I work for schneider as a project manager. These are absolutely a beast. We use them in all of our buildings personally and it never cease to amaze me.
Do these work together in 3 phase and what monitoring options do you offer? What 48V batteries are supported by these inverters? Is there a dedicated "brains" available like the Victron Cerbo?
I purchased a full house solar system in Oct 2020 from a solar installer with many years of experience with this system. The electronics were all from Schneider Electrical and included two inverters and charge controllers and associated equipment. After two years the system began to experience numerous failures to included getting stuck in a loop, cycling the power on to the house several times before resetting on a number of occasions. The system also frequently shut down requiring me to reboot the system with error codes that made no sense such as fused relays. The system finally completely failed. Despite numerous service calls from the installer over the space of a year and many wasted hours they were unable to get the system to work and would not continue to support it. I replaced the system with a Solar Arc 15. I have made numerous attempts to reach out to Schnider to address this problem and cannot get an answer from their customer support center. The phone rings for an hour and just disconnects. The system is still under the five-year warranty. I went with Schneider equipment with the belief that this established company would be a safe bet, instead it has turned into a living nightmare. I want to return the system to Schneider for a full refund. Since I wrote this several days ago and mailed them a copy they remain non responsive.
The Schneider 6848 is a beast. We are using the older XW+ to back up the entire main panel for a 2000 sq ft house. Runs a 4 ton AC unit and electric oven as well as all the lights and basic stuff with no problem. Since our situation is AC coupled only we didn't need built in solar charge controller(s) which keeps the price reasonable. On the other hand, I do think its inexcusable that the inverter does not even come with a built in System Control Panel. I can understand why the Gateway or (ComBox) is sold separately because not everyone wants or needs remote access or Insight Cloud but without the SCP or a ModBus RS485 PLC connection there absolutely no access to the menu settings.
This is the inverter I should have bought. I bought these so called all in one. Straight out of the box it didn’t work taking charge from generator. I did everything the tech support and 20 days later still waiting on tech support. Schneider tech support are awesome and there in the USA and there tech will help you troubleshoot the problem and they are good and very experienced in electronic down to components level. Schneider has good electrical schematics and were all these China made inverter are good to providing it doesn’t break.
Great video! Please take it step by step to show how this would work in a residential setting with a solar array. Interested in learning the whole enchilada😁
David your videos are the best at explaining and showing things in clear language and videos, I really appreciate your time and documating these things, Thanks Again
I have watched your series on Schneider so many times, I can say your words! lol. Anyway, I came back to this video to see how you turned it on because today is the day I am turning mine on. I hope I won't see smoke! Thanks for all you have done in documenting this so others can learn from it.
@@DavidPozEnergy Got it done! I had your video going and I was doing mine at the same time you did yours on your video!!! So happy and thrilled this part is over. I am like you- I am not good with computers, so thank you for showing this literally step-by-step. So easy, even I can do it.
Great videos! XW inverters are an enginering beauty with a toroidal transformer beast! The transformer has 3 windings: 56V AC and 2 x 120V separate AC plus a temperature sensor. The AC lines can be wired in parallel for 120V AC, in series for 220/240V AC and in split-phase for 240/120 V AC with a Neutral. In split-phase setup, the toroidal transformer also serves as the perfect NFT (neutral forming transformer) that can handle full imbalanced load. In charge mode, the AC input gets transformed down to 60 V AC and then rectified with voltage and current control via the inverter board to charge the battery. In grid or backup mode, the DC battery input gets converted via an H-Bridge into a sinewave, frequency and amplitude controlled, and then transformed up to the 240/120 AC output voltage. Would like to have the SCP available on Pro series! And would like to see more from David on closed-loop DC coupling with EG4-ll(V2) batteries and on AC coupling with Enphase IQ8 inverters.
David, Glad to see you finally doing the Conext setup. PLEASE make sure you are using the latest firmware on their gear, they've fixed a lot of issues in the last few updates. (You also *need* to get at least an insight home, the inverter has very little you can change directly and depends on the insight gateway for the real configs.) Also, I'd love to see you make an actual playlist for the Schneider content. There honestly just isn;t that much on youtube. If I had more time, I'd consider making a YT channel specifically about my conext stuff, and trying out various config changes. But maybe instead I can live vicariously through you, and make suggestions for you to provide content on!
I welcome your input so that I can make a good series. I've been lacking in the playlist setup. I don't think I've updated my playlists in years. I need to go back and try to make some good categories. It just seems like there are going to be 100 videos in "Battery" LOL. If you have playlist titles to suggest, I'm all ears. Yes, I ordered an insight home so that I can try updating the firmware.
My 48|5000|70 Victron that is quite well aged (7 years now) has two heafty toroids on either side of the inverter half with the heatsinks, mosfets and driver board mounted on the chassie between the two side wall mounted toroids. I have never tripped this thing as my safties are conservatively set, but, that it can handel surges is a very definite yes. If that Schnider is anything like the Victron you'll have one beast of an inverter on your hands there. It looks like a very well built peice of kit..
I agree Beckford! I had a most interesting conversation with an installer when he saw me picking up my XWPro from the retailer last week. Asked me why am I using "old fashioned stuff" instead of a Sol-Ark or Deye ... I just laughed.
Awesome - glad you finally got a Schneider. You will need either a Insight gateway or SCP to program it. You can DIY your way around not needing the big or mini PDP, but you still need some way to switch and protect your AC and DC circuits. The PDP's provide a place to do that, as well as posts to tie in other items like a solar charge controller. But not strictly required for somebody handy like yourself. Looking forward to your follow-up videos.
I used their earlier 48VDC inverters commercially for years, they were bullet-proof. Out of the box, over a hundred with zero failures. Hope these units are as good.
If you get a change please measure the efficiency both battery to load and grid to load. Knowing the idle and standby power consumption would also be excellent.
I’m an off grid Solar bozo since 2005. I have a large homestead here and have multiple XW inverters. They are a beast and I haven’t found anything they wouldn’t power. Most of my inverters were manufactured in 2010 or 2011. Still going strong. I think it was DUMB of Schnieder to discontinue the SCP and force you to fumble with the Insight and a computer. Especially when almost all other competitors are placing advanced displays right on the inverter. You will need someway to program some basic battery voltages, etc. The mini PDP is enough for most people and makes for a sexy albeit expense setup. Have fun with your new workhorse!
what? the SCP isn't discontinued! love my Schneider (and older Xantrex) stuff. i'm with ya, i think it's stupid there isn't a way to program the inverter - FROM THE INVERTER! like via a user interface or bluetooth or something. you HAVE to either get the SCP or the Gateway/Home/Facility... hell, for the price the SCP should be included.
Man i like that idea with the cooling, i wish more electronics had that, especially inverter welders etc... i have blown one up in the past due to the more sensitive innards being covered in metal dust!!
It's worth noting, you can use any charge controllers with the XW pro. the schnieder ones just enable some advanced functionality. (Like, keeping batteries in float, and selling excess to the grid, or doing zero sell, etc etc
I have a Schnider charge controller and it’s only slightly more useful then a generic one. Having all the data on the screen is nice but that’s about it. The charge controls are old school and overbuilt but that’s good for longevity.
@@Miweatherspotter1 It depends on what it is you need out of the system. For me, I'm doing zero sell (selling excess energy to the main panel, but erducing output so that it never actually sells to the grid) for that, you need the inverters and charge controllers to communicate directly. There are several other such scenarios. But yes, for basic "keep batteries charged, and sell excess", and CC will work.
I am looking forward to your videos on the Schneider. My system is using an XW-Pro 6848 AC coupled to an Enphase array. My only issue is with the software. When it is inverting, it will shut down 0.5 volts above the "Recharge Voltage" an then it will just site and not charge back up. The battery either has to fall below the recharge volts, which could take a really long time, since there is no load on it, or another device or a human has to tell it to charge. I ended up programming a separate PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) to send commands to the XW-Pro. This is not a problem if you use DC charge controllers. Then the charge controllers do all the charging. My last grid power failure also made another problem pop up, but they say it has been fixed in newer firmware, so I have to do that update. When it was frequency shifting to adjust the output of the Enphase inverters, it somehow dropped to 57 Hz which shut off all the Enphase inverters as a bad grid, and it just stayed there until I restarted it. The firmware update through the Gateway is easy, but I have to shut down everything in my backup load panel to do it.
This is the best inveter that ever made. I am using the xw6048 since 2009 and never had a problem strictly as offgrid. This thing is robust. I ran four 18,000 split ac units and all my other household electrical appliances. Never had a problem.
