I recently installed a AT1 Smart Panel with Apex 300s and BK300s connected via HubA1. I’ve encountered a number of issues with the AT1 not adhering to various settings. For example, in Backup mode, the battery discharges continuously unless I manually turn off AC/HUBA1 in the app. Another problematic example is in TOU and Custom modes, where the lower SOC charge limit (30%) isn’t honored and the batteries will continue discharging until I manually turn them off as they approach zero. I have other examples but these are the two most prominent issues.
Firmware is current and Bluetti Customer Care is looking into the concerns. I assume other AT1s are working as expected since I don’t see many reports of these types of problems. Any ideas what might be wrong?
Update: with regards to the Low SOC setting not being honored, according to Bluetti support, this is expected behavior. I know it says that in the app, but this seems extremely problematic and counter to how the system has been advertised. As it stands, the system will frequently (in my case, daily) drain to zero and then, just as problematically, charge from the grid during peak times. Adding insult to injury, if an outage were to occur when the system was low then it obviously wouldn’t be available as a backup. Relying on Backup mode could potentially address these problems, but then wouldn’t allow for peak shaving.
This all seems unnecessary as the Low SOC setting should be a fairly hard (I realize not exact) stop.
What am I missing? Are other folks just rolling with their systems draining to zero and hoping no outages hit at that time?
Hello @BrianG , thank you for your feedback. To help us better investigate the issue, we need some additional information:
Please provide the SN numbers and firmware versions of all your devices. Also, could you let us know the maximum grid input current set in the advanced settings? When the system is continuously discharging, what is the approximate load power? If the load current exceeds 50A, the AP300 will supply power directly. In this case, a firmware upgrade is required to optimize the behavior, so your device SNs and firmware versions are very important.
Could you also provide your current TOU mode settings, specifically the charge/discharge times and SOC values?
Thank you for your cooperation. Once we have this information, we can analyze the issue further.
I submitted my SN info via case #397909. Firmware is current and you can see that in the case as well. Max grid input is set to 32 A. The system discharges below SOC settings when demand reaches around 8 or 9 kw, in my experience.
My TOU settings are 00:00 - 15:59 Off Peak. The rest should be peak, but the app hasn’t allowed me to establish a peak setting in almost a month. Per support (case ##377766) that issue should be addressed in an app update sometime this month (February). SOC settings are 30%-100%.
I don’t understand the rationale for having the AP300 power directly at any load if it’s contrary to the SOC and TOU settings.
I want to do two things that my system is currently unable to do, contrary to how the A1 was advertised:
Charge the AP300 only during off-peak or via solar. Currently the batteries will charge from the grid during peak times if they’re drawn below the Low SOC setting.
Stop discharging the batteries at the Low SOC setting in order to maintain sufficient storage in case of an outage. As you note, the system will continue to discharge if the load exceeds 50A. I can use the Backup working mode to avoid this, but then I can’t peak shave.
Hi @BrianG, thank you for providing the detailed information. We noticed that our engineers have already investigated the issue and determined that the HUB A1 is faulty and needs to be replaced—is that correct?
Since it has been confirmed that the Hub A1 is defective, testing will need to wait until the replacement arrives.
My HUB A1 stopped working a week ago, yes. But that seems completely unrelated to the concerns I’m describing here. Tech support has shared - and you’ve confirmed in this thread - that the system will discharge below the low SOC setting when the load reaches a certain level. I am puzzled why the system would be designed that way.