I think with my testing procedure bluetti should be able to reproduce the issue and confirm that the inverter is the issue.
Thank you to Bluetti for engaging with this post, and thank you to ftrueck for providing a simple test procedure.
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Offsetting my PC running costs was one of the main reasons for my recent Bluetti purchases - the AC200L and Elite 200 V2 - so this topic is of great interest to me.
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Some quick tests:
The PC setup draws about 180W at desktop, Power factor of around 0.77.
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AC200l, 90% charge, PV priority mode (150w incoming), AC Eco mode off.
- Reports about 230W AC output, and I measure about 45W- 50W draw from the grid. (Of note, the fan was running for the full test.)
Elite 200 V2, 98% charge, PV priority mode (150w incoming), AC Eco mode off.
- Reports about 240W AC output, and I measure about 45W-50W draw from the grid while the app shows 0W (Power factor 0.15). (Of note, the fan was not running for the full test.)
So, good news, the Elite 2200 V2 is no worse than the 220L!
More seriously, I confirm ftrueck’s findings and find the Elite 200 V2 shows the same behaviour.
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So, what does this mean to me, someone who knows little about all this power stuff?
Correct me if I’m wrong but what I see is the PC setup draws 180W, the Bluetti delivers (discharges @220W) and is drawing an additional 50W from the mains. For 180W useful power, I’m using 220 + 50 = 270W of power that will need to come from PV + grid? -
For the AC200L I could use a smart socket driven by Home Assistant to reduce the grid draw. Note: reduce and not cancel out as I’m certain there will be times I need grid + PV. Also, I’ll need to do something about the fan noise.
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For the Elite 200 V2 the Home Assistance option is currently unknown, as I’ve been unable to connect to the V2.
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The Home Assistant connection may not be 100% reliable, especially when disconnected from the grid. I’m investigating (something to do with sleep modes?).
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Do I have this right? The Energy company charges for actual power; it does not charge for apparent power (actual power = apparent power * power factor). The solar battery (generator) is providing apparent power which when topped up from the grid is charged as actual power?
Looks like I need to adjust my offsetting calculations! :(
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Thank you for confirming my tests so far.
In my case I just came up with the idea to test what happens when I allow the unit to charge while AC is on and I found another interesting behavior:
- Bluetti app shows roughly 700W grid draw
- While my power socket shows about 600W grid draw,
If I do a little Math: (698 + 81) - 153 = 626. That would come close to the real power draw but still a difference of 26W. The app shows the numbers in a very weird way anyways.
@ ftrueck you’re welcome 
Did you just find 100W, if so this is the first good news I’ve heard today!
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On communication with the Bluettis, of course, I would like everything reliably available at all times. Not possible for various reasons, but here’s an idea for BLUETTI_CARE -
If the device is discharging and/or charging, then every time period it broadcasts an information packet.
- Time Period: about every minute would be (more than?) enough, and time accuracy is not important.
- Broadcast: I’m thinking a UDP broadcast packet. The downside of UDP is that it is not guaranteed to be received. The upsides are: UDP broadcasts are limited to the local network subnet; no open network ports. And yes, I prefer network over Bluetooth but I’m open to persuasion.
- Information: Unique device identifier, some sort of sequence number (perhaps?), all the data - though I think battery charge% would be a very good start (if % < 20 then enable smart plug regardless of time of day, and PV priority will do the rest).
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For that it would be cool if bluetti would open and document their api that they use for their app. Even if it would be read only. All this info is already transferred to them and there would be the perfect place to get the infos. But i guess they will not do that because of extra traffic and potential risks. Fully opening the bluetooth access would be my preferred way.
I could imagine a little bluetooth device connected to one of the usb ports of the powerstation transmitting the infos into the wifi. Actually for the moment a RPI with bluetti_bt would probably do exactly that.
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Hi @ftrueck
Thanks for your work on github btw.
Bluetti will publish a official Homeassistant integration on newer products (hope on older units too)
Dont have any details like how much information we can get out of the official plugin, but its a good begining.
