Victron 150/45 vs 150/60?

[BartonB]

SmartSolar MPPT 150/45 130 x 186 x 70 1,3kg - $230~
SmartSolar MPPT 150/60-Tr 200 x 250 x 95 3kg - $375~

Why the big jump? in everything
More than twice the wight and such

Is it a different product under the same name? more advance in efficiency or something?

Gonna hook it up to two 550w panels 51v~ each, if I get the 60 so maybe add another panel in the future

 

[rilonau]

More current always means heavier parts and cables -> more weight! If you want a robust and reliable build it must be more massive
You also need beeter cooling, bigger heatsinks etc. etc.

If you think you really need more than 45 Amps go for the 60. How big and what voltage is your battery and how fast do you want it to charge?
If you have a higher voltage system you need less current for the same power

 

[DIYrich]

Display option.
Remote on/off.

 

[BartonB]

More current always means heavier parts and cables -> more weight! If you want a robust and reliable build it must be more massive
You also need beeter cooling, bigger heatsinks etc. etc.

If you think you really need more than 45 Amps go for the 60. How big and what voltage is your battery and how fast do you want it to charge?
If you have a higher voltage system you need less current for the same power

Yes but it's only 15 amps, while 100/30 and 150/45 are the same size... a conspiracy? who knows

Anyway, at that price I can get 2 150/45 instead of one 150/60....unless I'll figure out a difference

 

[Kiwi2000]

You won't be able to series connect 3 x 51 Voc panels to either of those 150V max SCCs because that will exceed max voltage.

You could add another two panels down the road if you add the next 2 in parallel.

Either of those SCCs will work fine with 4 panels. Over-panelling is fine and just means you will reach max output of the SCC for a longer period of the day. In fact I prefer over-panelling now as it gives more consistent yield from one day to the next. Daily yield is less affected by variable weather conditions.

 

[BartonB]

You won't be able to series connect 3 x 51 Voc panels to either of those 150V max SCCs because that will exceed max voltage.

You could add another two panels down the road if you add the next 2 in parallel.

Either of those SCCs will work fine with 4 panels. Over-panelling is fine and just means you will reach max output of the SCC for a longer period of the day. In fact I prefer over-panelling now as it gives more consistent yield from one day to the next. Daily yield is less affected by variable weather conditions.

What if I parallel 3? (24v battery)

Anyway, yes, In the long run I'll have 6 panels overall (that's how much space I got on the roof)

 

[Suijkerbuijk]

What if I parallel 3? (24v battery)

Anyway, yes, In the long run I'll have 6 panels overall (that's how much space I got on the roof)

Parallel your stay on the same volt of the panel.
Serial your volt go up and it go over the volt of the input.
(Winter your volt go up)

Best is really 2x times Serial and than to parallel.
This way you can have profit from both and you have more watts wat you can use.
You need 4 panels

 

[Q-Dog]

Display option.
Remote on/off.

and a programmable relay.

Victron has a spreadsheet that compares all models.

https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-BlueSolar-and-SmartSolar-charge-controller-overview-EN.pdf

 

[ampsarus]

Reviving this thread..
I took the victron mppt test a few weeks ago and was recommended smartsolar 150/60 for my (3) 200W BoRV CIGS panels. Fair enough but if I want to minimize heat and maximize future expansion, could I use a 150/100 or a 250/60 instead and not suffer any inefficiency?
Put another way, it is better to run a *specified* scc at 70% duty, or oversize and run a bigger one at 20% duty if cost isn't important?
Is there anything to be lost heavily under panneling the scc?

 

[ampsarus]

Here's the .pdf, I was able to enter most of the panel specs manually, though there was at least one field I couldn't fill

 

[Q-Dog]

It won't hurt anything to run a larger unit than needed, except your wallet.

 

[BartonB]

I finished my installation a few days ago and I realized that the best setup for me (RV, Low panel count-5)
One mppt per panel, i.e 75/15 or 100/20
This will yield the maximum from each panel and give me the data to see if one of the panels is funky in any way

 

[Brucey]

I finished my installation a few days ago and I realized that the best setup for me (RV, Low panel count-5)
One mppt per panel, i.e 75/15 or 100/20
This will yield the maximum from each panel and give me the data to see if one of the panels is funky in any way

Often with panel shading from rooftop AC/vents etc things end up better that way.

 

[Suijkerbuijk]

I finished my installation a few days ago and I realized that the best setup for me (RV, Low panel count-5)
One mppt per panel, i.e 75/15 or 100/20
This will yield the maximum from each panel and give me the data to see if one of the panels is funky in any way

The price difrence is so low.
That i go for the 100/20 model.
More future proof with the 48volt option

I still have 75/15 no bluetooth model but that will change to a 100/20model with bluetooth.
A bluetooth unit cost about 40 euro for the 75/15.

