Thoughts on this Charge Controller / Inverter

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mayson14

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Attached is the spec sheet..

would it be a good fit for a solar / powerwall build for the home?

what would be the advantage or disadvantageover a standard inverter?

Thanks!
 

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  • MPI HYBRID.pdf
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I think someone is actually using one of these units. I can't remember who, though. I'm sure they'll speak up, though.

I personally would go with at least the 4k unit, as it has better options. For one, it's parallel ready (not sure if you'd be interested in that), and it starts off the 40A set. If you go with the 5k and above units, you could have 2 MPPTs which means you could have 2 strings of panels. Nice for two different sides of the roof.

Not sure what the cost differences are, though.
 
I use them. I use the 10k 3phase and it works. The unit itself is decent. Its not that efficient and you need to understand that idle load can easily be 200+W.

Also unknown support and help from them. Though the price is good and not many that can beat that as of today.

Check out my videos and you can see some of them. And if you have questions i can answer some i hope. Atleast more than their support can :)
 
silverse2m6 said:
These are euro models only I believe. Where are you located?
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That was my next question.. I am in the US. It seems that the most of th 110v inverters are for a 24v system.. should i plan on building my stringsfor 24v? I was preparing for 48v as thats what ive seen inmost of the videos/ reading. Is that just because of the 48v/220 inverters?


Does it do anything special that anothercharger controller/inverter will not do? The 3 modes they they clearly lay out seem perfect.
 
If in us i suggest other model to be honest. 48v is alot better if ur doing high current stuff.

The Good about hybrid is that it does it all. Off grid. Grid tie or what every you wang
 
daromer said:
If in us i suggest other model to be honest. 48v is alot better if ur doing high current stuff.

The Good about hybrid is that it does it all. Off grid. Grid tie or what every you wang
Click to expand...

First, thank you so much for your time! i have seen several of your videos and thank you for helping me choose my inverter.

So you recommend a 48v / 110v? Do you have any makes or models that you recommend? I would very much like a hybrid design as it seems like a very clean and easy configuration.

If i did not end up with a hybrid type inverterwhat additional equipment would i need? Would it be a charge controller and then a separate power inverter? And what type of switching equipment? I would like to be able to supply power to the house, with any excess being stored in the cells. once the cells are full any excess would go to the grid.. Is this a grid-tie with battery backup?

in this scenario could you give me a basicidea of the hardware configuration if i can not find a suitable hybrid inverter/charger?

I willhave a batrium setup for monitoring, so there may be some functionality i could pull from that as far as switching..

thank you so much for your input!
 
A 48V/110-120V is acceptable. If you can find one that can do 240V split phase (US standard wiring; 3 wires. EU has 240V on 2 wires), even better.

Here in the US, to go with that configuration, you are more than likely going to need to use 2 separate devices. One inverter and one charger (to start; more can be added as your needs grow)

Grid-Tie is a completely different animal. The only way for you to have certified Grid-Tie with Emergency Shutoff Transfer Switch is buy an expensive unit and have a licensed contractor install it. Otherwise, you'll get into a LOT of trouble. Especially if someone dies because there was a storm, you weren't home to shut the unit off, and the were out there working on a downed line.

Plus, for Grid-Tie, the electric company would need to install a new digital meter (unless you already have one)

There isn't really a viable hybrid setup for the US market, for some odd reason. It seems like the EU and Aus gets the goodies before we do :p
 
Korishan said:
A 48V/110-120V is acceptable. If you can find one that can do 240V split phase (US standard wiring; 3 wires. EU has 240V on 2 wires), even better.

Here in the US, to go with that configuration, you are more than likely going to need to use 2 separate devices. One inverter and one charger (to start; more can be added as your needs grow)

Grid-Tie is a completely different animal. The only way for you to have certified Grid-Tie with Emergency Shutoff Transfer Switch is buy an expensive unit and have a licensed contractor install it. Otherwise, you'll get into a LOT of trouble. Especially if someone dies because there was a storm, you weren't home to shut the unit off, and the were out there working on a downed line.

Plus, for Grid-Tie, the electric company would need to install a new digital meter (unless you already have one)

There isn't really a viable hybrid setup for the US market, for some odd reason. It seems like the EU and Aus gets the goodies before we do :p
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Thanks! Totally understand bout the grid-tie.. makes sense. So what about a system where solar powers the house and any excess used to charge batteries and on low voltage from the solar/battery system it would switch to utility power. Is that more of the system we're looking at? Could you pull from utility power and your solar system at the same time without backfeeding? (grid-tie?)

and to all, any recommendation for equipment would be great.. links or models you've used or recommend.
 
It's hard to, but you can pull from both sources. Not recommended, in my opinion. To much to keep track of and who knows what would happen if something failed (or a lightning strike directly on the line)
There are two paths that have gone on mostly here:
1) Move circuits off the grid into a separate panel that is powered directly from the powerwall setup (which includes solar, wind, batteries, etc.)
2) Have a transfer switch that will either be on the Grid, or the internal power supply (automatic would be recommended as it would switch off from the grid in the event of a power failure)

You kind of have to decide on which path you want to take. I personally am going to go with option 1 as it's the easiest to setup, and cheapest overall.

It would be Solar -> PWM/MPPT charger -> Batteries -> Inverter. You could also have a Grid-based charger that could help charge your batteries in the event your solar is offline (storms for too long, perhaps).

