PHOTON PI-PLUS 3.6K (01) PDF MANUAL

Read all instructions and cautionary markings on the unit, the batteries, and all appropriate sections of this manual before using the unit.

To reduce risk of injury, charge only deep-cycle lead acid type rechargeable batteries. Other types of batteries may burst, causing personal injury and damage.

Do not disassemble the unit. Take it to a qualified service center when service or repair is required. Incorrect re-assembly may result in a risk of electric shock or fire.

To reduce risk of electric shock, disconnect all wirings before attempting any maintenance or cleaning. Turning off the unit will not reduce this risk.

Only qualified personnel can install this device with battery.

Never charge a frozen battery.

For optimum operation of this inverter/charger, follow required specifications to select appropriate cable size. It is very important to correctly operate this inverter/charger.

Be very cautious when working with metal tools on or around batteries. A potential risk exists to drop a tool to spark or short circuit batteries or other electrical parts and could cause an explosion.

Strictly follow installation procedure when disconnecting AC or DC terminals. Refer to the INSTALLATION section of this manual for details.

One piece of 150A fuse is provided as over-current protection for the battery supply.

GROUNDING INSTRUCTIONS: This inverter/charger should be connected to a permanent grounder wiring system. Comply with local requirements and regulations to install this inverter.

Never cause AC output and DC input short circuited. Do NOT connect to the mains when DC input short circuits.

Only qualified service persons are able to service this device. If errors still persist after following troubleshooting table, send this inverter/charger back to local dealer or service center for maintenance.

Before installation, inspect the unit. Be sure that nothing inside the package is damaged. You should have received the following items inside of the package:

• The unit x 1

• User manual 1

Before connecting all wires, take off the bottom cover by removing two screws as shown.

• Do not mount the inverter on flammable construction materials.

• Mount on a solid surface.

• Install this inverter at eye level in order to allow the LCD display to be read at all times.

• For proper air circulation to dissipate heat, allow a clearance of approximately 20 cm to the side and approximately 50 cm above and below the unit.

• The ambient temperature should be between and to ensure optimal operation.

• The recommended installation position is to be adhered to the wall vertically.

• Be sure to keep other objects and surfaces as shown in the diagram to guarantee sufficient heat dissipation and to have enough space for removing wires.

The inverter is suitable for mounting on concrete or other non-combustible surface only.

To install the unit, screw three screws:

• 1,2 Use the M6*80mm expansion bolts.

• 3 Use M4 or M5.

For safety operation and regulation compliance, it is requested to install a separate DC over-current protector or disconnect device between the battery and inverter. While a disconnect device may not be required in some applications, over-current protection is still required. Refer to the typical amperage in the table below for required fuse or breaker size.

All wiring must be performed by qualified personnel. It is very important for system safety and efficient operation to use appropriate cable for battery connection. To reduce risk of injury, use the proper recommended cable and terminal size as below:

Follow these steps to implement battery connection:

1. Assemble battery ring terminal based on recommended battery cable and terminal size.

2. Insert the battery wires flatly into battery connectors of the inverter and make sure the bolts are tightened with a torque of 2 Nm in the clockwise direction. Ensure polarity at both the battery and the inverter/charger is correctly connected and conductors are tightly screwed into the battery terminals. Recommended tool: #2 Pozi Screwdriver.

Shock Hazard: Installation must be performed with care due to high battery voltage in series.

Before making the final DC connection or closing the DC breaker/disconnector, ensure positive (+) is connected to positive (+) and negative (-) is connected to negative (-).

Before connecting to AC input power source, install a separate AC breaker between the inverter and AC input power source. This ensures the inverter can be disconnected during maintenance and fully protected from over current of AC input. The recommended breaker specification is 32A for 24V system and 63A for 48V system.

There are two terminal blocks with ” IN ” and ” OUT” markings. Do NOT mis-connect input and output connectors.

All wiring must be performed by qualified personnel. It is very important for system safety and efficient operation to use appropriate cable for AC input connection. To reduce risk of injury, use the proper recommended cable size as below:

Follow these steps to implement AC input/output connection:

1. Before making AC input/output connection be sure to open DC protector or disconnector first.

2. Remove insulation sleeve 10mm for six conductors. Shorten phase L and neutral conductor N3 mm.

3. Insert AC input wires according to polarities indicated on the terminal block and tighten the terminal screws. Be sure to connect the PE protective conductor (ground) first.

   • Ground (yellow-green)

   • LINE (brown or black)

   • Neutral (blue)

   Be sure that the AC power source is disconnected before attempting to hardwire it to the unit.

