solar

Hi again

In a previous post I shared the scheme of my Van electrical system. It is almost set now, but I have some small doubts...

https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/33770/van-solar-electric-scheme-24v-and-12v.html?childToView=33841#answer-33841

Mostly about Negative / Ground

here I share a scheme with three options on how to connect Orion 12/24 to the negative busbar
which one is more correct?

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many thanks

Hi there, community!

I wanna charge my campers’ leisure batteries both via the alternator (Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC Charger Isolated) and solar (SmartSolar 100 / 20 20A MPPT). Can I use both products simultaneously? Thanks!

Beste,

Ik heb thuis een multiplus II GX aangesloten op het Net met een 10Kw lithium batterij.

Alles in mooi aangesloten zoals het in de manual beschreven staat en het systeem werkt ook gewoon perfect, Maar nu is de keuring langs geweest om het systeem te keuren en dat wilde hij niet doen omdat de omvormer in serie was aangesloten met het electriciteitsnet en niet in parallel. (Ik vertelde hem dat dit systeem enkel maar in serie kan worden aangesloten en dat alle meet apparatuur vanbinnen in de multiplus aanwezig is, en dat dit toestel aan alle veiligheids voorzieningen voldoet en gekeurd is door Synergrid belgie)

Kan iemand mij helpen met info of voorbeelden van iemand anders die dit ook zo gedaan heeft thuis, zodat ik dit kan voorleggen aan de keurder? Of heb ik zelf iets over het hoofd gezien?

In bijlage de schets van hoe het is aangesloten:

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Met vriendelijke groeten

Aaron

I have had this problem both small (just one Victron SmartSolar 75/15 in a van) and large (large offgrid installation with Multiplus and Cerbo GX)

The problem is that you remove the battery because of an external reason, or the battery disconnects itself by the BMS, connected devices are still powered directly by solar. Which leads to unpredicting results. Not only from safety point of few, but also for the devices possibly not getting enough power and acting weird.

So in most cases you want the solar power to disconnect as well. I am thinking what the best way is to do this?

On my larger installation is a larger SmartSolar 250/85, which has a remote input (and no load output). This I want to let disconnect by a relais when the BMS kicks in and disconnects the battery. That way the system will go down. Is that the proper way? Perhaps there is an application note or some other document about this.

On the smaller system, the SmartSolar doesn't feature a remote input, so I should probably have a contactor/relay between solar and load output.

Hi - my single frustration with the system I have is that once my batteries are charged my solar during the day (typically 3500w) reduces and any excess is pulled from the grid - can this be solved… (I am not a technician or solar expert but this was installed recently by a “solar expert”)

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i

Hi All. I'm going to install my set, having 4 100/30 each one connected only to a single 450W PV, in a 12v installation. This is already discussed in a previous discussion, and this approach is for the shadows managing and also for the cost and redundancy, beeing better 4 than 1 regulator.

I wonder if, in order to save cabling from 4 to 1, and routing and path (it is thin and strechy), I can connect all the PV negatives to a single 1 cable negative in the PV side, with a section 4 times AWG previuosly selected, and way this to reach all the regulators site, where I will spread again each negative to every regulator PV- input

Positive cables will run independiently , 4 .

Can be possible?

Is there any cons, apart from that if I added new panels I must to run new negatives?

Thanks

Hi. Just wondering whether or not there is any difference in terms of functionality and remote control between Smartsolar VE Direct and VE Can products. Is there anyone that have some experience with both that can explain?

Thanks in advance for your help

I've got a 160W portable solar panel feeding a Victron SmartSolar 75/15, which charges a 12V LifePO4 lithium battery (with its own battery management system).

I've rewired the solar panel in series to reduce voltage drop over a long extension, so that it now has an open circuit voltage of 44V, and an operating output of 36V and 4.4A. The panels have bypass diodes so I believe that should help with shading. If I shade one panel then it should have an output of 18V and 4.4A.

It works fine sometimes. But other times if I just partly shade one panel the SmartSolar app shows its input is around 40V, but the current is only 0.1A. I thought maybe the SmartSolar has a delay in making a change, for some reason, but I've watched it for over a minute and it doesn't improve.

Can anyone explain what's going on here?

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Hello,

I installed an external temp sensor to cool the controller through fans in case it reaches 40°C.

Therefore I noticed that the internal temp sensor always shows 6° too much, no matter if it's day or night.

Yes, I double checked the external sensor electronics with another temp meter - they show the same...

Is there any way to recalibrate the sensor of the controller to get accurate measurements?

