Other than EVM and a couple of GivEnergy staff I didn’t see anyone I recognised in the video, so well done on your star role as “industry movers” ! The reconditioned and upgrade schemes sound interesting, good to hear that GivEnergy are still putting some focus on the consumer marketplace. With the kit that industrial size boxes require (and profit opportunity), it’d be easy for them to focus on just that market. And maybe with the launch of the more budget Polar ESS, they will? Do the shipping containers have any ventilation? Stuffed full of batteries and inverters, it’d be a hot-box!
Yeah, those containers will have insulation, AC, and other systems in place to keep it all working optimally, it seems like it's been thought through. They've had one connected to their HQ for a while so it's been pretty well tested too. I guess Kat and I are in the big leagues now!
Nice video...glad you got to go. Really interested in the upgrade scheme for my Gen 1 5kW, will have to see what it works out at to do but pleased to see they aren't leaving earlier adopters behind.
Sounds like a good idea… Upgrading to an AIO, or even getting a smaller battery (second hand would be fine) with a second inverter (for the power capacity) could be very interesting.
One of the big selling points of the AIO was that it could stack multiple AIO units. This creature is still not available. Was there and mention of it?
Did you guys manage to speak to Alan heart who was also there. He was the one I mentioned to you last week about spending more than 60k on his solar system 😮
You have an All-in-one with gateway and solar PV and you've Force Discharged for the Flux export so perhaps you can clarify? I was onto Givenergy technical support and could not get a proper answer about the gateway and all-in-one. One person told me the all-in-one was a hybrid inverter plus battery in one box. Another person told me the gateway contained an inverter for the PV but then changed the story to suggest that the PV DC connects through it to connect to the all-in-one so there was only one inverter in the all-in-one acting as a hybrid. All incorrect it seems as I suspected from the datasheets. (Summary one sheet items lacking in detail - and not a lot of information in the insulation manuals which is surprising). What I wanted to know was what happenes if you set the battery to self discharge to maximise export tariff - does the 6kW output first come from PV with battery help if needed (often called Fully Fed Grid) or does it just discharge the battery by 6kW and the PV get wasted because there is only one inverter? It's obvious from other installs I've seen that there are two inverters - an AC coupled battery (the all-in-one) and a separate PV DC-AC solar inverter, so you could get 6kW battery output + PV kW export on top potentially, but I'm still unclear if the software limits export to 6kW for DNO approval and takes PV first with battery addition if the sun goes down, or if battery "force discharge" ignores PV and lets PV go to waste. Can you clarify? What are the possible power flows? Obviously, in addition, the Givenergy inverter can have its own DC coupled battery as a hybrid - possibly one reason for the confusion. Another confusing possible clue is that the all-in-one is a high voltage battery (300 odd volts), as opposed to their other battery units at 50V. The higher voltage would allow a more efficient DC-DC conversion from PV because the voltage across the switching supply would be lower - so are they thinking of a possible future direct PV connection as opposed to the current AC connection through the gateway? Why two Givenergy technical support people couldn't give the right answer is both frustrating and disappointing. Are they getting future developments mixed up with current products???
I don't have an AIO, I have a Gen 2 hybrid inverter with a 9.5 + 5.2 kWh battery. The AIO is AC coupled, so the PV needs its own separate inverter. You can't connect PV directly to the AIO. So when you force discharge the AIO it'll output the full 6 kW, with any excess solar adding on top of that (once the house demand has been met). Unless the DNO has set a limit, as you say, in which case I assume the AIO will limit the export by only discharging up to the maximum allowed. The PV output should be accounted for so won't be wasted, as the battery will just discharge a little less than the full 6 kW. At least that's what I think will happen, I don't know for sure. Might be worth asking Speak to the Geek, as he has an AIO.
@@TimAndKatsGreenWalk Thanks. My mistake - I thought you'd upgraded but it was the additional DC battery not AIO. Yes, it would have to meet a limit if one was imposed but like you say it would make sense to replace battery output with available solar in those circumstances if set to Force Discharge and then that would be similar to Fully Fed to Grid where a hybrid inverter maximises its export output from the available PV with battery completing the rest.
I’m presuming he means discount on your new purchase for an upgrade as a discount on your original kit makes little sense (other than they might resell at a discount)?
Other than EVM and a couple of GivEnergy staff I didn’t see anyone I recognised in the video, so well done on your star role as “industry movers” !
The reconditioned and upgrade schemes sound interesting, good to hear that GivEnergy are still putting some focus on the consumer marketplace. With the kit that industrial size boxes require (and profit opportunity), it’d be easy for them to focus on just that market. And maybe with the launch of the more budget Polar ESS, they will?
Do the shipping containers have any ventilation? Stuffed full of batteries and inverters, it’d be a hot-box!
Yeah, those containers will have insulation, AC, and other systems in place to keep it all working optimally, it seems like it's been thought through. They've had one connected to their HQ for a while so it's been pretty well tested too. I guess Kat and I are in the big leagues now!
