Battery storage and car charging

[up_north]

So, just when I think I‘ve sussed everything about solar and battery storage, o hit another “ah but…”

Assume battery has charged from solar during the day. Battery starts discharging as the sun goes down. At 8.30pm we start our Octopus Go Faster five hour cheaper electricity period. I realise tomorrow is going to be a sunny day so am happy for the battery to keep discharging during the Go Faster period. But…I want to charge the car at the same time (assume car charger has no solar integration). How can I stop the car charger depleting the battery which will then mean using grid electricity (rather than battery) until solar kicks in? I know most systems allow you to not discharge during certain hours but in this scenario I do want it to discharge but to exclude the car charging,

I think this might be another “got to rethink what you do if you want solar” things.

 

[MHarv]

Set No discharge times for Start and Finish for the times of Oct Go faster in Battery Settings

 

[up_north]

Yes - I mentioned I could do that but just wondering if there was a way of powering everything except the car charger.

 

[johnb2713]

So, just when I think I‘ve sussed everything about solar and battery storage, o hit another “ah but…”

Assume battery has charged from solar during the day. Battery starts discharging as the sun goes down. At 8.30pm we start our Octopus Go Faster five hour cheaper electricity period. I realise tomorrow is going to be a sunny day so am happy for the battery to keep discharging during the Go Faster period. But…I want to charge the car at the same time (assume car charger has no solar integration). How can I stop the car charger depleting the battery which will then mean using grid electricity (rather than battery) until solar kicks in? I know most systems allow you to not discharge during certain hours but in this scenario I do want it to discharge but to exclude the car charging,

I think this might be another “got to rethink what you do if you want solar” things.

Wallboxes like ZAPPI monitor the export from your system, once the export exceeds 1.4kW, it will start the car charge at 1.4kW. It will increase it's output as more surplus solar becomes available and decrease it as loads change indoors eg kettle boiled etc. It really hinges around your wallbox being able to monitor the import / export.

 

[up_north]

Thanks John. That’s going to be a pain for me as my first generation Andersen A2 isn’t Solar friendly. So this means I’m not really going to be able to use the battery during our cheap rate because as soon as the car starts charging it will deplete within a couple of hours and there will be nothing left in the battery to power the house overnight and early morning.

 

[johnb2713]

Thanks John. That’s going to be a pain for me as my first generation Andersen A2 isn’t Solar friendly. So this means I’m not really going to be able to use the battery during our cheap rate because as soon as the car starts charging it will deplete within a couple of hours and there will be nothing left in the battery to power the house overnight and early morning.

May be worth having a chat with Andersen, they list their chargers as Solar PV compatible etc, even if yours is an earlier version, they may offer a software update or indeed part exchange to a newer one?

 

[up_north]

May be worth having a chat with Andersen, they list their chargers as Solar PV compatible etc, even if yours is an earlier version, they may offer a software update or indeed part exchange to a newer one?

Yeah - already spoke to them. There might be a small discount but they don’t have a specific upgrade programme. Which is annoying. Thanks.

 

[johnb2713]

Yeah - already spoke to them. There might be a small discount but they don’t have a specific upgrade programme. Which is annoying. Thanks.

Thats a disappointing attitude from them for sure, must make a note to avoid them like the plague. Any half decent company would have left spare inputs available and a firmware update system. To not do either and not to have a decent upgrade path is very poor.

 

[binky]

Any half decent company would have left spare inputs available and a firmware update system. To not do either and not to have a decent upgrade path is very poor.

it's what happens when engineering companies are run by accountants and managers with MBAs but no engineering background

 

[up_north]

Thats a disappointing attitude from them for sure, must make a note to avoid them like the plague. Any half decent company would have left spare inputs available and a firmware update system. To not do either and not to have a decent upgrade path is very poor.

If it were down to me I’d have had a Zappi up front but someone else decided the Andersen looks so much better - which to be fair it does

 

[johnb2713]

If it were down to me I’d have had a Zappi up front but someone else decided the Andersen looks so much better - which to be fair it does

I absolutely agree, the ZAPPI is butt ugly but works so well.