Combining solar with a wind turbine - single invertor setup?

[wheatman]

Hey guys! I am finishing my new off-grid house in Eastern Europe and am getting ready to assemble the power station for it. The specs are as follows:

Growatt spf5000es 5kW inverter / 6x660W Canadian Solar mono panels in series / 280Ah Lifepo4 (DIY) with an Overkill Solar 100A BMS and a separate 5A active equalizer (16s 48V).

Based on the experience with my previous off-grid home, this time I want to add a wind turbine to the setup, as I am living high up in the mountains and am getting a lot (like A LOT) of wind here during the winter, which might be rly helpful during the gloomy days. I am looking into IstaBreeze i1500 in a 48V version.

My question is about wiring the whole shabang as I haven't had any past experience with wind turbines before. As far as I understand, the turbine comes with a controller and is giving fixed 48V, while the current is floating depending on the wind (correct me if I'm mistaken).

So, what will be the perfect way to connect the solar and the turbine to my home? Is it possible to use only the Growatt, or I need a whole separate setup for the IstaBreeze? I was thinking about connecting the turbine in series to the solar and then into the PV input of the Growatt (the max voltage of which is 450VDC), or maybe wiring the turbine directly to the battery bank, but am not sure what's the right way to go. Will appreciate your feedback a lot!

 

[schmism]

The turbine needs its own controller and dump load. Sometimes thats built into the turbine so that the intended operation is directly from the turbine to the battery. (in parellel with the solar) You'll need to reference the install instructions with the turbine you purchase.

 

[OzSolar]

My question is about wiring the whole shabang as I haven't had any past experience with wind turbines before. As far as I understand, the turbine comes with a controller and is giving fixed 48V, while the current is floating depending on the wind (correct me if I'm mistaken).

So, what will be the perfect way to connect the solar and the turbine to my home? Is it possible to use only the Growatt, or I need a whole separate setup for the IstaBreeze?

You use the controller supplied by the turbine manufacturer and wire it directly to the common DC bus that the battery and inverter are on. Some turbines need a dump load to regulate themselves and others use furling system.

Any idea how long those Ista's have been around? I only recently noticed them. There are several YouTube videos showing them making some power (watts) during gusts on windy day but none actually talk about how much energy (kilowatt hours) they are getting out of them. Best I can gather from those videos is that you better be mostly interested playing around with small wind than using small wind.

FWIW, there's a pretty high chance that a wind turbine will fail to be a reliable part of your energy system so weigh that against whatever money you might spend on it. I would love nothing more than to eat those words so please keep some good data logging of its performance.

 

[wheatman]

Any idea how long those Ista's have been around? I only recently noticed them.

I've been hearing about them for about 3 years now. AFAIK its a turkish company, so no surprise it's not that well-known in the US actually. Here in Europe (i'm in Bulgaria) they've been on the market for a while.

I've been reading about other people's experience with wind and seems you are right. Maybe the better choice is to consider investing the money into more lifepo4 or a generator with low-voltage onswitch relay or smth. The thing is that when im travelling abroad and the weather is bad, I don't want to lose control over the house security - the cameras, the alarm and the smart home system. I'm gonna think more on the subject anyway, maybe will still play around with the Istabreeze just to see if it's worth it, the investment doesnt seem that big (aroung 1K euro).

 

[wheatman]

Update on the thread: I decided to give this little experiment a go, just ordered a 1000W 48V IstaBreeze i-1000 turbine. The plan is to wire it to the battery through a controller so it works in parallel with the solar array. Any recommendations for a decent controller for it? I would go with a victron, but I couldnt find a dump load option in any of the standart ones

 

[OzSolar]

Update on the thread: I decided to give this little experiment a go, just ordered a 1000W 48V IstaBreeze i-1000 turbine. The plan is to wire it to the battery through a controller so it works in parallel with the solar array. Any recommendations for a decent controller for it? I would go with a victron, but I couldnt find a dump load option in any of the standart ones

Are you sure it doesn't come with controller?

 

[wheatman]

Are you sure it doesn't come with controller?

Absolutely. They offer controllers separately, but tbh I dont trust the looks of it and would prefer investing in smth hi-q. I found these as an option, anyone with practical experience here?

