Sungrow battery not charging when you expect?
Sungrow has supported scheduled/forced charging across multiple generations, but the controls differ enough that the exact inverter generation matters before troubleshooting.
1. Identify the inverter generation
Older SH5K-era products use a different control interface from newer SH/RS/RT families. Do not assume a current app walkthrough applies to an older LCD-based system.
2. On older SH5K systems, check Forced Charge
Sungrow's Australian SH5K manual documents Forced Charge with one or two start/end periods and a target SOC. When PV is insufficient during the window, the inverter can import from the grid to charge until the target SOC is reached.
3. Check the target SOC
If the battery has already reached the configured target SOC, the forced-charge period will not keep importing just because the time window remains active.
4. Check overlapping periods
For the older SH5K control, Sungrow documents that period 1 has priority if two forced-charge periods overlap. Overlap can therefore produce behaviour different from what a user expects from the second period.
5. For newer systems, use the generation-specific manual/app
Newer Sungrow hybrids expose different energy-management controls and firmware-dependent features. Verify the exact SH/RS/RT model and its current Australian documentation before applying an older SH5K remedy.