Why this matters to you
Most battery complaints we hear about — capacity that seems short, a battery that will not charge fully, backup that runs out sooner than expected, unexplained shutdowns — are configuration issues rather than faulty products. Settings decide how much of the battery is used, how fast it is charged, and what the system does when the grid fails.
What has to be set, and by whom
Battery selection in the inverter
Hybrid inverters hold a list of supported battery types or profiles. Choosing the entry that matches the installed battery is what tells the inverter which limits and communication behaviour to apply. A generic or lead-acid profile left in place on a lithium installation is a common and consequential mistake.
Supported firmware
Settings only behave as documented on firmware the manufacturer supports for that combination. Firmware should be checked and recorded at commissioning, and re-checked after any update.
Charging and discharging limits
Charge current, discharge current and the voltage window come from the battery manufacturer's specification for your model — or, on systems with working communication, from the BMS itself. We deliberately do not publish numbers here: a value that suits one battery can damage or under-use another.
Backup reserve
The reserve decides how much capacity is held back for outages instead of being used day to day. It is a decision about how you use your system, and it is worth discussing rather than accepting a default.
Operating modes
Hybrid inverters can prioritise self-consumption, backup readiness or time-based charging, and behave differently during grid outages and load shedding. The mode should match how your household or business actually runs, and what your connection permits.
Installer verification
Configuration is not finished when the values are typed in. The installer should confirm the settings took effect, watch a real charge and discharge cycle, check that reported limits and state of charge look sensible, and leave you a record of what was set.
General guidance and model-specific settings
This article explains which settings matter and why. It does not give universal values, because correct numbers depend on your exact battery, inverter, firmware and installation — and a figure copied from an unrelated system can be unsafe or simply wrong.