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7kWh per day off grid design for Adirondacks - critique wanted

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  • #16
    Originally posted by Living Large View Post
    I didn't miss that the VOC will be the highest on that cold winter morning.


    I got that part. But I didn't understand that evidently I won't get any power until the temperature rises enough that VOC goes under 150V - which if true is obviously an unacceptable situation - and I now assume is the case based on Amy's reply. I'm a beginner here with no experience with solar hardware.
    Don't feel bad, an trained electrician wiht two years school and 5 years experience don't get it.
    MSEE, PE

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    • #17
      Originally posted by Living Large View Post
      ...

      Mike - I'm curious of whether the charge controller and inverter/charger have to be in sync or on the same page. My understanding is the Xantrex controller and inverter/chargers let each other know which state of charge the batteries are in. What happens when you have a MS Classic (which I am also considering) controller and an XW inverter/charger? The ePanel seems to be designed to team the MS controllers with the Xantrex equipment, so I assume these play well together?...
      The ePanel is a nifty wire box with all the goodies to make connections easy. Buss bars, breaker mounts, knockouts....

      As for charging, the battery spec is what you want to set all the chargers to, and the you look at the discharge/cycle life curve to set where you want the Inverter to disconnect. I use 4 sources to charge from, an IOTA line powered charger (from a generator), the internal charger in the XW inverter, Morningstar MPPT 60, Midnight Classic 200. Since I have an odd battery voltage, I just program in the setpoints for each of the smart chargers (the IOTA is pretty dumb, just a 54V DC powersupply). The Classic even has a "tweak" to fine tune it's internal voltmeters to match an outside reference (I use the Morningstar as the reference). So mixing brands that don't have a common data buss (battery full, all chargers discontinue), just lets one charger throttle back slightly before the other one drops back to FLOAT. In real life, it's not a problem.
      Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
      || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
      || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

      solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
      gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

      Comment


      • #18
        Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
        an IOTA line powered charger (from a generator), the internal charger in the XW inverter,
        Mike, I'm curious, why are you using an Iota and the internal XW charger? What is the power source for the internal charger? I would think you would have the genny connected to the generator input on the XW, and use the auto gen start, making the Iota redundant. What am I missing?

        Amy
        Solar Queen
        altE Store

        Comment


        • #19
          Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
          The ePanel is a nifty wire box with all the goodies to make connections easy. Buss bars, breaker mounts, knockouts....

          As for charging, the battery spec is what you want to set all the chargers to, and the you look at the discharge/cycle life curve to set where you want the Inverter to disconnect. I use 4 sources to charge from, an IOTA line powered charger (from a generator), the internal charger in the XW inverter, Morningstar MPPT 60, Midnight Classic 200. Since I have an odd battery voltage, I just program in the setpoints for each of the smart chargers (the IOTA is pretty dumb, just a 54V DC powersupply). The Classic even has a "tweak" to fine tune it's internal voltmeters to match an outside reference (I use the Morningstar as the reference). So mixing brands that don't have a common data buss (battery full, all chargers discontinue), just lets one charger throttle back slightly before the other one drops back to FLOAT. In real life, it's not a problem.
          Thanks Mike. I was overthinking this before even understanding the charge profile - which someone else helped me out with today. I was concerned that one charging device may think the batteries were in one mode, while another may think a different one, and that when switching by a device occurred there may be an abrupt change to what the batteries see. Trying to imagine how these systems work without having one is challenging.

          Thanks for more tips.

          Comment


          • #20
            Originally posted by Amy@altE View Post
            Mike, I'm curious, why are you using an Iota and the internal XW charger? What is the power source for the internal charger? I would think you would have the genny connected to the generator input on the XW, and use the auto gen start, making the Iota redundant. What am I missing?

            Amy
            The Iota is a low power (ha - 1500W) charger, that can run from a small 120V genset. Wired direct to batteries.

            I have an antique diesel generator (hand crank, 400# of flywheel) that does 3Kw @ 240VAC that charges through the inverter. No auto start on this critter.

            If the inverter just out and dies, solar charging is the norm in summer, but in cloudy winters, generator is my only option.
            Lister_6-1.jpg

            photo is from the web, now that my engine is built into the shed, I can't get a good photo.
            Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
            || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
            || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

            solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
            gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

            Comment


            • #21
              Very cool, glad I asked, I figured it would be a good answer. I was right.
              Solar Queen
              altE Store

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