Jump to content

ghatikar

Members
  • Posts

    94
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by ghatikar

  1. @plonkster I think Bluenova affords more possibilities in future ( Inverter with Higher capacity), Modular units so I can add capacity ( or reduce for that Matter). I have sent enquiry to Cobus from BlueNOVA for a 12 KWH system wbr Anil
  2. YES, Homer is very close as they work with suppliers. Although the results always favor Diesel generation considering today's price levels of Lithium
  3. I have kept the Axperts ( 10 KVA infact) with the Victron 5 KW quattro on the same battery bank. ( Axpert represented by DC Power ) I am not Using ESS mode but Ignore AC setting so there is never aan export - ESS does not work reliably with Niegrain grid as grid is missing 70 & of teh time !! See video Below In Ignore AC assistant till the batteries are charged above 90 % SOC the Quattro takes the power from PV and battries through DC bus. If the SOC drops below 90 The Quattro reverts to Grid till Batteries are 100 % .( Since the SOC figures come from BMV 702) they are pretty reliable The Ignore AC mode runs only between 8 Am to 4 PM ( max production time) The Axperts rely on their Built in SOLAR mode controlled from ICC using SOC and time of Day As an additional kicker I have also AC coupled a small 500 Watt Micro Grid inverter on the output of Quattro- So normally the House is supplied by the micro inverter Directly providing max efficiency Due to some vacation Kids are at home otherwise the House load is supplied by Grid inverter and Quattro and axeprts contributing only when loads are higher such as washing machine or kitchen appliances
  4. You are essstentailly trying to Do what SMA has in Normal configuration - A sunny Boy and Sunny Island . Look at SMA site to know further https://www.sma.de/en/products/battery-inverters/sunny-island-44m-60h-80h.html
  5. Made in INDIA Infact in the neighbouring state of my home town - https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/02/01/912808/0/en/Incap-Corporation-s-opening-ceremony-of-production-facilities-in-India.html
  6. I Managed to get quotes from BlueNOVA and FreedomWon for Nigeria. Surprisingly the BLUENOVA are marginally cheaper and have much higher current ratings ( 300 AMp against 100 AMP) than Freedomwon. The cycle Life are comparable Both Work with my Blue ( Quattro) with BMS compatibility for Off grid use See attached comparison on various batteries that I can lay my hands on and their estimated price points Any additional points I should consider before making my decision 1. BluenOVA - Higher current ratings -. 100 % capacity is guaranteed. Higher current means I can use them with 8 or even 10 KW inverter in future. Could not find compatibility with Expert 2. Freedomwon - Cycle life guaranteed for 70 % of capacity leaving additional 30 % for emergency use ( 10 KWH is rated at 7 KWH ) - Current is small especially I am worried between the small difference of rated ( 100 Amp)and peak currents. ( 125 Amp) Compare .xlsx
  7. @NickNou You can consider reverse power relay ( normally used to protect generator ) such as this - https://mall.industry.siemens.com/mall/en/WW/Catalog/Product/5TT3425 or this - https://www.ebay.com/p/ABB-437W4790-Type-32r-Circuit-Shield-Reverse-Power-Relay-Range-13-150w-24vdc/1293283905 You will have to do the market search typically local generator suppliers will stock these. Instead of tripping the circuit you can use the relay to lsupply up a large load such as dumping resistors or 500-watt bulb
  8. I am envious - I cannot even get Lion in Nigeria minimum shipping is 900 USD for 1 m x 1m pallet due to safety restriction If budget permits get Lion Lithium Ion ( LifEpo4 ) very interesting read here - 100 Ah might replace 400 Ah in your case - http://bluenova.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/BlueNova-Launch-Presentation-V2.pdf also look at Redflow - if Peak loads are not an issue ( 3 Kw with 5 KW peak ) they are now available in SA - https://www.zcell.com/ --- http://www.specializedsolarsystems.co.za/index.php/installations-galleries/off-grid/234-redflow-zbm-zinc-bromide-module Will have to be Outdoor though. They are huge with saltwater tank ( price may be arround 8000 USD for 10 KWH) Also have a look at Trojan J200-RE ( have higher cycle life 1600 at 50 % DOD ) and Trojan claims they can be left partially charged without affecting life
