Help me please with this strange SMA online monitoring display

[dshenmdyn]

I had a 4.48kW system with SMA inverter (SB5000TL-US-22) installed close to a year ago. It has been working normally.
However, recently the online (both PC and iOS) monitoring app showed for several days (4 days so far) with abnormal generation graph
For each of those days, around roughly the same time of day, the graph showed a huge dip (over a brief period) in the generation followed by a huge spike (again over a brief period). The area for the dip and spike seem very similar. So it almost looks like the area of the dip was inversed and added to the top to form the spike.
The LCD display on the inverter itself does not show anything abnormal, probably because the display shows lower resolution (1 bar per hour).


Have anyone seen similar issue?

[SunEagle]

That type of graph is a pretty good indication that the inverter went off line and then came back with a surge. If it is happening at the same time of the day then it could be something going on with the grid voltage or frequency or possibly even some load in your home that is causing an anomaly for the inverter to briefly shut down.

[sensij]

I wouldn't assume it represents anything real. You would get something like that if it missed a data point in its energy tracking, and then caught up on the next measurement. The change in energy would be over two intervals, but the power would be calculated over one, giving double the power on the catch up measurement.

Does it look the same on all devices? Hard to say if the inverter is losing communication, or just an app error, or something else.

[dshenmdyn]

Called SMA tech service and they suggested to do a Firemware update and see if the problem persists.

While doing the firmware update using the Sunny Explorer directly connecting my laptop to the inverter, I was able to look at the logs stored on the unit itself. The log data appares to be in higher granularity and Sunny Explorer was able to display finer graphs. The graphs for all affected dates showed up perfectly well. No dip and no spike. I am leaning toward to believe the unit is functioning normally.

I suspect it may be something to do with their Sunny Portal server/software receiving/plotting data transmitted over the internet. I will post back after a few days to see if anything changes after the firmware update.

[dshenmdyn]

Since I updated the firmware on the inverter, everything has run fine. Not sure if it's directly related or just coincident. But it always good to know the system is functioning well.