Sol-Ark tech support has been fantastic to work with. Mike On Fri, Nov 13, 2020 at 9:09 AM Dustin Douglas <dus...@sol-ark.com> wrote:
> It is the same hardware as the dongle we provide with the unit and plugs > directly into the Sol Ark Wi-fi port just like it would in a normal > project, however the difference is that we customized the software to > auto-update the inverter without the need for internet. This dongle is only > compatible the Sol-Ark unit. We are currently sending them with the most up > to date software for the units, but will be able to modify the software on > the dongle so that it can be used for different versions of the Sol-Ark. > The cost of the hardware is $100. We are wanting to add different options > especially for those that are truly off grid. > > Thank you and have a blessed day, > > Dustin Douglas > > Sol Ark Engineering Support > > (972) 575-8875 x 108 > www.sol-ark.com > > > ---- On Fri, 13 Nov 2020 10:05:37 -0600 *jay <jay.pe...@gmail.com > <jay.pe...@gmail.com>>* wrote ---- > > HI Dustin, > > Can you elaborate on the custom dongle for the non internet people. As > its custom it sounds like its not a standard USB or SD or MSD? > > How much does it cost and can it be updated from a computer and then taken > to the job site? > > Many if not most of my clients have no to limited internet and many that > do, don’t want internet connection for their equipment. > > thanks > > Jay > > Peltz Power > > > > > > > > On Nov 13, 2020, at 8:57 AM, Dustin Douglas <dus...@sol-ark.com> wrote: > > The Time of Use feature can support this request. I do understand that > programming can be somewhat confusing in completely covering what you are > wanting the generator can do. However, if you are wanting the generator to > turn on only when the batteries are low and getting through the night then > we can set the Time of Use to only turn on with specific hours and also > charge up to specific SOC. We implemented this setting so that there is the > ability to control how much fuel is used and not run the gen for long > periods of time. The Time of Use settings are very customizable, if you > would like to give our support team a call and we can help customize it to > best fit your scenario. > > As for updating the system itself, we offer different avenues of doing so. > The first is the Wi-fi dongle that is connected to the inverter and to the > customers home network. We also offer different aftermarket versions for > customers with specific needs or if they don't have internet altogether. > There is a ethernet version for those that don't want the over the air > (OTA) connection to there wireless network or possibly if there router > itself is a little to far away from where the unit is located. Simply > running a ethernet cable to this specific dongle will connect them for > monitoring and also allow for updates. The final version is for those true > off grid installs where they are not worried about monitoring but do need > to get the system updated. We have developed a custom design dongle that > once inserted into the unit will perform the update on the inverter > locally. Plug it in and wait for the final part of the software to finish > and now your system will have the current version of software. You can then > remove it and adjust the settings for the new features that were added. > > Thank you and have a blessed day, > Dustin Douglas > Sol Ark Engineering Support > (972) 575-8875 x 108 > www.sol-ark.com > > > ---- On Fri, 13 Nov 2020 08:46:31 -0600 *Jay <jay.pe...@gmail.com > <jay.pe...@gmail.com>>* wrote ---- > > I’m wondering how the firmware is updated? USB or other? I’ve looked on > the website but I couldn’t find any instructions. > > Thx > Jay > > > > On Nov 12, 2020, at 7:58 PM, Jeff Clearwater <je...@villagepowerdesign.com> > wrote: > > Thanks Dustin for keeping us up to date on Sol-Arks feature progress. > > While you are upgrading your firmware: :) > > So an essential feature for off-grid with a generator is to be able to > program various SOC levels for generator start AND shuf-off after charge. > 90% is way too high for many sunny climes and other configurations. Often > batteries need a boost in the wee morning hours - when they drop below the > preferred recharge point but that's only perhaps a few hours before the sun > comes up - So say you want to start a gen to charge a Lead-acid battery at > 50% or an LFP batter at 20% SOC but you only want to bring it through to > the next often or possibly sunny morning. So you set it to run from 50% to > 65% (or from 20%-40% for LFP) - knowing that the morning sun will take it > the rest of the way. 90% would waste a ton of fuel in this scenario not > too mention unwanted noise and wear and tear on the genny. Depending on > the clients use profile, the climate, and relative size of the array and > battery and gen, these figures could vary anywhere from 20% to 100%. So > it's essential us off-grid installers have that flexibility. > > Also I know that your TOU settings might cover this (though not in all > modes I believe) but another nice feature is to have 2 or 3 time periods > with different start and stop settings (Sunny Island does this nicely). So > if the minimum SOC