Tips and tricks for installing and using our PV sets
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- 1.2.2023
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Contents
Still unfamiliar with our PV EDITION and PV sets?
Find out more here: Complete solution for efficient charging with solar power
1. Installation and use of the KeContact P30 PV set (Advanced or Professional)
The PV sets from KEBA give you everything you need to optimally use the solar power from your PV system (regardless of whether it is newly installed or already in place) to charge your electric car. The PV set includes:
- The KeContact E10 Smart Meter: this measures the electricity at the house connection / metering point and informs the wallbox whether and how much excess power the PV system is currently producing.
- The KeContact S10 Phase Switching Device: this automatically switches between 3-phase and 1-phase charging if, for example, only a small amount of PV power is available due to the weather.
- The KeContact P30 PV EDITION wallbox (in the Advanced set) or the KeContact P30 company car wallbox (in the Professional set): the heart and brain of the installation. It processes the data from the E10 Smart Meter and controls the S10 phase switching device as well as the charging process of the car.
Installation and initial commissioning of the three devices E10, S10 and P30 must be carried out by appropriately trained, qualified and authorised electricians. The installation instructions must be followed accordingly and can also be found here.
Once the installation of the hardware is complete, the P30 needs to be configured so that it communicates properly with the connected devices and the new features can be used. All configuration settings are made via the web interface of the P30. Details on how to connect to the web interface can be found in Chapter 4 of the P30 Configuration Manual. Alternatively, all settings described here can also be made in the KEBA eMobility app once it is connected to your wallbox.
Step 1: Activate the connection to the E10 external energy meter.
Proceed as follows:
- Activate "Domestic Connection TCP monitoring" in the web interface (see Fig.1) under Configuration, External TCP Meter.
- Enter the maximum available current at the house connection for each phase (usually the value of the connection fuse).
- Enter the maximum power that may be used for charging if the connection to the external meter is lost. (If the default value “0” is not changed, charging cannot proceed if communication with the external meter is interrupted.)
- At Manufacturer, select “KeContact E10”.
- Enter the IP address of the E10 in your network, TCP port 502 and RS485 Modbus address 1. To find out the IP address of the E10, you can access the web interface of your local router or use a tool to scan the IP addresses in your local network. Make sure that you assign a fixed IP address for the meter in your router.
Step 2: Activate the “Intelligent PV Charging” feature (IPVC for short).
- Activate photovoltaic-optimised charging.
- Setting the minimum share of photovoltaic power [%] determines what share of the minimum charging current / minimum charging power must be covered by excess PV power in order to start charging the vehicle. Example settings for the minimum proportion of photovoltaic power [%]:
- 100% means that charging of the vehicle does not begin until the minimum charging current (usually 6 A) can be completely covered by excess PV power. An excess of PV power of less than 6 A is completely exported to the grid. (Highest share of PV power used for charging the vehicle, but also highest share of PV power exported to the grid at low production power.)
- 50% means that charging starts when 50% of the minimum charging current (i.e. usually 3 A) can be covered by excess PV power. An excess of PV power of less than 3 A is completely exported to the grid.
- 0% means that charging is always started (or continued) with the minimum charging current. (Higher share of power from the grid for charging the vehicle, but completely avoids exporting PV power to the grid.) In any case, the charging power is only increased above the level of the minimum charging current if this power is completely covered by the excess PV production. For faster charging when the IPVC feature is activated, you can use the Boost button in the KEBA eMobility app, for example.
- With the setting Duration of charge boost from start [min], you can define a duration for each charging session during which charging is carried out with the maximum available power from the start of the charging process. Use this feature if you want to ensure that a minimum range is always charged regardless of the production of your PV system.
- If you want to use Ignore PV using X1, a switch must be connected to the X1 input of the P30. You can then switch between PV-optimised charging and charging at full power by pressing the switch.
- The settings of PV control interval [sek], Control threshold - Import W] [and Control threshold - Export [W] are set with default values and should only be adjusted if absolutely necessary.