Just when I thought I had my choices narrowed down, I come across this video and Schneider. 😅 Started out looking at portable power stations like EcoFlow which led me to DIY less portable solutions. I want backup home power to power gas furnace, a couple of fridges and freezer, a few outlets and lights. Wouldn’t need 6.8kwh of continuous power so may look at smaller Schneider unit. Not looking at solar yet either t’as I plan to charge the batteries using a dual fuel generator for extended outages. I don’t get many outages up here in Ontario Canada but I’m preparing given the signs of the times.
I love to see this in grid-tie mode, looking for an inverter that can start in grid-tie and then when funds allow go off grid with a good size battery bank.
This inverter allows grid-tie, sell back, and zero-sell functions. However, you still need at least a small battery because this is a battery-based inverter. Some users buy a single 5kWh battery at first, and add to the battery bank later as funds allow. These functions only unlock when you program with the insight home. I haven't yet hooked up my insight home, but will be showing it in a future video.
Check out my other videos to see the load testing. I think idle was 34 Watts. It's been an awesome inverter. Just one inverter has been powering my whole property. Although, I did pick up a second inverter, just haven't wired it in yet.
Very cool. If you decide to move forward, would you mind buying it through my affiliate link? It really helps out the channel. I put links in the description, but here is another one. signaturesolar.com/schneider-conext-xw-pro-6-8kw-inverter-charger-48v-120-240v/?ref=4_rHcgZ9x-TiF-
Hi David, that is the best Inverter you will ever have in your shop. I have one of those for over 12 years now, the previous version and never had a problem with that unit. Looking forward to see all the videos.
I used to work with big microwave power amps that demanded a lot of cooling. Big fans and similar metal mesh on the input. One day we had a cricket infestation which got sucked into the intake. Blended and filtered crickets made a mess of that amplifier! I first saw that inverter on Wild Wonderful Off-grid. The idea of needing all those accessories also made me think it's not as good as some of the lower cost alternatives. It's very typically 'old school' engineering to use proprietary interfaces and charge extra for standardised data interfaces, which is ridiculous when a Bluetooth and WiFi enabled microcontroller now costs $2.
I've used Trace/Conext/Schneider system for 18 years. Finally switched to Lifepo4 and upgraded to 48v XWPRO from 24v. Installed 800ah SOK server rack batteries. Tech support informed me that the XW won't communicate with an open loop system. Hope at some point you'll figure out how to work around this. Currently just using voltage settings on the XW and MPPT'S. THANK YOU
I'm also running my Schneider right now (powering my whole house) open loop. Not a huge deal. I don't know if there is a closed-loop option directly to SOK batteries since I don't own any SOK batteries. But, if you want State of charge control, then you could add the Schneider Battery Monitor: signaturesolar.com/schneider-battery-monitor-48v/?ref=4_rHcgZ9x-TiF- Just an option to consider.
Awesome inverter, love seeing the toroidal transformers! Two things come to mind - can you check what the no-load power consumption is? Curious how it compares to other options on the market. Also, you noted at 3:00 about connecting grid-tie inverters. I assume that means you can backfeed through it to charge the batteries? How does that work and will the inverter cut off when the batteries are full?
I'll be testing that stuff, but it is supposed to do AC coupling. This mean you can use a grid-tie inverter or micro inverters and the Schneider uses the power to charge the battery. Then, frequency shifts when full. I'll test to see how well it works
I have a Schnider inverter with an AC coupling to a soul solaredge and it works flawlessl. when the grids down it creates a grid that keeps the solar running. It charge is the battery, when the battery is full it’s frequency shift up turns off the solar will run the battery down a little bit. Bring the frequency back down and then Solar starts back up and it can keep that up all day long. Feel free to ask me any questions about it I’ve been using it on grid and off grid for four years now . I have an AC coupled and DC coupled .
The other inverter needs to support the frequency shift, too. Newer inverters will reduce output with every .1hz shift.. older ones will remain 100% output until 60.6hz (I think) and then drop offline until the batteries are discharged enough for the xw to bring it back into appropriate range. It still "works" but is not as gentle. They'd be 0%, or 100%, so the batteries would need to be discharged enough to support the 100% (along with the loads, obviously)
"Mass Sine" from Mastervolt products are also some beast, and reliable inverters, that makes them so expensive....get to know them if you ever need an interesting suggestion.
Hi David. Great info. Looking forward to the serie of videos to learn more about your findings and test results for this inverter. Do you have any plan to hook up 2 of these units for a parallel operation? Would be great to see if how 2 of these stackup to your pair of SMA 6048s, Growatts, or EG4s. A good side by side comparison would be a great help for all of us who is looking at building an off-grid, "whole house" system.
I would enjoy making a video stacking 2 inverters, but don't have a second one at the moment. Maybe down the road I can get one, but it will depend how this one works out. I agree, at some point a full on comparison video is going to happen. As of right now, all I can say is the Schneider is blowing the pants off the Sol-Ark I tested.
@@DavidPozEnergy I think a sok-ark you have to handicap the kw rating by 30-50% the Schnider gets a 80% boost to its numbers as the under sell it as. 6k inverter. It’s really a 9k if you use the same fuzzy math as solark. I run my whole home and never once overloaded it, I’m sure I could, ac, stove, charge my ev…. But smart load management and I run my home with the 5k model. If you do some digging you will find the eu version list listed as a 10k. They don’t have the same 80% of max breaker rule we do so they can count the full output…..
It would be my guess that 48 VDC is boosted up to a higher dc voltage (probably greater than 150V). From that high voltage, it would then be inverted to 60 Hz. We wouldn't know for sure without a closer examination of the bottom board, or ideally from an electrical schematic of the board. Love your videos. Keep 'em comin'!
That might be. I don't know for sure. I did take the cover off and turned on the unit (Danger!). Then I checked it with my multi-meter set to AC Voltage. I found 30VAC on the output side of the power bridge, that's the point where the wires dive down to the transformer.
Have you ever checked idle current on the ac and dc side on all these inverters under no load? Love those toroidal transformers. They have the least losses in wattage and can handle higher wattage. More mainstream companies are going the transformers because they see the Chinese have been using them for decades and cheap and they work well. I have a 15kw powerjack and it handles everything I can throw at it. It’s idle current is 15 watts.
A 15kW inverter only pulling 15 Watts in idle is amazing. I've heard of numbers like that in standby mode, but never in idle. Can you please send me a link to your inverter so I can check it out?
You should test it’s phase to phase load in balance characteristics 😬 it’s starting loads are also fantastic. You should AC couple it with some of your solar and watch how well it performs off grid with that as well . As an FYI, I have a smaller (now retired) cousin and I run my whole house with it. It’s built like a tank runs like a charm had almost no issues with it in four years! I would love to see a head to head to head starting competition with the Schneider, solarak, and one of those grow watt inverters. I highly doubt that anything is going to beat the Schneider in surge starting capability. Even to grow watch with a SolarEdge transformer, probably aren’t gonna beat the Schneider and its ability to surge start loads. From my understanding, Schneider build them for industrial customers they might not be quite as efficient in DC to AC conversion as the transformer, loose ones, but they’re hard to beat for reliability.
Great idea! I will definitely add an imbalance load test to my list. Actually, in my initial testing so far, the Schneider is more efficient than the transformer-less inverters I've tested. Crazy.
@@DavidPozEnergy page 144 of the manual gives its weighted efficient chart . solar.se.com/us/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/10/XW-Pro-NA-Owners-Guide_990-91227.pdf The charts in the manual may be worth showing on future you tube videos
Thanks. If I had the XW+ I probably would do that. In this case, I have the XW PRO and Schneider doesn't recommend the SCP with it. I bought the Insight Home and that's working for me.
Lets see what ur information is on this ben has been running test to let's see what it can do and most important how long will it last there's been a lot of problems..... Keep it up brother
David I'm really looking forward to your future videos on this inverter, there's not too much XW Pro information out there especially for DIYers 🙄 I'm still learning this is probably my toughest project so far, it can be a little intimidating. I'm still collecting components, like wiring, tools, fuses lugs and pretty much everything involved with solar. Can't wait to take it out of the box 😉with help of course. I'm curious how this inverter will work with DIY LifePo4 battery banks.
You can always start small and learn before dropping big money. The good news is that this inverter can work with any readily available battery, and most DIY batteries. But, we should define "work". I'm simply saying that it can draw power from a DIY battery and power your loads. But, if you start talking about charging, that's really a question of what charge controller you have. Advanced users might want to incorporate "closed loop communication" which is nearly impossible with DIY BMS's. But, if you want the functions of closed loop with an off-brand BMS, then add the "Schneider Battery Monitor". Anyways, lots of options. I'll be unpacking some of this in the future videos.
