diy solar

diy solar

Victron is Over-priced Eurotrash. Why would anybody buy Victron over an AiO?

740GLE said:
Victron multiplus prices just dropped?

Perfect timing, glad I held out for my 24/3000 for the 2024 cabin upgrade. It’s gonna be a good year.
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Down to $1052 now. I'm not sure on the exact reductions percentage wise, def not the huge cuts most of the SCCs got but welcome nonetheless.

www.currentconnected.com

Victron 24V MultiPlus-II 3kVA 120V Inverter 70A Charger | Current Connected

Experience flexibility and adaptability with the Victron MultiPlus-II 24V Inverter, perfect for on and off-grid applications with industry-leading features.
www.currentconnected.com www.currentconnected.com
 
Anything that’s a price reduction is a bonus these days.

This basically makes my lynx power in free.
 
Brucey said:
Thanks seems like the way to go. Not sure what he was "debating". That Victron stuff costs more than a lot of other options? Was anyone disagreeing?
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It is more than just the components, it is the infrastructure costs that increase also.

For example, using lower VOC rated SCC's will probably result in paralleling strings using 2 strings of wire instead of one string. Or using larger gauge wire. With a 250VOC rated SCC for my array that is 420 feet away, the cost difference is quite substantial. In my case, it would have cost $2600 for wire with a lower VOC rated SCC. With a higher VOC rated SCC, it cost $600.

There are other items needed, they all add up to the total cost. Doesn't matter what color box.
 
Zwy said:
It is more than just the components, it is the infrastructure costs that increase also.

For example, using lower VOC rated SCC's will probably result in paralleling strings using 2 strings of wire instead of one string. Or using larger gauge wire. With a 250VOC rated SCC for my array that is 420 feet away, the cost difference is quite substantial. In my case, it would have cost $2600 for wire with a lower VOC rated SCC. With a higher VOC rated SCC, it cost $600.

There are other items needed, they all add up to the total cost. Doesn't matter what color box.
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Yea man.. the price can add up , but , when you get a lot of things hooked up ,all the different displays and blinking lights ,..,..are a blast to watch…
It seems as I age it becomes easier to amuse myself….
J.
 
JRH said:
Yea man.. the price can add up ,
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I am amazed that some can not grasp the concept of how the choice of components can have a huge effect on system efficiency, infrastructure costs and overall system ROI.

I'd rather take the $2K I mentioned in my example above and buy another pallet of 370W panels. That was just the cost difference for wire, never mind additional items that would have been needed with poor planning.

JRH said:
but , when you get a lot of things hooked up ,all the different displays and blinking lights ,..,..are a blast to watch…
It seems as I age it becomes easier to amuse myself….
J.
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It's even better when you can expand on your system because you planned it correctly and become energy self sufficient.
 
Zwy said:
I'd rather take the $2K I mentioned in my example above and buy another pallet of 370W panels. That was just the cost difference for wire, never mind additional items that would have been needed with poor planning.
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I have no dog in this fight but that makes a very broad assumption that the long term cost of the cheaper charge controller is lower.

It could end up being more expensive if you are having to change it out every few years because it broke. Reliability remains to be seen
 
Zwy said:
I am amazed that some can not grasp the concept of how the choice of components can have a huge effect on system efficiency, infrastructure costs and overall system ROI.
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I agree on the impact of choice. The counter to your item around more panels is if you have no space for more panels and you need the SCC to start up with a lower voltage to consume everything you can get early morning and late in the day. On crappy days, good chance that a Victron MPPT will pull in more power than an AIO that has higher MPPT operating V range with the same panels, but yes you'd need more 'wire' to get there. It's all about understanding your goals and working environment.
 
1201 said:
Midnite did say that their lower voltage charge controllers are more efficient than the higher voltage ones. Net efficiency is the whole system is a different thing
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Let's look at the Classic manual, pg 7 of the pdf.

The example given:

"For example: if you are using a Classic 250 and 48v battery bank, the maximum continuous output power based on 25 degree C ambient is 55 amps when using a PV array that yields a Maximum Power Voltage of 180 volts. The same set up using a bit higher voltage modules that result in a 200V Maximum Power voltage will result in only 53 amps. Although 55 to 53 amps is not a significant change, it does give you the idea that all things being equal, lower voltages are a bit more efficient, keeping in mind that an MPPT controller needs to have the open circuit voltage of the array about 30% higher than the highest battery voltage you plan to charge to."

55x180= 9900W

53x200= 10,600W

The higher voltage results in 700W which is a 7% increase in yield. I won't get into the voltage drop and power loss using lower voltage as this was about Midnite's claim lower PV voltage is more efficient.

How is this more efficient?
 
1201 said:
I have no dog in this fight but that makes a very broad assumption that the long term cost of the cheaper charge controller is lower.

It could end up being more expensive if you are having to change it out every few years because it broke. Reliability remains to be seen
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I don't disagree with this, we are running as frontiers in many respects with much larger systems than in the past and as a result, the test of time has not been passed yet.

Flip side is that even if a component lasts at least half as long at 1/4 the cost it could be replaced twice at lower overall system lifespan cost.
 
ChrisG said:
I agree on the impact of choice. The counter to your item around more panels is if you have no space for more panels and you need the SCC to start up with a lower voltage to consume everything you can get early morning and late in the day. On crappy days, good chance that a Victron MPPT will pull in more power than an AIO that has higher MPPT operating V range with the same panels, but yes you'd need more 'wire' to get there. It's all about understanding your goals and working environment.
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Post #555
 
Zwy said:
Post #555
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It's all about environment. If I have 4 49.5v panels with heavy shade or terrible weather early or night I could squeeze more out of it. I get that in optimal conditions should hit 120v quickly but not all conditions are optimal.
 
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