (TS2) for the S Gen1.
The new installer made (correctly) the Gen3 Master and connects via the TS1 (it is this one that trips!) and the gen3 connects to the “old” Gen1 batteries. I never had any issues with tripping until the sunny weather started. TS1 is a separate breaker in its own box (as is TS2). The Gen3 (as you know) has its own breaker on the side
I have turned the max power export to around 3300W - does this sound OK??
Yes try 3300W, and if that doesn’t work, drop it down again
but …
I would stop the force exporting to take advantage of the Flux peak evening rates because you can’t be on Flux export whilst on Cosy import.
Octoput are not OK with it, they just haven’t noticed - yet.
I had the same thing happen, I swapped from Flux to Agile and Octopus only changed the import tariff and left me on the Flux export tariff. Then about 6 months later they realised the issue, told me that I was on an invalid tariff combination and that its in the Flux terms and conditions that you can only get import and export as a coupled pair, and moved me back to standard (at the time) 15p export rate. And rebilled me for the entire 6 month period that I had been on the invalid tariff combination.
I did complain but the terms and conditions are clear about this.
And I’m not the only one, it seems this is a faulty in Octopus’s tariff switching that they don’t move the outgoing when you move off Flux, you have to manually request a move.
My advice is to tell Octopus the issue and get them to move you to either Agile Outgoing or Flat Outgoing (12p). They will catch up with you sooner or later and rebill you
Thank you again Geoffrey regarding the 3300W and Octopus advice.
I have just written to them to suggest “Agile Outgoing” and stated I received no instructions from them to change from Export Flux and that it was not in any terms or conditions when moving to Cosy - except £25 penalty for leaving