Thanks a lot in advance and happy sun ray hunting,

Flow

I have a 3 bank battery charger on my boat. I have connected my SmartSolar MPPT 100/50 to a Victron FET battery Isolator. I have several questions that I would like to talk / email with technical support.
1) Is this a recommended installation configuration?
2) Is there a problem using this configuration. The controller is only powered when the solar panels can supply power. This is not a perfect situation, but liveable.
2) The Diode in the Victron Isolator prevents battery current from keeping power to the MPPT controller. I do not wish to direct connect a battery to the common terminal on the isolator as this will result in the common connected battery to charge downstream batteries. If a downstream battery fails, this would bring unsatisfactory results. Is there a way to use the alternator energizer to power the controller? Is there another method?
3) If I could get an email address, I could send more detail system schematic for consideration.

Hello,

Currently I have a solar controller Sunware Fox 320.

This controller can load 2 different batteries, currently the starter battery for 10 minutes und the consumer battery for 50 minutes.

Is there a similar controller in the viltron portfolio?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards

Jens

Howdy! I'm looking for a little help as I've figured out the beginning and end of my solar set-up but it seems like there's multiple ways to fill out the middle. I was originally piecing together a build based off of youtube but I like the idea of a mostly victron system where I can still cheap out on a couple of the components.

---

Here's what I'm working with so far:

• 4* 400W solar panels (50.4V / 10.18A)
• 24v Lithium battery bank

My panels are going to be wired in series so I've been eyeing up the EasySolar II since it seems capable of handling the 200v input from the panels. I will be using 120VAC and 12VDC in the bus so I need to figure out the best way to handle the 240VAC output from an easy solar II unit.

Alternatively, it seems like I could just get a 250|70 mppt solar controller and work that into a cheaper 2000W 24V inverter connected to a battery monitor and then the battery bank.

Will there be a 120v easysolar ii coming out? Is there a different product(s) that makes better sense for assembling my system?

Side question: how feasible/complicated/expensive would it be to integrate my 24v solar power system with the 12v system of the schoolbus?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

Hey Folks,

Appreciate you stopping by. I’m new to this area, but I’ve done a bit of research to solution for various other issues.. That said, i now am a bit stumped and would appreciate some help.

Background on my set up:

• 180w NewPowa solar panel x2 (Run in parallel & Fully tested before and after install)
• Victron MPPT Controler 100| 30
• Battle Born LiFePO4 (lithium) 100Ah 12v battery x3 (total 300Ah) run in parallel
• Victron BMV 712 Smart Monitor

Configuration for Victron systems:

Pictured below are my key setting configurations for my set up. I used the manual as well as some other threads to determine my settings.

Settings for the 100| 30 Controler :

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Settings for the 712 Smart Monitor:

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Questions/Concerns:

1. Based on my Whole electric system, does my configuration above seem to be accurate or are there pieces that I should re-evaluate?
2. Today and yesterday (during the day) my system has been stuck in ”Bulk”, which from what I read, means that the batteries are low and the system will bring in large amounts of power to charge them. The issue is that the batteries are very close to being fully charged. (below is some data from the app showing that I’m stuck on float) . I think its important to point out that I have been able to put a load on this and see my numbers and battery voltage adjust but I continue to stay in “bulk” . What could be causing this?

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3. Possibly related to #2, today during a sunny day, my solar panels were barely bringing in any watts 30-50w range, while in bulk model. My battery on the monitor was at 95% or 13.4v but it didnt seem like it was going up at all. Any reason why this was happening?

Any help is greatly appreciate. Happy to provide more details around certain aspects.

Here are some additional data grabs...

Below is a picture from the monitor today while having a slight load on it (fan, heater, lights):

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Here’s a picture of the van when I bought it.. It’s changed a lottttt since then.

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Hello,

If anyone could tell me what is the name of the plug/connector type model I would be much happier person :-)

I did check documentation also looked at different connector types and could not find a simple thing - what is the connector type model. I also can't find Victron cable that is meant for this port.

Here is the photo of the port itself:

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Earlier today, right before noon, my main solar panel array on SmartSolar 150/100 stopped producing power. My smaller one (100/30) is still working. It was decently windy today, but my panels have survived much worse. I walked the cable and everything appears fine. Open circuit at the panels is 114v, right before the MPPT is 74v after a 150foot aluminum cable run. When I connect it to the MPPT, the panel voltage drops to that of the battery voltage and there is zero amperage. I tried resetting it, disconnecting and reconnecting it, etc. Does anyone know what the problem could be? This has bee working great producing 3k+ watts for the past few months. Here's a screenshot of when the failure occurred - is this a hardware issue?

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Hello, my mmpt smartsolar 100/20 indicates a nominal pv power of 580w.