@@DavidPozEnergy don’t forget that the xw can charge the battery from an ac source (grid, generator, some other inverter). For the first 2 years I had this inverter that’s how I charged my battery’s. It can sense battery voltage (but won’t track SOC/ amps without the monitor) my simphi battery’s came with xw charging specs and worked just fine. It has lead acid settings or custom settings which is what I used. Set up what you want the bulk, asorb, float voltages and times to be and it works. :) It will work with most any 48v normal battery
Really interested in this inverter. My Sol-ark puts out a lot of Dirty electricity because it is transformerless. Transformer based inverters put out clean electricity.
I agree. The manual even has a page talking about how clean the electricity is for use with HAM radios. I'm not a radio person, but I understand it's a big deal.
In the last year or so, I keep getting faults on my inverter and the fault are not because my inverter is bad. It my power company’s power is bad, it’s sensing how bad the utilities current is and tripping a fault warning. Twice in the last year, it’s even disconnected from the grade for a little while because the grid voltage and frequency went out of spec .
David, while we appreciate your reviews of the latest and greatest and expensive equipment out there, a lot of us are committed to what we already spent large sums of money on. And would like to make the most of what we have, and add instead of replace. For example I have 2 of the 3KW solar charge controller/inverters and I have 8 12v 200AH batteries. I would like to connect my two inverters together and have output of 240V. My battery bank is 2 separate banks. 4 batteries each (12v 200AH) If I connect my two Inverters together for the 240V output I would like to use all 8 of my batteries, as one bank. And both the inverters connected to the one bank of 8 batteries (total 20KW bank) but I hesitate to do so because I read something about not having more than 4 of these batteries in a bank. But surely there must be a way. I don't mean that you should answer this question. But it would be nice to see more topics like this covered. Making due with what you have and how to grow a system without replacing a system. Thanks for all of your quality content. You really do a fantastic job.
I certainly love the spirit of this question. Generally, if a manufacturer says "Max 4 batteries..." they usually mean 4 in series per string. But, you can parallel multiple strings. This means doing what you are talking about is possible. It's always best to consult the manufacture for a manual or guidance. If you decide to have multiple 48V strings in parallel, I suggest paralleling them to a central busbar. Each string needs it's own fuse (or breaker), usually on the positive post.
@@DavidPozEnergy Wow, thank you David. I really appreciate your input. I really did nor expect an answer from you, actually I thought one of your subscribers might have answered. So a Big Thank you!
Unless the inverters are designed to sync up to make 240 (2 120v any exactly 180 degrees out of phase) a safer idea is to use a step up transformer. In that size it will be called a buck boost transformer. Look for 120v in and 240/120v out
@@DavidPozEnergy Yeah, but the real test is to put some sizable INDUCTIVE loads on it. That is what this beast is supposed to handle, and that is a key separator of the men from the boys. So motors, welders, etc. @240VAC.
Holly Macro ! You got the big boy now . I’ve saw many great videos about it and even compared with the SOLARK inverter . Schneider inverters are awesome . One question I want to ask you . How does it compare to the performance of the SOLARK 12 k inverters in your opinion ? 😮 I saw you had demonstrated one back then in your previous videos .. Would love to see the next video of the Schneider load testing with that mighty saw .😊 May the solar be with you .😊
@@DavidPozEnergy you have to test the latest solarks. they had some issue that seems to have been fixed. I had same issue of inverters cutting out when heavy loads they sent me a new mcu. now they are running heavy loads no issues. hot tubs, ac, and more at same time.
David I would very much like to see a comparison between (2) EG4 6,000 EX48 HF and (1) Schneider XW PRO. I would like to see what inverter has the most surge capability and the most imbalance ability. I need an off grid system to run my house and woodworking shop for the best price.
Two of the EG4 6000EX-48HV inverters would give you 12kW continous, and a single Schneider XW-Pro can do 12kW for one minute. I'd say a pair of the EG4's would win in the surge capacity. If you need to run high loads for long periods of time (think 8kW+ for hours) then a single XW-PRO is not the right choice. Keep in mind that a pair of the EG4's will consume 240W in idle, that's 5.76kWh/day just being turned on. Lot's of things to consider for whatever your particular application is. I like the EG4 inverters if you have it off most of the time. This could be a back-up system you only turn on if there is a power outage, or maybe a cabin you visit on weekends.
I powerful the all in one units I just installed one for my mother in law she had 12 volt system and I put in the renergy 48 volt all in one unit with lithium it's like night and day
I need something that will handle a 240v well pump *and* a 240v on demand water heater as well as my other appliances such as refrigerators and 240v mini split air conditioner/heater. 😳🙂
@@DavidPozEnergy thank you so much for the offer. I’m sorry I do not use Facebook. But I email or text. Not sure if this helps you. My order #46261. I will continue to watch & learn from you! Thanks again
I'm putting the final touches on the editing of the next video. This is a series, I plan it to take a couple months to go into all the testing I have planned.
@@DavidPozEnergy I like that this product is modular but that does bring into question which modules you really need, which ones you really want, and which ones you can avoid the cost on. Any help demystifying that would be very helpful.
Dear David Poz, I live in Puerto Rico and power outages are a big topic to all of the islanders. I know hundreds of people here in the island using schnider producst with a very famous solar microinverter company called Enphase. I would like for you to dig ALL the issues the integration between Schneider and Enphase have surfaced lately after the pass of Maria and Fiona Hurricanes. Us.... the end users have to deal with a lot of issues while using both products together when Off-Grid. When the hirricanes hit Puerto Rico we were without power for weeks at a time and experienced the shortcomings either from Schneider or Enphase. Noticed that this is a paid video and would like to use your exposure to direct this comment to Schneider. I am Electrical Engineer by trade and open to discuss the issues we went thru with Schneider. Have a great day. Joed
Hi Joed, Thanks for letting me know that people in your area are combining Schneider and Enphase. Do you know why they are choosing to AC-couple instead of DC-couple? I don't even care about the other brands for charge controllers, could be Schneider, or Midnite Solar, Outback, whatever. But I'm just surprised you are AC coupling mostly so I'd like to know what is driving that choice. Thanks, David BTW, I'm not paid by Schneider (or anyone) to make these videos, but I was given the unit for free.
@DavidPoz Hi David! Thanks for your reply. The only valid reasons that I can think off are the ability to gradually add solar panels at a smaller pace/quantity, the ability to retrofit faster when panels go bad (hurricane season for us in the island and shortage of panels due to supply chain), and the advantages AC-Coupling add for expansion and efficiency (in certain architecture cases to sell back to the power utility). I believe that there is a technical integration issue between Schneider and other devices for ac coupling (I am an electrical and computer engineer that focused on integration not power but studied/analyzed this issue in depth) and I thought the ac coupling feature could be an interesting topic to cover as the Schneider inverters offer this feature. Granted, you are not considering other brands but I hope this message will persuade you otherwise when considering the advantages this feature brings to the table as it offers a lot of insightful information that could lead to a lot of content to cover. Definitely, dc coupled will be considered for most of us solar systems enthusiasts when it comes to use off-grid in contrast with the disadvantages dc coupling offers. I am available anytime if needed to go over this topic offline along with my findings. Pretty interesting technical stuff. Have a great day and will continue looking at your content. Best of luck! Joed
Good video....I am a user of Schneider equipment, I currently have a 6848 Pro but I have a question regarding the Grid support configuration...I have the equipment for self-consumption with grid support enable and zero sales to the grid. ..the question is..why does it consume 100 to 200 watts from the grid when the batteries are charging or when they are fully charged?...any setting I have to do?....thanks
Amazing surge ability. Very much like the sma sunny island with that toroidal transformer. Interested to know the idle current and its suitability for zero export. Ideally you have it feeding a sub panel of critical loads and back feeding your house main panel but not exporting. Does it use CT’s on the main feeder into house? Also if charging from a separate dc charge controller does it use a shunt to measure that charge current?
Hi Wes, I think it was 30W in idle (on, but no load). I know the manual shows some CT's you can buy for zero-export ability, but I run my equipment off grid. There is an option for an external battery monitor that includes a shunt, but that's only required with different brand equipment. I think the Schneider charge controllers record and report the data on their own, but not 100% sure. it's something else I want to test.