4. Make sure the wires are securely connected.

Appliances such as air conditioners require at least 2~3 minutes to restart because they need enough time to balance refrigerant gas inside of circuits. If a power shortage occurs and recovers in a short time, it will cause damage to your connected appliances. To prevent this kind of damage, check the manufacturer of the air conditioner if it is equipped with a time-delay function before installation. Otherwise, this inverter/charger will trigger an overload fault and cut off output to protect your appliance, but sometimes it still causes internal damage to the air conditioner.

Before connecting to PV modules, install separately a DC circuit breaker between the inverter and PV modules.

All wiring must be performed by qualified personnel. It is very important for system safety and efficient operation to use appropriate cable for PV module connection. To reduce risk of injury, use the proper recommended cable size as below:

When choosing the right PV module, first consider the following requirements:

• The open circuit voltage (Voc) of the PV modules does not exceed the maximum PV array open circuit voltage of the inverter.

• The maximum supply voltage of the PV modules should be close to the optimal PV access voltage range of the inverter for best performance.

• If one PV module cannot meet this requirement, it is necessary to connect multiple PV modules in series.

Follow these steps to implement PV module connection:

1. Remove insulation sleeve 10 mm for positive and negative conductors.

2. Suggest putting bootlace ferrules on the end of positive and negative wires with a proper crimping tool.

3. Fix wire cover to the inverter with supplied screws as shown in the chart.

4. Check the correct polarity of wire from PV modules and PV input connectors. Then, connect the positive pole(+) of the connection wire to the positive pole(+) of the PV input connector. Connect the negative pole (-)of the connection wire to the negative pole(-) of the PV input connector. Screw two wires tightly in the clockwise direction. Recommended tool: 4mm blade screwdriver.

After connecting all wirings, put the bottom cover back by screwing two screws as shown.

Once the unit has been properly installed and the batteries are connected well, simply press the On/Off switch (located on the bottom of the case) to turn on the unit.

Connect the battery that meets the requirements (battery voltage needs to be beyond 23V) or AC (AC needs to confirm the suitable input range depending on the output mode), then you can start up the inverter.

For Mains power on:

Connect to normal AC power, press the switch, the system will automatically turn on. If you set AC output power priority, after waiting for a period of time, the panel will display AC mode, which represents that the machine is successfully turned on, and then it will enter the AC mode.

For Battery boot:

Connect to the battery, press the power-on button to establish a working power source.

The system will automatically turn on. After waiting for a period of time, the panel will display battery mode, which represents that the machine is successfully turned on, and then it will enter the battery mode.

When the system is in battery mode or AC mode output, press the switch again, then the system will be turned off.

Input Source Information:

Configuration Program and Fault Information:

Output Information:

Battery Information:

Recommended AC input and output cable size for each inverter:

You need to connect the cables of each inverter together. For battery cables, use a connector or bus-bar as a joint to connect the battery cables together, and then connect to the battery terminal. The cable size used from the joint to the battery should be X times the cable size in the tables above, where X indicates the number of inverters connected in parallel. For AC input and output, follow the same principle.

Make sure all output Neutral wires of each inverter are connected all the time. Otherwise, it will cause inverter fault in error code #72.

Install the breaker at the battery and AC input side. This will ensure the inverter can be securely disconnected during maintenance and fully protected from over current of battery or AC input.

Recommended breaker specification of battery for each inverter:

*If you want to use only one breaker at the battery side for the whole system, the rating of the breaker should be X times the current of 1 unit. “X” indicates the number of inverters connected in parallel.

Recommended breaker specification of AC input with single phase:

A circuit breaker should be installed at the AC input of each inverter, and the selection of the circuit breaker should refer to the AC input current of the machine nameplate.

Regarding three-phase system, you can use a 4-pole breaker directly and the rating of the breaker should be compatible with the phase current limitation from the phase with maximum units.

The LCD display information will be switched in turns by pressing the “UP” or “DOWN” key. The selectable information is switched in the order of input voltage, input frequency, PV voltage, charging current, charging power battery voltage, output voltage, output frequency, load percentage, load in Watt, load in VA, load in Watt, DC discharging current, and main CPU Version.

Examples of selectable information and LCD displays:

Input voltage /Output voltage (Default Display Screen):

Input Voltage=230V, output voltage=230V

Input frequency:

Input frequency=50Hz

PV voltage:

PV voltage=260V

PV current:

PV current = 2.5A

PV power:

PV power = 500W

AC and PV charging current:

AC and PV charging current=50A

PV charging current:

PV charging current=50A

AC charging current:

AC charging current=50A

AC and PV charging power:

AC and PV charging power=500W

PV charging power:

PV charging power=500W

AC charging power:

AC charging power=500W

Load in Watt:

When load is lower than 1kW, load in W will present xxxW.