I don't understand why is this value indicated as the datasheet indicated that maximum current will be limited at 20A and maximum voltage supported is 100v.

Then maximum power should be 2000w.

So why is there a limit of 580w indicated?

nominal pv power means that sum of WC of each pannel should be lass than this value right ?

Hi I want to update my solar installation. It is in a boat, alway anchored,so she is moving all the time around the anchor. Weather is always tropical, close to the ecuador

To update it, I though to set 2 solar panel, 450W each one, in series, 900W. Voc= 49.27 and Vmp=41,37 I want to use MPPT 100/50. If I set the panels in series, Voc total is = 98,54v. It will be 2 sets, 2 regulators, 4 panels, and total 1800W. If I use bigger regulators, I should go to 150/60, so I will double the budget, as I will have 2 sets

Please my questions:

1º - PV MPPT 100/50 limit is 100v. Can it be keep it below limit with stated above, keeping in mind that the PV would be always between 15ºC and 60, and I can assume that it will be some lost in 6 cable meters and joins?. And important too, in a boat, with my old installation, I never reached maximums, as the boat is always moving around the anchor, so there is no a optimal and fix orientation towards the sun, and there are some few objects (mast, aerogen, radar), which cast shadows to the PVs?. E.G., in my old I have 500W, but never got more that 340W( 14vx24A), with sun at zenit

2º In the same way, what is the tolerance +/- of the 100v limit for the regulator? Within the manual, there is nothing about it. I meant, if the real limit is 120v, it will be safe I guess.

3º Can I put in paralell the 450w PV increasing AWG cable but lowering the max voltage? I guess in a MPPT would be not suitable do that?

4º Can I set a voltage limitator for 100V just in the inbound of the regulator?. Maybe some kind of varistor.

5º I tried to use the victron excel tool, but I couldn't as per there is some problem if you open it using open office (xlsm format), and I cant use with excel 2003. I tried with opencpn, but it was overflow (value!), when I tried to set parameters, and a new PV , custom. Any idea?

Thanks for your time, BR

Hi there,

I have a van that I am building out and trying to straighten some things out in my system as I design for kitchen.

The basics:

• I have 400W of solar on roof.
• I have 200ah Lithium Ion in battery bank. (I ran some calcs early on and was looking at ~180ah of use per day, so 200ah seemed doable. I left a space open to drop in another if needed.)
• I have the 3000W 12 V MultiPlus Inverter Charger. (Some of my calculated items pulled a good bit of wattage (hot water kettle=1k W, induction stove ~1-1.8k W) so I figured Ok lets do the 3k W.)

I am hitting a lot of points where the inverter just won't budge though. Sometimes I'll be at a good charge say 75 - 80% of capacity and the inverter light will switch to "low battery" when I turn on the 1k watt hot water kettle. Really, at 1kW? No go. If I start the car, the kettle works. I haven't even bought the induction stove yet since I'm running into these issues.

I saw somewhere that potentially I would need at least 3 x 100ah batteries just to give enough current to the 3K W Inverter to do its thing. Is that right??

I'm hesitant to drop another $1k on a battery, although I would do it if it let me run my whole setup with the induction stove smoothly. It starts to worry me though that maybe I couldn't fill the 300ah battery bank fully with only 400W of solar. I've heard good rule of thumb is 200W solar per 100ah battery charge. I have enough room on the roof for another 50V panel..maaaybe 100W. So I'd be at 450W-500W, not the ideal 2:1 ratio. I do have an Orion that charges while I drive... so there is that. I would hardly ever be parked anywhere for days on end without moving. This is mostly a family extended trip mobile. Going for several days up to 2 months at a time remote work/travel trips. I also have a shore power hookup but don't plan on relying on that for steady refill, more of an emergency backup thing if in a pinch.

The other option would be to just swap out the 3k W inverter charger for the smaller 2k W inverter charger - if that is in fact a more appropriate current draw on 200ah batteries- not buy another battery, and just go propane setup for the kitchen stove instead of the induction stove. Thoughts? What say ye?

Recap:

1. Could my 3kW inverter charger (and solar setup) function smoothly with an additional 100ah battery and be able to supply for induction stove? Or
2. Cutting it too close and best to go to 2k W inverter charger + propane setup?

Hey! Please advise, it is possible:

• We have a stable input 230V 100A (sometimes there are blackouts)
• We want to supply Quattro 48/10000 and connect PV ≤9kW via controller MPPT 250*100 *2 pcs
• The battery will always be charged.
• Maximum load on AC output-1 ≤ 7kW
• Maximum load on AC output-2 ≤ 10kW (when the input network is available)

Q1: Will solar energy be shared between AC Out #1 and AC Out #2?

