Is There a 96v Mppt Charge Controller?

MiCasa
MiCasa Registered Users Posts: 1
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
Mr. Newbie here. I have read so much from this forum that I consider it my solar-reference-library, albeit I learned a lot there's still so much that I'm still confused about. Without wanting to clog the progressive wheel of this forum too much, I need help with a little dilemma that is bugging me.

I'm grid-tied some of the time and have had Su-Kam 5kw/96v pure sine wave inverter with charging current of 10A to a Saturn battery bank of eight (8) 12v200ah connected in series. In addition, there's a standby 27kw Mikano generator.

While I always wanted hybrid renewable energy with solar array the cost of PV has kept me at bay. PV price is affordably coming down. I saw an ad of SolarWorld Sunmodule 275w at $279 and that has gotten me seriously thinking to add solar panels to my system.

My concern/confusion are as follows:

1. Are there other sources of lower priced quality solar panels?

2. How many of the 275w panels (if that’s the best I can get) do I need for my 19,200ah battery bank?

3. How many panels do I connect in a string of series or parallel?

4. Considering that the inverter is 96v, what size, type of Mppt Charge Controller do I need to complement my system?

Much appreciated.

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  • gww1
    gww1 Solar Expert Posts: 963 ✭✭
    #2
    Re: Is There a 96v Mppt Charge Controller?

    Maby here?
    http://www.solarblvd.com/
    gww
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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,011 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: Is There a 96v Mppt Charge Controller?
    MiCasa wrote: »
    I'm grid-tied some of the time and have had Su-Kam 5kw/96v pure sine wave inverter with charging current of 10A to a Saturn battery bank of eight (8) 12v200ah connected in series. In addition, there's a standby 27kw Mikano generator.

    While I always wanted hybrid renewable energy with solar array the cost of PV has kept me at bay. PV price is affordably coming down. I saw an ad of SolarWorld Sunmodule 275w at $279 and that has gotten me seriously thinking to add solar panels to my system.

    1. Are there other sources of lower priced quality solar panels?
    Yes, the usual suspects are sunelec.com, solarblvd.com, and acosolar.com note these are wholesalers and some have pallet level sales only. They also, in general, are commodity sales people who can't answer questions.
    MiCasa wrote: »
    2. How many of the 275w panels (if that’s the best I can get) do I need for my 19,200ah battery bank?
    You want to be able to charge in the 5-13% charge rate, so delivery of 10 to 26 amps at 96 volts, or 96V x 10A = 960 watts x 1.2 (panel derating) or @1200 watt array minimum to @3000 watt max. Though this can be influence by any energy your drawing off.
    MiCasa wrote: »
    3. How many panels do I connect in a string of series or parallel?

    4. Considering that the inverter is 96v, what size, type of Mppt Charge Controller do I need to complement my system?
    Depends on your charge controller. Currently there are very limited controllers available. Search for;

    Morningstar; TS-MPPT-60-600V-120 Not sure if it's in production yet, it's in the catalog for this year!

    And The "Midnite Classic 250KS" I think this one is out of production.

    Likely The good people at Arizona Wind & Sun can search these for you!

    There are even some older discontinued CCs from Specialty concepts and Helios(?) .
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,654 admin
    #4
    Re: Is There a 96v Mppt Charge Controller?

    Is this really your battery bank (or desired battery bank)?
    19,200ah battery bank

    And at what voltage?

    Remember that adding batteries in series increases voltage. And adding batteries (and strings of batteries) in parallel, adds AH capacity.

    4x 6 volt @ 220 AH batteries: 2 batteries in series adds to 12 volts, two parallel strings of batteries adds all up to a 12 volt @ 440 AH battery bank

    Same batteries all added in series gives you 24 volts @ 220 AH battery bank.

    Note that the amount of energy stored in both cases is the same. (voltage*current=power; Voltage*AH=WH=Energy stored).

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #5
    Re: Is There a 96v Mppt Charge Controller?

    The Midnight Classic 200 only goes up to 72V in the preset values. It may be possible to kick it higher, but I don't know. They have manuals online.

    And if you get a 96V controller, what do you plan to use for a 96V inverter ??
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • boB
    boB Solar Expert Posts: 1,032 ✭✭✭✭
    #6
    Re: Is There a 96v Mppt Charge Controller?

    The MidNite Classic 250KS is discontinued and the Morningstar 600-120V battery version is not out yet, AFAIK....

    Here's what can be done.

    Use 2 (two) regular controllers... One per 48V half of your 96V battery.
    Each controller will need its own separate PV array but that shouldn't be any different
    than the single array you would have used for a single 120V charger.

    Using two MPPT CCs are probably going to be more reliable than one CC also.

    Each CC will can not share each others' negative line of course.

    I think the Morningstars' RS232 lines are isolated but the MidNite's are not
    if you need them on the same network. It would be nice to be able to
    synchronize both controllers so that they both go from Absorb to Float
    at the same time but not absolutely necessary for a 2 separate battery
    half system.

    Anyway, you might want to consider this method and there are a few controllers
    to choose from that would get the job done.

    boB
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