On-grid domestic battery storage

Zarch

Solarchaser said:

Zarch said:

I got my Lux / Pylon package from Jake at Infinity Innovations as they are local to me.
https://www.pvpro.co.uk/battery-storage/pylon/
Feel free to mention me or the energy stats site if you ask him for a quote.

That IS interesting, are they listing the parralel, and did you find them cheaper than think renewables?

My understanding is that Infinity are very well connected with Lux.  Not sure why he doesn't put any prices on their site for the batteries.  Maybe prices fluctuate?    Probably just need to drop him an email for the latest.

mickyduck55

EVandPV said:

Nice one !  👍
What would also be really useful is code that could predict and set how much to grid charge the Pylons based on weather forecast and time of year, similar to the Powerwall.
Trying to judge this manually gets fairly tedious quite quickly.
I'm sure some smarter cookie than me will figure it  before long.

It would be great if when some "smart cookie" works this out they could putt everything I need in a box and send it LOL

joefizz

Solarchaser said:

The manual assumes using brackets does it?
So does it also assume you cannot put them in a rack without those brackets?
Technical manuals do not assume!

My manual mentions nothing about distance from the inverter, what version do you have?
If its saying 500mm in yours, then my 450mm plus 18mm of insulation in the form of the mdf shelf will be more than enough.

You are correct, the user manual doesnt assume. I know, Ive written enough of them. Version 2.1 is the latest I have it has a diagram, assume was my word.

I also have the pro installer manual, it mentions airgaps in racks etc. You can get this from pylontech themselves.

Hope that clears things up for you. Im sure you will be fine, the guides are just for longevity rather than anything else. Usage will be the main factor in longevity.

joefizz

EVandPV said:

Yeah, been having a similar debate about adding a 3rd Pylon to get up to 3.6kw which doesn't make much financial sense for us either.

What made the difference for me was that over the 2nd pylon I could use the battery bank to power the immersion directly so bypassing the oil boiler for summer hot water. 15 min burst is enough for a shower.

May not make much difference if you have an iboost or the like but all adds up.

The 2nd hand option is worth considering as its only really the physical presence of the 3rd battery that is required for the full supply, so you wont necessarily need a top notch capability battery to deliver this (the bms seems good enough at dealing with mismatched batteries and capacities). Where you do have to be wary with 2nd hand is the potential loss of warranty (depends on warranty conditions, may be first install/user etc) so would need to be considerably cheaper than new.
One other thing to mention with regard to 2nd hand is that the firmware in your inverter will be matched to a range of battery firmware and the manuals do stress this (as do the sales sites). I cant see the 2000s getting more support going forward so make sure any locked in firmware in the one you are buying matches what you have. I would also hazard a guess that the form factor for the 2000s will change soon if it hasnt already, saying that with covid etc and seeing supply issues from China with other non battery related stuff its anyones guess right now.

EVandPV

joefizz said:

EVandPV said:

Yeah, been having a similar debate about adding a 3rd Pylon to get up to 3.6kw which doesn't make much financial sense for us either.

What made the difference for me was that over the 2nd pylon I could use the battery bank to power the immersion directly so bypassing the oil boiler for summer hot water. 15 min burst is enough for a shower.

May not make much difference if you have an iboost or the like but all adds up.

 I have a diy immersion controller built using an arduino and solid state relay but the ct sensor isn't behaving when the Lux is on for some reason so that might well add weight to the case for a 3rd Pylon if I can't get it working correctly.

joefizz

I know ive mentioned it before but I'll restate for new pylontech buyers.

The standard warranty is 5 years but if you register with pylontech they will extend it to 7 (ok dropping nominal capacity down from 80% at 5 years to 70% for the end of 7 years but better than nothing)
The warranty only applies to purchases from registered resellers though and has enough caveats (tests at 25C, installed according to instructions etc) so might not be worth the paper the pdf is printed on ;-)

joefizz

EVandPV said:

  I have a diy immersion controller built using an arduino and solid state relay but the ct sensor isn't behaving when the Lux is on for some reason so that might well add weight to the case for a 3rd Pylon if I can't get it working correctly.

I dont know the Lux at all so take this with a pinch of salt but....
Im not a big fan of multiple CT clamps as theres just too much room for error and feedback loops etc so if I was experimenting with it Id experiment more with using an arduino (or dedicated chip) to split the CT feed to two separate pieces of equipment so say when output (x) is above inverter threshold plus 1000w , then x-500 w goes to the inverter and 500w goes to the immersion until such time as battery is full (or vice versa until tank is up to temp). You would need something to measure full battery etc or for a simpler option just split CT output value in half and feed to both.

mickyduck55

LUX Ac inverter Can anyone tell me the default settings for Reactive power % CMD(%).... mine is set to "0%" my sons set to 100%

EVandPV

mickyduck55 said:

LUX Ac inverter Can anyone tell me the default settings for Reactive power % CMD(%).... mine is set to "0%" my sons set to 100%

Mine is set to 50% and it won't accept any higher than 60% !!??
Not a clue what it does either. Many of the settings are fairly cryptic and I haven't seen any manuals or guides.
I haven't touched anything other than the grid charging and discharge cut-off settings as I'd like to think the default settings are correct. System seems to working well also.

EVandPV

joefizz said:

I dont know the Lux at all so take this with a pinch of salt but....
Im not a big fan of multiple CT clamps as theres just too much room for error and feedback loops 

You could be right, the Lux and Zappi both use 2 CTs so that's 5 including the arduino.
It's a bit Heath Robinson with bits of code from various sources and I'm not sure if it's worth the bother trying to resolve the conflict. 
I'll probably end up removing it and just use the 'boost' button on the immersion timer when the batteries are full.