Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / NewStats: 3,191,553 members, 7,944,657 topics. Date: Monday, 09 September 2024 at 09:02 PM |
Nairaland Forum / Entertainment / TV/Movies / Satellite TV Technology / Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA (2280449 Views)
UPS Back-up, Also A Complement To FTA / FTA Frequency / Cctv Installation A Complement To Fta And Solar Energy (2) (3) (4)
(1) (2) (3) ... (411) (412) (413) (414) (415) (416) (417) ... (1803) (Reply) (Go Down)
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by nonoski: 1:41pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
Good day house, Please I have a lot of questions which I will appreciate the gurus to help me solve them. I currently have 15 panels 3.75kw in 3S5P connection. My Charge Controller is an Outback Flexmax 80A My Inverter is a MustPower 5kva (48v) My battery bank is 400a x 48v For flexmax 80 the maximum wattage for a 48v setup is 4000 watts (All connections were done by my humble self) From my calculation (using the Isc) the 5strings in parallel connection should have around 10.21A x 5 x 1.25= 63.8amps. However the best I have seen from my Log on my Charge Controller is 3.443KWp and 64.1Ap. (See attached Pic) Would it be wise for me to increase my panels from 15 (3.75kw) to 18 (4.5kw) since most times put out about 85% max of its rated power which is about 3900watts and about 76Amps? The main reason for this is that in Port Harcourt Sun is a luxury. Most part of the day is cloudy and from July to Sept when it will rain for 7 straight days I don wan to depend on PHED 2. Another major concern which I’m currently having is that the battery voltage on the Inverter is different from the Battery voltage on the charge controller. Initially they were the same but over time there have been a variance of about 2volts. Should I be worried? I have tried using the Vbatt Calibration setting on my Outback but can only reduce it to about -0.5v which is the maximum I can reduce it to. Picture 2 & 3 were taken at same time My Outback CC has a RTS Temperature sensor connected to it and the battery 3. My Inverter (Mustpower) shows 100% at when the battery gets to 52volts when I’m using solar to charge, duh its voltage keeps climbing till it gets to about 56.8v (58.8v on the Charge Controller) and drops to 53.6v when the CC gets into float mode. Please is this normal? Thanks guys for all your help
|
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by S007: 2:33pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
Saipro: bigrovar: Saipro: I think if used within their boundaries, the premium brand PWM CC will do a good job. Comparing xantrex, midnite with roy may be like comparing a Mercedes-Benz with keke. I am considering adding one more rule to my solar rule book. Thou shall not touch anything called 'roy'. 3 Likes |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by Saipro(m): 2:43pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
nonoski:Congratulations on rolling up your sleeves and getting into the thick of things. That's my preferred route. It also simplifies maintenance and troubleshooting. I'll attempt to help with my little knowledge base. In order of the questions, 1. You're safer going with ImP rather than IsC in your calculations. For a place with overcast skies, your instantaneous best recorded (might bel lesser than the best seen) is great. Expect no more and you wouldn't be disappointed; actual NOC values are usually lower ... much lower (assume 73 - 78% of ratings). Oversizing your array wouldn't be much of a hassle so long as you do not exceed the rated VoC of the FlexMax. 18 panels would be 4.5kWp of PV array. While it might not be the "cost effective" array size (depending on your battery bank size), if it makes economic sense to you, you're alright. Your FlexMax would hardly see beyond 3.5kW from that array size anyway. 2. I'm surprised there ever was a time your FlexMax and the Must inverter ever agreed (except on lower voltages. That, indeed, is an oddity. However, a 2V voltage drop suggests either significant loading of the inverter (based on battery bank sizing, again) or a drift in the calibration system of either (or rarely both) inverter or CC. I suspect you've learnt to place more loads on it even as you've discovered you at times have surplus power generation. A good voltmeter should inform you on which to trust (my money is on the FlexMax again). 3. Mine shows 100% on absorb voltages and 86 - 88% on float voltage (both the 24V & 48V Must inverters). Yours apparently recognises float as 100%. A wee bit preferable to mine but neither is accurate. Do not rely on it, ever. There's more to capacity estimation than mere voltage readings as it dynamically changes with loading percentage. The load % counter/meter is however pretty accurate across all models I've seen. It's the only thing you can really count on - up to around 35 - 50% loading. Right there (and beyond that), the inverter becomes more "efficient" (a paradox). At that point however, some older models might show waveform distortion. 3 Likes |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by Saipro(m): 2:45pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
