Who here has the best dump load management system going on? (revisited)

[Daddy Tanuki]

As an aside, one video on the topic (I think) said you want to keep the total load on the smart load port under 3500W for a 15K Sol Ark. Is that true and what is the limit on the Deye 8k if anyone knows off the top.

dont know about the Deye, but nothing is stopping you from using that relay to trip a bigger heavier duty magnetic relay to power whatever you want form it.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

bedtime for me, gotta brush my nasty little fangs and gets me my beauty sleep

 

[kolek]

dont know about the Deye, but nothing is stopping you from using that relay to trip a bigger heavier duty magnetic relay to power whatever you want form it.

Gotcha. I just like a more simple approach that doesn't use a relay at this point, for the sake of safety. I don't really feel I understand relays well enough yet to be safe with them.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

whats the manual say about the smart port? is it a dry contact relay?

the magnum router that parallels my tow inverters has a aux dry contact relay, which can be triggered by damn near any parameter that the inverter monitors, but it is only a dry contact, so you feed power into it and it switches the power off and on.

In my case the dry switch GOES to a 48 vdc relay that turns on the sigineer inverters and also sends power to a dayton DC timed delay relay that turns on a panasonic 12vDC/600vAC relay that then supplies power to the water heating.

Power is only supplied when the battery is at xx.xx voltage, or the other choice is when the battery is above xxx% of charge, my choice on which way to go.
The inverter has its own built in AC out timer so I can set it to only supply power between say when my batteries are normally fully charge at say 1030 and let it run until say 1700 (or later depending upon what the empirical results show, and the inverters shunt will measure battery volts and percentage of charge and then trip the dry contact when the battery voltage has dropped (or SOC percentage) to the level i set. so set it for say 70% and higher, it charges to full by roughly 1000-1030 and the relays are already energized, and the inverters are turned on but they will not supply power until 1030 so the panels will supply their max available and the battery bank will supply when the panels cannot until either the time limit expires, or the shunt says that its below the set point fo avaialble power.

No I think it's a powered port that outputs full output from the solar depending on solar output/battery soc or if there's grid power so essentially the same as the grid port (if the option is selected) the only issue I see with running something like an AC unit through it is your only going to have power if solar is being produced in excess so no actual at night though powering an aux resistive heating element it works without any extra switchgear.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

Gotcha. I just like a more simple approach that doesn't use a relay at this point, for the sake of safety. I don't really feel I understand relays well enough yet to be safe with them.

AC contactor essentially is a switch but rather than pushing a rocker you have to feed it voltage.
Edit: using a small current to switch something with a large current.

 

[curiouscarbon]

Yeah sorry @SeaGal, my knowledge of electronics is far, far below than yours, obviously. Your explanation of your method was also way over my head and I checked out your reference link. Too technical for me.

On the other hand I did understand @Crowz explanation of what he's doing and that I would be able to manage I think.

I'm completely new to this topic so there'e many terms I don't understand. Burst mode for example.

According to Wikipedia Burst mode is a generic electronics term referring to any situation in which a device is transmitting data repeatedly without going through all the steps required to transmit each piece of data in a separate transaction. Ok. Still not clear.

Maybe sending an IR transmission to an AC is "burst mode switching" and switching on a big heating element is resistive load switching or something like that. No idea, just guessing.

I understand a heating element is a resistive load. What's the opposite of a resistive load? An unresistive load? A nonresistive load? For example what? IR transmission switching like @Crowz is talking about is burst mode?

If your inverter has the "smart load" switching capability, do you still need a Triac? In layman's terms, what role does a Triac play in controlling an external load? Watched a YT video on it, not clear.

Feel free to ignore this message, you're under no obligation to educate me, just explaining what's not clear to me. Thank you @SeaGal

IR blaster -> infrared broadcast device like a TV remote, it can maybe help automating air conditioner if yours has more than just the buttons.

Another meaning of IR is "insulation resistance" which refers to how good the insulation on a cable can prevent voltage potential from jumping through to the outside.

some devices can turn on and off really fast with basically no issues, like a simple resistor. an air conditioner generally needs a few minutes to stabilize between requests to go on/off

hope this helps a bit

 

[SeaGal]

In layman's terms, what role does a Triac play in controlling an external load?

It allows for voltage to be applied to the device for only part of the time, thus reducing the average power drawn.

Basically the same principle as a household dimmer switch to control an incandescent lightbulb.

 

[SeaGal]

Your explanation of your method was also over my head

On the other hand I did understand @Crowz explanation

And that's exactly why I didn't train to become a teacher

 

[kolek]

IR blaster -> infrared broadcast device like a TV remote, it can maybe help automating air conditioner if yours has more than just the buttons.

some devices can turn on and off really fast with basically no issues, like a simple resistor. an air conditioner generally needs a few minutes to stabilize between requests to go on/off

hope this helps a bit

Appreciate it, yep those parts I did understand. Didn't know off-the-shelf parts were available to do this on Amazon, and that Home Assistant could talk to them, but it all makes sense. Really cool tech that I could actually put to real use.

 

[kolek]

It allows for voltage to be applied to the device for only part of the time, thus reducing the average power drawn.

Basically the same principle as a household dimmer switch to control an incandescent lightbulb.

Say I want to keep it as simple as possible, and I can simply connect a big dumb electric heater to the "smart load" port, is there a need or benefit for a Triac in that particular application? My plan for winter would be just running a line connected to the "smart load" port around the house so occupied rooms could have heaters come on when there was excess PV.

 

[SeaGal]

That would depend if you want to apply the full load of the dump-load vs. having a variable load.

