I've been working with the guys at Helioscope to try and improve their support for Victron products.
I need some help from team Victron to try and get this right.
I sent them the datasheets for the Multis and Quattros and asked for them to be added. They replied:
"Given the number of optimizer/inverter combinations it will take a long time for us to upload each combination."
I replied with:
"You will see that all of the MPPTs / Charge Controllers / Optimisers / DC - DC Converters / Whatever we want to call them have an efficiency of 98%.
So, with the exception of the EasySolars which have the MPPTs built in, I would create one profile for each MultiPlus and Quattro.
That should not be more than about 10-15 profiles.
But list them as follows:
MultiPlus II 5kVA (4000W) 48V via Victron MPPT (98%)
Then take the specific inverter efficiency, in this case 96% and times by the 98% and get 94.08% overall.
Another example:
MultiPlus II 3kVA (2400W) 48V via Victron MPPT (98%)
95% * 98% = 93.1% overall."
They responded:
"Yes, that is how we would handle the efficiency, but still given the large number, there end up being hundreds of combinations, so if you can give us the first handful to start with, we can begin there.
Also, does Victron have a version of their datasheet with 'average' efficiency? All I see listed here are "max" efficiency values, but that will not capture their performance over a day/year."
I believe in their first comment they have misunderstood my suggestion. I am suggesting that they add only as many devices as there are Multis or Quattros because the MPPT component can be assumed to be the same for each, regardless of model.
So, I have two questions:
1. Is my assumption that the efficiency of *any* Victron MPPT can be assumed using a constant against a pairing with any Multi or Quattro?
2. Can Victron answer to an "average efficiency" that we can use as this constant instead of the "max" figure in the documentation.
Note related post: https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/34079/helioscope-victron-product-database.html by @Anton de Swardt