Erik
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Hi @ftrueck, Regarding this question, please note that the AC200L records apparent power, which includes active power and reactive power. Therefore, the value displayed will be higher than that recorded by your electricity meter. This is normal.
Thank you to @ecat and @Selfmadestrom for their explanations and analyses—they are very valuable!
Official HA integration would be fantastic, assuming high reliability, WiFi (better yet, wired. I can dream ;) ), local connection.
On Bluetooth, my first reaction is always, short range, unreliable, requires some app and a smartphone. Apps go out of date and I hate smartphones!
And @BLUETTI_CARE thank you for your feedback too.
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I see.
Though the info is not the same.
I guess this is because of the dummy load that the AC200L has to apply to measure the grid.
Hi @ecat, Thank you for sharing your valuable opinions.
We have indeed received a lot of feedback from users mentioning that Bluetooth connection is inconvenient.
Therefore, we have incorporated more built-in WiFi connection functions in our new models, which are more user-friendly.
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Hi @ftrueck, I appreciate your interest in BLUETTI.
This is the operating logic we set from the initial design stage, and it is also reflected in most models of our power stations.
@BLUETTI_CARE Hello! So, to sum it up:
- We do have parasitic drain from AC when we should not (because we specifically use UPS Timed mode to not drain AC power at hours when it costs more). The amount is different for different battery drain consumers, but it is always > 0.
- Can this be fixed/prevented/changed in any way by firmware update, or is it 100% hardware design?
- If not possible, I add my voice to requests to add WiFi API control possibility, to turn off smart power plug for AC input from Home Assistance by time of the day.
For me, only WiFi will work, because I don’t have separate server, like most of the people, but everyone has phone and router, both are running 24/7, both can use WiFi connection and scripts/apps for automation.
P.S. I have a 200PL, not an 200L, but I suppose it’s the same in that regard.
Thank you.
Hi @snmya, Thank you very much for your valuable feedback. At the moment, we don’t have new firmware available to reduce power consumption, we’ve already passed this suggestion on to the app team for further discussion. However, we believe this is an unavoidable objective behavior and not a hardware issue.
If you’d like to request API control access, please message us directly and provide your email address, as we’ll need to send the documentation via email after granting access.
I could narrow down the bluetooth problem.
It seems to be related to PV input and reconnection of bluetooth multiple times in a short amount of time.
The unit gets stuck in the following way:
- Bluetooth connection does not work anymore
- Bluetooth icon is not showing in display
- Bluetooth icon is on in settings screen
- Power button does not react
- AC, USB and DC button still work
Now the interesting part:
- If I only disconnect PV input the unit becomes sort of responsive again.
- Bluetooth connection does still not work.
- Power button works now
So I can power down the unit then and start it again, then it works normally again.
Hi @ftrueck, Thank you for your observation and analysis. However, after our discussion, we believe this should just be a coincidence. Since the Bluetooth module and the PV module are separate, they shouldn’t be related. Could you please take a video, upload it to a cloud drive, and share the link with us to have a look?
Please note that if you turn off the Bluetooth module, Bluetooth will be disabled, and it must be turned on to use it. As for the issue of being unable to power off, it is caused by the automatic activation due to energy input.
I think it was not clear enough what I told:
- The POWER button of the AC200L does not react to pressing
- Bluetooth is activated in settings page of the AC200L unit
- Bluetooth connection does NOT REACT in this special condition
- AFTER disconnect of PV cable the POWER BUTTON immediately reacts and turns off the AC200L unit
I know that these are separate modules. BUT the mainboard does not turn off the unit while the PV cable is connected and Bluetooth does not work when the crash situation happened. As these crashes are random, it is very hard to do a video. Next time it happens I will try to make a video demonstrating the whole situation.
Just FYI, if there is any charge source connected (either PV, DC, or AC mains) then the power button will not turn off the power station – this is the case for all Bluettis.
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Ah, now I understood. OK, that eliminates that connection. The bluetooth problem remains anyways.
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What i forgot to mention:
- Bluetooth was turned on in settings, but connection to AC200L was not possible
- Turning off bluetooth and turning it on again did not change the situation
- Only after restarting the unit bluetooth worked again