I have my XW pro setup with a continetal controls wattnode, so it can "sell back" to the main panel, but limits itself so as to not sell back to the grid. Works really well. I have a spare wattnode I'm willing to send david, if he wants to try connecting his grid input, and "selling back"
It is very easy to set up zero export for everything that’s backed up by the inverter. It’s a simple setting that you turn sell off. It will then operate and load shave mode. Where is zeros out the energy consumption from the grid for all your backed up loads. In my house I have the inverter set up as a whole house transfer switch for backs up my whole house . As long as you are DC coupling the solar and it will work perfectly for zero export AC couple that cannot control the power flow going through it back to the grid when it’s hooked to the grid. If you want to set it up to zero out your whole house, not just what behind the inverter, you can put a separate set of CT is on at your main point of interconnection and set up a few settings to allow it to basically zero out the whole house. whenthe grid is up. when the grid is down it will just back up the critical load panel .
Thank you for sharing I have a question for the Schneider Electric charge controllers the manual State said its temperature compensated so my understanding of that phrase means I don't need to factor in the cold when I wire my panels in series for VOC I'll give you an example if I'm wiring eight panels were the VOC is 20 each that's 160 VOC total 4/8 panels normally I would multiply it by 1.25% for the cold Factor however Schneider Electric is stating that their temperature compensated which means I can add more panels in series series am I correct
Schneider sells 3 different solar charge controllers. My experience is with the 600V, 100A, model. I'll answer your question based on that model. It is the installer responsibility (you) to make sure you never go over the 600V rating. This means you must take into account the cold weather. If your temperature compensation is 25%, then the maximum string open circuit Voltage you can wire together is 480Voc. 480Voc*1.25=600Voc. If memory serves, the 100A rating of the charge controller is based on 40°C (104°F) ambient air temperature. This means the charge controller can output 100A all day long and keep itself cool enough, so long as the surrounding air is at or below 40°C. However, if the ambient air is between 40°C and 65°C, then the internal components can start to over-heat if still operating at a continuous 100 Amp output. Once the internal temperature sensors see this, the controller will automatically throttle down below 100A output in order to keep the internal electronics cool enough.
@@DavidPozEnergy thank you David for the reply this is the charge controller that I had bought the exact same one that you had mentioned thank you so much for the clarity
I have 2 of them in parallel. I really need to get my house cut over to them instead of sitting around for testing. They are NOT fun to mount on the wall by yourself. Make sure you have help.
How do deal with DC Over Voltage and Battery Over Voltage? I install two XW Pro Hybrid Inverter 120/240 V 6848, 2 MPPT 100 600 Charge Controller and 15.4 kWh BYD Battery-BOX Premium LVL 2021. Thank you very much.
He already has the eg4 batteries. Signature solar recently released a firmware update to let them do closed loop communications with the context ecosystem.
Great video. How quickly does it switch from the grid to the battery if your power goes out? What happens when your grid comes back on when your generator is running to charge your batteries? Would you happen to know if it automatically turns off your generator? Are the L1 and L2 out, or are they in the same or out of phase? Do you know how many amps the inverter will pass through from the Grid?
I think the manual says less than 10ms transfer time. Basically, the lights might blink, but your clocks won't reset. It's pretty seamless. I have not tested Grid-Gen setups yet. In the insight home you can program hundreds of settings. I imagine it would follow whatever you programmed. Typically something like a 5-minute window to verify the grid is staying up before switching to it. Then there is no need to keep the generator running. The inverter can pass through 60 Amps.
I think I see a phone call to Ben on this one lol. Should be a good video series on this one, the ac passthrough on the Magnasine works good but the battery charging when AC coupled leaves a lot to be desired so lets hope Schneider does it better.
@@DavidPozEnergy Well I hope you can control it at least with mine it sort of runs full tilt when off grid and using the micro inverters to charge but I got around that with a special string of inverters with a smaller wattage. Cheers
@@DavidPozEnergy I have one that’s ac and dc coupled grid tied too with full grid interconnect so I can test all the functions if your limited. Let me know if you want some other testing/ ones you can’t do
Gald to see your do this xw pro series. I Just hooked up mine and have many question. Like what's should I is set my battery capacity at. I have 9 eg4 48v batteries hooked up. Should it at 900?
The xw series (or zantrex before them) has been around for about 30 years so I think victron is copying the first and arguably the best out there. Fun tidbit, midnight solar and Outback were started with people who worked/ designed the xantrex and xw inverters.
How about testing the xw pro vs the sunny islands, they should each be about 50% the power of the xw pro. Can you borrow the sok-ark again to do some side by side testing ?
Maybe, but I really don't want to deal with Sol-Ark again. They threatened to sue me after my other video review on their product. I've been doing some preliminary testing on the Schneider and there is no doubt, it is powering loads that caused the Sol-Ark to shut down.
@@DavidPozEnergy Sadly, I'm not surprised. When I was debating which system to go with, TONS of youtubers were all about the solark. But, I deep dive before dropping cash, and found a LOT of inconsistencies in the reported capabilities. I then contacted a few people directly.. and heard very similar stories where solark essentially bullied reviewers for favorable outcomes. To me, that was a HUGE red flag. If a companies product is as solid as they claim, they should be willing to let reviewers do their thing, and accept the criticism (the good ones, like schneider will accept the criticism AND THEN FIX IT)
I work for schneider as a project manager. These are absolutely a beast. We use them in all of our buildings personally and it never cease to amaze me.
Very cool. Thanks for checking out my video.
There THE BEST !
Do these work together in 3 phase and what monitoring options do you offer?
What 48V batteries are supported by these inverters?
Is there a dedicated "brains" available like the Victron Cerbo?
I purchased a full house solar system in Oct 2020 from a solar installer with many years of experience with this system. The electronics were all from Schneider Electrical and included two inverters and charge controllers and associated equipment. After two years the system began to experience numerous failures to included getting stuck in a loop, cycling the power on to the house several times before resetting on a number of occasions. The system also frequently shut down requiring me to reboot the system with error codes that made no sense such as fused relays. The system finally completely failed. Despite numerous service calls from the installer over the space of a year and many wasted hours they were unable to get the system to work and would not continue to support it. I replaced the system with a Solar Arc 15. I have made numerous attempts to reach out to Schnider to address this problem and cannot get an answer from their customer support center. The phone rings for an hour and just disconnects. The system is still under the five-year warranty. I went with Schneider equipment with the belief that this established company would be a safe bet, instead it has turned into a living nightmare. I want to return the system to Schneider for a full refund. Since I wrote this several days ago and mailed them a copy they remain non responsive.
Are these low or high frequency?
The Schneider 6848 is a beast. We are using the older XW+ to back up the entire main panel for a 2000 sq ft house. Runs a 4 ton AC unit and electric oven as well as all the lights and basic stuff with no problem. Since our situation is AC coupled only we didn't need built in solar charge controller(s) which keeps the price reasonable. On the other hand, I do think its inexcusable that the inverter does not even come with a built in System Control Panel. I can understand why the Gateway or (ComBox) is sold separately because not everyone wants or needs remote access or Insight Cloud but without the SCP or a ModBus RS485 PLC connection there absolutely no access to the menu settings.
This is the inverter I should have bought. I bought these so called all in one. Straight out of the box it didn’t work taking charge from generator. I did everything the tech support and 20 days later still waiting on tech support. Schneider tech support are awesome and there in the USA and there tech will help you troubleshoot the problem and they are good and very experienced in electronic down to components level. Schneider has good electrical schematics and were all these China made inverter are good to providing it doesn’t break.
Great video! Please take it step by step to show how this would work in a residential setting with a solar array. Interested in learning the whole enchilada😁
David your videos are the best at explaining and showing things in clear language and videos, I really appreciate your time and documating these things, Thanks Again
Your welcome. Thanks for leaving a comment.
I have watched your series on Schneider so many times, I can say your words! lol. Anyway, I came back to this video to see how you turned it on because today is the day I am turning mine on. I hope I won't see smoke! Thanks for all you have done in documenting this so others can learn from it.
Thanks for watching. How did commissioning go?
@@DavidPozEnergy Got it done! I had your video going and I was doing mine at the same time you did yours on your video!!! So happy and thrilled this part is over. I am like you- I am not good with computers, so thank you for showing this literally step-by-step. So easy, even I can do it.
Great videos!
XW inverters are an enginering beauty with a toroidal transformer beast! The transformer has 3 windings: 56V AC and 2 x 120V separate AC plus a temperature sensor. The AC lines can be wired in parallel for 120V AC, in series for 220/240V AC and in split-phase for 240/120 V AC with a Neutral. In split-phase setup, the toroidal transformer also serves as the perfect NFT (neutral forming transformer) that can handle full imbalanced load.
In charge mode, the AC input gets transformed down to 60 V AC and then rectified with voltage and current control via the inverter board to charge the battery. In grid or backup mode, the DC battery input gets converted via an H-Bridge into a sinewave, frequency and amplitude controlled, and then transformed up to the 240/120 AC output voltage.
Would like to have the SCP available on Pro series!