I need a spare on the boat so the 75/15 will be the spare one.

 

[J.H.]

Aw shucks … go for the 100 amp..& get the screen module too .. it will run cooler and more efficient where your Gona be at amp wise , has room to grow and the blue screen looks impressive to yer friends..
Never under estimate the value of looking cool in this shallow world..

Jim.

 

[mactech]

Aw shucks … go for the 100 amp..& get the screen module too .. it will run cooler and more efficient where your Gona be at amp wise , has room to grow and the blue screen looks impressive to yer friends..
Never under estimate the value of looking cool in this shallow world..

Jim.

Can you under estimate the value of your friends?

I say yes, none of mine give a rat's behind about any of it. :D

 

[Suijkerbuijk]

Can you under estimate the value of your friends?

I say yes, none of mine give a rat's behind about any of it. :D

I do not have friends.
So more easy with no problems.

I do have some people walking around here but that more neighbors.
And i do not care about them what those people think about it

 

[mactech]

They just call me a nerd and walk away, which like you, i do not care to entertain them with knowledge.

I just installed a BlueSolar 150/35 for my 1200w array, no bluetooth which saves $$ and I do not need it with Cerbo device.

 

[J.H.]

Can you under estimate the value of your friends?

I say yes, none of mine give a rat's behind about any of it. :D

Actually if you do a great job at anything , they secretly hate you for excelling..

 

[JanisD]

Back to the original question:
looks like the model line rises like a stairs: You get one schematics with several variations (for ex. 150/35 and 150/45), then next schematics with variations (150/60 till 250/70) and so on.
The one thing to consider when oversizing (besides the cost ) is self consumption: for above mentioned 150/45 vs 150/60 it's 20 mA vs 35 mA at 12 V or 10 mA vs 20 mA at 48 V.
At 48 V it makes up to 0.24 Ah extra consumption daily - not a big deal if You have plenty of sun and batteries. It's a big deal for the systems I deal with - fully autonomous small ones in woods which must survive winter with many cloudy days ...
But oversizing is great - it gives a better sleep at nights.

 

[Brucey]

Back to the original question:
looks like the model line rises like a stairs: You get one schematics with several variations (for ex. 150/35 and 150/45), then next schematics with variations (150/60 till 250/70) and so on.
The one thing to consider when oversizing (besides the cost ) is self consumption: for above mentioned 150/45 vs 150/60 it's 20 mA vs 35 mA at 12 V or 10 mA vs 20 mA at 48 V.
At 48 V it makes up to 0.24 Ah extra consumption daily - not a big deal if You have plenty of sun and batteries. It's a big deal for the systems I deal with - fully autonomous small ones in woods which must survive winter with many cloudy days ...
But oversizing is great - it gives a better sleep at nights.

Yes if you look at the datasheet q dog linked to, if you look at the wire box size, you can see the differences in physical size as they step up in amps. Generally they tend to be pretty consistent in terms of cost per amp of charging, so by going with two smaller SCCs you gain some redundancy, and also the benefits of multiple trackers to deal with non ideal conditions.

 

[HarryN]

Hi - does anyone know what does the TR stand for in the solar charge controller name ?

Also - I would like to program it to use my settings and then block the end user from changing the charger settings. Is this possible ?

Thanks

 

[Brucey]

Hi - does anyone know what does the TR stand for in the solar charge controller name ?

Also - I would like to program it to use my settings and then block the end user from changing the charger settings. Is this possible ?

Thanks

Tr means bare stranded wire, versus the MC4 connector versions.

If its a smart solar with Bluetooth you can disable the Bluetooth after you've made you're settings adjustments. Note you will need a vedirect cable to renable bt if needed later.

Blue solar = no integrated BT
smart solar = bt.

 

[HarryN]

Tr means bare stranded wire, versus the MC4 connector versions.

If its a smart solar with Bluetooth you can disable the Bluetooth after you've made you're settings adjustments. Note you will need a vedirect cable to renable bt if needed later.

Blue solar = no integrated BT
smart solar = bt.

Thanks - so is there a way to provide the end user with the graphs over BT but block them from changing the settings? I don't want my brother to access the settings and accidentally change something, as he lives too far away to really help in person.

I guess the graphs come from the BMV - 712 so maybe it doesn't matter....

I am used to using non victron equipment so building this one is a new territory.

 

[Brucey]

Thanks - so is there a way to provide the end user with the graphs over BT but block them from changing the settings? I don't want my brother to access the settings and accidentally change something, as he lives too far away to really help in person.

Easiest way I can think is a read only guest account on a VRM instance (using Cerbo or venus os on pi). That's if he has Internet access. I believe Victron is working on firmware updates to allow for admin level/installer accounts versus end user read only but not sure how far along they are.