Solar Install continues ....

Last saturday, my contractor came to continue the Solar install started tuesday morning

Close up on the DC Breaker : 600V 20A

Wattson with EasyFit configuration photographed before unplugging the transmitter

and Easy Fit fitted back in the solar sub panel ( a bigger one here) on the Line wire going back the the main consumer panel

More wiring

Closer look at the solar sub panel and Wattson


Wattson Transmitter is temporarily plugged in and placed here

My consumer unit: See the Wattson Usage sensor is located on the Main Line wire, providing power to the whole apartment; Because the solar sub panel is wired after this, I need to use Easy Fit Y-cable

After going back on the roff the link all the Uni-Solar PVLs together as one string, DC voltage of this big string was then around 360V and the sun was not even shining because of the big white clouds

Now, after closing the SMA Sunny Boy cover panel and wiring it to earth, after switching on the DC and AC breakers, the inverter 3 LEDs blinked for one second, and then nothing ... No display, no LEDs, nothing was on ... :-( and after trying everything my contractor quickly determined that there was probably a problem with this unit ... No Luck


As my contractor advised, on sunday, in the morning sun, I measured again the DC voltage and it was showing 390V; I then tried to start the inverter gain, but still nothing ...

I also read the Sunny Boy 3000 documentation trying to find an explanation in the minimum DC voltage required and in the troubleshooting section

Later on, Mark Elliott from Energeno, Wattson maker, retweeted this pic of Wattson sensors install, with a little comment

Just added the List of major Components to the LiFePO4 DIY ESS Blog and why I chose them

More about my LiFePO4 DIY ESS here

I chose the BEST components to create this ESS:

- Energy Monitor: Created in 2006, Wattson is for me the best: it displays clearly in real time your home Usage, Production & Net usage with large visible digits and colors; Using RF, it can travel in your home since it is also battery powered; Easy to install and it looks like a design object 

- LiFePO4 Batteries : CALB CA Series Cells are simply the best Li-ion Cells avaibale today: safety, stability, cycle life, power, and energy density at a reasonable price; Read Jack Rickard's article about these new amazing new cells

- DC Switch & Breaker : Blue Sea 187-Series Circuit Breaker - Surface Mount 150A; A reliable marine quality high current Switch and Circuit Breaker placed in the middle of the battery pack to be able to switch off completely the whole system, and a protection in case of short circuit; Product link

- Grid Tie Inverters : the SUN250G has been a very good GTI for years, is more efficient than a Power Jack (similar product); they can be used in parallel, their DC input accepts 10.8V to 30V, which is perfect for my 24V battery bank; They have a one year warranty; They are very affordable, 110-230VAC 

- Chargers : LiFePO4 24V Simple Charger, Light, Low power, Low price, used in parallel, 110-230VAC 

- Contactors : 2 Tyco Kilovac EV200AAANA : Simply a world reference for years, Made in the Santa Barbara, USA : Carries high current (500A) and provide a Very Reliable cut off

- Mother Board : Very famous widespread programming board, the Arduino is made in Italy, with a French micro-controller chip on board, small power consumption, and has been working for the last year now with no failure

- Relays : Small standalone design, with red led to indicate that it is closed/active, standard connector, low cost, have been working for the last year now with no failure; If any, each relay can be changed in 1 or 2 minutes with a small screwdriver

- Controller : The ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) used is probably the best in the world, Made in the UK, micro-controller based, does not heat and can carry high current up to 40A at 26.6V which is more than we need here;Product Link

- Voltmeter : This programmable dual relay digital voltmeter is  the key to monitoring the Battery pack charge and discharge limits, and keeps it in the safe range; It is available only in the USA, is easy to program manually, is precise enough and does the job !

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More about my LiFePO4 DIY ESS here

Blue Sea 150A DC Breaker on LiFePO4 ESS

First test of my New Blue Sea Systems 150A DC Breaker and pushing 1200W back into my home grid :-)
It works fine ...

Blue Sea Systems - Bussmann Series 187 - 150A Marine Rated DC Circuit Breaker

Another cool item came in the mail yesterday, a High Current DC Circuit Breaker from Blue Sea Systems

It is of Thermal type, rated for 150A, and will replace the cheap 100A (not real, does 60A I think) circuit breaker I have right now on my LiFePO4 ESS

It is nice and heavy

and when I close it to switch it ON, it feels solid (not at all like the other one I had, see below)

I got it on eBay from somebody working in boat maintenance in La Ciota, a Southern French harbor close to Marseille, for a good price of 55 EUR plus 5,70 EUR for shipping

Stay tuned for a test this week end: I will then be able to plug all my Grid Tie Inverters back in, without having a disconnect ...



PS:

This cheap one I got from China two years ago will be removed ...