  9. They are very big in Europe and recently launched in USA. Kind of Tesla from China. Their main market is EV ( cars and two wheelers)
  10. Cable size is fixed by Inverter amps - for Axpert 5 KVA at 48 Volts miunimum 35 mm2 for short runs 1-2 meters or 50 mm2 for Longer runs . See the attached BS standard cable ratings. remember to apply derating due to ambient temp and cable configuration ( single , parallel, inside conduit etc) or use this simple calculator http://www.energymatters.com.au/climate-data/cable-sizing-calculator.php?main_page=wire_calc&calc_action=cable_size for American sizes (AWG)- https://www.altestore.com/howto/wire-sizing-tool-for-12-24-and-48-volt-dc-systems-a106/ Current Ratings for conductors BS.pdf
  11. Yes. See my revised setup in operation. Later I will shift Victron to Lithium battery having two separate systems and getting rid of the 7.5 KVA DG solar setup Master Layout with connections JULY 2017.pdf
  12. 12 x 4 x 105 is 5KWH - His panels are not enough He needs atleast 1.5 KWp to 2 KWp assuming he consumes also in daytime and the batteries needed top up to full charge Also assuming C10 rates ( sorry did not check up on battery) of 10 amps he can draw max 500 watts continuously ( less if you factor in inverter efficiency /losses) anything more and Phukerts law will get him the 105 Ah may Deliver only 70 AH
  13. @PaulF007 Thanks . Specially OPENHAB looks interesting as my Synology DS216+ is listed as compatible - Even I am against opening my network especially with around 50 network devices working - Anything can go wrong Plus my broadband provider also makes it too expensive to have a public Ip ( i am behind a double NAT) Can you give me link to EmonNode ( or is it same as Node red for emoncms ) I even got the ICC modified by Maine to have different nodes and double emoncms as I could not find an easy way to post to Emoncms.org and emoncms at the same time ( it's a shame they should build it in packae itself)
  14. Thanks Paul. I am using node redalready to collect from my venusgx . The above problem was sorted by modifying the way icc posts data Now I am looking for a good dashboard to post data from both icc/axpert and victron/Venus. May be the way you suggested is the right way. Node red collectes and posts to emoncms. Emoncms runs on my local Synology has making the entire process in-house.
  15. Cup of Joe comes first before lighting load in my Table of load calculations. Back in 2008 I had selected 3.5 KVA inverter at astronomical price just so that my expresso timer would not reset overnight and the boiler was hot in the morning for the first cup. The family was a;o happy as the DSTV decoder ( dualview at that time) also got fulltime power thus ensuring no missed recordings
  16. Homer is One of the best out there for microgrid and off grid some others are PVSyst – SAM (NREL) – free registration SolarGIS data - PlantPredict -
  17. ghatikar

    Victron CCGX

    You can replace one 150/70 by two 150/35 split the bank and trigger the second one only when pool pump is running using conventional wiring and contactor logic
  18. @McWidowmaker if you have a multi or Quattro you can try using a small Grid tie Inverter with solar panels and a current sensor - See atttached PDF - The sensor can be similar to this -https://www.ev-power.eu/Measure-Test-Tools-1-1/Current-Monitoring-Relay-PRI-52-AC-0-5A-25A-CE.html#tab2 A soladin or APS grid inverter will be ideal choice ( 1 KW to 2 KW) - http://www.mastervolt.com/products/solar-inverters/soladin-1000-web/ APS- http://www.apsmicroinverter.nl/ The idea is that whenever the current sensor senses the Current flowing from PV panels to Multi or from Multi to PV panels the sensor after 1 min will switch off the Powercontactor feeding the water heater/Boiler - The contractor timer waits for 10-20 min and resets if there is no current flow then the water heater remains connected till the current sensor switches it off the idea being that in daytime the solar PV inverter will directly feed power to water heater. After midday when the heater gets thermal cutoff there is no power draw from heater the excess energy is fed back through multi to loads and battery You can set timers( time of Day) and even a bypass switch to feed the heater directly from Multi in winter or night if some top up heat