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Control problems

Always check this first​

tip

You can check off the boxes.

Is the controlled device online? Is the controlled device operating correctly on its own? Check for fault and error messages on the device. Is the grid energy meter still connected to the EMS? Is the internet connection ok? Is the local control mode set correctly? Is it enabled? Are there no external control signals active? (they take priority over the local control modes) Are the device settings correct (e.g. nominal power not too high, battery capacity correct)? Are the grid limits not too restrictive? Is remote control enabled in the device configuration? For cost optimization: are the price parameters correct? For self consumption, especially in winter: is there recent excess PV production? For batteries: is the minimum state of charge not too high?

 

note

See also "Setting local control modes" and "Device configuration".

External control integrations / external signals​

The EMS doesn't follow the external control signal.
  • Check if the external control signal is enabled.
  • Check if you have a valid contract with the provider of the external signal, and if you entered the right information during the configuration of the external signal.
  • Check if the device is configured to allow remote control.
  • Check if the device has no active faults/errors.
  • Check if the device allows 'exporting to the grid' in its configuration.

Local control​

The EMS doesn't follow the local control mode.
  • Check if there is an external control signal enabled (Frank Energie, Yuso, ...). External control signals take priority over local control modes.
  • Check if the device is configured to allow remote control.
  • Check if the device has no active faults/errors.
  • Check if the device allows 'exporting to the grid' in its configuration.

Grid limits / circuit breaker​

My circuit breaker trips
  • Check if solar production is also controlled. Uncontrolled solar production can be prone to heavy power fluctuations (up to 80%) when clouds fly over. Controlling the solar production prevents that the solar production rises too fast and beyond the limits.
  • If it is not possible to control the solar production, set a safe production ramp up rate of 25%/min.
I have an export power limit of 100kW, but my solar production is always limited to 90kW.

By default, a safety factor of 90% is applied, meaning that the Sofar EMS controls everything, including solar production, to be within 90% of the set grid limits. You can change this in the "Advanced Settings" menu (all the way to the bottom of the "Settings" menu). This safety factor helps safeguarding against exceeding the limits, by leaving some room for the controller to react to power fluctuations (e.g. clouds flying over can make the PV production dip by as much as 80%). If you have a combination of consumers and producers, then it is recommended to leave this to 90%. Only set this to 100% if you are sure that there is no risk of tripping breakers or big fluctuations leading to exceeding the limits.

Batteries​

I use cost optimization and my battery (dis)charges at the wrong moments.
  • Check if the local battery control mode is effectively set to cost optimization.
  • Check if there are no external control signals enabled (Frank Energie, Yuso, ...). External control signals take priority over local control modes.
  • Check if the device is configured to allow remote control.
  • Check if the device has no active faults/errors.
  • Check if the price settings are correct. (TODO: Add link how to do this)
  • Reset the prediction model. (TODO: Add link how to do this)
  • Disable "allow energy trading".
I use cost optimization and my battery did something else than what was in the planning earlier.
  • The planning of the Sofar EMS is updated continuously and adapts to changing situations. It is possible that the Sofar EMS estimates that something that was a good action before is no longer a good action later on.
  • Check if the local battery control mode is effectively set to cost optimization.
  • Check if there are no external control signals enabled (Frank Energie, Yuso, ...). External control signals take priority over local control modes.
  • Check if the device is configured to allow remote control.
  • Check if the price settings are correct. (TODO: Add link how to do this)
  • Reset the prediction model. (TODO: Add link how to do this)
  • Disable "allow energy trading".
I use cost optimization and my battery is not doing anything.
  • The planning of the Sofar EMS is updated continuously and adapts to changing situations. It is possible that the Sofar EMS estimates that something that was a good action before is no longer a good action later on.
  • Check if the local battery control mode is effectively set to cost optimization.
  • Check if there are no external control signals enabled (Frank Energie, Yuso, ...). External control signals take priority over local control modes.
  • Check if the device is configured to allow remote control.
  • Check if the price settings are correct. (TODO: Add link how to do this)
  • Check if the price spread (difference between the maximum price and minimum price of the day) is too low. If yes, you may want to change Settings by decreasing the value of Minimum price difference for storage when control mode is "Minimize costs". Do not set this value lower than 0.02€/kWh.
I use self consumption and the grid power consumption is not exactly zero.

This can happen because of several factors:

  • Many battery inverters have a limited accuracy, typically 1%. Some inverters perform worse if their power is very low.
  • The Sofar EMS has to track the grid power and continuously control it towards zero. It takes some time before batteries react on changing control signals, which in case of fast fluctuating energy consumption may result in a grid power close to zero, but not exactly zero, or fluctuating slightly around zero.

A combined accuracy of 2% of the biggest device's nominal power may typically be expected.

