question

Mike avatar image
Mike asked

Quattro AC power in from micro inverters

I have a 12v system on my boat which has

victron Quattro 3000 120

1200 ah of AGM batteries

6kva diesel generator

900 watts of solar panels with mppt going to the batteries.


I am putting another 1000 watts of solar on the boat.
Is it possible to put micro inverters on the new solar and feed it to one off the Quattros AC inputs?


Will the Quattro use the 1000watts AC in bypass mode and effectively have 3900w output?


What will the battery charger section of the Quattro do with just 1000w of AC power?



MultiPlus Quattro Inverter Charger
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2 Answers
JohnC avatar image
JohnC answered ·

Hi @Mike

I wouldn't do this to myself, I don't like pain. :)

Even if you can find a micro inverter 'system' that will work offgrid, you'll firstly come up against the minimum ac input limit on the Quattro, which in your case is 4.5A (presuming 230V). That's with PowerAssist enabled, which you'll need to do. So it's not enough panel, even in full sun, and I'd expect the Quattro to reject it completely once loads started to saturate the ac panels.

Frankly, it's too much panel in total for 12V really, probably multiple parallel battery strings too (not good). You may do better in the long run to consider 24V or even 48V for your system. I don't say this lightly, as I went that way myself, to 48V.


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Mike avatar image Mike commented ·
Thanks.

Each panel has its own mppt controller, and is fed directly to the battery bank.
I have considered going 24v, but all 3 electric winches and both engines starter and alternators would need changing. The nav stuff would be ok. The fridge and freezer would have issues, as would the led lights. Huge job, as you would know.

The mppt controllers are programable, so I can change the point at which they go to float charge. I am also looking at going lithium for the batteries, and would prefer to keep the batteries in the 50 to 80% range to extend their cycles.

Agreed, it is a lot of solar for the batteries, but a yacht is far from the optimal place for solar. There is almost always some shading on some panels from the mast and boom. To minimise this I have half cut panels and an individual mppt controller on each existing panel. But you are right. The maximum input amps if all panels are in full sun is very high, and definitely a consideration.

Thank you for your advice.

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Leslieanne avatar image
Leslieanne answered ·

Provided the proposed microinverters can reduce their output in response to increased frequency, you can certainly add 1kw solar on the OUTPUT of the quattro. You need to read up thoroughly on victron's AC coupling, plenty of things to set up! Basically the quatro provides its own minigrid and the grid connect microinverters sync to that, and yes, in good sun you have access to the quattro output plus that of the micos.

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Mike avatar image Mike commented ·
Thanks.

that is what I want to accomplish. The micro inverters that I am looking at are the IQ8 s however there are proving difficult to find.

In the interim, I have a bit more study with the AC coupling.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.


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