[RE-wrenches] Inverter output fluctuations

Sun Jul 23 07:57:48 PDT 2023

Take the covers off XW+ Boss !  Go to webinar this Thursday below.  
Happy Sunday !
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Friends,

Because we ran out of time during the XW Pro Troubleshooting webinar, we 
weren't able to take any questions.

I wanted to give you the opportunity to join this follow-up webinar, and 
this time I promise to leave plenty of time for Q&A.

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✅ Monitoring options
✅ Q&A

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https://solar.se.com/us/en/event/xw-pro-performance-design-and-monitoring/ 
[1]

  I look forward to seeing you then .Eric

Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
"we go where powerlines don't"
http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/
e-mail  offgridsolar at sti.net
text 209 813 0060

On 2023-07-23 7:40 am, Howie Michaelson via RE-wrenches wrote:

> Jay,
> I'm not sure what Schneider has to say, since Tech Support has been 
> impossible to reach this week (apparently something is wrong with their 
> phone system) and it was only recently that we determined the cause.  
> It should be under warranty, unless there is lightning damage. I will 
> write to my support contacts and see if they have anything helpful to 
> offer via email, although I find that form of communication with them 
> to often be less than satisfactory.
> 
> Howie
> 
> On Sun, Jul 23, 2023 at 8:54 AM Jay via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> 
> Given that it worked fine for years it would appear that the XW+ has an 
> issue.
> 
> I don't see how the SE could cause this.
> 
> Is it still under warranty? What does Schneider say about the issue.
> 
> Jay
> 
> On Jul 22, 2023, at 10:33 PM, Howie Michaelson via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> 
> Michael, that is my last ditch choice as I will be eating the cost and 
> time.  When I installed this setup 4+ years ago, having done a few 
> similar installations (although mostly on grid), I had not seen any 
> issue with the design, nor heard anyone else suggesting that this 
> design might cause this type of issue. And this did not become an issue 
> at this site until a few months ago, having operated well until then. 
> As I am now hearing, the XW+ is not well equipped to handle voltage 
> regulation when dealing with AC coupled inverters. I don't really 
> understand why the issue is just now showing up, although I suppose it 
> could possibly be due to lightning damage. If the only solution is to 
> install a high voltage charge controller, so be it.  Unfortunately this 
> won't be an insignificant cost in dollars and time, a cost I'm not 
> excited to be affording, particularly right now after taking on some 
> substantial losses due to our recent historical flooding.  If there was 
> another, less expensive solution, I'd be happy to hear about it. Sorry 
> to sound whiny, I'm just not very happy about this eventuality...
> 
> Howie
> Sun Catcher
> 
> Solar Electric Systems Sales & Service
> 802-272-0004
> 
> On Sat, Jul 22, 2023 at 11:49 PM Michael Morningstar via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> Replacing SE with Conext 600-100😊, Seriously, everything will then play 
> nice together, and it's only a matter of time before the SE has to go.
> 
> On Sat, Jul 22, 2023 at 4:02 PM Howie Michaelson via RE-wrenches 
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> I was finally able to get to the site with the light pulsating issue. 
> It turns out it is that it directly corresponds to the AC coupled 
> SolarEdge HDwave 6kW inverter.  Moreover, the pulsating gets stronger 
> with higher output of the SolarEdge inverter (as more sun pouches more 
> current through the inverter). And the hum of the XW+ very noticeably 
> fluctuates in direct proportion to light fluxuations. It affects all 
> the lights in the house, regardless of manufacturer, wattage or age. I 
> did not have an oscilloscope, but looking at the Hz, it does sag very 
> slightly to 59.9 when the SolarEdge is producing, down from a rock 
> solid 60 Hz when the SE is not producing. The output voltage does not 
> change at all.  The fluctuations in both the lights and the inverter 
> hum immediately stops when the SolarEdge production is shut off. So it 
> is clearly some interaction between the 2 inverters causing this issue.
> 
> Has anyone dealt with this issue before? Does anyone have any 
> suggestions for dealing with this, short of replacing the SolarEdge 
> with a Schneider high voltage Charge Controller?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Howie
> 
> On Mon, Jul 3, 2023, 7:09 PM Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar via 
> RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> 
> I think I would try eliminating things. Turn off the AC coupling for a 
> few days and get results. Turn of DC solar and get results. Measure AC 
> voltage with a scope or just observe voltage during the flicker. Are 
> all of the lights flickering? Are they on dimmers?  Are there any loads 
> failing that could be the source? Is the output with-in spec? Rock 
> solid 60 HZ right.
> 
> Do an AC bypass of XW with the genset and check for flicker symptoms.
> 
> Are they on Insight? They really need it for you to monitor.  Are there 
> any faults, warnings or events ? Check history.  There are a few 
> settings in the old XW+ that could have been glitched by a surge or 
> nearby lightning strike.
> 
> XW+ could have a damaged FET. Open the unit and do a  visual.
> There would be a smell and transistor fragments on the bottom right 
> side of the power bridge. 90% of XW failures have visual evidence.
> 
> While you have it open, Check the DSP sensing and control board, both 
> LEDs (light-emitting diodes) D24 and D25 are on.
> 
> Last thing is a DC power down of the unit and the DC buss for 5 
> minutes.  If that does not work, then a reset to factory values.
> This is off an old list I got from Support many years ago and combined 
> with my findings over the years. Really rare for this kind of weirdness 
> and why it would be getting worse without visual evidence.
> 
> Good Luck Howie!
> 
> Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
> "we go where powerlines don't"
> http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/
> e-mail  offgridsolar at sti.net
> text 209 813 0060
> 
> On 2023-07-03 12:42 pm, Howie Michaelson via RE-wrenches wrote:
> 
> Hi All,
> I upgraded an old clients' off-grid system about five years ago to a 
> Schneider XW6848+ and 2 Blue Ion 2.0 cabinets (32kWh). When the 
> batteries were moving toward full, if the charge rate was on the higher 
> side via generator or solar (AC coupled w/SolarEdge 6kW and DC coupled 
> with an FM 80), they would start to get pulsating lights similar to 
> symptoms of other older inverters when using a generator for charging. 
> The solution for this pulsation has usually been to kick back the AC 
> charge amperage just enough so the pulsating calmed down to a tolerable 
> inconsequential level.  And that worked in this case as well.
> However, a few weeks ago, the pulsating became more noticeable and has 
> now become fairly intolerable.  To my knowledge, no settings changes we 
> made within the previous year, and these clients would be loath to make 
> any changes, so I doubt there were any. More puzzling is the pulsating 
> has started to happen at seemingly random times not related to 
> charging.  It happens at night or pre-dawn mornings without the 
> generator, or during the afternoons with solar charging.  And it is 
> getting progressively worse.
> Anyone have any thoughts on why that would start getting worse now?
> 
> Howie
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