Question

Overnight usage

S
Rank
Badge +1

At the moment my solar battery is covering all our power usage overnight (according to the solar app).  Why is OVO showing power coming from the grid?  Admittedly not a lot, but thought it would be zero until the battery discharged.

 

Thank you.

3 replies

Nukecad
Rank
Userlevel 7

I guess that it depends on your particular setup.

Is you battery charging perhaps set to trickle charge from the grid when there is no sunlight - ie. overnight?

Most charging systems will not let a battery go flat but will start charging once it drops below a certain percentage charge, which may be as high as 90% or even 100% stored charge.
Depending on your system you may be able to change/lower the percentage at which that happens.
(Think of your smartphone battery, even if already at 90% it will still charge to 100% when connected to a supply).

Do you perhaps have some things that may be designated to always use the grid, so that they are not reliant on the state of the battery? (Wired in fire/smoke/burgular alarms for example).

Today I have zero energy, my plan zero is going back to sleep.
BPLightlog
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

Hi @Sue732H , your notes from solar and battery use are very common as (you might expect) most people do expect their system to cover everything up to their capacity. 
What is less well known is that the solar inverter - the heart of the system - can often take a few seconds to begin to deliver power from the battery even if there’s plenty stored. That means that a kettle or similar suddenly being switched on (I know there’s no other way) can draw from the grid until the inverter recognises the demand and switches to battery power. 
Some systems are better than others but for the majority, there can easily be times when the immediate need from the property has to be supplemented from grid power until things adjust and your system supplies instead. 
Hope that helps. 

Independent volunteer - Sitting in a Faraday cage, waiting for a signal
Abby_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 6

Hey @Sue732H 

 

Welcome to the Forum😊

 

I’m glad to see a couple of our volunteers have already stopped by with some really helpful advice already, I hope you’ve found what they’ve both said useful.

 

We’ve also got a couple of similar topics which may also be helpful for you:

 

 

Let us know how you get on, and feel free to ask any other questions you may have, we’ll do what we can to help.

Currently Playing: She's Electric

Reply


Terms & ConditionsCookie settings