Share Your OpticsRE Online Monitoring with Fortress Power
Sharing OpticsRE with Fortress Power
Log into OpticsRE and click on “My Profiles” in the side menu.
- Click on the Gear icon ⚙️ next to the site name.
- Add “techsupport@fortresspower.com” as an Admin profile.
An image shows the OpticsRE interface with a gear icon highlighted for profile settings.
Unpack Batteries and Check Voltage
- Unpack the batteries and turn each battery on by itself.
- Note the voltage of each battery and serial number. The serial numbers are useful during warranty submittal.
- The batteries must be within +/-0.5V of each other before commissioning. Groups of 4 batteries or more may require a narrower voltage range to commission properly.
- Turn off the batteries and install them in parallel.
Notes
If the battery voltages are significantly different, one technique is to finish battery installation and only turn on the lowest voltage battery using the pushbutton. Charge the battery, and when the charging voltage is ~0.2V above the resting voltage of the next lowest battery, turn it on too. Proceed until all batteries are turned on and at the same voltage level. If the batteries are below 51V, keep charging amperages below 10A per battery.
If the batteries are slightly more than +/-0.5V from each other, turning on the highest voltage batteries only will reduce their voltages, and turning on the lowest voltage batteries only will lower the highest voltage. Likewise, turning on the lowest voltage batteries as a group will raise the lowest voltage. Then, all the batteries can be turned on within a 0.5/V difference.
Use of the Fortress firmware update tool can help speed up commissioning times. Fortress installers should request a firmware update tool by filling out a support ticket at https://support.fortresspower.com.
Radian / FXR / VFXR Inverter Settings
| Inverter | 80% DoD, 6000 cycles |
|---|---|
| Absorb Voltage and Time | 54.4 Vdc/ 2.0hr |
| Float Voltage and Time | 54.2 Vdc / 0.0 hr *only float with w/inverter if charge controllers unavailable |
| Re-float Voltage | 52.4 Vdc *Increase by 1V if charge controllers unavailable |
| Re-Bulk Voltage | 51.2 Vdc *Increase by 1V if charge controllers unavailable |
| AC Input Mode | Grid Tied (default, adjust as needed) |
| AC Charger Limit in AC | LFP10:15 Aac per battery eFlex:15Aac per battery eVault: 30Aac per battery |
| Low Battery Cut-Out Voltage | 50V *user adjustable |
| LBCO Delay | 130 seconds *user adjustable |
| Low Battery Cut-in Voltage | 51.2 *user adjustable |
| High Battery Cut-Out Voltage | 56.4V |
| HBCO Delay | 10 seconds |
| High Battery Cut-in Voltage | 55.2V |
| SellRE (Offset) Voltage Max | 51.6V for "zero-outflow", 53.6V for selling at "100% full" |
| Temp Sensors | Do not use temperature sensors / reduce any temperature coefficients to as close to zero as allowed |
*divide voltage by 2 for 24V FXR settings
Skybox Settings
The settings below should be programmed into the unit under the Custom choice.
| Inverter | |
|---|---|
| Maximum SOC | 100% |
| Minimum SOC | 20% |
| Absorb Charge | Timed |
| Absorb Voltage | 55.2 Vdc |
| Absorb Time | 02:00 hr |
| Float Charge | Disabled |
| Float Voltage | Can be left at default |
| Float Time | Can be left at default |
| Re-float Voltage | 54.4 Vdc |
| Re-bulk Voltage | 52.5 Vdc |
| Equalize Voltage | 54.4 Vdc |
| Minimum Equalize Time | 00:00 |
| Max Charge Current (Adc) | LFP-5 & LFP-10: 50Adc eVault: 100Adc eFlex: 60Adc |
| Max Discharge Current (Adc) | LFP-5 & LFP-10: 90Adc eVault: 125Adc eFlex: 60Adc |
| Grid Charge Limit (kW) | Site specific |
| Low Battery Cutout | 50 Vdc |
| LBCO Delay | 130 seconds |
| Low Battery Restart | 51.2 Vdc |
| High Battery Cutout | 56.0 Vdc |
| HBCO Delay | 10 seconds |
| High Battery Cut-in | 55.5 Vdc |
| Battery Series | Custom |
| Battery Model Number | Custom |
| Battery Description | Fortress Power |
| Battery Total Amp-Hours | eFlex: 105Ah LFPP-10: 200Ah eVault: 360 Ah |
| Charge Efficiency Factor | 96% |
| Absorb End Amps | 1Adc |
FM60/80/100 Charge Controller Settings
| Charge Controller | |
|---|---|
| Absorb Voltage and Time | 55.2, 2 hours |
| Float Voltage | 54.4 |
| Rebulk Voltage | 52.5 |
| DC Current Limit | LFP-10: 80A per battery ÷ # of controllers eVault: 170A per battery ÷ # of controllers eFlex: 55A per battery ÷ # of controllers |
