400bird
Solar Wizard
It's still on the to-do list. I need to make it a higher priority. But it bothers the kids and wife if I do it when they are home and work's been busy...
Schneider XW PRO 6k questions
- Thread starter ohsolar
- Start date
no worries ;-). No hurry
Got some answers here
diysolarforum.com
Schneider Insight Firmware 1.18
I have upgrade my InsightHome device to firmware V. 1.8 and now the InsightHome Dashboard do not display the current Load. Any suggestions? Should I downgrade the firmware to V. 1.17. If so, how. I am ready to upgrade my inverter to XW Pro 6.8. Inverter/Charger: XW5548 Charger: MPPT60...
diysolarforum.com
JBertok
Network Engineer
There's a caveat to the charge window you'll figure out. It doesn't work like an enable/disable, but rather as a window during which hitting the "Recharge Voltage" is ignored or not. The charger will still run the entire course of your charging cycle even if the window is exceeded. Additionally, using the time window requires the "Charge Cycle" under "Battery" to be set to 2-Stage, because if it's set to 3-Stage they'll just float indefinitely.
hmm..ok...thanks for the info. Assuming you running this way and have had no issues?
400bird
Solar Wizard
I've never seen this operation. When the charge block starts, charging ends. What firmware are you running?
That seems unlikely, but I can't say that I've tried 3-stage for sure.
JBertok
Network Engineer
I run with the chargers disabled normally, but enable them manually to equalize. They work fine with those limitations when left enabled. I toyed around with some settings to see if I could limit them to just keeping the batteries above 50% but below 70% off of voltage alone. Couldn't get that specific scenario to work reliably because of the horrible voltage droop I get from the FLA batteries. I think if you're running in SoC mode you'd have more control over these narrow limits.
It's worked like that for me in both 1.11 and 2.04. If it's still floating when a new block start it will run through another absorption cycle, but the point I was trying to make it to leave it in 2-stage so it isn't drawing AC during times not desired. My experience is running in Voltage mode since SoC mode is painfully unpredictable with FLA. Looking forward to upgrading to LiFePO4 and using SoC.
hmm..ok.
I have eg4 LL batteries. I think I can run them in close loop and I think I will have access to SoC. Manually changing it everyday is a big hassle for me. Is there a Schneider representative on this forum? Trying to decide between Eg4 18k and XW Pro 6k and only thing stopping me from buying the 6k is this functionality. I currently have a Victron and it just works. Eg4 18k has this functionality but it is new and idle power usage is higher. 6k Inductive tests pass with flying colors. Not sure about 18k..
JBertok
Network Engineer
That's an easy one actually - one of their examples. https://solar.se.com/us/en/quick-reference-design-guide/
Great. Thank you. Is PDP needed though or is it a nice to have due to extra space?
JBertok
Network Engineer
PDP or Mini PDP isn't needed, but the functionality it provides would need to be accommodated by other components. Inverter and MPPT DC Breakers, DC busbars, AC breakers for the inverter input and output.
The Mini PDP comes with the AC breakers for input/output/bypass and a 250A DC breaker for the XW Pro. The PDP also has a toggle for bypass functionality and has AC busbars that go across the AC breakers to provide that function.
The additional 125A DC breaker in Schneider's spec is for the MPPT 100 600.
It's expensive, but the neatness and functionality that comes from these PDPs is straight-up luxury. They even have knockouts in all the right places. The PDPs fully cover "metallic raceway/conduit" criteria too. I'm not a Schneider Rep, just a fan of their intuitive engineering.
Both the mini and full Schneider PDP do not support the installation of a PV disconnect breaker when used with an 80 or 100 amp MPPT because the enclosures are not rated for 600 volts. PV disconnection will need to be covered by an external string combiner or a Schneider Disconnect RS. If you run a MPPT 60 150 you can put a PV disconnect breaker right in the PDP.
The Mini PDP comes with the AC breakers for input/output/bypass and a 250A DC breaker for the XW Pro. The PDP also has a toggle for bypass functionality and has AC busbars that go across the AC breakers to provide that function.
The additional 125A DC breaker in Schneider's spec is for the MPPT 100 600.
It's expensive, but the neatness and functionality that comes from these PDPs is straight-up luxury. They even have knockouts in all the right places. The PDPs fully cover "metallic raceway/conduit" criteria too. I'm not a Schneider Rep, just a fan of their intuitive engineering.
Both the mini and full Schneider PDP do not support the installation of a PV disconnect breaker when used with an 80 or 100 amp MPPT because the enclosures are not rated for 600 volts. PV disconnection will need to be covered by an external string combiner or a Schneider Disconnect RS. If you run a MPPT 60 150 you can put a PV disconnect breaker right in the PDP.
JBertok
Network Engineer
I have an external whole-house AC transfer switch and all loads on a sub-panel, so I don't use the sliding bypass block-off plates the PDPs come with. This is what a fairly populated full-PDP looks like.
400bird
Solar Wizard
Manually changing what? You won't ever need to or want to equalize, that's a function specific to lead batteries.
Not that I've ever seen admit to, so probably not.
Specifically, what functionality do you see missing from the XW?
dougbert
Solar Addict
I too only found FW 2.04 BN0029 on their web site, from 6 Feb 2023
400bird
Solar Wizard
Arg! Work has been so busy, I still haven't had a chance to get my Schneider gear up to current software. I'm still hopeful, but this is ridiculous.
JBertok
Network Engineer
At some unknown point a few months ago Schneider pulled Insight Home/Facility v1.18 from their main site for reasons apparently not known. It is suspected that this was done due to some WiFi users becoming unable to reconnect following a reboot of it. (If this is actually a bug, I may have unknowingly circumvented it be having my Insight always hardlined into the network switch.)
Knowing that they pulled it we can't really recommend v1.18, but if you'd still like to get it you can download it at https://www.se.com/us/en/download/document/Gateway-InsightHome_FW_v1.18/
Firmware v2.04 for the XW Pro seems solid. It didn't introduce any new issues to my system, and it seems better at offsetting Grid input when DC is available. v2.04 adds EG4 BMS support. v2.10 for the XW Pro is mentioned in release notes for Insight v1.18, so it seems like this is forthcoming. I know they are working on Closed-Loop integration with the MPPTs, and direct Lithium chemistry support for the MPPT 60 150. I check every few weeks for new stuff. Battery management feature improvement seems high on the priority punchlist.
I think I am almost there:
1) TOU settings --Start/stop charge/discharge cycle at preset time
Some caveats: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/schneider-xw-pro-6k-questions.65769/post-856895
2) pricing vs. eg4 18k AIO -- Schneider slightly higher if I need to go PV
3) Total surge of AC units -- LRA of around 32A(with softstart) on each AC unit(got 2). If they both start at the same time, it may not work. If they are offset by a few secs, it might just work(?). Schneider Rep said I cannot exceed LRA of 52A for 240VAC. RLA of around 12A/unit. 12*240*2=5760w + maybe another 1000 watts for other devices. . 8.3kw for 30 mins will help.
4) closed loop communication with EG4 battery
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400bird
Solar Wizard
It seems unlikely that both would start at the same time.
But you could add a timer relay and some supporting relays or PLC to prevent both from starting at the same time
