APSmart RSD to Sol-Ark 12K wiring

[sgturner]

Hi and happy 4th!

I have a system, being installed, that consists of:
- Sol-Ark 12K
- 28 x 370W solar panels (PV)
- 6 x Fortress Power eFlex 5.4 batteries
- APSmart Rapid Shut Down (RSD).

The APSmart system consists of an RSD module per solar panel and an RSD Transmitter located in a plastic NEMA enclosure that sits next to the Sol-Ark. The Transmitter needs to be powered from 12V @ 800mA before the RSD modules and so PV will turn "on". The Sol-Ark has a 12V DC output that can be used to power the RSD transmitter, but according to the manual, it is limited to 100mA. The APSmart Transmitter kit comes with a 120VAC to 12V DC power supply, which I guess could be connected to the AC output of the Sol-Ark. This would mean that the Sol-Ark needs to be generating AC to turn on the PV. This means the grid needs to be "up" OR my batteries need to be in a state that they can supply enough power to turn on the inverter.

One of my reasons for installing this is to be able to weather any "grid down" situations that may happen from time to time in the California fire season. So I need to be able to turn on the PV with no Grid. This implies my batteries need to always have enough juice to turn on the inverter and so bootstrap the PV into operation. If I never let my batteries get below 20% SOC then I should be OK, right?

Is there a better way of doing this?.

Thanks!

 

[Danke]

Can you hook it up to a car battery on a float charger?

Ex: https://www.amazon.com/Mroinge-main...3d5-8925-378f3f7cd641&pd_rd_i=B01FTPZ6P4&th=1

 

[sgturner]

@Danke . Thanks for your suggestion. Yes that would work, but would require more equipment and waterproof enclosures (all this is outside). I'd prefer this to be powered/controlled by the Sol-Ark if possible.

The Sol-Ark has this:



on the side of it, but I can't find anything about it in the Installation Manual (AFAIK). Anybody know exactly what this does?. Does it just power down the 12V @ 100mA RSD supply?

 

[Lt.Dan]

Can you get a small 48v to 12v converter to install in the enclosure? Hook the 48v side to the batteries, and the 12v side to the APSmart RSD?

EDIT: Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/XWST-Convert...refix=48v+to+12v+converte,aps,171&sr=8-9&th=1

 

[sgturner]

@Lt.Dan - Thanks!. Ideally this power supply would be DIN rail mounted (to Fit inside the APSmart enclosure) and have a 12V tolerant Enable pin which can be powered from the Sol-Ark 12V @ 100mA RSD output (assuming this does what I think it does and goes off when you turn the PV-disconnect knob). I think this maybe perfect:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/cui-inc/PYBE20-Q48-S12-DIN/9859957

 

[sgturner]

According to Sol-Ark tech support, this:



Only disconnects the PV strings from the Sol-Ark. It does not initiate RSD.

Therefore you HAVE to use a E-Stop switch connected to "pins 11,12" to initiate Sol-Ark shutdown and RSD. They are advising to power the APSmarts transmitter from the AC output of the Sol-Ark, so when E-Stop is pushed , the APSmart is powered down and the panels become inert.

 

[Bfreeskier]

According to Sol-Ark tech support, this:

View attachment 101429

Only disconnects the PV strings from the Sol-Ark. It does not initiate RSD.

Therefore you HAVE to use a E-Stop switch connected to "pins 11,12" to initiate Sol-Ark shutdown and RSD. They are advising to power the APSmarts transmitter from the AC output of the Sol-Ark, so when E-Stop is pushed , the APSmart is powered down and the panels become inert.

I'm glad I found your thread, I'm doing a nearly identical system here in California, but I'm using 5 EG4 48v batteries. I am nearly completed with my project, but I'm having the same problem you are having with the APsmart transmitter. Pin 15 and 16 do not supply enough power. What solution did you end up utilizing, and if you could post a picture, that would be incredible.

When you say AC output of the Sol-Ark, did you add a breaker from your critical loads' panel? Or are you using power from one of the legs of GRID AC output? I'm curious.

 

[sgturner]

I'm glad I found your thread, I'm doing a nearly identical system here in California

I'm also in California (Orange County)

When you say AC output of the Sol-Ark, did you add a breaker from your critical loads' panel?

Yes. However my installer and I came up with a soln. that eliminates the need for the "big red button". I have a transfer switch that allows me to power the crit. loads panel from either the Sol-Ark or directly from the grid. It is ON-OFF-ON. So when in the OFF position the critical loads panel is turned off, the APSmarts loses power and the PV is disabled. Apparently the AHJ is fine with this.

 

[Bfreeskier]

I'm also in California (Orange County)

Yes. However my installer and I came up with a soln. that eliminates the need for the "big red button". I have a transfer switch that allows me to power the crit. loads panel from either the Sol-Ark or directly from the grid. It is ON-OFF-ON. So when in the OFF position the critical loads panel is turned off, the APSmarts loses power and the PV is disabled. Apparently the AHJ is fine with this.

That makes sense and is a fairly simple solution. If I'm correct those are essentially a generator box, I'll take a look at one of those. I'm going to be so happy when this project is over. So many things to work through.
Thanks for the quick response!

 

[onokai]

What did you come up with to power the. RSD transmitter (120V or 12V?) and is it on the output side of the Sol-Ark?

 

[sgturner]

What did you come up with to power the. RSD transmitter (120V or 12V?) and is it on the output side of the Sol-Ark?

Currently going to use 120V from a dedicated breaker in the critical loads panel , i.e the output side of the Sol-Ark.

 

[sgturner]

i.e

 

[krstamchl]

i.e View attachment 103937

Thank you for this image. Helped me to understand your setup. I was actually looking for Hybrid inverters that has APSmart RSD systems installed with it. And this is a great example. However, have any of you encountered systems that are using off-grid inverters or maybe hybrid aside from the Sol-Ark brand? I'm thinking it would become a problem since the transmitter needs a power supply