| Absorb End Amps | 1A |
FlexNET DC Settings
| FLEXnet DC (FN-DC) | |
|---|---|
| Description | If FLEXNET DC display voltage is not within 0.1V of inverter terminal voltage, calibrate Outback equipment |
| Battery Amp hour | eFlex :105Ah per battery LFP-10: 200Ah per battery eVault: 360Ah per battery |
| Charged Voltage | 54.0V |
| Charged Time | 15 minutes |
| Charged Return Amps | 1A |
| Battery Charge | 96% |
MATE3/MATE3s Settings
| Relay Invert Logic | No *User adjustable |
| Relay Voltage | High = 53.8 ; Low = 51.2 *User adjustable |
| Relay Delay | High = 1, Low = 0 *User adjustable |
FLEXnet DC Advanced Settings
| Low SOC Warning | 20% *User adjustable |
| Critical SOC Warning | 10%*User adjustable |
Calibrating Outback Systems
Calibrating the battery means charging the battery 100% full and confirming the battery resting voltage is above 54V. This can be done onsite or remotely.
Calibration is not a regular task. Good times for calibration are:
- System commissioning
- Occasionally when batteries are kept 80-100% full
- Deep discharge recovery
- Extended periods of overcast / low production days
- Anytime when the % state-of-charge says 100% but battery voltage is below 54V
Conforming calibration is easiest to do online but can be done onsite.
- Go to OpticsRE.
- Reduce all system loads and charging to a bare minimum, including charge controllers.
- Determine the battery voltage on the inverter terminals.
- Calibrate the charge controllers to match the inverter terminals.
- Determine if the FlexNET DC also needs calibration and follow this link for further instructions: https://www.outbackpower.com/downloads/documents/appnotes/fndc_field_cal_app_note.pdf
C-7. Calibrate (Charge Controller)
This menu allows adjustment of the voltmeter. Calibration can improve system performance. Multiple controllers can achieve voltage targets at the same time.
One or more uncalibrated controllers may stop charging because they read the batteries as fully charged. On the FLEXmax 60 or 80 display, this is shown as a mode called "EX-ABSORB." (See the FLEXmax literature for more information.)
Battery Voltage — Calibrates the DC voltage measurement made at the controller's battery terminals.
An image shows a 'Calibrate' screen with 'Battery Voltage' set to 28.8 VDC.
To calibrate the charge controller:
- Place an accurate DC voltmeter at the battery terminals (not the charge controller terminals).
- Operate the controller while delivering normal PV current, then adjust the Battery Voltage setting until the inverter's battery voltage matches the reading on the DC voltmeter.
IMPORTANT: Calibration does not change the actual voltage of the charge controller, only the reading of that voltage.
I-13. Calibrate (Inverter)
This menu allows adjustment of the inverter's internal voltmeters. Calibration can improve system performance. Multiple inverters can achieve voltage targets at the same time.
An image shows the readings taken by the inverter in Vac and Vdc. To the right of each value is the calibration setting which adjusts the reading.
An image shows a 'Calibrate' screen with 'Input Voltage', 'Output Voltage', and 'Battery Voltage' readings and their respective calibration settings.
The settable range will vary with inverter model. See the inverter literature for specific ranges.
- Input Voltage — Calibrates the AC voltage measurement made at the inverter's AC input (from an incoming AC source). NOTE: Radian-class inverters have two Input Voltage settings due to the dual inputs.
- Output Voltage — Calibrates the AC voltage measurement made at the inverter's AC output (from the inverter's own power, or from an incoming AC source).
- Battery Voltage — Calibrates the DC voltage measurement made at the inverter's DC terminals.
To calibrate the battery voltage reading:
- Place an accurate DC voltmeter at the battery terminals (not the inverter terminals).
- Operate the inverter at about half power, then adjust the Battery Voltage setting until the inverter's battery voltage matches the reading on the DC voltmeter.
The AC readings are calibrated similarly at the AC terminals.
IMPORTANT: Calibration does not change the actual output of the inverter, only the reading of that output.
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