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  • #16
    Originally posted by solarponders View Post
    Is there a provision to do that .. meaning at the terminals I thought only one
    set of wires can go in.
    Well, if that's really the case then you're dead from the outset, since you won't be able to connect anything other than the inverter to the battery.

    There are plenty of ways to connect multiple conductors to a single point. Home Depot will have a wide variety of devices - tie bars, barrier strips, wire nuts, lugs, distribution panels - to help you out there. For high current stuff West Marine is a good source, since boats generally use 12/24V DC systems pretty heavily.

    Comment


    • #17
      Originally posted by billvon View Post
      Well, if that's really the case then you're dead from the outset, since you won't be able to connect anything other than the inverter to the battery.

      There are plenty of ways to connect multiple conductors to a single point. Home Depot will have a wide variety of devices - tie bars, barrier strips, wire nuts, lugs, distribution panels - to help you out there. For high current stuff West Marine is a good source, since boats generally use 12/24V DC systems pretty heavily.
      I purchased two scrap (undrilled) 14" x 2" x 1/4" copper bus bar sections from Ebay @ $12 each. They work great for a 300 amp bus.
      1.6Kw of PV, Outback FM80 controller, 40A PWM cheap Chinese controller, 12V 1000 AH of Trojan T105RE batteries, 2.5Kw Aims MSW inverter and 400W TSW inverter.

      I will respect other peoples threads and try to stay ON TOPIC. Equally if I start a thread, and in order to keep forum friction to a minimum, only constructive ON TOPIC responses will be answered. Should I still don't reply: It is likely I have blocked you. for being B.A.D. (Belligerent And Derisive)

      Comment


      • #18
        When connecting to a battery, the highest current wire / terminal (most often the inverter power lines) is placed right next to the battery terminal, so there is the least resistance in the circuit.
        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


        • #19
          Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
          When connecting to a battery, the highest current wire / terminal (most often the inverter power lines) is placed right next to the battery terminal, so there is the least resistance in the circuit.
          Ok, so here let me rephrase the problem .. there is a real problem.

          My chosen 30A MPPT supports system voltage of 12/24v
          But inverter that I am targeting (3.5 kva) comes only in 48v mode.
          Because MPPT is connected to Battery which is connected to Inverter, how would
          I create a battery bank that is suitable for this mppt cc and also suits the
          inverter @ 48v.

          My mppt vendor tells me there is a tweak that can be done to set the battery
          input voltage to 24v and output to 48v. Does that make sense? Not to me, atleast.

          Please help.

          Comment


          • #20
            Originally posted by solarponders View Post
            Ok, so here let me rephrase the problem .. there is a real problem.

            My chosen 30A MPPT supports system voltage of 12/24v
            But inverter that I am targeting (3.5 kva) comes only in 48v mode.
            That doesn't make much sense. If you have a 48 volt battery system, and are going to connect your panels to form 48 volt strings, a 24 volt MPPT charge controller will not work. You need a 48 volt charge controller.

            My mppt vendor tells me there is a tweak that can be done to set the battery
            input voltage to 24v and output to 48v. Does that make sense?
            No. In engineering terms, all MPPT controllers are "buck" converters - they reduce output voltage while increasing current. They do not boost voltage.

            Comment


            • #21
              Originally posted by billvon View Post
              No. In engineering terms, all MPPT controllers are "buck" converters - they reduce output voltage while increasing current. They do not boost voltage.
              That is mostly true but there are a few high end manufactures like Mid Night Solar that have buck/boost built into 1 controller. The Boost range is very limited, and when operated in Boost are very inefficient. So i would never recommend anyone operate in a boost range. For a 48 volt battery your minimum panel Vmp should be 62 volts. This will be the point where most quality MPPT controllers are most efficient on a 48 volt battery system.
              MSEE, PE

              Comment


              • #22
                Originally posted by Sunking View Post
                That is mostly true but there are a few high end manufactures like Mid Night Solar that have buck/boost built into 1 controller. The Boost range is very limited, and when operated in Boost are very inefficient. So i would never recommend anyone operate in a boost range. For a 48 volt battery your minimum panel Vmp should be 62 volts. This will be the point where most quality MPPT controllers are most efficient on a 48 volt battery system.
                That would be great; a boost mode would help a lot when using odd-sized panels (i.e. 48/96 cell panels) on off-grid systems. The last Classic manual I saw had this note:

                "Boost Charge Mode (Lower to Higher Voltage, Unimple-mented as of May 2011)"

                Have they since implemented this?