And would like to see more from David on closed-loop DC coupling with EG4-ll(V2) batteries and on AC coupling with Enphase IQ8 inverters.
Excellent explanation. Stay tuned if you want to see the closed-loop coms.
This unit feels like a big step up in quality compared to everything else I have seen on your channel.
Dual SMA Sunny Islands not worthy ? :>)
David, Glad to see you finally doing the Conext setup. PLEASE make sure you are using the latest firmware on their gear, they've fixed a lot of issues in the last few updates. (You also *need* to get at least an insight home, the inverter has very little you can change directly and depends on the insight gateway for the real configs.) Also, I'd love to see you make an actual playlist for the Schneider content. There honestly just isn;t that much on youtube. If I had more time, I'd consider making a YT channel specifically about my conext stuff, and trying out various config changes. But maybe instead I can live vicariously through you, and make suggestions for you to provide content on!
I welcome your input so that I can make a good series. I've been lacking in the playlist setup. I don't think I've updated my playlists in years. I need to go back and try to make some good categories. It just seems like there are going to be 100 videos in "Battery" LOL. If you have playlist titles to suggest, I'm all ears. Yes, I ordered an insight home so that I can try updating the firmware.
Just made a Schneider playlist.
Schneider looks to have the same quality as the Victron Multiplus and Quatro, thanks for showing.
Schneider Inverters are the best hands down. Seen a lot of tests on them. Nothing compares to how they can handle power loads like air compressor etc.
My 48|5000|70 Victron that is quite well aged (7 years now) has two heafty toroids on either side of the inverter half with the heatsinks, mosfets and driver board mounted on the chassie between the two side wall mounted toroids.
I have never tripped this thing as my safties are conservatively set, but, that it can handel surges is a very definite yes.
If that Schnider is anything like the Victron you'll have one beast of an inverter on your hands there. It looks like a very well built peice of kit..
Full time now. Happy to see you have a xw pro in your hands.
I agree Beckford! I had a most interesting conversation with an installer when he saw me picking up my XWPro from the retailer last week. Asked me why am I using "old fashioned stuff" instead of a Sol-Ark or Deye ... I just laughed.
Awesome - glad you finally got a Schneider. You will need either a Insight gateway or SCP to program it. You can DIY your way around not needing the big or mini PDP, but you still need some way to switch and protect your AC and DC circuits. The PDP's provide a place to do that, as well as posts to tie in other items like a solar charge controller. But not strictly required for somebody handy like yourself. Looking forward to your follow-up videos.
He mentioned the PDP so I assume he has it .
Hehehe, a worthy addition to Poz's Wall O' Inverters. I wonder how loud they would all be, singing in concert...
I used their earlier 48VDC inverters commercially for years, they were bullet-proof. Out of the box, over a hundred with zero failures. Hope these units are as good.
Good to hear. Thanks.
They are so reliable. Love them !! Only had one go bad, and it was DOA.
Hey knew it wouldn't be long since Ben posted that vid . Glad you got the big boy xw pro. It wont disappoint you.
Awesome! Been waiting for this for what seems decades. Look fwd to the upcoming vids. Best of luck and stay safe.
Nichicon caps, top quality all around it looks like.
The capacitors?
I love it 40 kilowatts of battery 6.8 KW inverter and he runs one light bulb that's all you need off grid
Haha. Yeah. More to come.
If you get a change please measure the efficiency both battery to load and grid to load. Knowing the idle and standby power consumption would also be excellent.
I’m an off grid Solar bozo since 2005. I have a large homestead here and have multiple XW inverters. They are a beast and I haven’t found anything they wouldn’t power. Most of my inverters were manufactured in 2010 or 2011. Still going strong. I think it was DUMB of Schnieder to discontinue the SCP and force you to fumble with the Insight and a computer. Especially when almost all other competitors are placing advanced displays right on the inverter. You will need someway to program some basic battery voltages, etc. The mini PDP is enough for most people and makes for a sexy albeit expense setup. Have fun with your new workhorse!
what? the SCP isn't discontinued!
love my Schneider (and older Xantrex) stuff. i'm with ya, i think it's stupid there isn't a way to program the inverter - FROM THE INVERTER! like via a user interface or bluetooth or something. you HAVE to either get the SCP or the Gateway/Home/Facility... hell, for the price the SCP should be included.
Man i like that idea with the cooling, i wish more electronics had that, especially inverter welders etc... i have blown one up in the past due to the more sensitive innards being covered in metal dust!!
It's worth noting, you can use any charge controllers with the XW pro. the schnieder ones just enable some advanced functionality. (Like, keeping batteries in float, and selling excess to the grid, or doing zero sell, etc etc
Yes Sir! I've been playing around with it and for sure batteries can be charged from any charge controller and the Schneider inverter doesn't care.
I have a Schnider charge controller and it’s only slightly more useful then a generic one. Having all the data on the screen is nice but that’s about it. The charge controls are old school and overbuilt but that’s good for longevity.
@@Miweatherspotter1 It depends on what it is you need out of the system. For me, I'm doing zero sell (selling excess energy to the main panel, but erducing output so that it never actually sells to the grid) for that, you need the inverters and charge controllers to communicate directly. There are several other such scenarios. But yes, for basic "keep batteries charged, and sell excess", and CC will work.
It's really amazing wawoo
Best regards from Philippines 🇵🇭
Hands down best inverter ever
I am looking forward to your videos on the Schneider. My system is using an XW-Pro 6848 AC coupled to an Enphase array. My only issue is with the software. When it is inverting, it will shut down 0.5 volts above the "Recharge Voltage" an then it will just site and not charge back up. The battery either has to fall below the recharge volts, which could take a really long time, since there is no load on it, or another device or a human has to tell it to charge. I ended up programming a separate PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) to send commands to the XW-Pro. This is not a problem if you use DC charge controllers. Then the charge controllers do all the charging.
My last grid power failure also made another problem pop up, but they say it has been fixed in newer firmware, so I have to do that update. When it was frequency shifting to adjust the output of the Enphase inverters, it somehow dropped to 57 Hz which shut off all the Enphase inverters as a bad grid, and it just stayed there until I restarted it. The firmware update through the Gateway is easy, but I have to shut down everything in my backup load panel to do it.
Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I'd like to test the AC coupling function on my system and I appreciate the insight.
Very nice 👍 what a smart design, looking forward to your series of videos on this beast 😁
Thanks.
This is the best inveter that ever made. I am using the xw6048 since 2009 and never had a problem strictly as offgrid. This thing is robust. I ran four 18,000 split ac units and all my other household electrical appliances. Never had a problem.
Great video Dave, looking forward to the rest of the series. Thanks for sharing.
Just when I thought I had my choices narrowed down, I come across this video and Schneider. 😅
Started out looking at portable power stations like EcoFlow which led me to DIY less portable solutions.
I want backup home power to power gas furnace, a couple of fridges and freezer, a few outlets and lights.
Wouldn’t need 6.8kwh of continuous power so may look at smaller Schneider unit.
Not looking at solar yet either t’as I plan to charge the batteries using a dual fuel generator for extended outages.
I don’t get many outages up here in Ontario Canada but I’m preparing given the signs of the times.
I love to see this in grid-tie mode, looking for an inverter that can start in grid-tie and then when funds allow go off grid with a good size battery bank.
This inverter allows grid-tie, sell back, and zero-sell functions. However, you still need at least a small battery because this is a battery-based inverter. Some users buy a single 5kWh battery at first, and add to the battery bank later as funds allow. These functions only unlock when you program with the insight home. I haven't yet hooked up my insight home, but will be showing it in a future video.
Great video Dave thanks for making it watching from the UK. 🇬🇧❤️🇺🇸
That's David! I'd love to see the idle consumption and also how it handles un balanced loads when the power goes out in my house (off grid mode)
Check out my other videos to see the load testing. I think idle was 34 Watts. It's been an awesome inverter. Just one inverter has been powering my whole property. Although, I did pick up a second inverter, just haven't wired it in yet.
@@DavidPozEnergy 34watts! Wow, that's amazing! I was just watching your other videos showing this. Thanks! I think I'm gonna get this one.
Very cool. If you decide to move forward, would you mind buying it through my affiliate link? It really helps out the channel. I put links in the description, but here is another one. signaturesolar.com/schneider-conext-xw-pro-6-8kw-inverter-charger-48v-120-240v/?ref=4_rHcgZ9x-TiF-
Hi David, that is the best Inverter you will ever have in your shop. I have one of those for over 12 years now, the previous version and never had a problem with that unit. Looking forward to see all the videos.
Excellent to hear. Any maintenance in the last 12 years?