Step 3: Activate automatic phase switching with the S10 Phase Switching Device
- Dip switches 1.2 (➔ OFF) and 1.3 (➔ ON) must be set correctly and the change of setting accepted by restarting the P30 (pressing the service button).
- In the web interface (see Fig. 2) under Charging Network, Phase Switching, activate the Dynamic Switching 1-phase/3-phase charging operation.
- Select “CPM Profiles” as the communication channel.
Now (e.g. with a set minimum photovoltaic power [%] of 100% and a minimum charging current of 6 A) charging can already start at an excess PV power of 1.4 kW (=1 × 6 A × 230 V) and not at 4.1 kW (=3 × 6 A × 230 V).
If the excess PV power rises above the value of 4.2 kW again, the charging process is briefly interrupted once more and continued in three phases after phases L2 and L3 are connected.
2. Installation and use of the KeContact P30 PV EDITION with an existing PV system
If you already produce your own solar power with your PV system, the KEBA KeContact P30 PV EDITION is the perfect addition, allowing you to use your power efficiently for charging an electric car. Here, too, please note that the installation and initial commissioning of the wallbox must be carried out by appropriately trained, qualified and authorised electricians.
If you wish to couple the KeContact P30 PV EDITION with an existing PV system, the crucial question is whether a compatible meter is already installed at the house connection point. If not, the PV set described above (including KeContact E10) is the best choice for you.
The configuration of the KeContact P30 PV EDITION using a Fronius Symo GEN24 inverter and a Fronius TS65A Smart Meter is described here as an example.
The first step in the configuration is to activate the connection to the Fronius Smart Meter, whereby in this case the Fronius Symo GEN24 inverter is used as the translator and data hub. To do so, proceed as follows:
- Activate the “Slave as Modbus TCP” option in the web interface of your Fronius Symo GEN24 inverter. Only with this setting can the P30 query and process the values of the Smart Meter. Attention: the “technician password” of the inverter is required for this setting.
- Activate "Domestic Connection TCP Monitoring" in the P30 web interface (Fig. 5) under Configuration, External TCP Meter.
- Enter the maximum available current at the house connection for each phase (usually the value of the connection fuse). (Fig. 5)
- Enter the maximum power that may be used for charging if the connection to the external meter is lost. (If the default value “0” is not changed, charging cannot proceed if communication with the external meter is interrupted.) (Fig. 5)
- At Manufacturer, select “Fronius Smart Meter TS65A via Symo GEN24”. (Fig. 5)
- Enter the IP address of the inverter in your network, TCP port 502 and RS485 Modbus address 200. These are the default settings of the GEN24 inverter as long as they have not been changed (please also refer to the documentation of your inverter). To find out the IP address of the inverter, you can access the web interface of your local router, query the IP address in the inverter manufacturer’s app, or use a tool to scan the IP addresses in your local network. Be sure to assign a fixed IP address for the inverter in your router. (Fig. 5)
The further configuration steps (activating and configuring the IPVC feature and activating the automatic phase switching device) should then be carried out as described above.
3. Using the “Intelligent PV Charging” software feature with an existing KEBA KeContact P30 x-series or company car wallbox
You are already the proud owner of a KeContact P30 x-series (or a KEBA company car wallbox and already have a PV system, then you can get the latest features simply by updating the software of the P30.
The first step to making optimal use of your solar power for charging your electric vehicle is to update the software of your P30 x-series or company car wallbox.
- You can find the package with the latest update on our download page under Software updates - KeContact P30 x-series. The IPVC feature is available from software update package V1.15.
- Start the download and unpack the files from the zip file on your PC.
- Connect your PC to the wallbox network and open the web interface.
- In the web interface under System, Software Update, you can select the update file (file extension “.keb”) and start the update. (Fig. 6)
The further configuration steps (activating the connection to the external energy meter, activating and configuring the IPVC feature, and activating the automatic phase switching device) should then be carried out as described above.