S007: You've told it as it is! I'm yet to see an installer worth his salt use anything "Roy". |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by zeestone99(m): 3:13pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
bigrovar: Wen issue happens now, egbon ll call installer n complain. 1 Like |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by Ativ: 3:26pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
Saipro: The UPSs that died had problems with their circuits due to unstable power supply. Their batteries were fine. Recently, there was a transient power surge that damaged the power supply of the protected equipment before the fuse of the UPS blew. |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by Saipro(m): 4:10pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
Sounds like you might need to invest in an AVS +/- surge arrestor |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by BLS1: 4:17pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
Hello great house, please I need some advice. I have been on a 12v backup system for a while with a hardworking used Ritar 150 amp 10hr battery which has served me fine for 2 years with little degradation noticed in performance. No solar just NEPA for charging. Now I recently got a used 200amp 20hr FullRiver battery, which had been left uncharged for a considerable while ( probably years) but looks in perfect condition. However once fully charged I noticed a few things about the FR battery: It's float is lower than the Ritar once unplugged ( 13.2 vs 12. and it capacity with load seemed to be only 85% of the Ritar ( I usually disconnect any battery once the voltage drops to 12.1). Now I have been solely running on the FR for almost 2 weeks now and it does seem its capacity to bear load is improving and float rising slightly ( almost 12.9). Now my intention has always been to connect both batteries in parallel and use them together. But since it's clear the FR wasn't performing to its best , I decided I would get a desulphator to hopefully get the Float on the FR more in sync with the Ritar before I join them together. But I read a recent exchange between Oga Niyi and Keikei and i am now wondering if a battery balancer would be a better solution or if it would even work with the 12v parallel system I have in mind?? My main fear is I don't want the Ritar battery pulled down permanently by its supposed elder brother the FR. Please all suggestions on how best to get the best out of the 2 batteries will be much appreciated. And kudos to everyone on here as I have gained soo much from all of you already. |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by BLS1: 4:22pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
BTW they are both VRLA batteries with the Ritar being a slimline. |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by JUO(m): 4:42pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
@ nonoski if i were you i will use the reading on flexmax |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by JUO(m): 4:44pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
JUO: |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by DMerciful(m): 4:45pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
whatsapp me for 40A Atracer cc at best price. see my signature. godspeed: |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by Ativ: 4:58pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
Saipro: Thanks. |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by nonoski: 5:07pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
Saipro: Thanks for ur response The reason I'm going throu this route is that the panels are 41m away from the CC using 16mm2 flex and there's space for 3 extra panels. So it will be more economical adding to the existing than getting a new cc and wiring another 45m between CC and PVs
|
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by nonoski: 5:29pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
JUO:Thank you I have reached that conclusion since coz between Outback (Premium brand) and Mustpower I will rather go with Outback |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by pranil(m): 8:16pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
godspeed: If it is only two weeks old I would suggest to check if the seller will replace it ( inverter+ CC) with one of Luminous or Prag hybrid inverters ( even by adding few thousand nairas) That may be cheaper and easier in the short run and the products are optimized for each other so no additional fiddling is required https:///luminous-850va-12v-solar-hybrid-1-unit-wetcell-battery-220ah-12v-3636947 ideally, the product you need in your case is Luminous regalia) unfortunately still not sold in Nigeria ( sellers in the house - Any takers ? ) I have at least 3-4 buyers https://www.luminousindia.com/regalia/ For those of you who may not be aware Luminous is now owned and operated by SCHINDER electric ( merger got completed in 2017) http://www2.schneider-electric.com/documents/press-releases/en/shared/2017/01/release-acquisition-luminous-2017.pdf |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 8:17pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