is required. Alternatively, a time of the day timer can be fitted to disconnect heater in the evenings /night to prevent draw from batteries ( in case your multi is not passing the grid to the heater) Since the grid tie inverters have efficiencies between 95-97 % you are using the full yield and compared to the DC heating element you can locate your panels anywhere and heater anywhere in the house as long as they are connected at AC side Also, the solar panels can be smaller say 500 watts ( set current control higher than the difference of Panel average yield and heating load) OR They can be much larger ( set current control or a lower value say 1 to 2 amps) In my case I am planning to use a similar setup but instead of heater use it for running an air conditioner - The one advantage I have is that the AC is inverter type. so it ramps up the load from 100 Watt to 900 watts in linear fashion giving ample time to the contractor to act and disconnect if it is a cloudy day 20170719191655983.pdf
  19. @Mohamed Arafa Check if the neutrals of all three units are combined at inverter side and on the load side and there is no break. Also the neutral should be earthed separately in some cases by using a grounding relay or direct neutral to earth ( i don't know the code of South Africa) Also important to note that this happens only when Axpert are first switched on at commissioning. After once seeing grid connection as long the battery remains connected they remain in sync. In short After making all settings one by one switch them off 1, first switch on Battery 2. Switch on Inverters one at a time 2 Switch AC inputs ( grid should be available) 3. Check if there no errors displayed - flashing AC symbol or error codes 4 Switch on output breakers - preferably balanced loads first Another possibility of this happening on cold start ( no Grid) if the load impedances seen by the inverter are not same. also, The output cables and input battery cables have to be of the same length the Axperts are finicky about this I have also seen this problem on Axpert when I experimented with 3 phase setup in my case you could easily see the voltages drifting apart and coming closer if measured long enough ( i had loaded only R Phase with lots of LED bulbs and TV etc. while other phases did not have loads at the time of measuring ) The drifting stops the moment AC input is connected though and remains in sync even after removing grid. I noticed this particular problem when trying to use a small 3phase 6.5 KVA DG to feed Axperts . The DG sinewave was distorted and the Axperts could not find reference signal ( evident by constantly switching between grid and inverter mode when set to UPS Axpert manual specially mentions this in commissioning direction ( switch Input breaker first then output breakers first for all inverters followed by output breakers)- Also important to note that this happens only when Axpert are first switched on at commissioning. After once seeing grid connection as long the battery remains connected they remain in sync. In short After making all settings one by one switch them off 1, first switch on Battery 2. Switch on Inverters one at a time 2 Switch AC inputs ( grid should be available) 3. Check if there no errors displayed - flashing AC symbol or error codes 4 Switch on output breakers - preferably balanced loads first
  20. The dashboard is a really great addition, especially for my 7" inch Pi display. Only the battery gauge needs improvement May be color gradient like emoncms with more graduations ? Also, would love to have my 2nd inverter PV readings on MPPT2( they are visible in cluster info)
  21. In ICC you can see the two MPPT values live in TCluster info Tab . You can use emonccms to plot both MPP volts and amps separately. No power calculations though. @manie should really add the second MPPT in dashboard and curve bor both as 2 Axperts in parallel are becoming common installations as people upgrade to larger banks
