@batpred Make sure you get one with a big enough CT to fit the tails! Mine did not fit the 25mm tail from the cut out. 😕 . I eventually got one from Aliexpress but again get one with the correct ratio.

Posted by: @batpred

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Just in case anyone is evaluating which battery manufacturers are "supported" to use in the Solis, below is the list I see for the Solis S6 on Soliscloud today.  Many of these are also known by other names in some markets.  

...

JiaWei-LV
J-Pack-LV
KODAK-LV
LG Chem LV
Lithium battery LV
Lithium Battery LV(RS485)
MOURA
NAHUI LV
Narada
PAND
PureDrive-LV
PYLON_LV
...

Actually, I came across the list of batteries that this Solis inverter has been tested with. Generic types like Lithium battery LV can be from many manufacturers. 

Essentially the section of the linked PDF titled "Solis Residential Low-Voltage Energy Storage Inverters"

Posted by: @batpred

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This type of permanent CT clamps "Tuya 2 Way WiFi Energy Meter Bidirection With Clamp App AC110V 240V (2CT) O3J1" are useful to understand whether importing or exporting and how much.

Before buying into anything in the (vast) range of Tuya-enabled products,
just check what features would be compromised if the Tuya-owned servers were hacked or the internet was down.

I recently bought a product which had optional Tuya controls.
Unfortunately it can't be configured without using the Tuya App
so I scanned a QR-code on the printed instructions and then found it had given me a Tik Tok account!

The new product isn't all singing and dancing, but I am ! 🤔 

@transparent 

I picked up a Shelly Pro EM-50.

A bit more expensive than these (which I was also looking at), but decided at £20 more was a much better option. Will be fitted next week when HP is installed.

Posted by: @transparent

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Posted by: @batpred

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This type of permanent CT clamps "Tuya 2 Way WiFi Energy Meter Bidirection With Clamp App AC110V 240V (2CT) O3J1" are useful to understand whether importing or exporting and how much.

Before buying into anything in the (vast) range of Tuya-enabled products,
just check what features would be compromised if the Tuya-owned servers were hacked or the internet was down.

I recently bought a product which had optional Tuya controls.
Unfortunately it can't be configured without using the Tuya App
so I scanned a QR-code on the printed instructions and then found it had given me a Tik Tok account!

The new product isn't all singing and dancing, but I am ! 🤔 

Quite often, Tuya-enabled products have the advantage of a local API (i.e. the ability for you to configure your third party system - like Home Assistant - to talk to the product locally, without going near the Internet). However, the flip side to that is that Tuya is about the most downright awkward of systems to integrate with.

To be frank, I've had so many problems trying to work with Tuya APIs that I will actively avoid Tuya-enabled devices unless there's no realistic alternative, even if the alternative is significantly more expensive.

Posted by: @batpred

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Actually, I came across the list of batteries that this Solis inverter has been tested with. Generic types like Lithium battery LV can be from many manufacturers. 

Let's take a step back a moment and consider what Solis are saying.

The component which would be expected to communicate with one of their inverters is the BMS unit inside a branded battery.

Moreover, 'compatibility' will differ according to what features Solis are picking up from talking Modbus with the BMS.
There's not much difficulty in picking up the cell-voltages and displaying them on a Solis App or web-interface for example.

But does the Solis firmware actually implement anything useful?

What would happen if the BMS detected a cell failing to hold charge (premature ageing)
or a busbar connection with a higher resistance than the others?

Do you think Solis would retrieve that data for each battery with which they're claiming compatibility?

Would it be given an appropriate level of 'Fault Alarm' to enable the user to take appropriate action?

Because if Solis can't deliver a system which addresses fault conditions, then claiming 'compatibility' isn't particularly useful.

Posted by: @transparent

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Posted by: @batpred

↑

This type of permanent CT clamps "Tuya 2 Way WiFi Energy Meter Bidirection With Clamp App AC110V 240V (2CT) O3J1" are useful to understand whether importing or exporting and how much.

Before buying into anything in the (vast) range of Tuya-enabled products,
just check what features would be compromised if the Tuya-owned servers were hacked or the internet was down.

It is not as simple to hack as that... 

The context here is to spend a few quid to setup some local monitoring (to help @johnnyb and others to monitor the import and export of inverters, etc). 

The Solis inverter can be locked down significantly anyway. 

Posted by: @transparent

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I recently bought a product which had optional Tuya controls.
Unfortunately it can't be configured without using the Tuya App
so I scanned a QR-code on the printed instructions and then found it had given me a Tik Tok account!