This is the best inveter thA t
Hi. Host. I'm going to use schneider on my home. It's a great product and review.
Hope and pray to have one,even it's impossible,thank you, God bless
I used to work with big microwave power amps that demanded a lot of cooling. Big fans and similar metal mesh on the input.
One day we had a cricket infestation which got sucked into the intake. Blended and filtered crickets made a mess of that amplifier!
I first saw that inverter on Wild Wonderful Off-grid. The idea of needing all those accessories also made me think it's not as good as some of the lower cost alternatives. It's very typically 'old school' engineering to use proprietary interfaces and charge extra for standardised data interfaces, which is ridiculous when a Bluetooth and WiFi enabled microcontroller now costs $2.
Nice and all that nice-ness is in the price.
Vraiment très impressionnant cet onduleur ! Merci pour la suite du test...
Totally looking forward to more on this.
I've used Trace/Conext/Schneider system for 18 years. Finally switched to Lifepo4 and upgraded to 48v XWPRO from 24v. Installed 800ah SOK server rack batteries. Tech support informed me that the XW won't communicate with an open loop system. Hope at some point you'll figure out how to work around this. Currently just using voltage settings on the XW and MPPT'S. THANK YOU
I'm also running my Schneider right now (powering my whole house) open loop. Not a huge deal. I don't know if there is a closed-loop option directly to SOK batteries since I don't own any SOK batteries. But, if you want State of charge control, then you could add the Schneider Battery Monitor: signaturesolar.com/schneider-battery-monitor-48v/?ref=4_rHcgZ9x-TiF- Just an option to consider.
@@DavidPozEnergy From what I have been told, the battery monitor won't work with lithium battery.
Awesome inverter, love seeing the toroidal transformers! Two things come to mind - can you check what the no-load power consumption is? Curious how it compares to other options on the market. Also, you noted at 3:00 about connecting grid-tie inverters. I assume that means you can backfeed through it to charge the batteries? How does that work and will the inverter cut off when the batteries are full?
I'll be testing that stuff, but it is supposed to do AC coupling. This mean you can use a grid-tie inverter or micro inverters and the Schneider uses the power to charge the battery. Then, frequency shifts when full. I'll test to see how well it works
I have a Schnider inverter with an AC coupling to a soul solaredge and it works flawlessl. when the grids down it creates a grid that keeps the solar running. It charge is the battery, when the battery is full it’s frequency shift up turns off the solar will run the battery down a little bit. Bring the frequency back down and then Solar starts back up and it can keep that up all day long.
Feel free to ask me any questions about it I’ve been using it on grid and off grid for four years now .
I have an AC coupled and DC coupled .
The other inverter needs to support the frequency shift, too. Newer inverters will reduce output with every .1hz shift.. older ones will remain 100% output until 60.6hz (I think) and then drop offline until the batteries are discharged enough for the xw to bring it back into appropriate range. It still "works" but is not as gentle. They'd be 0%, or 100%, so the batteries would need to be discharged enough to support the 100% (along with the loads, obviously)
"Mass Sine" from Mastervolt products are also some beast, and reliable inverters, that makes them so expensive....get to know them if you ever need an interesting suggestion.
Hi David. Great info. Looking forward to the serie of videos to learn more about your findings and test results for this inverter. Do you have any plan to hook up 2 of these units for a parallel operation? Would be great to see if how 2 of these stackup to your pair of SMA 6048s, Growatts, or EG4s. A good side by side comparison would be a great help for all of us who is looking at building an off-grid, "whole house" system.
I would enjoy making a video stacking 2 inverters, but don't have a second one at the moment. Maybe down the road I can get one, but it will depend how this one works out. I agree, at some point a full on comparison video is going to happen. As of right now, all I can say is the Schneider is blowing the pants off the Sol-Ark I tested.
@@DavidPozEnergy I think a sok-ark you have to handicap the kw rating by 30-50% the Schnider gets a 80% boost to its numbers as the under sell it as. 6k inverter. It’s really a 9k if you use the same fuzzy math as solark.
I run my whole home and never once overloaded it, I’m sure I could, ac, stove, charge my ev…. But smart load management and I run my home with the 5k model.
If you do some digging you will find the eu version list listed as a 10k. They don’t have the same 80% of max breaker rule we do so they can count the full output…..
David,
please test communications with the Insight Home/Facility with the Signature Solar EG4 rackmount batteries! thanks!
Will do! Thanks for the suggestion.
would love to see more examples of these working with Enphase iq7/iq8 AC coupled microinverters
I hope you get to try Victron also! 🖖
It would be my guess that 48 VDC is boosted up to a higher dc voltage (probably greater than 150V). From that high voltage, it would then be inverted to 60 Hz. We wouldn't know for sure without a closer examination of the bottom board, or ideally from an electrical schematic of the board. Love your videos. Keep 'em comin'!
That might be. I don't know for sure. I did take the cover off and turned on the unit (Danger!). Then I checked it with my multi-meter set to AC Voltage. I found 30VAC on the output side of the power bridge, that's the point where the wires dive down to the transformer.
It would be interesting to see the standby power consumption.
OK, sneak peak... ((but don't tell anyone)) LOL 30-31 Watts (my meter sometimes shows one or the other)
Have you ever checked idle current on the ac and dc side on all these inverters under no load? Love those toroidal transformers. They have the least losses in wattage and can handle higher wattage. More mainstream companies are going the transformers because they see the Chinese have been using them for decades and cheap and they work well. I have a 15kw powerjack and it handles everything I can throw at it. It’s idle current is 15 watts.
A 15kW inverter only pulling 15 Watts in idle is amazing. I've heard of numbers like that in standby mode, but never in idle. Can you please send me a link to your inverter so I can check it out?
You should test it’s phase to phase load in balance characteristics 😬 it’s starting loads are also fantastic.
You should AC couple it with some of your solar and watch how well it performs off grid with that as well .
As an FYI, I have a smaller (now retired) cousin and I run my whole house with it.
It’s built like a tank runs like a charm had almost no issues with it in four years!
I would love to see a head to head to head starting competition with the Schneider, solarak, and one of those grow watt inverters.
I highly doubt that anything is going to beat the Schneider in surge starting capability. Even to grow watch with a SolarEdge transformer, probably aren’t gonna beat the Schneider and its ability to surge start loads.
From my understanding, Schneider build them for industrial customers they might not be quite as efficient in DC to AC conversion as the transformer, loose ones, but they’re hard to beat for reliability.
Great idea! I will definitely add an imbalance load test to my list.
Actually, in my initial testing so far, the Schneider is more efficient than the transformer-less inverters I've tested. Crazy.
@@DavidPozEnergy page 144 of the manual gives its weighted efficient chart . solar.se.com/us/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/10/XW-Pro-NA-Owners-Guide_990-91227.pdf
The charts in the manual may be worth showing on future you tube videos
@@DavidPozEnergy Definitely want to see an episode on efficiency ratings! Thanks David!
Try the System control panel. With the xw + the system control panel can replace the existing user interface.
Thanks. If I had the XW+ I probably would do that. In this case, I have the XW PRO and Schneider doesn't recommend the SCP with it. I bought the Insight Home and that's working for me.
Can't wait to see eval videos.
Maybe do a video and check out the Sunsynk 16KW Single Phase Hybrid Inverter - now that is a beast.
Lets see what ur information is on this ben has been running test to let's see what it can do and most important how long will it last there's been a lot of problems..... Keep it up brother
David I'm really looking forward to your future videos on this inverter, there's not too much XW Pro information out there especially for DIYers 🙄 I'm still learning this is probably my toughest project so far, it can be a little intimidating. I'm still collecting components, like wiring, tools, fuses lugs and pretty much everything involved with solar. Can't wait to take it out of the box 😉with help of course. I'm curious how this inverter will work with DIY LifePo4 battery banks.
You can always start small and learn before dropping big money. The good news is that this inverter can work with any readily available battery, and most DIY batteries. But, we should define "work". I'm simply saying that it can draw power from a DIY battery and power your loads. But, if you start talking about charging, that's really a question of what charge controller you have. Advanced users might want to incorporate "closed loop communication" which is nearly impossible with DIY BMS's. But, if you want the functions of closed loop with an off-brand BMS, then add the "Schneider Battery Monitor". Anyways, lots of options. I'll be unpacking some of this in the future videos.
@@DavidPozEnergy don’t forget that the xw can charge the battery from an ac source (grid, generator, some other inverter). For the first 2 years I had this inverter that’s how I charged my battery’s. It can sense battery voltage (but won’t track SOC/ amps without the monitor) my simphi battery’s came with xw charging specs and worked just fine.