The power of my battery oscillates up and down.
  • Check if the energy meter is not installed in reverse. You can virtually invert the direction of the energy meter from the device settings in the "Devices tab" of the commissioning interface. See also Reversing energy meter readings.
  • The measurements of the grid meter and the battery are not synchronous. This can happen if one of the two is slow in communication or updating its measurements. TODO: Add a link to the advanced settings to change the settling check.
My inverter has a nominal power of 20kW, but my batteries never (dis)charge faster than 10kW.

There are several reasons why the batteries may not (dis)charge at the same power as the inverter:

  1. There may be charge/discharge limits in place (check the settings of the battery inverter in the commissioning interface).
  2. The nominal power of the battery may be less than the nominal power of the battery inverter.
  3. The battery is outside its optimal operating temperature, and operates at limited power.
  4. The battery cells may be out of balance. Charge the battery completely to balance the cells. TODO: Add link here to how to do this.

What you can check too:

  • Check if the device allows 'exporting to the grid' in its configuration.
The state of charge of my battery changes very suddenly or drops to zero unexpectedly.

This is an indication of an unbalance between the cells of the batteries. This issue is often solved by force charging the battery to 100% for several hours. To balance the battery cells:

I have set a minimum state of charge of 5%, but the battery stops discharging at 6%.

The Sofar EMS stops discharging at 1% above the minimum state of charge. This is because of the following protection mechanism that is used to prevent the battery from completely draining due to self discharging: The Sofar EMS will send a signal to the battery to charge at a small amount as soon as the state of charge drops to 1% below the minimum state of charge due to self discharge of the battery. This charge signal is maintained until the battery is at 1% above the minimum state of charge. The Sofar EMS charges the battery 2% and not 1%, to prevent that an unstable measurement of the state of charge would cause continuous switchovers between charging and not charging. (If your battery is in reality at 4.99%, then it might report as 4%, which would cause charging, and quickly it would go to 5.00%, stop charging, drop back to 4.99% in a small time, start charging again, and so on.)

Solar inverters​

I have a specific feed in limit set, but there is more power fed into the grid than the limit.

Settings to check:

  • Check if the "Allowed grid export power (kW)" is set to the right limit. (See also Grid limits)
  • Check if the local control mode for solar is set to "Feed in restriction till allowed grid export power". (See also Grid limits)
  • Check if the device is configured to allow remote control.
  • Check if all the solar inverters of the installation are connected to the Sofar EMS and listens to the curtailment commands. (See also Testing/manual override)
  • If you only have batteries and solar inverters that are not connected to the Sofar EMS, then the battery might have been full. You must add the inverter too.
  • If you have a hybrid inverter, then make sure during the adding of the device you chose to add both PV and the battery (if requested during the adding).
I have an export power limit of 100kW, but my solar production is always limited to 90kW.

By default, a safety factor of 90% is applied, meaning that the Sofar EMS controls everything, including solar production, to be within 90% of the set grid limits. You can change this in the "Advanced Settings" menu (all the way to the bottom of the "Settings" menu). This safety factor helps safeguarding against exceeding the limits, by leaving some room for the controller to react to power fluctuations (e.g. clouds flying over can make the PV production dip by as much as 80%). If you have a combination of consumers and producers, then it is recommended to leave this to 90%. Only set this to 100% if you are sure that there is no risk of tripping breakers or big fluctuations leading to exceeding the limits.

Electric vehicles​

My EV always charges at low power, as soon as I plug it in.
  • For many charging pole - EV combinations it is not possible to completely suspend charging, or the EV goes into fault. They often need at least 6A of charging current.
  • In the device settings in the commissioning interface, try setting "Allow suspending charging" to true. This indicates to the Sofar EMS that this EV - charging station combination supports suspending charging.
  • Check if the device is configured to allow remote control.
  • Check if the charging stations is communicating correctly with the Sofar EMS. Charging stations that are not communicating correctly may go to a low current fallback mode.
My EV always goes into fault.
  • For many charging pole - EV combinations it is not possible to completely suspend charging, or the EV goes into fault. They often need at least 6A of charging current.
  • In the device settings in the commissioning interface, try setting "Allow suspending charging" to false/disabled. This indicates to the Sofar EMS that this EV - charging station combination does not support suspending charging.
I have an EV and a battery, and I don't want the battery to discharge for charging my EV.
My EV doesn't charge at full power, even if there is enough power available.

EV charging stations only accept maximum charging currents. Most likely the Sofar EMS does send full power as the maximum charge current, but the EV might decide on its own not to use this. The effective charging speed is especially likely to be lower if the EV is almost full.

Energy meters​

My energy meter is not reporting the right values.
  • Check if the energy meter is installed in the right direction. You can virtually invert the direction of the energy meter from the device settings in the "Devices tab" of the commissioning interface. See also Reversing energy meter readings.
  • Check if the energy meter is calibrated correctly. If you have a three-phase energy meter, check if the three phases are connected to the right wires.

Other​

I want to implement my own control algorithm. Can I do this?

Yes, you can use the external API for this purpose. TODO: add link