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Apollo
02-21-2014, 10:09 AM
I have rain barrels, an Organic Garden, Japanese Quail, Food Stockpile and a Aquaponic System. One of my biggest concerns when the SHTF is, the lack of electricity for my AP and myself. I know that this is a little off subject...but I'll give it a try.

I have a large solar system on my home, it's tied to the grid with no batteries to back it up, I do have a large generator that I want to use somehow to activate the converter when the grid goes down.

Do you know of a way to use either a few batteries or a generator to fire up the converter and allow it to work from sunrise to sunset? The converter gets power from the power company start and shuts down auto during daylight hours. I was thinking if the grid goes down during the day, I could flip off the main breaker and use an alternate power source to activate the converter. Once the converter starts making electricity, then back feed that electric to the converter breaker and I should have 100% solar power. I know that there is a automatic shut off switch that trips when the grid goes down, so no electric will harm the line men. With my main breaker off, if I can supply the safety switch with 110 volts it should than activate the converter to produce solar power. This could benefit thousands of households with solar panels when the grid is down.

Thanks

Samaka
02-24-2014, 06:50 AM
I bet their are folks in the DIY arduino communities making stuff like that. http://dangerousprototypes.com/2013/10/ ... ontroller/ (http://dangerousprototypes.com/2013/10/22/arduino-solar-charge-controller/)

Arduino is an open-source circuit board that is used for all different kinds of applications. I even heard of one guy creating a smart phone app that connect to an arduino circuit board that was connect to multiple sensors and controls attached to a home aquaponics system.

The above link doesn't answer your specific question but there may be someone in this community who has or is willing to figure it out. If you find some good aquaponic solutions please come back and share.

I'm starting to build a 512 sq foot trough system from friendly aquaponics and eventually want to it to become an off-grid solar panel system. When I get to that point I'll have more info to share.

dead_sled
02-24-2014, 12:16 PM
Do you have a digital copy of the manual for the converter? I need some more information about the unit to answer your question. It may need a few relays to make that happen.

Apollo
02-24-2014, 12:57 PM
I don't have any paperwork on the converter, this is a lease solar system. Not sure if Sun Power will even release the info. I'm on my lunch break about the best I can do for now is to send you this. I will try to find out more info after work.

PS Thanks...If I build an electric core from my generator to the RV plug which is wired to the main electric panel. The line would have a diode to stop feed back to the generator and a regulator to smooth out the pulsating current from the generator. I need to figure out how to get solar electric back to the breaker that feed the converter, to prevent it from shutting down the converter when generator or grid power is turned off.

dead_sled
02-25-2014, 09:24 AM
I am leaning toward the answer, its not going to work. I think the converter uses the incoming power source to measure and match the voltage and frequency of your supply power. This converter needs to be connected to the grid to work. The power consumption in your house is vairable and the converter dumps all the extra power into the grid. If it is not grid tied, where will the extra power be dumped? I am guessing that operating the unit "untied" would cause problems.

Oliver
02-25-2014, 08:28 PM
I am having a little difficulty following this thread.

I believe that you may be using the wrong terminology.

A Converter is a device that takes AC power and converts it to DC mainly for charging batteries.

An Inverter is a device that takes DC power and converts it to AC mainly for use either from batteries or solar cells to supply AC to the house and/or the grid.

If I understand what it is that you are attempting to do, then it is to use your grid tied system to supply power to your home when the grid is down. For that, you would need some solar tracker/chargers an inverter/charger (converter) and some batteries to reference the system. Your current system was not designed to do that and would require some major upgrades in order to accomplish what you want. It is possible to take your solar panel DC and run it to solar tracker/chargers and then to an inverter by way of batteries, but that would be adding a whole new system.

