diy solar

diy solar

XW6048 Expansion Suggestions

mtgstuber

New Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2022
Messages
3
I have an existing system with a pair of XW6048 inverters, tied to a pair of MPPT 60 150s, each with 3.5kw of panels. I have a 1369 Ah FLA battery bank. I also have a propane fueled DC generator from Shawnee Power Systems. (If you're looking for a DC gen-set, they are definitely worth talking to). The system works well. I live in the mountains near Spokane WA, at approximately 47.9 N. I am completely off-grid and my whole system is sized for winter. Unfortunately, not only are our days very short in winter, the weather pattern tends to be cloudy in winter because the clouds gather around the mountain socking me in.

I'm looking to expand the system so I can run my generator less frequently. I'd like to at least double my solar capacity. Given the space I have in my PDP, my strong preference is to add a single new charge controller or to go the AC coupling route. Why? Because adding two more controllers is going to require more breakers than I have space for. I'd prefer not to replace the inverters as they are working quite well. (On a side note, I have a second system using a pair of Xantrex 4048 inverters that's been running for 17 years without any issues). At the same time, all of the documentation on the Schneider MPPT 100 and AC coupling focuses on XW+ and XW Pro). My XW does have an AC Coupling option under Advanced, but in reading the documents that @GVSolar posted over here https://diysolarforum.com/threads/schneider-system-design-wasteland-no-one-knows-anything.28075/, they don't list the XW as supported at all.

Similarly, in looking at the datasheets for the Schneider MPPT 100, the XW isn't listed as supported. I realize that I don't have to have a charge controller that's supported. I could pick up a Midnight Solar or an Outback MPPT and just manage it independently. The attraction of something that integrates with what I have is being able to better track my consumption and production through my existing ComBox.

On a side-note, I'm interested in suggestions for panels as well. My existing panels are a mix of SolarWorld and Sharp. All are mono-crystalline. I'm leaning towards frameless monocrystalline panels. The frameless is to minimize catchpoints for clearing snow. Monocrystalline because low-light power production is very important in my installation. My preference is for US or European-made panels.

Thoughts? Suggestions?
 
Note: I did find this application note from Schneider that suggests AC coupling with an XW is a bad-idea because of the limited charging logic:

The thing that I find odd is that this note says that the XW firmware decreases the frequency when the batteries hit the bulk voltage, rather than increasing it as the XW+ and XW Pro do. Based on the way AC systems work in general, increasing the frequency makes a great deal of sense. Decreasing, not so much . . . sigh.
 
Last edited:
I think staying DC coupled and using Schneider MPPT charge controller since you have the XW's would be ideal. I would reach out to Schneider "good luck, I've read they are hard to get ahold of" and ask them about the MPPT 100 600 or MPPT 80 600 compatibility with your inverters. Those would be ideal. Maybe they have a firmware update for your older XW's to add compatibility with the newer MPPT controllers? What about adding one or two more 60 150 chargers if those wouldn't work? Not sure what the limit is, but I think I've seen 4 of those on one system before.
 
Back
Top