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anguswbrown avatar image
anguswbrown asked

Can I add a wind turbine to my EasySolar

We have an EasySolar with a PV array and generator to keep the bank of 48V batteries charged. This is all working well, but would like to consider the addition of a vertical wind turbine to help in the winter, Important here in Orkney where the winter nights are long! Have been looking at TRiStar controllers, dump loads, etc but getting confused about how this might all work together without the PV controller and wind turbine "fighting" each other to charge (and not overcharge) the battery bank. Anyone done this type of thing before? We also have a BMV712 monitoring the current/voltage.

EasySolar All-in-OneHydro and Wind Power
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Grant Cleveland avatar image Grant Cleveland commented ·

Hi @anguswbrown

I'm looking to do the same thing, and have been considering using a Midnite Classic. But I'm not sure if it will work alongside my Easy Solar 48v with BYD Batteries. Did you manage to get them working together?

I'd be most appreciative of any advice / learnings you may be willing to share.

Many thanks


Grant


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sean avatar image
sean answered ·

Vertical WTs aren't overly productive, and they'd need to be very robust to withstand Orkney grade wind.

Assuming the WT will be DC coupled, you need to use a controller that allows you to manually enter an I/V curve - such as the MidNite classics, perhaps combined with their load shedding device. MidNite also provide suitable shunts for metering.

Providing the PV and WT charge controllers are correctly set, you'll have no over charging issues.


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anguswbrown avatar image anguswbrown commented ·

OK, thanks for that. I'll have a look at their products.

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wkirby avatar image wkirby ♦♦ anguswbrown commented ·

Remember that the Midnite Classic is also primarily designed to be a PV Charge Controller. Ahead of any y PV charge controller being used for wind or hydro you need a device to clamp or "clip" the high transient Voltages down to within the limits of the charge controller.
Midnite sell a device called a "Clipper" to do just the job. It will probably work with a Victron MPPT in case you want to tie your wind production data in with the CCGX. The Classic won't communicate with the CCGX.

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sean avatar image sean wkirby ♦♦ commented ·

The MidNite classics are charge controllers - they are not primarily designed to be PV controllers.

@anguswbrown I'm on mainland Orkney, I have the traction battery from the rolled Eday leaf.

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wkirby avatar image wkirby ♦♦ sean commented ·

What I meant was that you still need to use the Clipper with the Classic if you want to use it for Wind.

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Grant Cleveland avatar image Grant Cleveland commented ·

Hi @Sean, thanks for this feedback. I'm doing something similar, and really like the look of the Midnite Classic. My one concern is that I'm not sure if it will be compatible with my existing setup of Easy Solar 48v with BYD Batteries. My assumption so far would be for the Midnite Classic to connect to the batteries (alongside the Easy Solar kit) and charge those, But not sure if this will be compatible with the battery management system. Do you have any experience or advice to offer? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Grant

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lucode avatar image lucode Grant Cleveland commented ·

If you are using the BMS from BYD it should be a problem for the BMS to have a second charging source, but you would ev. want to have the wind power data in the GX device included. There exists low-cost solution for this, but you need to hack your Venus device.
It is the following low-cost Peacefair PZEM-017 V/A meter and it seems suitable. There even exists a solution to connect it to a Venus device via Modbus.
https://github.com/mildred/venusos-peacefair-pzem

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talmagefarm avatar image
talmagefarm answered ·

Hi Angus,

Did you find a solution for combining wind power with your EasySolar setup?

I'm interested in doing the same and would appreciate any knowledge/experience that you can share with me?


Kind Regards,

Andrew

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Grant Cleveland avatar image
Grant Cleveland answered ·

I managed to get this working by connecting the Midnight Classic directly onto the battery bus alongside the Victron unit. See details here:

https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/15648/where-do-i-connect-my-ac-hydro-generator-power-in.html?childToView=94716#answer-94716

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