Hybrid Inverters, Off grid. ?

[patbarn]

I am building a Tiny House in Cornwall and am looking to put together a 3KW 240v off grid system; PV, Wind and generator backup.

The VICTRON EasySolar would be a fantastic option but I have also seen the HUAWEI Sun2000 series, GROWATT SPH series & GOODWE EM series which are all considerably cheaper and have a similar reputation.

My problem is that suppliers are giving me very conflicting advice about whether these systems are suitable and warrantyed for use off grid.

Any advice or links greatly appreciated.

 

[roys]

Sorry can’t answer your question directly, just wanting to check you are going down the right road with the wind turbine. I used to run a small wind turbine, so just checking you are aware of some of the issues with the, apologies if you are well aware.:

They needs plenty of clean air, so no obstruction to the air hitting the blades like buildings and trees.

They need maintenance, bearings springs etc.

Do be tempted to bolt the turbine onto a building.

They are heavy awkward lumps to fit.

 

[Sharpend]

So to conclude you fitted yours to the side of your house obstructed by a tree? 

 

[binky]

Victron is good quality gear, not had anything to do with Huawei, Goodwe and Growatt are cheap ****e!  Solis and Solax seem OK although I am yet to be completely convinced. SMA also do off gid inverters - expensive but again good gear with good technical help. 

DO NOT USE car batteries - tempting as they are cheap and large, but totally wrong battery type. Use leisure batteries. If you can afford lithium, that is the way forward  - I've fitted both Pylon and BYD and both seem well made. You can also get lithium leisure batteries which are less restrictive as far as being tued to certain brands of inverter.

To save money you can have multiple inputs to batteries, ie solar inverter/ charge controller, wind inverter/ charge controller etc etc all connected to same battery (but not for lithium units) This seems to offer a much cheaper package than all singing and dancing combined units. 

 

[roys]

So to conclude you fitted yours to the side of your house obstructed by a tree? 

mine actually met a grizzly death I used it to charge up a set of batteries then via an inverter it gave me power to a small remote temporary workshop for about 3 years. I would have kept using it, it did have not a too bad location with cleanish air but it’s downfall is when I got a lad helping me and he accidentally hit one of the steel guy ropes with a large ride on lawnmower which broke the turnbuckle which caused the turbine to come crashing to the ground breaking the blades and the casing.

i heard the crash, went to see what is happening and the lad was still driving the mower oblivious to what he had done, I was just glad he was still alive, I did have a chuckle, as I say fortunately no one was hurt and the turbine had served its purpose.

 

[Sharpend]

Ah so that’s how you knew it needed springs and bearings maintenance I could work that bit out! 

 

[patbarn]

The wind turbine sounds like such a good idea because we are on a hill in South Cornwall and all it seams to do is wind & rain.

But it seams also that everyone who has one only talks about the trouble!

So I am going to think carefully about it!

 

[patbarn]

On the Inverter, charge controller, charger etc side; I saw the Hybrid units recently and it looks like a very simple sensible solution. The tiny house is for holiday rent on our farm so needs to be tidy & reliable. I am handy but the thought of wiring up (and making work) many different units fills me with a little dread.

I would love to go buy a Victron 48/5000 unit tomorrow but that would cost almost as much as my build costs, so that will be a last resort. There is a careful compromise to be had between price, reliability, ease of installation, scalability etc.

48 volts looks like to way top go and Pylontech batteries are top of the list at the moment. Do you think there are problems getting Pylontech to work with multiple input sources?

 

[binky]

The wind turbine sounds like such a good idea because we are on a hill in South Cornwall and all it seams to do is wind & rain.

 Yep that's the joy of no land between Corwall and the USA   - I live in PLymouth, not much better here.

Pylon are fussy about what inverters they are compatible with, but it's easy enough to fit PV and batteries as a package. The fun comes with adding genies and wind, the solar stuff doesn't seem to like other sources of energy.  I'll have a look a bit later at various wholesalers I buy from, or it is possible worth contacting Pylon / Solis technical help.

 

[binky]

forgot to say, it's probably cheaper to get Western Power to install a supply, and as a holiday rental, it provides a reliable enrgy supply for your customers. As much as I love green tech, you have to be practical about it's application and the costs involved.

 

[patbarn]

I've had western power out, long story but the nub is another transformer, many poles or trenches and ££££££; which I would prefer to spend on solar hardware. The aim is to get the whole farm on re-newables sometime.

Good idea to go to the source, i'll do that today. What wholesalers would you recommend; friend of mine in London is a site electrician (but scared ****less of solar!) who will get me business accounts.

 

[binky]

Ask nicely and they will probably give you trade on the gear, one of my customers did this recently. 

Wind and Sun is the obvious place to go as they sell Solar PV and wind turbines, so hopefully can offer a complete package. I tend to fit PV only and the wholesalers I use don't do wind. 

WPD are quite happy for you to dig trenches and run cables - saves a lot!  you can also use other companies these days that are approved for such works. You can get sneaky and install PV on your existing supply which may force  them to upgrade the pole transformers in the right circumstances - something else one of my customers did.  Pole transformers certainly aren't cheap, but then large lithium batteries can easily cost £6-10K. If you need a hand I'm only in Plymouth.