For me personally, my inverter is going to be recycled Smart-UPS units. You can get them for free or super cheap. Most of the time they are non-functional because the batteries are bad. I haven't decided on a charger yet. That's still in the works. However, I will probably charge the batteries from the UPS to start with, and the shift over later as I put panels/turbines in place.
 
Korishan said:
It's hard to, but you can pull from both sources. Not recommended, in my opinion. To much to keep track of and who knows what would happen if something failed (or a lightning strike directly on the line)
There are two paths that have gone on mostly here:
1) Move circuits off the grid into a separate panel that is powered directly from the powerwall setup (which includes solar, wind, batteries, etc.)
2) Have a transfer switch that will either be on the Grid, or the internal power supply (automatic would be recommended as it would switch off from the grid in the event of a power failure)

You kind of have to decide on which path you want to take. I personally am going to go with option 1 as it's the easiest to setup, and cheapest overall.

It would be Solar -> PWM/MPPT charger -> Batteries -> Inverter. You could also have a Grid-based charger that could help charge your batteries in the event your solar is offline (storms for too long, perhaps).

For me personally, my inverter is going to be recycled Smart-UPS units. You can get them for free or super cheap. Most of the time they are non-functional because the batteries are bad. I haven't decided on a charger yet. That's still in the works. However, I will probably charge the batteries from the UPS to start with, and the shift over later as I put panels/turbines in place.
Click to expand...

this is helpful.. thank you..

what do you think about something like this one? if i were to grid-tie i would obviously go through the application and inspection process and do it correctly and safely...


https://www.sigineer.com/product/5000-watt-48vdc-solar-power-inverter-charger-110220-split-phase/
 
I would say that Hybrid is the best of all worlds. It can do both off grid or grid-tie or both together.

If you can get a Hybrid system that works with US voltages then go for it. In sweden its easy with 3 phase 230V system with common Neutral since thats what most people sell. Currently my MPI only runs as a grid-tie system. No battery nor load hooked up.

I like that device in that sense because i can easily switch between what i can do. I can also control the device on how much to send to grid to get a 0-usage consumption from grid :)

The device takes energy from the source that have them. If its from battery or solar or grid. It then feeds to either battery, grid or load out. Its all configurable kind of.
 
That's a nice little (big) unit you found there, mayson :) A definite plus for US users. I wonder what the bulk price would be like.
 
I use about 40kWh/day. And that's just 2 window units and computer/tv, refrigerator, microwave oven and toaster oven (toaster doesn't get use a whole lot).
So, if you were to use that unit at full load of 2KW, it would/should be able to put out 48KWh/day. So, for me, it'd be under powered as I'd easily go over it's ability when I add more appliances during my remodel. A 4000Watt unit would be better.

I wonder why they are making a distinction between "Personal computers" and "Home appliances". That seems kinda odd to me. The unit will put out a certain voltage regardless of whether you have an A/C window unit plugged in, or a computer plugged in. Both use 110-120V, just different amps.

Also, it's not UL listed or what ever the other safeties are. Also, in the pic that shows the circuit boards, they aren't square and uniform in installation. Kinda looks like a person did the work and not a machine. So I'd be worried about quality and workmanship with these units. Plus, they may very well be Chinese knock offs, which means they are cheap on the wiring and maybe some of the other electronics. I may not work as promised for very long.
 
I use 30-35kWh per day. I have 10kW + 4kW. That is minimum for me due to the fact that I easily can do 15kW during peaks when washing clothes and doing some food.

The only way to know whats enough for you is to meassure. Check your meter from time to time and see what you used per hour and day.
 
daromer said:
I use 30-35kWh per day. I have 10kW + 4kW. That is minimum for me due to the fact that I easily can do 15kW during peaks when washing clothes and doing some food.

The only way to know whats enough for you is to meassure. Check your meter from time to time and see what you used per hour and day.
Click to expand...

perfect.. good advice. thank you.

Korishan said:
I use about 40kWh/day. And that's just 2 window units and computer/tv, refrigerator, microwave oven and toaster oven (toaster doesn't get use a whole lot).
So, if you were to use that unit at full load of 2KW, it would/should be able to put out 48KWh/day. So, for me, it'd be under powered as I'd easily go over it's ability when I add more appliances during my remodel. A 4000Watt unit would be better.

I wonder why they are making a distinction between "Personal computers" and "Home appliances". That seems kinda odd to me. The unit will put out a certain voltage regardless of whether you have an A/C window unit plugged in, or a computer plugged in. Both use 110-120V, just different amps.

Also, it's not UL listed or what ever the other safeties are. Also, in the pic that shows the circuit boards, they aren't square and uniform in installation. Kinda looks like a person did the work and not a machine. So I'd be worried about quality and workmanship with these units. Plus, they may very well be Chinese knock offs, which means they are cheap on the wiring and maybe some of the other electronics. I may not work as promised for very long.
Click to expand...

also good advice.. thank you!
 
I will add, that if you look to see if the units can paralleled, that means you can hook 2 or more together and increase your KWh. So, if you have two 4KWh units, they could put out 8KWh together. Or, if you start with a 4KWh and then later upgrade to a 6KWh unit, you'll have 10KWh to play with.
I've noticed a lot of units rated below 4KWh don't support paralleling.
 
Korishan kW not kWh :p (Sorry couldnt help it hehe)
 
with the hybrid inverter.. or any other setup for that matter.. if you pull more than the inverter is capable of will you or can you make up with grid power?
 
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