diy solar

diy solar

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

Do we know if these new smaller 500va and 1200va multiplus' can use a CT to grid tie inverter with limiting like their larger siblings supposedly can?
 
grizzzman said:
To funny l have the "Blue" inverter ( Off "Blue" solar ) connected to the power supply that in turn connected to the ( "Yellow" DIY bank ) So I can connect them together. Day two of retirement. Kinda fun to "Play" at leisure.
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Mix em all together and you will have a green system..about the color of your avatar critter.…Haa
 
cs1234 said:
Do we know if these new smaller 500va and 1200va multiplus' can use a CT to grid tie inverter with limiting like their larger siblings supposedly can?
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I believe the CT option is only available for the multiplus 2s, not the original multiplus which the 500 and 1200VA are. Also the 500VA specs show it as not supporting power assist (only power control to limit input power demand).

www.currentconnected.com

Victron Current Transformer for MultiPlus-II | Current Connected

Experience intelligent power distribution with the Victron Current Transformer - PowerControl, PowerAssist, and self-consumption optimization.
www.currentconnected.com www.currentconnected.com
 
MPPT is one area I didn’t do adequate planning when designing my system.
I did the calculations, purchased a SmartSolar 250/70 with canbus, thinking that when I added more panels later, I would get a second controller.

I didn’t realize how over-paneled I was, until autumn weather last year showed I was pegged at full output for over 3 hours.
And that thing was cooking, had to put a fan on it.
I hated the idea of leaving available solar power on the table.

So I went out and got a 250/100 to replace the 250/70. It still pegs at full output, but only for an hour or so.
Now I’m thinking I should have gone higher voltage from the beginning with the 450/100 or 200.

@Brucey Let us know how the higher voltage works out for you, thanks.
I would have to upgrade the breakers and combiner box to go 500/600V rating.
 
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So my initial plan was to eventually run three 150/35s to get 105A of charging and still have flexibility of three seperate strings of 2kW, plus able to fit them where the bigger ones can't, plus redundancy. Also my initial budget for an SCC was $200 so the $1200+ of a 450/100 was just a far off fantasy. That's before I got hit hard by the Blue 🔵

What I didn't realize is how quickly the costs of combiners/breakers/additional PV cables adds up (Midnite mnpv6, midnite pv breakers etc).

Now I'm just running a single string back to house, thru an IMO type disconnect for maintenance shutoff and then straight into the 450/100. Potentially I could do a midnite box with some 600V fuse holders for protection but seems like most are just running IMO disconnects and no fuses on the PV. I went with the 450/100 for redundancy with another 450/100 in the future, not a big price delta from two 100s to a single 200.

I will still be keeping the 150/35s I can put them to use on some other small arrays in the future. I just accept that they are designed to get hot all over and cool from all sides and not just the heatsinks in the back, basically the whole unit is a heatsink.
 
ricardocello said:
So I went out and got a 250/100 to replace the 250/70. It still pegs at full output, but only for an hour or so.
Now I’m thinking I should have gone higher voltage from the beginning with the 450/100 or 200.
Click to expand...
If you are pegging a 250/100 that will still peg a 450/100. I guess fundamentally if you are aiming for max winter production then there's a high likelihood that you'll be maxed out at times during the summer, or you have a bunch of SCCs to handle the summer max output but they'll be barely idling in the winter.
 
Brucey said:
If you are pegging a 250/100 that will still peg a 450/100
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Good point, it really is the output current that is limited.
Now I need more batteries!

I really need to just let it go that the system will not always be running as efficiently as possible as the seasons change.
 
ricardocello said:
Good point, it really is the output current that is limited.
Now I need more batteries!

I really need to just let it go that the system will not always be running as efficiently as possible as the seasons change.
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Do you have the right amount of panels to rewire in both the 250/100 and the 250/70?
 
G00SE said:
Do you have the right amount of panels to rewire in both the 250/100 and the 250/70?
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That’s a really good idea!

I did run two sets of 220’ cables from the ground mount to the house (planning ahead), so I could put 4 of the panels on the “B” circuit,
and leave 8 panels on the 250/100 “A” circuit. This could be done inside the combiner box pretty quickly.
The 250/100 and the 250/70 are both on CAN, I could probably do this today!

So it will be 4s2p for the 250/100, and 4s1p for the 250/70. Neither one should peg.
I’ll need to raise my DVCC current limit (which should be fine).
 
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ricardocello said:
Good point, it really is the output current that is limited.
Now I need more batteries!

I really need to just let it go that the system will not always be running as efficiently as possible as the seasons change.
Click to expand...
How much battery do you have?
 
Brucey said:
Nice nearly 2.2kW additional harvest!
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Yeah, I feel like an idiot for not doing that sooner!
Now I really need more battery.

Also, because I put the 4 panels on a separate SCC, I would expect some shading improvements by using two MPPTs in the late afternoon..
 
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