I have used and bought and sold at least 6 different flavors of MustPower inverters - all the ones that I have had access to are very inaccurate with their voltage readings and SoC estimations both under charge and discharge conditions. It is even a wonder how they are able to absorb correctly given the circuit inefficiencies but by my checks they do a reasonable enough job. Like Oga Saipro said, you should get a decent multimeter to verify the true battery voltage and calibrate the Fangpusun FlexMax CC with that - it comes out of the box pretty accurate but I had a unit once that was 0.7volts off and I was able to offset it by that amount to bring it on point. nonoski: |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by pranil(m): 8:23pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
ayinba1:Not at all. more the merrier In electric substation ( high voltages ) we use more than 10 earth pits ( 3 to 10-meter deep earth rod) and create a whole mesh of copper flat connecting them buried @ 500 to 600 mm deep below earth so the short circuit currents can sink in 2 Likes
|
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by pranil(m): 8:36pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
S007: Although to be fair I am using two ROY charge controllers in my current setup and they are doing their job wonderfully. .... Keeping the generator starter batteries charged with 20 Watt panels What did I buy ROY -- Their colours matched my generator body so easy for me to know which CC is charging the gen And their USB output is also wonderful - I run a Small LED LAMP on them and the Garner is happy charging his phone . What more can you ask for 9000 NGN 2 Likes |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 8:56pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
If you are keeping your system voltage at 12v then you can easily combine the Ritar and FullRiver batteries in parallel even though they have different Ah capacities. If your parallel battery connections are properly done you will not need a balancer since batteries in parallel naturally balance out (charge will flow from higher voltage battery to lower voltage battery over time). As for desulphators I am pretty skeptical of their ability to resolve hard sulphation in batteries but in your scenario where the battery seems to be responding to use and recharge (recharging a battery properly is actually desulphation), it would not hurt to add one on to help things along. Be careful though as I have some evidence that desulphators ruin the cbarging circuitry in MustPower type inverters - dunno about other brands. If you still want to acquire desulphators, I have leftovers from the days I still believed in them - 12v × 3pcs and 48v × 2pcs. The brand is PowerPulse - marketed as being heavily used by the US military in all their Lead Acid batteries. Interestingly, I have thesame desulphator in my cars and the batteries seem to fire sharply forever until they eventually conk off. To use the desulphator in deep cycle applications above 12v I have thought of a work around where in a 48v system for example, one attaches three 12v desulphators to three out of four batteries leaving one battery out and rotates the desulphators along to cover the excluded battery from time to time - this way you will get the benefits of desulphation without the high voltage spikes that could ruin your inverter circuitry if it is sensitive to voltage spikes BLS1: 1 Like
|
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by S007: 9:26pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
pranil: I am rolling on the floor.... On a more serious note I suggest that wonderful people on this forum start compiling the rules/commandments of RE installation in Nigeria. It has been over 400 amazing pages of discussion spanning over 9 years |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by nonoski: 9:29pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
NiyiOmoIyunade:It's actually an Outback Flexmax 80A. I go it from US. I was made to understand that Fangpusun is a Chinese clone (don't know how true it is) duh I couldn't find and reviews of Fangpusun online |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 9:55pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
Oh I see. Perhaps that explains the calibration limitation you have then with the original FlexMax. I thought it was the Fangpusun clone you had. You should get a decent multimeter to establish an accurate voltage reference point then you can be properly guided if any calibration of your CC is needed and by how much. nonoski: |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by kiekie1(m): 9:57pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
Nice video clip which also has information on battery series/parralel connections for newbies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMns62-ZVDc 1 Like |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 10:08pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
