Had issues with 10yr+ installation. 1 inverter going into alarm mode, unable to access monitoring apps and wanted someone to review and document worthiness of the 2 systems I have. As you will find with older systems, the original installers have moved on, other companies only want to replace and install new, or make up silly prices as they don't want the work, so struggling for 18 month plus trying to source someone to do this. Ronald managed to fit me in the day after contact as he was in the area. Spent a couple of hours on site, found issue with the inverter alarm and he monitoring this to find a total solution, got me back onto the monitoring apps, provided a report on the installations and identified potential areas of concern. These are the people you need for diagnostic reviews of your installations, long term industry professionals, who have a wealth of knowledge gained through working in the industry, know the differing systems and how to contact and approah the companies involved. These are the people you need if you are having issues with installers and / or product and/or supply companies.
SolaX ForceTime Not Working — Octopus Charging Fix
- Not affiliated with SolaX Power
- No fix, no fee
- All Octopus tariffs supported
SolaX ForceTime has several hidden dependencies — Charge from Grid, work mode, SoC targets, and clock sync all need to be correct. We review your SolaX Cloud configuration remotely and fix it in a single session.
Book a remote fix — £125 only if we fix itBack to SolaX hubIndependent — not affiliated with SolaX Power.
I left an enquiry few days ago and got a call back today from Ron. I have FoxESS battery and inverter that seemed not doing the right job and after only few questions, Ron told me exactly what I need to do to restart my system, without even seeing it. After almost 2 weeks of not being able to use my FoxESS equipment, today is finally up and running. Very professional and knowledgeable. Thanks Ron
Very speedy response. Handled by a real human who took my system through a logical process with the desired outcome within minutes of them accessing my inverter settings. Ron passed me on to Ash, they are both ex-Givenergy people who clearly know their stuff and can give the reassurance of proper technical support now that the Givenergy support desk has closed. A worthwhile investment in ensuring my expensive kit is kept fully functioning.
Genius when it comes to solar and off grid installations we spent days trying to work out what was causing our problems and Ron resolved it in less than an hour! Cant reccomend enough
After recently changing my fuse board the ct clamp broke, this meant my inverter was not communicating properly with my GivEnergy system. After several people letting me down, finally got put in touch with Ron. He came out within 24hours & resolved the fault within an hour, no fuse just got on with it. Work was tidy & arrived when he said he would. Ron followed up a few days later to confirm all was still good, great service from all involved.
Ron very quickly diagnosed what was wrong with my GivEnergy system. Unfortunately the kit has died after only 3.5 years of use-which is quite sad and timing couldn’t be worse with GivEnergy gone bust. Ron gave me advise on how to handle this with my installer. I’m hoping they’ll be forthcoming, but if they aren’t i now have a good idea how to deal with that. Thanks a lot Ron!
6-step ForceTime diagnosis
Work through these steps to identify why your SolaX battery is not charging during the cheap rate window. Each step addresses a different common configuration error.
Check if ForceTime is actually enabled in SolaX Cloud
Log into SolaX Cloud and navigate to your inverter's settings. Open the ForceTime configuration page and check whether the ForceTime periods are enabled. SolaX allows up to two ForceTime periods — each must be individually toggled on.
A common mistake is setting the time window but leaving the period toggle off. If you see ForceTime Period 1 with times configured but the toggle is disabled, the inverter will not charge during that window. Enable the period and save. Changes pushed from SolaX Cloud can take several minutes to reach the inverter — check the inverter display or live data to confirm the command was received.
Verify the ForceTime window matches your tariff exactly
The ForceTime start and end times must exactly cover your cheap rate window. Common UK tariff windows:
If the ForceTime window is shorter than the tariff window, the battery may not reach full charge. If it is longer, you will import at the standard rate for the extra time. SolaX Cloud uses 24-hour format.
Confirm Charge from Grid is active
ForceTime tells the inverter when to charge, but Charge from Grid must also be enabled for the inverter to actually pull power from the grid into the battery. This is a separate setting in SolaX Cloud — it is not automatically enabled when you turn on ForceTime.
Navigate to your inverter settings and look for the grid charge toggle. If this is off, the inverter will only charge the battery from solar during the ForceTime window — which produces zero charge overnight when there is no sunlight. This is one of the most common causes of ForceTime appearing correctly configured but the battery staying flat every morning.
