Random Renewables Thread

Yeah I'm in Swords and we'd typically have 1-2 unscheduled power cuts during the year. Only a few hours each thankfully

Last one was a few weeks back and we got to try out the battery. Ran extension leads and plugged in the fridge and internet router, laptops had enough battery to keep going but we could work in the kitchen if we fell short

I've got the 10kWh battery set to charge to 40% overnight just to ensure there's some useable energy in the morning, it came in handy that morning

Now I need to work on the unofficial fireman switch override to be able to get power from the panels in the event of an outage

I was speaking to the installer about doing it within regs, but the changeover switch needs to be within 2 metres of the front door, and my CU is way further than that

Also in swords too and have similarly experienced a 2-3 power cuts a year since my install. Glad I got changeover switch but the biggest issue and its nothing to do with Solar is broadband! As its probably going through some distribution cabinet somewhere else in the estate which also has no power we don't have any broadband or tv!!

So what I was told is that they can put a manual changeover switch which will swap the grid supply of your CU to the backup power from the inverter

There's a particular way it needs to be done, I think the changeover switch has to be after the main MCB in the CU, and before all the stuff you want to run. Otherwise you need a new meter tail which is a whole other job

It has to isolate the netral as well, which is what was my downfall. I was going to put the changeover switch in the meter cabinet where the existing switch is, but only the live runs through that switch so it wouldn't work, I'd need a new meter tail AFAIK

The installer told me the neutral need to be switched as well, I'm hoping they'd know their own hardware

But I'll ask the question anyway, always interesting to see if they answer with "ehhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Just off the phone with a company interested in the next stage of my journey to fully off grid. When the chap both a) used kilowatt and kilowatt hour correctly and b) suggested a victron quattro as the best new main hub of my system, I was inspired!

Will be installing a new ground mounted array facing due south, as a carport (ie off ground enough for cars to park under. - if you saw my photo of the funky cat that's the area where it will be) with as much array as I can get away with. Will be turning the existing solis hybrid into a string inverter, and getting a 15000VA quattro as the main control hub. That way everything goes through the quattro, no need for changeover switches etc.

I know they get a bad rap on forums sometimes because they are expensive - and they are - but you know what, they work and offer great plug and play functionality. The app is live, not a 5 minute snapshot like solis. It isnt going to consume grid energy to balance, as it will only be connected to the grid if excess power is needed, and also I can connect my generator at the same time as the grid, since the quattro can switch between the two.

This upgrade will likely put me to 16kWp of panels. I have another set of panels, approx 6kWp - on order to pair with a 5kW string inverter - ordered Jinko panels and some mounts on Ali Express. Am also waiting on approx 35kWh of additional storage, giving me around 52kWh or so total usable LFP storage, coupled with 120kWh of EVs on site and some lead acid UPS (which I've since moved out of the office and wired them in instead - thanks @unkel for the safety tip!)

Big year of improvements here. Solar and renewables is an addictive game, and I am still aiming towards that north star goal of mine, which is the removal of the ESBN connection altogether, regardless of cost.

The changes outlined above will bring me from 8.2kWparray /6kVa inverter/18kWh usable storage to approx 21kWp array/ 15kVa main inverter with 6kva and 5kva string inverters/52kWh storage. Not bad for year2.

Cheers. Yes it's a good goal to have and yes it is not going to be cost efficient, you can get 80% off grid pretty easily but the remaining 20% will be difficult . Its a mix of hobby and finance though. Like have a new bathroom ordered, no one asks for return on investment there for instance! Or spending money on a continental holiday - we're taking the tesla to france - no one asks for return on investment for that. At least with solar and storage theres an interest and a payback.

I also won't be going for an NC7, apparently theres a different way to go about supplementing your NC6 when you have software limited export to 25A. With the quattro installed I will aim to export zero. Not one unit.

I'll also be watching with interest, I'm hoping to do a significant upgrade to my system in a few years to go as close to grid independent as I feasibly can

I'm also fan of the Victron gear, they're pricey but if you look at any off grid setup it usually has a Quattro or a Multiplus at the centre of it

The Multiplus II is certified for the Irish grid settings AFAIK, but the Quattro II was having some issues so got delayed

There's a way around it by using a seperate anti islanding board if needed, it's just more work needed to program it and certify it

Same for the export limiting, it's all doable but it's more work for the installer and has a higher level of scrutiny, so they tend to just say it can't be done

One of my favourite things about Victron is the community. I'd definitely recommend heading over to their community page and taking a look, usually there's several people who have answers to any questions you have. It's a lot like here but with a global user base

I like how open they are as well with the software. For example there's full guides on Nose Red integration if you want to do some home automation. I think there's even a Docker image of their VRM server you can run in the likes of AWS or locally, so you can have remote monitoring without sending data to a 3rd party server

Did your installer say how they're going to install the grid isolation?

The 1st Gen Quattro needs an extra isolation switch which needs to be programmed with the Irish settings like the one below

The newer generation should be able to handle the Irish grid settings but Victron were having some issues with the larger Multiplus II inverters, so they only got certified recently

They haven't released the larger Quattro IIs yet, max available is 5kVA. So if you need more you either need to parallel a bunch of Quattro IIs or go with the Gen 1 Quattro

I'm guessing Elm will be using the Quattro in ESS config (you can probably tell I've been doing some research 😂)

It's pretty similar to the grid tied system like a Solis or Sofar. It'll do whatever it can to keep the input on AC2-im (the grid input) to 0W, including exporting when possible (zero export is possible AFAIK)

If it detects a grid failure it switches to off-grid mode, so isolates AC2-in and will kill anything on AC2-out which is the non critical output

Bit of a waste of a system that it only has one PV panel. With that structure they could easily have done 2 or 3 panels, with some sort of roof, which would have cost very little extra and then Johnny could charge up his mobile phone or laptop even on the darkest day of winter 😁

Yes he mentioned a genny. You can't go off grid in Ireland in a family home without a powerful generator.

"I approve this message!" - LOL

Jokes aside, it's an extremely financially dubious initiative, but one that I like to see people take. You're walking into this fully aware of the consequences of your actions, knowledgeable of the tech, vulnerabilities etc - so respect. I'd love to get more "off grid" myself, but all I've left is potentially a battery expansion to 25Kwh or so (from my existing ~9Kwh). Wind turbines, ground mounts, etc .....just not doable in a semi-detected in D16. There's more to life than simply money and people stepping up and trying to reduce/remove their carbon footprint as much as possible is a admirable goal in life. Unfortunately not everyone has the resources to go there, but even wanting to is moving in the right direction.

Do you know how much "head" (stop sniggering down there at the back!!) there is on the rain water and flow rates? You need a surprising amount of water to make anything useful sadly (i.e. more than 100watts) That lad Kris in wales is a good watch on youtube for ideas.