                Comment


                • #23
                  Originally posted by billvon View Post
                  That would be great; a boost mode would help a lot when using odd-sized panels (i.e. 48/96 cell panels) on off-grid systems. The last Classic manual I saw had this note:

                  "Boost Charge Mode (Lower to Higher Voltage, Unimple-mented as of May 2011)"

                  Have they since implemented this?
                  I believe so. They make them right here in TX and i have a couple of sample units to play with. Honestly I have not tried them in Boost Mode as it is not something I would ever implement becuase of the efficiency issue. Besides the Boost range is very small, something on the order of 50 volts on a 48 volt battery system. I am not willing to go there.
                  MSEE, PE

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Hi All

                    For my solar system, I am a bit confused about the terminologies used for inverters ... (off-grid, grid-tie)

                    In where am located, (India) selling back the power to grid is not an option ..

                    So I am looking for an inverter which serves dual purpose :

                    1) Converting DC to Ac to supply power to my house
                    2) Converting Power Supply AC to DC to charge my batteries. That is batteries could get charged both from PV and/or Power Supply.
                    I believe every inverter is equipped with a rectifier/charger to do this.

                    And, more importantly - I would like an auto-switch over from the Battery to Power/Mains when Battery is Low and
                    from Mains to Battery when power supply is cut (there are huge power cuts in our zone). Precedence to be given to battery
                    power, if available. Can such setup be possible?

                    Thanks in anticipation!!

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Originally posted by solarponders View Post
                      ...
                      My mppt vendor tells me there is a tweak that can be done to set the battery
                      input voltage to 24v and output to 48v. Does that make sense? Not to me, at least.
                      not to me either. If your vendor cannot show you a system working as he described, I bet it does not exist. Sorry.

                      To run a 48 v inverter, you need 48V

                      You would need a new charge controller at the very least, and a 48V battery bank of course.


                      To interact with the grid, I know the XW series of inverters will do that, and I think Outback has a model that can also.

                      The xw-6048 that I have, has the transfer relays built in, and a grid AC input/output (it has a No Sell mode) and a 2nd AC input for a 240VAC generator . And an internal battery charger.
                      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


                      • #26
                        Originally posted by solarponders View Post
                        So I am looking for an inverter which serves dual purpose :

                        1) Converting DC to Ac to supply power to my house
                        2) Converting Power Supply AC to DC to charge my batteries. That is batteries could get charged both from PV and/or Power Supply.
                        I believe every inverter is equipped with a rectifier/charger to do this.
                        These certainly exist but not every inverter does this. You need an inverter/charger. For example the Prosine 1800 does not have a charger but the Prosine 2.0 does.

                        And, more importantly - I would like an auto-switch over from the Battery to Power/Mains when Battery is Low and
                        from Mains to Battery when power supply is cut (there are huge power cuts in our zone). Precedence to be given to battery
                        power, if available.
                        Yes. The old Trace SW series did this. I THINK the Outback series of inverters will do this as well.

                        However, this is not the best use of batteries. If you have a grid and can do grid intertie it is much better to run off the grid and reserve your batteries for backup power. One, they will last a lot longer. Two, if you are always discharging your batteries they will be dead when you need them.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Does anyone have experience with thin film solar panels? I ran into one resller, where the cost quoted
                          per watt of the panel is 2/3rd of the regular (mono/poly) .. here is the product data sheet.

                          http://www.nanosolar.com/sites/defau...NSC-001_12.pdf

                          Not sure, if this is a new breakthrough in the technology (by German) that has brought a significant drop in the
                          panel price or just an experimental thingy ...

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Originally posted by solarponders View Post
                            Does anyone have experience with thin film solar panels?
                            Yes runaway, do not walk. They are like DIY panels and will be useless in 5 years or less.
                            MSEE, PE

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Originally posted by Sunking View Post
                              Yes runaway, do not walk. They are like DIY panels and will be useless in 5 years or less.
                              Nano Solar - Aren't they one who has been promising the world and delivered very little or nothing for years now -
                              [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Originally posted by solarponders View Post
                                Does anyone have experience with thin film solar panels? I ran into one resller, where the cost quoted
                                per watt of the panel is 2/3rd of the regular (mono/poly) .. here is the product data sheet.

                                http://www.nanosolar.com/sites/defau...NSC-001_12.pdf

                                Not sure, if this is a new breakthrough in the technology (by German) that has brought a significant drop in the
                                panel price or just an experimental thingy ...

                                I can't give you advice for the present sales but below is a link to information new to the market today and pretty amazing I think;


                                http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/14/...eanTechnica%29

                                Hope the link works it's long !
                                1.6Kw of PV, Outback FM80 controller, 40A PWM cheap Chinese controller, 12V 1000 AH of Trojan T105RE batteries, 2.5Kw Aims MSW inverter and 400W TSW inverter.

                                I will respect other peoples threads and try to stay ON TOPIC. Equally if I start a thread, and in order to keep forum friction to a minimum, only constructive ON TOPIC responses will be answered. Should I still don't reply: It is likely I have blocked you. for being B.A.D. (Belligerent And Derisive)

                                Comment

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