When I was mentioning usage scenarios this is what I had in mind - the Roy Solar would excel as a maintenance charger for a starter battery or similar trickle charging scenario but definitely struggle to cope in a deep cycle application unless the power requirements in that application were very tiny. pranil: |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by S007: 11:34pm On Jun 10, 2018 |
pranil: @Oga Pranil. Thanks a lot for your useful insight. I have benefited a lot from your contributions. I am not an expert in this particular section of Electrical eng., so I stand to be corrected. Grounding/Bonding is a critical part of RE installation which many people often neglect. I am not an installer but I have seen quite many installations. In most cases, grounding/Bonding is non-existent. In very few cases where it is available, it is not properly done. The grounding cable is usually too small and the terminations are always horrible. As far as I remember, introducing another ground rod is not fault proof if not properly done. Most home installations In Nigeria have their neutral to ground bond done at the distribution board in the house and connected to a grounding electrode which is buried. If another ground rod is introduced anywhere in the building then it is recommended to connect the two earth/ground rod together to force them to be at the same potential all the time. In many cases, this is not practical as it is dificult to locate where the first earth rod is buried. If this is not done, then the very step potential we are trying to run away from could cause severe fault current to loop between the two earth points and connected equipment and cause damage. Concerning grounding, I think each inverter should be taken on its own merit. I know that some transformer based inverter(premium brands) have their AC side electrically isolated from the DC side. Some do not. Many transformerless inverters do not have this feature. Some inverters have ground switching features.The grounding requirements for each type will be slightly different. For sure, the manual of a good brand will clearly state the requirements. This subject of grounding may appear small and trivial but it is very huge. Having said all these, I think extra ground/small ground/poor ground is far better than No ground. Again, I stand to be corrected. 4 Likes |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by MAboyarin: 8:06am On Jun 11, 2018 |
Good morning, Please, what is the function of "customized" under charger control of Cyber power 1.2 KVA inverter as shown below? Thanks. Cc: kiekie1 GeorgeD1 makavele pranil NiyiOmoIyunade bigrovar Saipro JUO DMerciful BRIGHTSOLAR
|
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by kiekie1(m): 8:13am On Jun 11, 2018 |
MAboyarin: Good morning MAboyarin, I havnt really tampered with that setting but with experience, I feel its the usual 10/20a selectable charge current switch , whilst the second is the wide(INVERTER) & narrow(UPS) AC input switch .kindly go through it's manual if still available OR rather get a DC clamp meter and monitor its charge current activity on low battery whilst charging .. I stand to be corrected if their is any user of this same modified sinewave cyberpower inverter in the house ! Cheer's |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by MAboyarin: 12:03pm On Jun 11, 2018 |
I will search for the manual and revert back. Thanks a lot. kiekie1: |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by GeorgeD1(m): 12:19pm On Jun 11, 2018 |
hello maboyarin, i used to have the cyberpower cps5000pro (5kva) eu model but that was sold like a year ago. it didn't have that feature you're talking about. i'm sorry i can't be of help. |
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by ebocoms: 2:27pm On Jun 11, 2018 |
@NiyiOmoIyunade cc @dapsyra Kindly help check if the attached drawing is OK as described by your steps stated below for the installation of the meter. Also the position of Breaker B. Thank you. NiyiOmoIyunade: 1 Like
|
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 3:22pm On Jun 11, 2018 |
Yes you are on point. This illustration is beautifully done - far better than my scatter diagram - please what software/tool are you using to make the diagrams? Two things I would add; 1) Keep the jumper cable between battery negative and battery side of the shunt as SHORT and THICK as possible. When I used a meter such as this I paralleled two short lengths of 16MM to make my jumper cable. 2) Don't forget the 2W/3W jumper pins that Oga Pranil mentioned in case the meter does not come on at first try. The jumper pins are pretty close to the +Vn switch where you attach the red wire coming from battery positive to the shunt near the battery side. The applicable scenario is the first one on the manual I believe - the option with no external separate power supply. ebocoms: 1 Like |
(1) (2) (3) ... (411) (412) (413) (414) (415) (416) (417) ... (1803) (Reply)
FTA Live Football Matches Announcement Thread / Free To Air Satellite Tv General Thread
Viewing this topic: Gshems, obitobe and 1 guest(s)
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 129 |