When load is larger than 1kW (>=1KW), load in W will present x.xkW.

Battery voltage/DC discharging current:

Battery voltage=25.5V, discharging current=1A

Main CPU version checking:

Main CPU version 00014.04

Setting BMS communication success display:

The left side shows the lithium battery temperature and the right side shows the lithium battery capacity.

The input current of the lithium battery is displayed on the left side, and the output current of the lithium battery is displayed on the right side.

Standby mode:

• Description: No output is supplied by the unit but it still can charge batteries.

• LCD display: Charging by utility and PV energy; Charging by utility; Charging by PV energy; No charging.

Fault mode:

• Description: Errors are caused by inside circuit error or external reasons such as over temperature, output short circuited and so on. PV energy and utility can charge batteries.

• LCD display: Charging by utility and PV energy; Charging by utility; Charging by PV energy; No charging.

Line Mode:

• Description: The unit will provide output power from the mains. It will also charge the battery at line mode.

• LCD display: Charging by utility and PV energy; Charging by utility.

Battery Mode:

• Description: The unit will provide output power from the battery and PV power.

• If “solar first” is selected priority and solar energy is not sufficient to provide the load, solar energy and the utility will provide the loads and charge the battery at the same time.

• If “solar first” is selected as output source priority and battery is not connected, solar energy and the utility will provide the loads.

• Power from utility.

• Power from battery and PV energy.

• PV energy will supply power to the loads and charge battery at the same time.

• Power from battery only.

Battery free mode:

• Description: The device will provide output power from the PV power supply.

After pressing and holding the ENTER button for 3 seconds, the unit will enter setting mode. Press the “UP” or “DOWN” button to select setting programs. Then, press the “ENTER” button to confirm the selection or the ESC button to exit.

Function Keys:

Setting Programs:

Equalization function is added into the charge controller. It reverses the buildup of negative chemical effects like stratification, a condition where acid concentration is greater at the bottom of the battery than at the top. Equalization also helps to remove sulfate crystals that might have built up on the plates. If left unchecked, this condition, called sulfation, will reduce the overall capacity of the battery. Therefore, it is recommended to equalize the battery periodically.

To apply equalization function:

You must enable battery equalization function in monitoring LCD setting program 30 first. Then, you may apply this function in the device by either one of the following methods:

1. Setting equalization interval in program 35.

2. Active equalization immediately in program 36.

When to Equalize:

In stage, when the setting equalization interval (battery equalization cycle) is arrived, or equalization is active immediately, the controller will start to enter the Equalize stage.

Equalize charging time and timeout:

In the Equalize stage, the controller will supply power to charge the battery as much as possible until the battery voltage raises to the battery equalization voltage. Then, constant-voltage regulation is applied to maintain the battery voltage at the battery equalization voltage. The battery will remain in the Equalize stage until the setting battery equalized time is arrived.

However, in the Equalize stage, when battery equalized time is expired and battery voltage does not rise to the battery equalization voltage point, the charge controller will extend the battery equalized time until battery voltage achieves battery equalization voltage. If battery voltage is still lower than the battery equalization voltage when the battery equalized timeout setting is over, the charge controller will stop equalization and return to the float stage.

Fault: The inverter enters the fault mode, the red LED light is always on and the LCD displays the fault code.

Fault Reference Code:

Alarm: The red LED flashes, and the LCD displays an alarm code; the inverter does not enter the failure mode.

Warning Indicator:

When installing multiple units, follow the chart provided in the PDF. For proper air circulation to dissipate heat, allow a clearance of approximately 20 cm to the side and approximately 50 cm above and below the unit. Ensure each unit is installed at the same level.

It is requested to connect to the battery for parallel operation. The cable size of each inverter is shown below:

Be sure the length of all battery cables is the same. Otherwise, there will be a voltage difference between the inverter and battery, causing parallel inverters not to work.

Do not connect the current sharing cable between inverters which are in different phases. Otherwise, it may damage the inverters.

Each inverter should connect to PV modules separately.

Step 1: Check the following requirements before commissioning:

• Correct wire connection

• Ensure all breakers in Line wires of load side are open and each Neutral wire of each unit is connected together.

Step 2: Turn on each unit and set “PAL” in LCD setting program 4 of each unit. Then shut down all units.

Note: It is necessary to turn off the switch when setting the LCD program. Otherwise, the setting cannot be programmed.

Step 3: Turn on each unit.

Master and slave units are randomly defined.