New SW and XW communication "Conext ComBox

Re: New SW and XW communication "Conext ComBox

Joe_B wrote: »

I will modify my support settings to draw down my batteries to about 80% SOC.

Lead-acid's don't really like to be cycled from 80-100% SOC all the time. They really prefer 50-80%. You have to work 'em or you'll lose 'em. They die whether they're worked or not. And usually, just like people, they die faster if they set around and don't do anything.
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Chris

Re: New SW and XW communication "Conext ComBox

Joe_B wrote: »

Usually I don't like to be below 70% for more than a few days.

So you got the REB's with the low specific gravity? Or do you have the ones that go up to 1.300 if you put the Big Cook to 'em?
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Chris

Re: New SW and XW communication "Conext ComBox

Joe_B wrote: »

Mine are the lower SG ones, the max I have ever cooked them up to was 1.260. According to Trojan, they wont have as much capacity as the hot ones but are supposed to last a lot longer. They are rated at 370 AH.

Yeah, those are the good ones, IMHO. They take higher charging voltages and don't have the capacity of the hot ones. But from what I have seen they are more like the IND-series (Industrial) and they last longer too.
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Chris

Re: New SW and XW communication "Conext ComBox

This is the type of information I find useful from the ComBox. We had relatively poor solar and wind conditions here today. After noon when our loads started to increase I made the decision to run our diesel generator. Then shut it off for an hour. Didn't like how much power we were using and the SOC of the battery (not much above 60% SOC all day). So I started it again and it's still running because the batteries are really low tonight.

Looking at the graphs that the ComBox provides, I can see that our prime generator output never exceeded loads except for one hour from 5:00 - 6:00 PM. This is what I like to see. We're not wasting gen power and fuel charging batteries. We're using it to reduce the load on the batteries and conserve their power because the RE didn't do its job today. The ComBox tells me that I'm making the right decisions as to when to run the diesel generator. And in the future allows us to make better informed decisions, based on loads, about when to use it. At 8.78 kWh/gallon of fuel with the diesel my hopes are that using it in this manner will cut our generator fuel bill by about 20% of last winter by never allowing the Honda to be used for battery charging - ever. Use those generators only for powering loads that the RE system can't meet.

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Chris

Re: New SW and XW communication "Conext ComBox

The ability to see real numbers and pull them up for any date and time is what I like. I have an old utility meter on the generators so I could measure that before. But not having to do all the math to figure it all out - and being able access it within seconds in one place, and compare it to other information it gathers, gives me a better handle on the fine details of our power system. Details that my wife and I can use to better manage it to make it more efficient.

The information it gathers on net current (and energy) to and from the battery on a daily basis is REALLY nice. I am not analyzing that yet as I want to collect a couple months worth of data. Then I can start looking seriously at battery efficiency vs daily cycle depth, and how to use prime power based on battery SOC and efficiency instead of basing it on loads. In a few weeks I'll have the information on that that I need to start taking a serious look at it.

Living off grid is not cheap. But this is definitely a tool that gives me the information I need to make it more affordable in the long term.
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Chris

Re: New SW and XW communication "Conext ComBox

SkiDoo55 wrote: »

I can really see where it would provide an offgrid system more information than it does for an GT only ongrid system.

Admittedly, I know nothing about grid-tie systems. I understand in basic terms how they work, and lots of experience with generators on grid backup systems. But zero experience with GT inverters on solar. On the surface it looks much simpler than off-grid battery-based systems. I would imagine you cannot use the Loads screen? Because the inverter does not actually power the loads directly like it does on off-grid? And I would imagine you have no way to track the use of a standby generator? Because the inverter has no generator input? And probably no information at all on the battery screens?

It would be interesting to see the data from some of the various screens in your ComBox with a GT setup. I was wondering how they display all that info that, from a casual viewpoint, would seem to be tailored more for off-grid than GT.
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Chris

Re: New SW and XW communication "Conext ComBox

Well, don't necessarily need to see the screens - just wondered how a GT inverter works as far as loads and grid. If I understand a GT inverter correctly, it just feeds the grid and no loads in the house pass thru it like a XW does if its grid tied? So in that case, it would show what it sells to the grid in the Loads screen (the one with the light bulb)?

Just trying to figure out how they tailored it to meet different kinds of system's needs for reporting information.
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Chris