Q2: If the consumption is small during large PV generation, is it possible to set up a power discharge to the grid?

Q3: Do I understand correctly that when AC Input #1 disappears, AC Out #2 will automatically turn off?

Thank!

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I purchased this system (https://dakotalithium.com/product/dakota-lithium-12v-200ah-battery-plus-zamp-solar-panel-and-victron-bundle/) with an additional 170w solar panel. I will be running a cooper and Hunter mini split 12,000 btu at 120v. considering misc items plugged in for charging what size (kw) electric water heater can I get away with. Also the inverter can be switched to put out 240 @ 60Hz. With that being change will I still be able to operate the mini split. I can get additional 100Ah batteries if needed. Please help.

Good day all,

Apologies if this has been asked and answered already. I have been searching for a couple of days now and not been able to find the answer yet.

I am in the process of upgrading and installing new batteries as well as a larger solar array on my boat.

I have bought 3* 220ah Victron deep cycle gel batteries.

My solar so far consists of two 365W panels with a Voc of 41.13V and Vmp of 33.96. the current ratings are 11.30 lsc to 10.75lmp per panel.

My plan is to connect these in series. I will be adding some more solar to these, probably 2 150W panels at a later stage.

According to the information I have been given and my calculations, the max carging current for the batteries will be 44A.

My question is this:

I have been advised to get the 150/85 MPPT controler for this as it can take up to 1200W for a 12V system. Is this really needed if I need to limit the charging current to 44A. Will a smaller MPPT better/worse for the charging of the batterie bank? or will it make no difference?

Kind thank you in advance.

Pieter Jordaan

I would like to put this out to the community to see if I am missing anything in the way I currently have my system wired before I power everything up

12VDC side

Batteries

I have 10 battleborn lithium batteries divided into two banks interconnected with 4/0 cables.

Each banks positive goes through a 400 amp class t fuse then through a battery disconnect and over to a 1000 amp buss bar.

Each negative goes through a smart shunt and then to a 1000 amp buss bar.

Cables are within inches of being the same length slight variance due to placement of switches

Inverters 2 Multiplus 120v 3000

Each inverter positive and negative go directly to the the buss bars using two 2/0 for both pos and neg

Each inverter casing is grounded to the motorhome chassis local to the inverters

Cables are the same length

Charge controllers 100/50 x 4

Each pair of solar panels go through din rail pos & neg breakers to the PV input on the controllers over 10awg wire. The wire calculator I used was border line 10 or 12 so I went 10

Each output of the controllers battery side goes through a din rail pos & neg breakers then on to the buss bars over 6 awg wire

Charge controller chassis grounds are daisy chained and terminate on the motorhome chassis at the same point as the inverters

Cables are the same length.

Motorhome DC distribution

I am using the existing motorhome 3/0 inverter cables to supply voltage back to the original battery compartment where the original chassis ground is, dc distribution and alternator cables go to.

AC 120v 50amp

AC comes in from either shore power or the generator through the transfer switch over to a double pole 50 amp breaker then the ac is split into two circuits 1 going to each inverter.

AC1 out on each inverter is fed to another 50 amp double pole breaker and then continues to the main AC distribution panel for the motorhome each inverter feeding one leg of that distribution panel

AC cabling is within a couple feet of being the same length. Not sure how critical the symmetry is when running separate legs of the ac panel since the inverters will not share each other’s load.

Is there anything I am missing here?

Thanks Richard

I have a project that requires an off-grid battery storage and inverter solution. I have a 120vac 10amp load that needs to be brought off grid. I don't care which battery config (12vdc, 24vdc, etc.), but if I can manage it, I would like for this entire project to be purchased from one vendor (ie Victron). They only thing I would like to incorporate that I already have is the Yangtze solar panels listed below.

More details:

Load: 120vac, 10amp

Solar Panels: https://www.yangtze-power.com/solar-panel/monocrystalline-solar-panel/380w-72cells-perc-mono-solar-panel.html

Calculations I'm using for reference: https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/tools/solar-calculator.html

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Hi everyone,

Is it possible two use two Multiplus in a three phase system with a seperate battery bank for each Multiplus.

Each battery bank has its own BMS. And should be charged/discharged by its Multiplus individually.

I already have one Multiplus running in a solar setup with ESS and three phase energy meter on the grid. The Multiplus is connected to the Venus GX. It's connected to the first phase on the grid side.

Now I want to add another Multiplus with its own battery bank to have more capacity and redundancy. This shall be connected to the second grid phase.

Can I setup both Multis individually? Will the ESS take into account the two Multis for calculation of phase compensations?

