So I have my 2 AC300 in split phase running my pool equipment off grid, just solar. My pool pump runs from 7am-3pm. By 5pm my battery is at 100% and the only thing being powered is the electrical equipment (No need to keep it powered on) and my 6am the next day my batteries are at or below 70%. Not counting the AC300 self consumption of 10%, the pool equipment drains about 20%. So I’m wondering is there a way I can schedule my AC output to turn off at 5pm and back on at 6am so I can save that 20% that is being waisted?
I’ve been manually turning off the AC output at 5pm and back on at 6am my batteries sit at around 90% by doing this but it’s annoying and would be nice if I can schedule it to turn AC output on and off.
That’s a great idea! It would definitely help to automate the AC output schedule to save on battery usage. Have you looked into using a smart plug or external timer for this? It could sync up with your existing setup. Otherwise, it would be awesome if Bluetti adds a built-in scheduling feature to make this more seamless for users like you.
The problem with any switch/smart plug is that the AC output is still on inside the station, consuming power unnecessary. I will very much like to see more advanced programmability inside the station itself. Wonder if any of these stations, in the future, will also have some form of Home Assistance integration.
Does Bluetti literature tell customers that they are going to lose 1500Wh in a 12 hour period? The question is rhetorical so I think Bluetti should take very seriously this suggestion as there are a lot of AC300 owners who see the massive loss of power (when not running anything except having the AC on) as a real problem! Is it the AC300 or the B300 batteries that account for the majority of this problem?
Hi @bluetti_jebrroprotonmailcom, When the device is turned on, even in standby mode, it will still consume a certain amount of self-consumption power. Both the AC300 and B300 require power to stay operational.
When the AC output of the AC300 is turned on, the self-consumption is 43.5W per hour. If not in use, we recommend turning off the device. If it’s inconvenient to power it off, turning off the AC output is also a good option.
A loss of 1500Wh within 12 hours is unusual. Could you please provide the SN number and BMS version of your AC300? We want to confirm if you have upgraded to the latest firmware. How many B300 batteries are connected to your AC300, and does recalibration help resolve the issue?
I have attached two images that hopefully show the information you are requesting. There are two (2) B300 batteries connected to my AC300. I will also perform the recalibration very soon and let you know if the excessive amount of power being lost decreases.
Hi @bluetti_jebrroprotonmailcom, We found that there is a new BMS v1021.13 for your PACK 3.
I have now applied to upgrade your firmware.
Our IT department will push the new BMS to your unit in 1 workday.
Please upgrade the firmware tomorrow. Please do not load any device when upgrading it, meanwhile, please only connect PACK 3 with the AC300 when upgrading.
We suggest you recalibrate it after that.
Please let us know if it does help.
Hi @bluetti_jebrroprotonmailcom, Yes, this new firmware is specifically designed for Pack3. The Pack2 version is different and cannot be upgraded with this firmware.
The BMS version start with 1014 and 1021 involve different hardware batches, so the latest firmware versions are also different, but there is no functional difference between them.
The same applies to ARM or other firmware. These are separate firmware versions renamed based on hardware and batch differences, but each version has the latest firmware.
Please test the new firmware’s performance after completing the calibration.
This is the data charted in Excel. Nothing was being powered other than AC is on.
I did reconnect the batteries during this period because the display dropped down to 50% from near 100%. When the connections were moved to different ports the reported value changed on the main screen to a higher value. There seems to still be excessive power lost when nothing is being powered and AC is on. Also there seems to be some problem with the ports as changing where things are plugged in should not changed the home screen SOC value. This is not a good condition. Below are the pictures of the screens.
Hi @bluetti_jebrroprotonmailcom, Apologies for the delay in responding, as I wasn’t tagged in the earlier comments and missed them.
We’ve checked your firmware, and it is all up-to-date, so further upgrades are not possible.
We’ve reviewed your data table, but the timing isn’t entirely clear. For example, in the first row, “22hr 14min,” is that the recorded time or the runtime with AC on?
If you test the capacity of the AC300 + B300 by turning on the AC output without connecting any load, the results will not be accurate.
Additionally, please note that ambient temperature can also affect the test results.
AC300+2 B300 combination is 6144Wh. To protect the battery and avoid over-discharge, the battery is not drained 100%. The discharge formula is: capacity * DOD * n ÷ (load + self-consumption). DOD is calculated at 90%, and n is 90%.
The self-consumption when the AC is on is 43.5W. Your load power is too low, so the effect of self-consumption is quite noticeable. We recommend using a load of 1000W-2000W to test.
What is the ambient temperature where the machine is placed? Extremely high or low temperatures can have an impact.
We also observed that the SOC of the two B300 units is becoming more close, indicating that the BMS system is functioning as expected.
I recorded the date and time of the values display. That is the 22hr 14min time you show. You can see this from the pictures.
I don’t understand why the results would not be accurate if I do not load the AC circuit? (BTW I have a garage door opener plugged in 24/7 so it is technically loaded to a small degree.) Why would the result only be accurate if I load the AC circuit? How much is it supposed to be “loaded” to display a correct result? This is very confusing. It is like saying I have to find things to power all the time otherwise my equipment won’t report the correct values? Please clarify what you mean here?
Ambient temperature in the electrical closet has been ranging from mid 30’s to high 40’s.
Again very confused by your comment that my AC load power is too low to get valid results. I consider it a valid test if I want to power a small workshop and keep my garage door opener plugged in on a continous basis. This is real-world usage. BTW I have PV input during all this time. It is rather low due to the time of year and the overcast skies. So if anything the power lost is showing less than actual because I turned the PV input on and it still loses a considerable amount of power when AC input is ON and there is little to no load on the AC circuit. Hope that made sense.
Also want to point out again that the SOC percent on main screen changed when I connected the power cords into different ports. This seems like a problem. Is this normal? Pretty sure the values in GREEN were after I connected differently.
Hi @bluetti_jebrroprotonmailcom, Yes, you will need to load some devices, and it’s best if the total power is above 1000W, as this will make it easier to test the battery capacity.
Since the AC300+B300 is a large-scale energy station, its own power consumption is quite high. Without a load, the self-consumption will significantly impact the test results.
With a high-power load, the influence of self-consumption becomes very small and can be ignored. Additionally, this will greatly reduce your testing time.
By the way, please note that if you need my assistance, please @BLUETTI_CARE, otherwise, I might not see your message and be able to help you promptly.
That is the reason why we can’t reply to you in time.
You see the issue as the battery capacity may be reduced and NOT as the AC300 system is drawing to much power when AC is ON and no load is present, correct? How would you rule out the latter case?
I will attempt to do what you ask here to help resolve this but I would point out that this requires a good deal of effort to troubleshoot the battery capacity. Is there not a simple way for customers to determine how much charge the batteries will hold?
For example, my original problem was simply that with no PV input, no grid power, AC on and zero loading I would see a big drop in the SOC reported on main screen in just a 12 hour period roughly. If you assume this is all related to battery capacity it seems possible to calculate that capacity from this test. It would seem to be possible to report the battery capacity without the customer having to test their system in the way you suggest (which I would appreciate and link to a clear set of instructions on this method to avoid mistakes).
Do you know if all AC300 units have the same of amount of idle state power consumption when AC is on and no load is present?
It may take me until the weekend to run a battery capacity test. I would like Bluetti to keep in mind that this cost customers $$$ to deal with these issues.
Is the power monitoring feature able to give us these numbers? It looks like you have to connect to the internet in order to use this feature which is unfortunate.