  22. You can Always try to get best of both the world by using both Victron and Axperts. I have used Quattro 5KW for only one phase to power critical loads (Lighting , AV receiver, TV, Booster pump , wall sockets - expresso machine, vacuum , Mixer etcc) The 2 Axperts in parallel supply 10 KVA to only my 4 no of inverter Aairconditioners and washing machine/dryers ( had to separate the wiring though) but separating the Loads was much easier than paying for 3 Quattros the rest of the stuff - Other Ac's Gardning supply , O/H water pump are on B phase In future, I will move only the Quattro to Lithium ( looking at FREEDOMWON) waiting for prices to drop below 150USD/KWH I also have a 7.5 KVA genie to feed the Axpets through DC coupling essentially preventing SOC going Below 80 % In Nigeria, We are essentially Offgrid ( 2500 MW for 200 million people !!) average power availability is 40-50 Hours a week
  23. @plonkster In case you know somebody who can solve the issue I just posted a 50 USD bounty to solve the issue of Remote terminal timing out on local display in Kiosk mode with no way to refresh locally except connecting a keyboard https://www.bountysource.com/issues/47078877-improve-remote-console-for-kiosk-mode I have mounted a Pi with 7 Inch touch display which displays the VRM in House ( mainly to check SOC , Fuel level and start stop generator ). Since the VRM times out the moment remote VRM is used by me( on tablet /PC) the wife and kids cannot access it except power cycling the pi ( Bad in long term) or I have to Login with VNC and use keyboard shortcuts to reboot the Pi
  24. I have a Fluke 179 ( http://en-us.fluke.com/products/digital-multimeters/fluke-179-digital-multimeter.html) and both quattro and Axpert - I will try this weekend . I may be able to lay my hands on a THD scope also by August end .
  25. @plonkster Thank you. Not in a hurry As I said it is planned yearly changeover - Everything works for now Just not efficiently The system is not three phase - two Axperts in Parallel doing 10 KVA on R Phase and one Aexpert on Y phase . The House DB is one single Giant one and if I carry a 3 phase configuration most of the loads can not be supported on any one phase - Mainly to do with time of day e.g. water pumping and heaters in the morning with lights but TV , Water booster , Air Conditioner later part of the day - In the evening we have 3 TV's with 3 DSTV decoders going !! So Even if I have 3 phase setup I will need large battery to achieve C20 rate between 6 pm to 9/10 PM I need Large capacity per phase as most of the house ( three properties - house , guard house , BQ) will need extensive rewiring if I have to separate critical and non critical loads on all three phases 1, Quattro already planned - as I said limited to 5 KVA Multi or Quattro if I have to use 7.5 KVA DG with shore power option. Discussed in detail with Johannes Boonstra- I want to make something like the Quattro DC genset scheme shown below but Grid also being fed in one AC1 and 7.5 KVA DG on ACin 2 2. AXpert while very good at inverting are not good at high ambients at 40 DEG ambient on 3KW Load they are heating UP - ( i am on my 5th Axpert by the way in 5 years) Plus they have no Ac Coupling function so when running on DG I am limited to DG power 1.5 KW per phase ( which limits the battery charging to 30 Amps) and no Load possible on that Axpert ( hence no 3 phase operation ) - The current setup of 7.5 KVA DG to Battery charger losses almost 300 to 400 watt in the charger ( efficiency of 87 %) 2. I am thinking of using the Quattro with Powerassist on ACout 2 to run the Washing machine which sits on 200 watts most of the time but reaches 2.5 KW during water heating and high speed spinning while ACout 1 will supply house critical loads on R phase . retaining the 10 KVA axeprts for AC's and water pumps 3. I want to reduce the transfer switches in the long run - the power interruptions are sometimes 5-6 a day which means the battery cycles between discharge , boost and absorb repeatedly. Lead Acid is most inefficient at last 80 -100 % for charging and that where I am sitting most of the time . 4. The current system is very difficult to monitor as the status of battery chargers , changeovers are not captured 5. Using BMV 702 with Time of Day ( TOD) timer to selectively start the genset 6. One thing I forgot to mention was the grid is still the preferred option if available as it is less than 0.1 Eu cents a day at current tariff and paid by the Landlord wbr Anil Ps. One question Can quattro function correctly if the same ACin 1is being fed from Grid or 20 KVA generator with No grid export selected - I was thinking of feeding the status of changeover so Shore power limit gets applied only when connected to 20 KVA DG
×
×
  • Create New...