Wind Turbine Charge Controller | TESUP

TESUP Wind Turbine Charge Controller is designed to convert AC (Alternating Current) to DC (Direct Current) and controls battery and inverter charging. It is the best controller with fully automatic turbine protection and a manual emergency break. It increases the life and stability of the whole...

www.tesup.com

 

[OzSolar]

Absolutely. They offer controllers separately, but tbh I dont trust the looks of it and would prefer investing in smth hi-q. I found these as an option, anyone with practical experience here?

Wind Turbine Charge Controller | TESUP

TESUP Wind Turbine Charge Controller is designed to convert AC (Alternating Current) to DC (Direct Current) and controls battery and inverter charging. It is the best controller with fully automatic turbine protection and a manual emergency break. It increases the life and stability of the whole...

www.tesup.com

So you trust thier turbine to not throw a blade through your bedroom window late at night during a thunderstorm but you don't trust thier controller?

edit to fix a double word typo

 

[wheatman]

So you trust thier turbine to not throw a blade through your bedroom window late at night during a thunderstorm but you don't don't trust thier controller?

My windows are chemically treated tripple glass that cannot be broken even with a brick, so thats not an issue :D jokes aside, I would like to be sure that the electronics is decent and stable, so I can use it even if I am not satisfied with IstaBreeze and decide to try some other manufacturer and stay on the same setup. And the ones that Ista sell look like they dropship them from alibaba tbh.

 

[OzSolar]

My windows are chemically treated tripple glass that cannot be broken even with a brick, so thats not an issue :D jokes aside, I would like to be sure that the electronics is decent and stable, so I can use it even if I am not satisfied with IstaBreeze and decide to try some other manufacturer and stay on the same setup. And the ones that Ista sell look like they dropship them from alibaba tbh.

It's been a while since I've done much with small wind so about all I can do is speak in general terms.

I'm glad you're going to do one of those turbines as I'd love to hear how it goes.

A "controller" is doing a few things in case you didn't already know but you probably did.
-Converting the wind turbine's 3 phase AC into the DC voltage appropriate for your battery bank (Victron doesn't make one of those AKAIK)
-Limiting and eventually disconnecting the wind turbine from battery bank as the battery's SOC increases
-Protecting the turbine by limiting the it's speed assuming it's the sort that will self destruct when disconnected from the battery bank. Keep in mind, most wind turbines first line of defense is being loaded.
-Monitoring

It's worth mentioning that most of those functions could be managed by separate off the shelf items. EG: You could have a dump load (Xantrex C40 is one example) controller divert power to dump load once the battery bank's voltage gets above a preset voltage.

In order to select the right controller you have to figure out what sort of voltage is leaving the turbine. 3 phase AC likely but what is the range of the voltage and can the non-factory controller deal with it. 100V? 300V?

Please send a video of a brick bouncing off those fancy windows of yours when you get a moment when you get a chance.

Edit: to clean up some typos

 

[Ptom]

I've never heard of a wind turbine manufacturer NOT including the controller. My 15 year old A.R.E. once again just survived a couple days of gusts up to 50 MPH. Besides having a built in dump load and a good self furling system, it has an interesting feature: when producing max power (2450-2650 watts, as it enters the grid) for extended periods, it will shut down for a minute or two, then re-start on it's own. It may be a temp related thing with the dump load, whatever it is it works to protect the entire system. It's also excellent in very light winds. Too bad they are no longer in production.

 

[Rider]

There are dual-function controllers out there, just have to find one that fits your power requirements.

https://www.amazon.com/SolaMr-Controller-Technology-Intelligent-Regulator/dp/B081TWXW9R/

 

[100kwh-hunter]

go to ali express and order a wind turbine, put that thing on a regular mppt controller.
They dont know if there are clouds(pv) or a wind silence?
I jusut about to order 2000w(4x500w) of wind turbine, and i already ordered 2x 100v20a solar chargers extra for 48v.
Hope this was helpfull,
with best regards Igor from the Netherlands

 

[Hedges]

Please send a video of a brick bouncing off those fancy windows of yours when you get a moment when you get a chance.

 

[OzSolar]

That's the image I saw in less than .1 seconds. I'm pretty sure the OP was joking or else I would have responded "that's what Elon said too"