 

[kommando]

If you have batteries to act as a buffer then you can turn a load on 100% for a certain time, no battery and you need a Triac type solution to only shave the excess off exactly.

 

[SeaGal]

If you have batteries to act as a buffer then you can turn a load on 100% for a certain time

Yes and no.

My immersion diverter will look at the max power that can be delivered by battery (5kW in my case) and what current house usage is and then only divert what it can without drawing from the grid. So, for example, if I have the oven on (2.5kW) and say house load is 500W, my diverter can still heat the water, but only using 2000W direct from battery

 

[kolek]

Yes and no.

My immersion diverter will look at the max power that can be delivered by battery (5kW in my case) and what current house usage is and then only divert what it can without drawing from the grid. So, for example, if I have the oven on (2.5kW) and say house load is 500W, my diverter can still heat the water, but only using 2000W direct from battery

Ok wow that is something out of The Jetsons. Way beyond what I ever expect to be capable of. I'll be lucky if I just get my AC's started using Home Assistant and some IR transmitters from Amazon.

 

[realpinochet]

Is generating more PV power than is being consumed detrimental to the panels or other system components or is it just wasteful?

Also, doesn't a lot of smart inverters today have a smart load circuit that one could send power to say a hot water heater or charge a EV?

 

[Bananaman321]

Is generating more PV power than is being consumed detrimental to the panels or other system components or is it just wasteful?

Also, doesn't a lot of smart inverters today have a smart load circuit that one could send power to say a hot water heater or charge a EV?

I believe the panel's calendar age in the sun whether in use or not personally I build for bad weather (3 days of rain) meaning horizontal over paneling.

After all solar panels are the cheapest part of the system if you can come up with cheap secure racking and you have the room for it why not.

 

[realpinochet]

I believe the panel's calendar age in the sun whether in use or not personally I build for bad weather (3 days of rain) meaning horizontal over paneling.

After all solar panels are the cheapest part of the system if you can come up with cheap secure racking and you have the room for it why not.

Ok, I was just curious if having the PV string / circuit loaded up and all that current not being used was a issue outside if just being wasteful.

As for racking, I was looking into one of these trackers; I believe you can put full size panels on it ..so 8 400W panels would be nice. Wouldn't that make up for not over paneling?

Dual Axis Solar Tracker System Help To Increase 40% Power | ECO-WORTHY

ECO-WORTHY dual axis solar tracking system can control the dual-axis linear actuator to make the solar panel to follow the sunlight, Keep the solar panel always face the sunlight. Production from a dual-axis solar tracker will increases annual output by approximately 40% compare to a fixed solar...

www.eco-worthy.com

 

[Bananaman321]

Ok, I was just curious if having the PV string / circuit loaded up and all that current not being used was a issue outside if just being wasteful.

As for racking, I was looking into one of these trackers; I believe you can put full size panels on it ..so 8 400W panels would be nice. Wouldn't that make up for not over paneling?

Dual Axis Solar Tracker System Help To Increase 40% Power | ECO-WORTHY

ECO-WORTHY dual axis solar tracking system can control the dual-axis linear actuator to make the solar panel to follow the sunlight, Keep the solar panel always face the sunlight. Production from a dual-axis solar tracker will increases annual output by approximately 40% compare to a fixed solar...

www.eco-worthy.com

 

[Bananaman321]

Ok, I was just curious if having the PV string / circuit loaded up and all that current not being used was a issue outside if just being wasteful.

As for racking, I was looking into one of these trackers; I believe you can put full size panels on it ..so 8 400W panels would be nice. Wouldn't that make up for not over paneling?

Dual Axis Solar Tracker System Help To Increase 40% Power | ECO-WORTHY

ECO-WORTHY dual axis solar tracking system can control the dual-axis linear actuator to make the solar panel to follow the sunlight, Keep the solar panel always face the sunlight. Production from a dual-axis solar tracker will increases annual output by approximately 40% compare to a fixed solar...

www.eco-worthy.com

Sorry got a phone call and accidentally hit the post button. anyways

I watched part of that video it was almost comical the five mile an hour breeze was blowing that array around I just don't know if I would trust It's integrity plus that's an unfair comparison being at the panels on the ground do not have air cooling.

 

[Bananaman321]

Sorry got a phone call and accidentally hit the post button. anyways

I watched part of that video it was almost comical the five mile an hour breeze was blowing that array around I just don't know if I would trust It's integrity plus that's an unfair comparison being at the panels on the ground do not have air cooling.

By the way if you got room for that crap in your yard why not just build a solar carport or a solar gazebo or a solar lean to.

 

[SeaGal]

As for racking, I was looking into one of these trackers; I believe you can put full size panels on it ..so 8 400W panels would be nice. Wouldn't that make up for not over paneling?

Cheaper and less maintenance to deploy more panels than a tracker these days, unless you are short on space.

 

[Bananaman321]

I just ordered my second pallet yesterday

 

[Crowz]

I'll be experimenting with fixed vs the trackers for this winter. I want to see if it makes a worthwhile investment for some extra ummph in the winter time vs fixed mounts.

This will be my dedicated battery charging victron controllers.

 

[Bananaman321]

Trying to stay ahead of the terrif tax

And preparing for lousy weather

 

[Crowz]

Sorry got a phone call and accidentally hit the post button. anyways

I watched part of that video it was almost comical the five mile an hour breeze was blowing that array around I just don't know if I would trust It's integrity plus that's an unfair comparison being at the panels on the ground do not have air cooling.

Totally agree with it not being a valid way to mount a large setup because of wind and such plus they can't handle any really large panel setups. But for small space setups and I'm hoping for mid sized arrays during the winter it might be a good idea.