How To Optimise Sungrow Battery for the OVO Free 3 Plan

How to set up and access 3 hours of free power from the OVO Free 3 Plan with Sungrow.

OVO Energy's "Free 3 Plan" gives you free electricity every day between 11:00am and 2:00pm. To get the best ROI out of your Sungrow battery, we can set your battery to charge itself from the grid during this free window.

By doing this, you'll fill your battery for $0, saving your stored energy for the expensive evening peak.

Here is how you set it up in the iSolarCloud desktop browser:

Step 1: Open Your Plant via Desktop

Open iSolarCloud and login via your desktop and select your home energy plant from the main dashboard. Please note these instructions are for the iSolarCloud browser, NOT the iSolarCloud app.

Step 2: Navigate to Device Parameters

Click Plant on the left side of the screen, then select Settings.

Then, click Device Parameters tab.

Step 3: Navigate to Energy Management Parameters

Select the checkbox for your plant and then click Common Settings.

Then, click the Energy Management Parameters tab.

Step 4: Enable Forced Charging

Find the parameter name labelled "Forced Charging". Change the value dropdown to 'Enable'. Additional parameters will then appear.

Step 5: Create Your Free Charge Window

Now we can configure the battery to charge during the free electricity window.

Forced charging valid time = every day
Forced charging start time = 11:00am
Forced charging end time = 14:00pm
Target SOC of forced charging = 100%

Note: during this free charge window, your battery will not discharge - all it will do is charge from the grid. If you have loads in the home, the loads will use power from the grid to operate.

You can set another forced charge window should you wish.

Step 6: Save & Maximise

Make sure you save your settings by clicking Apply Settings. Your battery will now automatically top itself up for free every day at 11am.

Pro-tip: The battery isn't the only thing you should run during this time. Because grid power is completely free from 11am to 2pm, put your heavy appliances on delay timers. Run your pool pump, dishwasher, washing machine, and hot water system directly off the free grid power during this 3-hour window so your battery power is saved purely for the evening.

Step 7: Cap Imports

If wish to cap your imports from the grid during this free charge window, we recommend calling Sungrow Australia's customer support team.

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