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norrisp90 avatar image
norrisp90 asked

Wind only ESS system, will it work?

Hi,

I have designed this system, will it work for ESS?

We want to use only wind gen for now, add solar later. Use surplus wind to charge battery and/or export to grid. Top-up battery overnight when rates cheaper if not enough wind. Power site loads during the day.

Schematic of wind charge controller:

insta-wind-controller.jpg

ESSPylontech48v batteryHydro and Wind Power
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Michelle Konzack avatar image Michelle Konzack commented ·

Do you use the original ist-Breeze Hybrid Charger?


The forget about the Pylontech batteries, because the charger does not work with ANY Lithium batteries. You can use only Lead-Acid, AGM or Gel Batteries.


And, be aware, that the iSTA-Breeze will deliver not more then 1500W if you have a light storm with 13m/s...


Also I hope, that you do not use the original mast, which come in pieces of 1m, because if you get a nice storm of 9-13m/s and the cones a windgust of 16-20m/s, the mast break at the threads.


I have lost already two i2000 and one i700 with this crap. iSTA-Breeze Germany guaranteed me replacement but since 3 years they have not answered one of my 58 EMails, they do not take the telephone and also do not answer the request of the EU ombudsman.


Currently I run only two i2000 and one i700, which is over the summer enough, but with the missing windmills I need a GenSet in the Winter.


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matt1309 avatar image
matt1309 answered ·

Hi @norrisp90,

I can't comment on the wind specific charge controllers etc however I don't see why ESS wont work with this (or any power source) assuming you've done all the correct sizing calculations to not overload the battery etc.

The only concern/consideration I would flag on the off chance it hasn't been considered is that on "normal" MPPT PV system the Victron system can ramp down the production if battery is full and if grid export limit is enabled or no grid connected. Whereas if there's no communication between Victron on wind charge controller that isn't possible. I'm not clued up on wind but I imagine the way it works is the PWM/dump load is controlled by the charge controller which enables the load if a set voltage is reached. I imagine you normally set this voltage to be the absorption voltage of the batteries.

However if grid is connected and you're able to export I would maybe increase the PWM turn on voltage slightly. For example if you're in absorption phase the dump load will be turned on even though the excess wind power could be exported to the grid.

I would maybe set the pwm dump load voltage slightly higher than absorption so that it doesn't turn on unless voltage goes above absorption ie victron system isn't able to export enough to grid/ doesnt have big enough AC loads to keep voltage low enough. This may lead to high voltage alerts but you can probably tweak that in settings.


The other option is to allow victron system to control dump loads (I would do this as well as charge controller and not instead of for safety). Set the charge controller to turn on PWM at above absorption voltage as a purely safety measure.

Then have Victron system (via node red) (VeConfig relay assistant may work but I'm not sure on that). To enable PWM if in absorption phase and exporting maximum to grid or if grid is down.


Not the end of the world if you just set the PWM turn on voltage to absorption. You'll just lose some power to dump load rather than the grid.


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norrisp90 avatar image norrisp90 commented ·

Thank you @matt1309 that all makes sense and aligns with the way I was thinking about it also, good to hear 2nd opinion.

On interfacing the system with the wind controller, at a minimum I was thinking I can connect a Cerbo GX relay to the wind turbine brake relay in controller and have it trigger on a battery high voltage alarm. That would cause the turbine to dump/brake when the voltage goes to high which would happen mainly in a no export/grid or very high wind scenario.

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matt1309 avatar image matt1309 norrisp90 commented ·

No worries!

If the charge controller has a relay as well I'd throw that on also with a slightly higher voltage. 2 safety systems better than one!

(Also I'm very jealous, I'd love to have space to play around with wind power.

Ultimate goal would be a bit of land with a stream for microhydro power, just need a lottery win to afford the land...)

I've got a friend who owns a small field that's curious about wint, let me know when you're setup what output you're getting from the 2.2kw turbine.

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