is reached in the evening you might as well bring it up > to a higher SOC for gen shut down as it needs to get through the entire > night whereas if that minimum SOC start trigger is met after 3 AM it needs > to only bring it to a lower SOC as described above. > > I'm loving the Sol-Ark product so far but it is obvious the software is a > work in progress - the architecture and thought behind it is an excellent > foundation - thanks for your work and openness for input to make it even > better. > > Best, > > Jeff > > ~~~~~~~~~~~ > Jeff Clearwater > Village Power Design > linkedin <https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-clearwater-0622a312/> > www.villagepowerdesign.com > cell - 413-559-9763 > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > > > Dustin Douglas <dus...@sol-ark.com> > November 12, 2020 at 11:46 AM > Hi All, > > First and foremost thank you for sharing your experiences the the Sol-Ark > system. We try very hard to have different capabilities and add new > features that make it flexible for the customer. The two-wire start is a > feature however that we want to be seamless. In the instance where the > customer is seeing the system shutdown once the generator shuts off has > been addressed and fixed with a software update. With this update we are > able to handle larger generators that tend to drift from 60hz. Please give > our support team a call so that we can update the customer accordingly. We > are also looking at adding more features including the ability exercise the > generator in the near feature. > > Thank you and have a blessed day, > Dustin Douglas > Sol Ark Engineering Support > (972) 575-8875 x 108 > www.sol-ark.com > > > ---- On Thu, 12 Nov 2020 08:08:51 -0600 *Jay <jay.pe...@gmail.com> > <jay.pe...@gmail.com>* wrote ---- > > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > > Jay <jay.pe...@gmail.com> > November 12, 2020 at 9:08 AM > Hi Bill > > In the past I’ve had similar issues with generators/inverters. Usually a > relay on the output power wires that opens( disconnects) when the stop > signal is sent works as the frequency doesn’t slowly go down, it drops to 0 > instantly. > I don’t know if it will fix your issue. > > Seems like solark needs to greatly improve their firmware. > > Jay > > Peltz power. > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > > Bill Hennessy <b...@berkssolar.com> > November 11, 2020 at 10:03 PM > Hi folks--We've also been disappointed with the Sol-Ark two-wire generator > start. The unit starts at the charge set point, but the inverter will shut > down for about a minute every time the generator stops running. After the > minute wait, the inverter restarts and everything is fine. But it is > aggravating for the homeowners to be left wondering in the dark. > > Sol-Ark says that when the generator shuts off, the frequency drops out of > the Sol-Ark range and causes the inverter shut down. > They suggested we find a way to increase the generator speed to avoid the > frequency drop at shutdown. This seems like a lame suggestion, since the > generator has no idea of when the batteries will be satisfied--it only > responds to the on/off signal from the Sol-Ark. I would think that the unit > could be programmed to ignore the frequency drop when it sends the shut off > signal to the generator. The system has an an Ecogen 15kW. > > Not having an exercise function is also a miss. As mentioned below, the > time of use can be used, but one has to go out and play with the > programming to check the generator. > > regards, bill > > Bill Hennessy > Berks Solar, LLC > 371 Centennial Rd > Mertztown, PA 19539 > > o 610 682 4300 > c 484 560 4666 > NABCEP certified installer > PA contractor #44411 > www.berkssolar.com > > > On Wednesday, November 11, 2020, 8:20:57 PM EST, Chris Sparadeo > <sparadeo.ch...@gmail.com> <sparadeo.ch...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Thanks for the suggestion, Jay. > > Yes, the Sol-Ark has a very basic and limited AGS for 2 wire compatible > gen sets. Gen start can be programmed with voltage or SOC, however gen stop > is not a function that can not be readily programmed. Instead, the Sol-Ark > is programmed to charge the battery bank to 90% of the rated Ah capacity > of the battery bank before turning off the generator. You can ultimately > adjust this gen stop parameter to be based on a specific SOC or voltage, > but I believe that doing so requires a call into tech support. The tech I > spoke with updated a setting (having to do with a TOU parameter I believe) > that was not accessible via the system interface. AGS from Schnieder, > Outback and even Magnum are less clunky, but I am hoping that Sol-Ark will > eventually come out with new programming to remediate these minor but > nevertheless, important issues > > -Chris > > On Wed, Nov 11, 2020 at 3:58 PM Jay <jay.pe...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > -- > Chris Sparadeo > > > C_802-369-4458 > H_802-728-3059 > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > > -- Michael D Nelson MD Electric & Solar Inc. Office: 707-884-1862 Cell: 707-684-0064 www.mdelectricsolar.com www.facebook.com/mdelectricandsolar
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