My turn for a question. 

Another forum member has asked me to look at some specs. He his looking for a True Hybrid Axpert. I cant seem to find any prove that such a model do exist. I have heard stories that they do. 

Anyone that has first hand experience, please advice?

@Coulomb.. do you know of one?

I know that the Axpert King is a kindof* a hybrid in the sense that it can blend PV and utility but it does it in a different way to the Victron units @plonkster explained it a while ago, I remember there also being a cap on the amount of "blending" possible (for some reason 40A is the first thing my mind is spewing out).

Edited November 14, 20195 yr by PJJ

Hi @Jaco de Jongh

"True Hybrid Axpert" is a hoax. There's nothing like that.

• While some Axperts are capable of feeding energy spikes back to the grid when in Line Mode, it's much more a design flaw than a desired functionality. It's not meant for energy export and it can't be controlled, limited or calibrated in the GUI.
• Aerox Inverex 5.2 is the only OEM variant that's capable of a controlled energy export.

The only "True Hybrid" from Voltronic Power is InfiniSolar product line.

• Controllable export/import from the grid.
• Certified by the grid authorities across the globe as a hybrid machine.

 

So, the valid question would be - what is your friend trying to accomplish? For a lot of users, Axpert King is the best choice for an affordable price. It's not hybrid, but thanks to it's AC-DC-AC architecture, it can solve a lot of tasks where you would have to use a true hybrid in the past.

If your friend is looking for a cheapest machine that can export energy to the grid then InfiniSolar might be the choice. From other affordable brands, GoodWe and SolaX are popular too. Both are true hybrids.

 

Voltronic Power Inverters Specs enclosed:

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 20195 yr by Youda

28 minutes ago, Youda said:

So, the valid question would be - what is your friend trying to accomplish?

Mix power from grid and PV when PV is not enough to supply the load. No feedback at all. 

27 minutes ago, Jaco de Jongh said:

Mix power from grid and PV when PV is not enough to supply the load. No feedback at all. 

Okay, then the cheapest solution is the Axpert King operated  in the SUB mode.

Roughly 5kWh of lithium batteries is a good choice, since in the SUB mode the batteries are not being discharged but are serving just as a buffer and UPS. With addition of ICC, one can set the system to allow discharge of the batteries to a certain SOC and then activate the "grid support".

One Axpert King delivers up to 5kW of AC power (solar only or solar+grid). If you need more power, then combine two or more of these units into a parallel system.

Edited November 14, 20195 yr by Youda

13 hours ago, Jaco de Jongh said:

Mix power from grid and PV when PV is not enough to supply the load. No feedback at all. 

 

12 hours ago, Youda said:

Okay, then the cheapest solution is the Axpert King operated  in the SUB mode.

Roughly 5kWh of lithium batteries is a good choice, since in the SUB mode the batteries are not being discharged but are serving just as a buffer and UPS. With addition of ICC, one can set the system to allow discharge of the batteries to a certain SOC and then activate the "grid support".

One Axpert King delivers up to 5kW of AC power (solar only or solar+grid). If you need more power, then combine two or more of these units into a parallel system.

Thank you Jaco and Youda - very useful information, and answers my query about Axpert "Hybrid" inverters.

It seems to me that the 450 V max MPPT models (e.g. Axpert MKS II, Axpert VM II and Axpert VM III) do also blend AC-in and PV power. This effectively makes them hybrids, but it seems to me that they don't want the cost and hassle of certification as a hybrid, so they call them off-grid models. They attempt to never export power, but it seems to me that a sudden drop in load or surge in PV power will inevitably lead to a momentary export.

I've never used one, so I don't know the limitations or conditions.

1 hour ago, Coulomb said:

It seems to me that the 450 V max MPPT models (e.g. Axpert MKS II, Axpert VM II and Axpert VM III) do also blend AC-in and PV power. This effectively makes them hybrids, but it seems to me that they don't want the cost and hassle of certification as a hybrid, so they call them off-grid models. They attempt to never export power, but it seems to me that a sudden drop in load or surge in PV power will inevitably lead to a momentary export.

I've never used one, so I don't know the limitations or conditions.

Thank you - interesting ! I once read an article illustrating how adding a grid-tied inverter to a backup inverter achieved sharing the load between PV and grid, with no feed back! Has anyone done this?

16 minutes ago, Bushtracker said:

Thank you - interesting ! I once read an article illustrating how adding a grid-tied inverter to a backup inverter achieved sharing the load between PV and grid, with no feed back! Has anyone done this?

Yes, I have, ( not using an Axpert, though).

I imagine its pretty common place, it's called AC-coupling.

In my instance the level of feedback (or feed-in) is settable. There are time lags involved, it's always a moving target, so the setting is more of an average that it hovers around.