Building an off grid solar system - dump loads, relay drivers and making the most of free electric!

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 9 лют 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 16

  • @livingoffgridinscotland
    @livingoffgridinscotland  11 місяців тому +3

    Link to Hugh piggotts instructions for setting up the Morningstar PWM as diversion to dump load;
    scoraigwind.co.uk/using-a-high-power-resistor-as-a-dump-load/

    • @taylorellis1723
      @taylorellis1723 10 місяців тому +1

      Hi do you have a link to where I can get this equipment thanks

    • @livingoffgridinscotland
      @livingoffgridinscotland  10 місяців тому +1

      @@taylorellis1723 lots of Morningstar pwms on eBay

  • @tonyolomu4543
    @tonyolomu4543 10 місяців тому +1

    I love ❤ your set don't let anyone tell you any difference well done 👍🏾

  • @lptf5441
    @lptf5441 11 місяців тому +1

    Here in Australia, where we (households) do more solar than anywhere else, we have many "hybrid" inverters that include everything you need in a single box. They are all made in China, but there are multiple brands that have been sold here in Australia for 10-20 years, and have excellent warranties and local support. I just installed a Sungrow SH10RS, which is a 10KW single-phase inverter with 4 MPPT inputs. I added a Sungrow 9.6Kwh battery which is DC coupled to the inverter. It works with or without grid power. I love it so far!
    I've never heard of any need to use dummy loads to shed excess solar power. Normally the inverter just uses its MPPT functionality to dial down solar production to suit the load.

    • @lukey7369
      @lukey7369 11 місяців тому +1

      I think the grid tie inverter is the concern he's trying to address..
      A standard mppt charge controller uses "dc coupling" to charge the batteries and they reduce their output current as the battery reaches 100%
      The grid tie inverter uses "ac coupling" which has some benefits over mppt but if not setup correctly will overcharge your batteries. This is addressed by "frequency shifting" where the main inverter changes the output frequency which causes the grid tie inverter to reduce its output or turn off completely (until the main inverter needs assistance and changes the frequency back to 50.0hz)
      I've got this setup living off grid and the grid tie inverter provides an extra 5kw of power when required.. the string voltages can be upto 800v allowing many more panels to be installed in series, vs a 250v dc mppt for example.

    • @lptf5441
      @lptf5441 11 місяців тому +1

      @@lukey7369 There are many hybrid inverters with DC coupling, including the unit I installed.
      There are also many conventional (no battery capability) grid tied inverters that have MPPT solar functionality.

    • @lukey7369
      @lukey7369 11 місяців тому +1

      Yeah I know, the ac coupling is referring to the a.c grid tie inverter producing the a.c output.. I've got 13kw of dc coupled panels connected via dc-dc mppts and 5kw of dc-ac coupled panels.
      His video is about the ac grid tie inverter overcharging the batteries, not about hybrid inverters.
      I was just explaining the frequency shifting principle used to ramp down the grid tie inverter I'm using on my off grid setup.
      Most off grid systems have a mixture of both dc and ac coupled panels because when only ac coupled inverters are used, if the battery goes completely flat the grid tie inverter won't be able to provide an output as it sees the power outage as a grid failure

  • @methods-SE
    @methods-SE 2 місяці тому +1

    Wow.....

  • @s.r.8471
    @s.r.8471 11 місяців тому +1

    👍

  • @utubeape
    @utubeape 11 місяців тому +1

    There is a lot to learn about these systems, hopefully there will be affordable automatic systems that can manage themselves.
    Its a pity you can't dump your excess power into something that you can use in the low sun months, for example using a pump to pump water from a low down small lake up to a higher one then letting it out via a turbine.

    • @livingoffgridinscotland
      @livingoffgridinscotland  11 місяців тому +2

      Most efficient way for us to use excess power here is to heat hot water, then run storage heaters.
      Anything else requires a massive financial investment.
      If we had a reliable water source we could have some sort of hydro power but that isn’t an option.

    • @offgridwanabe
      @offgridwanabe 11 місяців тому

      @@livingoffgridinscotland Water is the easiest to set up but sand will store higher temperature heat for long winters.

  • @offgridwanabe
    @offgridwanabe 11 місяців тому +1

    Many of the new Hybrid inverters have stolen our idea and now accept grid tied arrays as a direct connection along with built in MPPT controllers combined with a generator input so now it is all in one box.

    • @livingoffgridinscotland
      @livingoffgridinscotland  11 місяців тому +1

      Yes, problem is many of these new fangled inverters are made in China and no one fixes them…. I’ve got a combined inverter on my old system and it’s knackered

    • @offgridwanabe
      @offgridwanabe 11 місяців тому +1

      @@livingoffgridinscotland I've heard Deye is a good one for UK.