It has lead acid settings or custom settings which is what I used. Set up what you want the bulk, asorb, float voltages and times to be and it works. :)
It will work with most any 48v normal battery
Thanks for the upload. Hoping this unit does ac coupled battery charging better than the Deye/Solark
Really interested in this inverter. My Sol-ark puts out a lot of Dirty electricity because it is transformerless. Transformer based inverters put out clean electricity.
I agree. The manual even has a page talking about how clean the electricity is for use with HAM radios. I'm not a radio person, but I understand it's a big deal.
In the last year or so, I keep getting faults on my inverter and the fault are not because my inverter is bad. It my power company’s power is bad, it’s sensing how bad the utilities current is and tripping a fault warning.
Twice in the last year, it’s even disconnected from the grade for a little while because the grid voltage and frequency went out of spec .
Very nice...like it...seems complex but interesting
Hey, what's up, Wolfie! 😆 🤣 😂
You should setup a microinverter array for AC coupled testing of inverters.
That would be fun. I have a grid-tie inverter I picked up used for the purpose of testing the AC coupling function.
David, while we appreciate your reviews of the latest and greatest and expensive equipment out there, a lot of us are committed to what we already spent large sums of money on. And would like to make the most of what we have, and add instead of replace. For example I have 2 of the 3KW solar charge controller/inverters and I have 8 12v 200AH batteries. I would like to connect my two inverters together and have output of 240V. My battery bank is 2 separate banks. 4 batteries each (12v 200AH) If I connect my two Inverters together for the 240V output I would like to use all 8 of my batteries, as one bank. And both the inverters connected to the one bank of 8 batteries (total 20KW bank) but I hesitate to do so because I read something about not having more than 4 of these batteries in a bank. But surely there must be a way. I don't mean that you should answer this question. But it would be nice to see more topics like this covered. Making due with what you have and how to grow a system without replacing a system. Thanks for all of your quality content. You really do a fantastic job.
I certainly love the spirit of this question.
Generally, if a manufacturer says "Max 4 batteries..." they usually mean 4 in series per string. But, you can parallel multiple strings. This means doing what you are talking about is possible. It's always best to consult the manufacture for a manual or guidance.
If you decide to have multiple 48V strings in parallel, I suggest paralleling them to a central busbar. Each string needs it's own fuse (or breaker), usually on the positive post.
@@DavidPozEnergy Wow, thank you David. I really appreciate your input. I really did nor expect an answer from you, actually I thought one of your subscribers might have answered. So a Big Thank you!
Unless the inverters are designed to sync up to make 240 (2 120v any exactly 180 degrees out of phase) a safer idea is to use a step up transformer. In that size it will be called a buck boost transformer. Look for 120v in and 240/120v out
Cool man. This will be fun to see. Thanks for sharing. God Bless
Thanks for watching Bobby.
Good going!
Look who's ready for "movember"
the fact I can't connect my 30k batteries to it , would not make into my upgrade List. - But itis a solid Unit...great video as always
What batteries are you using?
@@DavidPozEnergy on my plans I have set to use EG4s
The new Eg4 batteries (V2) will support closed loop communication directly with the Schneider inverter.
Hey David, I would love to see you test this on big 220 air compressors, welders and heavy inductive loads like that! Thanks! Love your videos!
Thank you for the suggestion. so far my initial tests with 120V stuff is awesome. I'll try to pull together some 220V loads for a video.
That's already been done on YT by Abney Solar: th-cam.com/video/-Ez4cbuy7IQ/w-d-xo.html
Abney Solar did that already on YT, although he used 2 units stacked. th-cam.com/video/-Ez4cbuy7IQ/w-d-xo.html
@@DavidPozEnergy Yeah, but the real test is to put some sizable INDUCTIVE loads on it. That is what this beast is supposed to handle, and that is a key separator of the men from the boys. So motors, welders, etc. @240VAC.
And it does great. Way better than sol-ark
Hi David, do you have a wiring schematics of a Hybrid PV System installation with automatic transfer and protections? Thanks!
Holly Macro ! You got the big boy now . I’ve saw many great videos about it and even compared with the SOLARK inverter . Schneider inverters are awesome . One question I want to ask you . How does it compare to the performance of the SOLARK 12 k inverters in your opinion ? 😮 I saw you had demonstrated one back then in your previous videos .. Would love to see the next video of the Schneider load testing with that mighty saw .😊 May the solar be with you .😊
I'll be doing an in-depth testing on camera. But, so far, the Schneider has powered loads that the Sol-Ark couldn't in my house.
@@DavidPozEnergy you have to test the latest solarks. they had some issue that seems to have been fixed. I had same issue of inverters cutting out when heavy loads they sent me a new mcu. now they are running heavy loads no issues. hot tubs, ac, and more at same time.
David
I would very much like to see a comparison between (2) EG4 6,000 EX48 HF and (1) Schneider XW PRO. I would like to see what inverter has the most surge capability and the most imbalance ability. I need an off grid system to run my house and woodworking shop for the best price.
Two of the EG4 6000EX-48HV inverters would give you 12kW continous, and a single Schneider XW-Pro can do 12kW for one minute. I'd say a pair of the EG4's would win in the surge capacity. If you need to run high loads for long periods of time (think 8kW+ for hours) then a single XW-PRO is not the right choice.
Keep in mind that a pair of the EG4's will consume 240W in idle, that's 5.76kWh/day just being turned on. Lot's of things to consider for whatever your particular application is. I like the EG4 inverters if you have it off most of the time. This could be a back-up system you only turn on if there is a power outage, or maybe a cabin you visit on weekends.
I powerful the all in one units I just installed one for my mother in law she had 12 volt system and I put in the renergy 48 volt all in one unit with lithium it's like night and day
It would be fun to do a side by side comparison with the Aims 6k .
That would be fun, but I haven't had my Aims inverter for years. It's been running a pump-house at a farm since.
I need something that will handle a 240v well pump *and* a 240v on demand water heater as well as my other appliances such as refrigerators and 240v mini split air conditioner/heater. 😳🙂
I'm currently running my whole house on this one unit.
@@DavidPozEnergy Must be that toroidal!
Solid looking hw. Made in us too. Thanks for sharing
Nope , not made in USA . Not in china either though .India if I remember correctly.
FYI Dave. I purchased $21k from signature solar today. Using your links. Be make sure you get the credit/funds. Thank you!
Thank you for using my links, that really helps out the channel. I hope it works well for you. I'm on facebook if you want to discuss it further.
@@DavidPozEnergy thank you so much for the offer. I’m sorry I do not use Facebook. But I email or text. Not sure if this helps you. My order #46261. I will continue to watch & learn from you! Thanks again
When do you plan a deeper dive on this one. I have some questions but suspect your next video will answer some.
I'm putting the final touches on the editing of the next video. This is a series, I plan it to take a couple months to go into all the testing I have planned.
@@DavidPozEnergy I like that this product is modular but that does bring into question which modules you really need, which ones you really want, and which ones you can avoid the cost on. Any help demystifying that would be very helpful.
Dear David Poz,
I live in Puerto Rico and power outages are a big topic to all of the islanders. I know hundreds of people here in the island using schnider producst with a very famous solar microinverter company called Enphase. I would like for you to dig ALL the issues the integration between Schneider and Enphase have surfaced lately after the pass of Maria and Fiona Hurricanes. Us.... the end users have to deal with a lot of issues while using both products together when Off-Grid. When the hirricanes hit Puerto Rico we were without power for weeks at a time and experienced the shortcomings either from Schneider or Enphase. Noticed that this is a paid video and would like to use your exposure to direct this comment to Schneider. I am Electrical Engineer by trade and open to discuss the issues we went thru with Schneider. Have a great day. Joed
Hi Joed, Thanks for letting me know that people in your area are combining Schneider and Enphase. Do you know why they are choosing to AC-couple instead of DC-couple? I don't even care about the other brands for charge controllers, could be Schneider, or Midnite Solar, Outback, whatever. But I'm just surprised you are AC coupling mostly so I'd like to know what is driving that choice.
Thanks,
David
BTW, I'm not paid by Schneider (or anyone) to make these videos, but I was given the unit for free.
@DavidPoz Hi David! Thanks for your reply. The only valid reasons that I can think off are the ability to gradually add solar panels at a smaller pace/quantity, the ability to retrofit faster when panels go bad (hurricane season for us in the island and shortage of panels due to supply chain), and the advantages AC-Coupling add for expansion and efficiency (in certain architecture cases to sell back to the power utility). I believe that there is a technical integration issue between Schneider and other devices for ac coupling (I am an electrical and computer engineer that focused on integration not power but studied/analyzed this issue in depth) and I thought the ac coupling feature could be an interesting topic to cover as the Schneider inverters offer this feature. Granted, you are not considering other brands but I hope this message will persuade you otherwise when considering the advantages this feature brings to the table as it offers a lot of insightful information that could lead to a lot of content to cover. Definitely, dc coupled will be considered for most of us solar systems enthusiasts when it comes to use off-grid in contrast with the disadvantages dc coupling offers. I am available anytime if needed to go over this topic offline along with my findings. Pretty interesting technical stuff. Have a great day and will continue looking at your content. Best of luck! Joed
Thanks David
You should try out a magnum inverter next
Love your videos.