Nice video...glad you got to go. Really interested in the upgrade scheme for my Gen 1 5kW, will have to see what it works out at to do but pleased to see they aren't leaving earlier adopters behind.
Yeah, that was the highlight for sure. Looking forward to finding out more details about it.
I feel the same. Gen1 5k inverter and gen 1 8.2kwh battery.
Recondition old inverters seems like a great opportunity for a UK based firm, and something an overseas competitor would find hard to match.
Yeah, it's a good scheme, I think.
As long as they are giving them long warranty’s it’s a good idea.
Great video and fantastic to see how they are expanding, as well as giving chance for users to upgrade and resell the older units.
Yes, a very positive development, I reckon.
Sounds like a good idea…
Upgrading to an AIO, or even getting a smaller battery (second hand would be fine) with a second inverter (for the power capacity) could be very interesting.
Thank you very much for the update. I am really interested in the upgrade scheme. Best regards, Martin.
I think a lot of people are going to be interested in that too!
What do we want?
PARALLEL AIO!
When do we want it?
NOW! Pleeeeeeeease!
Shouldn't be much longer.
Thanks for another interesting video!
No problem.
Wow Jason Donovan for the ribbon cutting 😂
He's their CEO! I guess the music gigs dried up and he decided to change careers.
One of the big selling points of the AIO was that it could stack multiple AIO units. This creature is still not available. Was there and mention of it?
That feature should be coming soon (they do have it working in a test setup).
Did you guys manage to speak to Alan heart who was also there. He was the one I mentioned to you last week about spending more than 60k on his solar system 😮
We didn't speak to him, no, but I think you can see him in the background of a couple of the clips I showed?
You have an All-in-one with gateway and solar PV and you've Force Discharged for the Flux export so perhaps you can clarify?
I was onto Givenergy technical support and could not get a proper answer about the gateway and all-in-one. One person told me the all-in-one was a hybrid inverter plus battery in one box. Another person told me the gateway contained an inverter for the PV but then changed the story to suggest that the PV DC connects through it to connect to the all-in-one so there was only one inverter in the all-in-one acting as a hybrid. All incorrect it seems as I suspected from the datasheets. (Summary one sheet items lacking in detail - and not a lot of information in the insulation manuals which is surprising).
What I wanted to know was what happenes if you set the battery to self discharge to maximise export tariff - does the 6kW output first come from PV with battery help if needed (often called Fully Fed Grid) or does it just discharge the battery by 6kW and the PV get wasted because there is only one inverter?
It's obvious from other installs I've seen that there are two inverters - an AC coupled battery (the all-in-one) and a separate PV DC-AC solar inverter, so you could get 6kW battery output + PV kW export on top potentially, but I'm still unclear if the software limits export to 6kW for DNO approval and takes PV first with battery addition if the sun goes down, or if battery "force discharge" ignores PV and lets PV go to waste. Can you clarify? What are the possible power flows?
Obviously, in addition, the Givenergy inverter can have its own DC coupled battery as a hybrid - possibly one reason for the confusion.
Another confusing possible clue is that the all-in-one is a high voltage battery (300 odd volts), as opposed to their other battery units at 50V. The higher voltage would allow a more efficient DC-DC conversion from PV because the voltage across the switching supply would be lower - so are they thinking of a possible future direct PV connection as opposed to the current AC connection through the gateway?
Why two Givenergy technical support people couldn't give the right answer is both frustrating and disappointing. Are they getting future developments mixed up with current products???
I don't have an AIO, I have a Gen 2 hybrid inverter with a 9.5 + 5.2 kWh battery. The AIO is AC coupled, so the PV needs its own separate inverter. You can't connect PV directly to the AIO. So when you force discharge the AIO it'll output the full 6 kW, with any excess solar adding on top of that (once the house demand has been met). Unless the DNO has set a limit, as you say, in which case I assume the AIO will limit the export by only discharging up to the maximum allowed. The PV output should be accounted for so won't be wasted, as the battery will just discharge a little less than the full 6 kW. At least that's what I think will happen, I don't know for sure. Might be worth asking Speak to the Geek, as he has an AIO.
@@TimAndKatsGreenWalk Thanks. My mistake - I thought you'd upgraded but it was the additional DC battery not AIO. Yes, it would have to meet a limit if one was imposed but like you say it would make sense to replace battery output with available solar in those circumstances if set to Force Discharge and then that would be similar to Fully Fed to Grid where a hybrid inverter maximises its export output from the available PV with battery completing the rest.
Did you get a GivEnergy fleece? I’ve noticed EV Man has been recruited by Givenergy
No, we don't work for them so didn't get any branded clothing. Just the cupcakes!
I’m presuming he means discount on your new purchase for an upgrade as a discount on your original kit makes little sense (other than they might resell at a discount)?
Yes, you'd trade in your old kit to get a discount on the replacement.
@@TimAndKatsGreenWalk did they give any ideas on level of discount?
@@SmkGHN no, not yet. I'm assuming there will be another announcement when it launches.