hello
I am in the trial of the Axle Energy VPP.
It seems since signing up I’ve been changed to Feed in priority but when I tried to change to self use as a test to see if I can still do this it says:
Unsupported Function Code
So I can’t change this work mode.
Is this normal for VPP setups?
Should I be able to change it?
I also noticed my overnight battery grid charge schedule was gone, but aubergine changing to Feed in removes that?
in general, VPP systems will want to take complete control, and if you adjust something it'll switch it back. I don't know about this particular scheme but it seems likely to be the same. Same goes for any overnight schedule you've got set up, it'll want to do everything itself.Is this normal for VPP setups?
Some systems let you turn off automatic control for a period, and go to manual control. Again, no idea if this is the case for Axle.
So this morning, by 6am my battery was only at 50%, the VPP had done some charging at 0030-0230 then again 0430-0500.
It had imported 8kwh and exported 2kwh.
I guess the AI model looked at my usage and the solar prediction to come up with what i needed.
I did have to manually switch off feed in (which was set until 5pm), I only had 30% battery, which would not have lasted what with dinner and general base loads!
The support seem very quick and are making changes to the charge window. So I will see what it is like tomorrow.
There is a Free energy session this evening and tomorrow afternoon which Axle do not support so they say i need to carry on force charging at these times.
It had imported 8kwh and exported 2kwh.
I guess the AI model looked at my usage and the solar prediction to come up with what i needed.
I did have to manually switch off feed in (which was set until 5pm), I only had 30% battery, which would not have lasted what with dinner and general base loads!
The support seem very quick and are making changes to the charge window. So I will see what it is like tomorrow.
There is a Free energy session this evening and tomorrow afternoon which Axle do not support so they say i need to carry on force charging at these times.
If it helps, they've set up a whatsapp group here as a forum for customers:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/I54u2IWcB921d ... K?mode=wwc
https://chat.whatsapp.com/I54u2IWcB921d ... K?mode=wwc
Thanks for your engagement - please do share any thoughts you have on the trial and how we can improve the product.
Keen to hear how you’re getting on!
Keen to hear how you’re getting on!
Archy de Berker
CTO @ Axle Energy
Fox H1 3.6kW hybrid inverter
Fox EP11 10.36kWh battery
CTO @ Axle Energy
Fox H1 3.6kW hybrid inverter
Fox EP11 10.36kWh battery
FYI they've added a version which only does the grid services, and does not do the optimisation. This is useful for those of us on home assistant / predbat / etc.
I assume it will attempt to take control when a grid event occurs? So I've joined - have not yet seen it take control of the inverter (not sure how frequent the grid events are). It'll be interesting to see what happens when modbus and the VPP are simultaneously trying to control the inverter. It would be nice to be able to see what it plans to do, so that we can charge up / etc in advance.
I assume it will attempt to take control when a grid event occurs? So I've joined - have not yet seen it take control of the inverter (not sure how frequent the grid events are). It'll be interesting to see what happens when modbus and the VPP are simultaneously trying to control the inverter. It would be nice to be able to see what it plans to do, so that we can charge up / etc in advance.
I’ve tried the optimised mode first but for some reason the mode wanted to force discharge my battery everyday at 3:30am only to recharge it at 4:00am. I’m on Octopus Cosy for import and the normal Octopus export, so I sell at 15p/kWh and buy at the cheapest rate of 14p. Pointless to force discharge my battery everyday only to buy it back at the same price more or less. The degradation on the battery is not worth it. I’ve switched to the event only mode whilst I wait to hear back from Axle (sent support an email just before Christmas). Not had any events at all. Not sure if it’s working correctly, or if it’s just down to the Christmas shutdown?
The events only happen when there is a shortage of grid power (for example, when it's very cold, and there is minimal wind). Perhaps a few times per month. It was (relatively) warm and windy in December, so plenty of grid power available.
It's very likely that there'll be at least one event next week, given the forecasted Agile prices (which are related to the wholesale prices).
It's very likely that there'll be at least one event next week, given the forecasted Agile prices (which are related to the wholesale prices).