The only question I have is are you getting rid of the Growatts? If so, I'm interested in them.
Good video....I am a user of Schneider equipment, I currently have a 6848 Pro but I have a question regarding the Grid support configuration...I have the equipment for self-consumption with grid support enable and zero sales to the grid. ..the question is..why does it consume 100 to 200 watts from the grid when the batteries are charging or when they are fully charged?...any setting I have to do?....thanks
All my work is done off grid. I limit my responses to things I have direct experience with. Sorry I can't help you with on grid questions.
Dear, I suggest the best to try an inverter deye Its specs are amazing
I contacted Deye directly. They told me they can't sell any inverter to any US address because of Sol-Ark.
@@DavidPozEnergy I don't understand meaning of sol-ark I think I found it on Amazon, taking it to Iraq is expensive, so I got it from China
Amazing surge ability. Very much like the sma sunny island with that toroidal transformer. Interested to know the idle current and its suitability for zero export. Ideally you have it feeding a sub panel of critical loads and back feeding your house main panel but not exporting. Does it use CT’s on the main feeder into house?
Also if charging from a separate dc charge controller does it use a shunt to measure that charge current?
Hi Wes, I think it was 30W in idle (on, but no load). I know the manual shows some CT's you can buy for zero-export ability, but I run my equipment off grid. There is an option for an external battery monitor that includes a shunt, but that's only required with different brand equipment. I think the Schneider charge controllers record and report the data on their own, but not 100% sure. it's something else I want to test.
I have my XW pro setup with a continetal controls wattnode, so it can "sell back" to the main panel, but limits itself so as to not sell back to the grid. Works really well. I have a spare wattnode I'm willing to send david, if he wants to try connecting his grid input, and "selling back"
It is very easy to set up zero export for everything that’s backed up by the inverter. It’s a simple setting that you turn sell off. It will then operate and load shave mode. Where is zeros out the energy consumption from the grid for all your backed up loads.
In my house I have the inverter set up as a whole house transfer switch for backs up my whole house . As long as you are DC coupling the solar and it will work perfectly for zero export AC couple that cannot control the power flow going through it back to the grid when it’s hooked to the grid.
If you want to set it up to zero out your whole house, not just what behind the inverter, you can put a separate set of CT is on at your main point of interconnection and set up a few settings to allow it to basically zero out the whole house. whenthe grid is up. when the grid is down it will just back up the critical load panel .
Idle power consumption is something in the range of 30 to 50 W
@@JeffPalmer941 Do you have the exact model number of the wattnode you use?
Hello David, can't wait to see it up the wall. Let me ask you a question about discovery single battery of 6,500 amp. Have you ever tried it? Thx
Sorry, I've never tested a discovery brand battery.
@@DavidPozEnergy thank you so much David
Thank you for sharing I have a question for the Schneider Electric charge controllers the manual State said its temperature compensated so my understanding of that phrase means I don't need to factor in the cold when I wire my panels in series for VOC I'll give you an example if I'm wiring eight panels were the VOC is 20 each that's 160 VOC total 4/8 panels normally I would multiply it by 1.25% for the cold Factor however Schneider Electric is stating that their temperature compensated which means I can add more panels in series series am I correct
Schneider sells 3 different solar charge controllers. My experience is with the 600V, 100A, model. I'll answer your question based on that model.
It is the installer responsibility (you) to make sure you never go over the 600V rating. This means you must take into account the cold weather. If your temperature compensation is 25%, then the maximum string open circuit Voltage you can wire together is 480Voc. 480Voc*1.25=600Voc.
If memory serves, the 100A rating of the charge controller is based on 40°C (104°F) ambient air temperature. This means the charge controller can output 100A all day long and keep itself cool enough, so long as the surrounding air is at or below 40°C. However, if the ambient air is between 40°C and 65°C, then the internal components can start to over-heat if still operating at a continuous 100 Amp output. Once the internal temperature sensors see this, the controller will automatically throttle down below 100A output in order to keep the internal electronics cool enough.
@@DavidPozEnergy thank you David for the reply this is the charge controller that I had bought the exact same one that you had mentioned thank you so much for the clarity
Glad to help
I have 2 of them in parallel. I really need to get my house cut over to them instead of sitting around for testing. They are NOT fun to mount on the wall by yourself. Make sure you have help.
How do deal with DC Over Voltage and Battery Over Voltage? I install two XW Pro Hybrid Inverter 120/240 V 6848, 2 MPPT 100 600 Charge Controller and 15.4 kWh BYD Battery-BOX Premium LVL 2021. Thank you very much.
Would be awesome to see that inverter/charger connected to some Discover batteries.
He already has the eg4 batteries. Signature solar recently released a firmware update to let them do closed loop communications with the context ecosystem.
Does anyone actually buy those expensive things , they are $1000.00 per Kilowatt . Crazy .
@@onthelake9554 They are $298/kW.
Will you be connecting a battery monitor to get SOC?
Great video. How quickly does it switch from the grid to the battery if your power goes out? What happens when your grid comes back on when your generator is running to charge your batteries? Would you happen to know if it automatically turns off your generator? Are the L1 and L2 out, or are they in the same or out of phase? Do you know how many amps the inverter will pass through from the Grid?
I think the manual says less than 10ms transfer time. Basically, the lights might blink, but your clocks won't reset. It's pretty seamless.
I have not tested Grid-Gen setups yet. In the insight home you can program hundreds of settings. I imagine it would follow whatever you programmed. Typically something like a 5-minute window to verify the grid is staying up before switching to it. Then there is no need to keep the generator running.
The inverter can pass through 60 Amps.
What’s the noise decibels it produces under load and also how much power does it use for self-consumption?
Idle is 31W. I'm happy to test the noise level. Is there a decibel app you recommend?
I think I see a phone call to Ben on this one lol. Should be a good video series on this one, the ac passthrough on the Magnasine works good but the battery charging when AC coupled leaves a lot to be desired so lets hope Schneider does it better.
Ben and I are friends, so we have certainly been talking about these. What in particular should we discuss?
@@DavidPozEnergy His last video he seemed to think AC coupling was weak it will be interesting what you find .
O, yes. Ben made that point. I have plans to test AC coupling with mine too.
@@DavidPozEnergy Well I hope you can control it at least with mine it sort of runs full tilt when off grid and using the micro inverters to charge but I got around that with a special string of inverters with a smaller wattage. Cheers
@@DavidPozEnergy I have one that’s ac and dc coupled grid tied too with full grid interconnect so I can test all the functions if your limited. Let me know if you want some other testing/ ones you can’t do
So how do the panels connect into this panel.
Gald to see your do this xw pro series. I Just hooked up mine and have many question. Like what's should I is set my battery capacity at. I have 9 eg4 48v batteries hooked up. Should it at 900?
Exactly.
It looks like competes with the Victron Energy Multiplus II .. that one Also has a toroidal transformer inside..
The xw series (or zantrex before them) has been around for about 30 years so I think victron is copying the first and arguably the best out there. Fun tidbit, midnight solar and Outback were started with people who worked/ designed the xantrex and xw inverters.
When is Victron getting tested?
Very nice sr
How about testing the xw pro vs the sunny islands, they should each be about 50% the power of the xw pro.
Can you borrow the sok-ark again to do some side by side testing ?
Maybe, but I really don't want to deal with Sol-Ark again. They threatened to sue me after my other video review on their product. I've been doing some preliminary testing on the Schneider and there is no doubt, it is powering loads that caused the Sol-Ark to shut down.
@@DavidPozEnergy Sadly, I'm not surprised. When I was debating which system to go with, TONS of youtubers were all about the solark. But, I deep dive before dropping cash, and found a LOT of inconsistencies in the reported capabilities. I then contacted a few people directly.. and heard very similar stories where solark essentially bullied reviewers for favorable outcomes. To me, that was a HUGE red flag. If a companies product is as solid as they claim, they should be willing to let reviewers do their thing, and accept the criticism (the good ones, like schneider will accept the criticism AND THEN FIX IT)
Good call Jeff.
Nice piece off kitt. Pitty for the PV control missing. Than again those are not to expensive.