As an example, we have 6KW of solar panels in two segments, 3KW each. Each segment has its own tracker/charger. The common part of the system is a battery bank of 48 Volt AGMs rated at 10 KWH. The solar power is dumped into them. The inverter is also tied to the battery bank as well and it supplies the house with AC, 230 Volts up to 6 KW continuous and 12 KW peak for up to 20 seconds. It has the ability to grid tie if we had extra solar power being generated (which we do not) and had jumped through all the hoops required by our utility company (Edison). It does have grid support however, which means it uses the solar generated power first, then draws the remainder from the grid. It also has auto switching between grid, batteries and a 6 KW Diesel generator, which also has a self starting module all connected to the other modules by a communication bus.

When the grid goes down, it instantly switches to the inverter, drawing power from the batteries. If the grid comes back up after only a few minutes, it then matches the grid frequency and phase and once it determines the grid is stable, switches back to the grid. If the grid remains off for an extended period of time the battery voltage slowly reduces and at a preset battery voltage the generator is started. Once the generator is stable the inverter then matches the generator voltage and phase and switches over to the generator. Once the grid is back up and stable, the inverter switches back to it, allows the generator to cool down before shutting it off.

All of this is transparent and only by checking the logs would one know that there was a minor grid interruption. If the generator comes on and can be heard from inside the residence, only then would you be aware that the grid has been down for more than a few minutes. The system we have is made by Xantrex.

Also, dead_sled, please change your avatar icon to something that does not flash. Some folks, like myself, are very sensitive to that flashing making it difficult to read what you have written.

Oliver

dead_sled
02-27-2014, 08:27 AM
Also, dead_sled, please change your avatar icon to something that does not flash. Some folks, like myself, are very sensitive to that flashing making it difficult to read what you have written.

Oliver

Got it fixed. Sorry about that, Oliver.

Apollo
02-27-2014, 11:19 AM
Thanks dead_sled, Glad to see your new avatar...now I don't have to use my left hand to cover it.

Roger L.
02-27-2014, 11:31 AM
And I thought I was the only one having trouble reading your post dead_sled. Those of us with eye issues really appreciate the accommodation.

David - WI
02-27-2014, 12:27 PM
And I thought I was the only one having trouble reading your post dead_sled. Those of us with eye issues really appreciate the accommodation.

Yeah, I wasn't going to say anything... but I ended up rolling around on the floor with my tongue hanging out and my eyes rolled back in my head every time I tried to respond to one of your posts. LOL

dead_sled
02-27-2014, 01:59 PM
Well, that settles it. Worst avatar ever. Pfizer is working on a new line of products for flashing avatar induced neurological disorder. Until those have been aproved by the FDA, I will use a less obnoxious avatar. :mrgreen:

JCO
02-27-2014, 02:57 PM
Yah....well I'm sure this one is politically correct....he's still in office :mrgreen:

Billy Boy
03-11-2014, 09:24 PM
Sounds like a very nice system you have there Oliver.

Also a nice system you have Apollo.

As Oliver correctly notes, what you have there is an "Inverter". An inverter is a device that turns DC electricity into mains AC. In the US that is 60hz. In most other places that is 50hz. The to world of power electronics the word "Converter" is actually an umbrella term that encompasses a ton of different devices. For the most part these are all based on some combination of the fundamental buck and boost converters... usually in some variant of the H-bridge layout.

Usually if you are charging batteries, the device that you use is called a "charge controller". The charge controller is definitely a converter, but a converter is not necessarily a charge controller./

Basically, if you are looking to run off-grid you will need to integrate batteries some how. The most economical options on the market today are Tubular Gel Lead Acid and Absorbed Glass Mat. These are not the same as car batteries which are designed to provide deep draw for short durations. Rather these are called "Deep Cycle" batteries.

Oliver is right. In order to incorporate batteries, you will need to make some upgrades to your electronics. The Outback Grid/Hybrid line seems to keep people pretty happy.

http://www.outbackpower.com/outback-pro ... s-chargers (http://www.outbackpower.com/outback-products/inverters-chargers)

Another good system that I am familiar with is the SMA-Sunny Island.

http://www.sma-america.com/en_US/produc ... 48-us.html (http://www.sma-america.com/en_US/products/off-grid-inverters/sunny-island-4548-us-6048-us.html)

I don't think that SunPower sells a inverter/charger. I could be wrong.

Best,

Bill