Hi -

I have an RV and am looking to consume Solar first then the grid or have the Solar off set the grid.

I’ve done research but can’t seem to find clear guidance on how / what needs to be done for my system in order to prioritize Solar over the Grid and would appreciate any help.

My system:

Multi - 3000kva/120v

CCGX

SmartSolar MPPT 100/50

6 - 100w Panels

440A AGM Batteries - 12v

BMV-712

Overall, I want to offset the grid consumption with any available Solar.

Thanks!

Hello VE community.

I am a solar developer professional but not as technical as I pretend ...
I have a personal project to create a "Solar Portable Box" with Lithium batteries to run amplifier and speakers in remote areas with a MiltiPlus 800VA + SmartSolar 75/15.

If I have no doubts regarding the functionality in "Off-grid" mode, I would like to know if I can :

(1) - Do a rapid charge of the batteries from a wall power outlet without waiting from solar.
(2) - In order to amortize the costs, use the solar box to inject energy (solar + battery) at my place in self-consumption using a wall power outlet of the house. The grid would take the peaks and back-up. I don't want to perform some BTM cabling each week end.

If both of these on-grid modes work, I would really appreciate your support with the AC ports to use and eventual settings to be adjusted (if any).

Thank you very much for your support
Romain

I have connected everything according to the instructions. When not connected to the car, the solar is coming in via a voltage relay switch. In the app it's showing 19 volts coming from the solar panel and I'm get the error: 'charging disabled' and 'remote input not activated'.

Am I doing something wrong? Do I need a regulator to bring that voltage from the solar panel down? What am I supposed to do with the jumper?

Help greatly appreciated.

Regards

Chris

I'm planning an installation for a small workshop in a location where grid power is limited (230V/10A). There will be a constant load (heat pump) plus peak loads for a short period of time (say up to 6kW nominal power for a minute or so, when power tools are being used). I would like to supplement the available grid power with batteries for those peak loads.

I found the MultiPlus (48/5000/70-100) and it seems that its PowerAssist feature is exactly what I need. So far so good.

But — I could also add a small amount of solar to the mix. And that's where I don't understand things anymore.

Ideally, I'd like this ordering of power sources:

1. Use as much solar as is available at the moment.

2. Use the AC grid connection to pull up to 10A.

3. Use the batteries for anything on top of that.

But it seems that the MultiPlus does not have a separate DC connection for a solar power source. I found a system example (https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/MultiPlus-system-example-5KW-24V-230V-AC.pdf) which is fairly close to what I want, but it seems that the output of the MPPT controller is connected directly to the batteries. It seems to me that in this system, if I configure the PowerAssist feature, the solar source can only supplement battery charging and supplement the power peaks over the 10A I can pull from the grid, but it can't participate in small loads if the batteries are fully charged?

I would like to avoid discharging the batteries as much as possible, to extend their lifetime. They should be used only for supplementing peak power above what grid+solar can supply at the moment.

Additionally, I do not understand this example: I thought batteries need to be charged according to a charging profile, and it seems like there are two chargers connected to the same batteries. How does one ensure proper charging?

I think what I was expecting was an inverter/charger with separate connections for battery and for DC in (from solar/wind), with source prioritization.

Can this kind of prioritization be done with the MultiPlus?

Hi, I have an existing grid-tied SMA inverter (SMA 5000TL) and 2 strings of 13 panels for total of 6.5kW. I want to add storage and am considering the QUATTRO with 4 x Pylontech US3000 batteries (@48V nom).

The main aim of the exercise is to be self-sufficient in case of extended/indefinate grid outage. I am no expert, but my reading suggests that the Victron QUATTRO would provide a mini-grid on the AC-OUT-1 and that the SMA solar inverter would run 'normally' on this channel regardless of whether the grid was connected or not.

Assuming that the above is correct, would the SMA inverter connected in this way be a stable and reliable configuration. I ask this because I have read some posts/articles that indicate that there are situations where the inverter may go over-voltage and shutdown the QUATTRO.

Is this a potential problem, and what would be the recommended way to deal with this?

Note, the loads would include 1000W and 1500W pumps (bore pump etc), inverter aircon, fridges and freezers, lighting and misc.

thank you,

Ron

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I just installed my Victron system. I have the multi 3000 with a smart dongle, smart solar 100/50 mppt, 1000amp smart shunt, and 420ah of safari ut 1300 lithium’s. Up top I have 4 200w panels wired in series parallel dumping 45ish volts and 25ish amps into the mppt, but coming out to the batteries at the terminals on the mppt, it’s on 8ish amps. Not sure if my setting are off? I’ve googled until my fingers are raw.