Powerwall 2 and Enphase M215 problem

[Tuolumite]

Typically you will see this when you lose the grid.

So I suspect a bad or loose electrical connection for this string of 8 microinverters that is probably getting triggered in the middle of the day when solar production is at it's highest.

My recommendation - leave the breaker for that string turned off until you can get all the wiring inspected for the branch.

Just to confirm I read your posts right - the 8 panels that are generating this error are all on the same branch/circuit-breaker, right?

Yes, they are all on the same branch\/circuit. Good advice about shutting those down for now.

 

[Tuolumite]

Are there enough decimal places in that voltage reading?
No decimal in the frequency? What gives?

OK, I don't know enough about the Enphase microinverters to tell you why it is showing both Frequency Out of Range and AC Voltage Out of Range. I would suspect it is a voltage issue.

An independent way to measure the voltage and frequency would be useful here. If you have a Kill-A-Watt then that would work. Otherwise, you can use the Powerwall gateway computer if you can get IP access to it (lookup other threads on how to do that). Then you can type into a web browser:

https://Powerwall_local_IP_address_goes here/api/meters/site

and you have to override any security warnings due to the Powerwall's unsigned certificate. That will give you a response which will include the following fields of interest:

"frequency": 60,
"v_l1n": 121.55999755859375,
"v_l2n": 121.58999633789062,

Once you get a way to measure frequency and voltage, then you want to see if there's a difference between when everything is working and when the 8 microinverters stop outputting. If you verify that there is no difference, and the voltages listed are noticeably higher than 120V, then it is surely an overvoltage problem.

Cheers, Wayne

Thanks for the expert advice. I'll try to convince Tesla to have somebody do those checks.

 

[Tuolumite]

Will do. Thanks.

I have contacted Enphase. They are going to send out an update to the Envoy that I have and also to the M215 microinverters to adjust the tolerances for current and frequency fluctuations. They said that have had trouble with Powerwalls causing enough of a frequency fluctuation when they come on to trip the Enphase inverters. Hopefully, adjusting the tolerances with do the trick. If not, they said I may have to have some type of line filter added to the system.

I also have a call into the Tesla Powerwall support group but have not heard back from them yet.

 

[charlesj]

I have contacted Enphase. They are going to send out an update to the Envoy that I have and also to the M215 microinverters to adjust the tolerances for current and frequency fluctuations. They said that have had trouble with Powerwalls causing enough of a frequency fluctuation when they come on to trip the Enphase inverters. Hopefully, adjusting the tolerances with do the trick. If not, they said I may have to have some type of line filter added to the system.

I also have a call into the Tesla Powerwall support group but have not heard back from them yet.

Interesting that only those 8 inverters have that issue and not the rest.
And, since your PW is not 100% and grid is up, the internal PW inverter should not have such fluctuations but come up at the correct frequency.
And, even if for some strange reason it did, why didn't they return to normal when PW inverter was synced.

Filters are for noise, not frequency issues.

Just curious issue.

 

[Dave EV]

I have contacted Enphase. They are going to send out an update to the Envoy that I have and also to the M215 microinverters to adjust the tolerances for current and frequency fluctuations. They said that have had trouble with Powerwalls causing enough of a frequency fluctuation when they come on to trip the Enphase inverters. Hopefully, adjusting the tolerances with do the trick. If not, they said I may have to have some type of line filter added to the system.

This is confusing as charlesj says.

If the grid is ok and connected, there should be no change in grid frequency, whether or not the Powerwalls are working or not.

Yeah, if the grid goes away, then the Powerwalls will adjust the frequency as they get full as a signal to any solar inverters to shut off. It is common to need Tesla to adjust the maximum frequency down for this.

As far as voltage fluctuations, those shouldn't be any different, either.

FWIW, you can also check the reported voltage and frequency from the inverters from the Enlighten website as well. Frequency should be locked on to 60 Hz. Voltage will fluctuate throughout the day, rising as your system produces more power during the morning, then falling again in the afternoon.

 

[charlesj]

One thing to remember with Enphase tech, you are not talking to actual engineers just trained people how to respond to a lot if problems.

I posted a couple of screenshots of one inverter with several parameters actuated. AC voltage changes but it didn't seem to change much, perhaps 5V but that didn't shut it off. Not sure what the shut off voltage is as there is one, they don't want inverter to get fried.