The new product isn't all singing and dancing, but I am ! 🤔 

Sorry to hear, SmartLife is the app that is used by many chinese home automation device manufacturer, including Tuya - sometimes they differ slightly. Anyway, your story sounds similar to Samsung Smarthings´, which they expect to be usable to manage their ASHP (and we have a constant stream of customers here).. When an app tries to be that jack of all trades, and to manage anything from temperature sensors to home alarms to aircon, can it ever be the best? 

Regarding Tuya, I do not really distinguish them from many other cheap IoT. The £20 clamp that I have is still working after a year and so, outliving my expectations. @majordennisbloodnok When I used the Tuya api management dev cloud platform (in order to setup permissions for the devices so they can be accessed via the local network on Home assistant), I found it very similar to the ones from major players.

Posted by: @transparent

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Let's take a step back a moment and consider what Solis are saying.

The component which would be expected to communicate with one of their inverters is the BMS unit inside a branded battery.

Moreover, 'compatibility' will differ according to what features Solis are picking up from talking Modbus with the BMS.
There's not much difficulty in picking up the cell-voltages and displaying them on a Solis App or web-interface for example.

We cannot expect any inverter to replicate all the data that a BMS (that is inside a battery) provides about cells. 

If I need to see that level of detail, I connect to the Seplos BMS using the software they supplied. 

But via Solis Modbus, some operational values can be retrieved. 

Posted by: @transparent

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But does the Solis firmware actually implement anything useful?

What would happen if the BMS detected a cell failing to hold charge (premature ageing)
or a busbar connection with a higher resistance than the others?

Do you think Solis would retrieve that data for each battery with which they're claiming compatibility?

Would it be given an appropriate level of 'Fault Alarm' to enable the user to take appropriate action?

Because if Solis can't deliver a system which addresses fault conditions, then claiming 'compatibility' isn't particularly useful.

An inverter needs to be able to exchange info with the BMS about the overall battery bank soc, DC current parameters, high level battery faults, etc.

I can confirm the Solis S6 does that with my battery using Pylontech.

Regarding listing battery compatibility, from what I heard, an inverter manufacturer would want to make sure that their tests (whatever they may be..) with the relevant battery model(s) pass, before adding it to their list. 

The difference for the customer or installer is very clear. When seeking support from Solis, if the query is related to a battery that is not in their compatibility list, it´s very probable Solis will suggest the battery distributor should own troubleshooting. 

@batpred Hope you don't mind the ping.  I'm looking at the same system, the 8kwh version, installer has recommended this with a 15kwh generation system and 18kwh of batteries (although Grok says 14kwh batteries is likely suffiicent).  I use about 20,000 a year, spread throughout as heat pump in the winter for heating, and heat pump on the pool in summer, so higher winter usage but more even than most.  Contemplating adding air con too.

Do have EV (Tesla) but currently very few miles majority of the time.

Wanted to ask a couple of questions please:

1. Happy with your choice or would you go a different system now from what you've seen on here?
2. Does this function as a proper UPS in the event of a power cut to the grid?
3. If 2 is a yes, does it have the option to have a small subset just running off the batteries (ie I remove the heat pumps and any future air con)

@vanq 

Sure, I will try to answer: 

1. I am very happy with the Solis S6 hybrid inverter and would buy it again.  I would not buy a battery DIY kit. Even with the knowledge I now have,  I would buy a ready made battery and to make it simpler, try to find one that Solis lists. 

2. yes, true 4ms UPS, both on the backup and the smart port. 

3. yes, I did not connect everything to the UPS. For example, my EV charger. This still allows the EV to be powered from the battery (but not during a power failure) 

@batpred Thank you, have you experimented much with selling back to the grid? Do you go with fixed or variable?  I don't know if this links directly to octopus for the variable and if the AI is good enough to say "45p/kwh" lets discharge the battery and we'll use the cheaper tariff later?

@vanq Last year, I swapped from Cosy to Intelligent Octopus Flux. The experience did not convince me that OE’s algorithm understands how to discharge a battery to the grid and stop at a set level and wait for the time when there is a lower demand on the grid before re-charging at a cheaper rate. I had to intervene manually most days to stop their software from recharging during the peak 3 hour period (and of course, charge me a premium for doing so!). I am currently awaiting a reply from OE to know if they have sorted this wrinkle out yet. Toodles.