Check for BST/GMT clock offset
SolaX inverters and SolaX Cloud do not always handle British Summer Time correctly. When the clocks change in March or October, the ForceTime window may shift by one hour relative to your actual tariff window.
Go windows vary by variant, so work from the hours on your own tariff agreement. Worked example: if your Go window is 00:30 to 05:30 but the inverter clock is still on GMT during BST, ForceTime will actually run from 01:30 to 06:30, missing the first hour of cheap rate and charging for one hour at the standard rate. Check the clock on the inverter display against the actual time. If it is one hour behind or ahead, the timezone or DST setting needs correcting in SolaX Cloud.
Some firmware versions require a manual clock sync after each DST changeover. This is the single most common ForceTime issue we see in UK SolaX systems.
Review work mode and SoC target settings
SolaX X-Hybrid inverters have several work modes — Self Use, Feed-in Priority, Backup, and Off-Grid. ForceTime only functions correctly in Self Use or Backup mode. If the inverter is set to Feed-in Priority, it will prioritise exporting solar to the grid over charging the battery, and ForceTime may not override this.
Also check the target state of charge. If the ForceTime SoC target is set to 50 percent and the battery is already at 50 percent, ForceTime will not charge further. Set the ForceTime SoC target to 100 percent to ensure a full charge during the cheap rate window. The minimum SoC setting (which controls how low the battery can go during the day) should be configured separately — typically 10 to 20 percent.
Book a remote configuration session if settings will not hold
If you have checked all five steps above and ForceTime is still not charging correctly, the issue may be firmware-related or involve a setting conflict that is not visible in SolaX Cloud. Older firmware versions have known bugs where ForceTime settings revert after a power cycle or fail to sync from the cloud.
STS can access your SolaX Cloud data remotely, verify every configuration parameter, identify firmware issues, and push corrected settings — usually in a single session. We support all X-Hybrid generations (G2 through G4) and all UK time-of-use tariffs.
Why SolaX ForceTime is the most commonly misconfigured battery feature in the UK
SolaX's ForceTime is one of the most powerful charging features available on any UK hybrid inverter. It allows precise control over when the battery charges from the grid, at what power level, and to what state of charge. For time-of-use tariff owners — particularly Octopus Go, Flux, and Agile customers — ForceTime is the core mechanism that makes cheap overnight charging work.
The problem is that ForceTime has several hidden dependencies. Enabling the ForceTime period is only the first step. Charge from Grid must be separately enabled. The work mode must be Self Use or Backup. The SoC target must be set correctly. The inverter clock must be synchronised and handling BST/GMT correctly. A conflict in any one of these settings will prevent charging, and SolaX Cloud does not warn you about conflicting configurations.
The BST/GMT issue affects thousands of SolaX systems across the UK twice a year. When the clocks change, owners who set up ForceTime months ago suddenly find the battery is not fully charged in the morning — or that charging starts an hour late and imports at the expensive rate. Older firmware versions are particularly affected because they do not automatically adjust for DST. This single issue generates more support calls to STS than any other SolaX problem.
Most common ForceTime configuration errors
The inverter will only charge from solar during ForceTime if grid charge is disabled. Enable Charge from Grid in SolaX Cloud settings.
Inverter clock has not adjusted for daylight saving time. Check display clock against actual time. Correct the timezone or DST setting in SolaX Cloud.
Inverter is set to Feed-in Priority. ForceTime requires Self Use or Backup mode. Change the work mode in SolaX Cloud.
ForceTime SoC target is set below 100%. The inverter stops charging when the target is reached. Set ForceTime SoC to 100% for a full overnight charge.
Known bug on older SolaX firmware versions. ForceTime settings saved in SolaX Cloud do not persist after an inverter restart. Firmware update may be required.
ForceTime & Octopus charging — common questions
ForceTime not charging? We configure it remotely.
We access your SolaX Cloud, verify every ForceTime parameter, fix clock offsets, correct work mode conflicts, and confirm the battery charges on the correct window — usually in a single session.
- Not affiliated with SolaX Power
- Remote fix: £125, only if we fix it
- All Octopus tariffs supported
We’re busier than ever. Thank you for your patience.
Due to unprecedented demand we’re currently only carrying out on-site work in Yorkshire, and replies are taking up to 7 days. Remote diagnostics continue for the whole UK as normal.
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