Wind Turbine & Enphase IQ7 system integration success

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  • WebPowerWebPower Registered Users Posts: 62 ✭✭
    edited April 30 #32
    To update the buck power supply trials, I now have a 30-96v power supply rated at 400W or so. It seems to be able to handle the turbine. We haven't had a big wind storm yet and I'll use it the next time there is one to see how it does in high winds. The turn on voltage is about 29.5v and the output voltage is about 22.9. So it's working and will give much better power output if windy enough. It allows the turbine to spin faster and produce more power. However, in my urban environment with trees and structures I don't get enough steady wind at a high enough velocity to make power consistently. So for low wind cases, you will actually produce less power than straight from the 48v turbine since when I'm observing the turbine its running in the low to mid-20v range which doesn't produce any power. I'm going to install a manual switch initially to be able to cut in the power supply if we have a good wind storm. Otherwise, I'll keep the turbine directly into the circuit without the power supply since that cut-in voltage is 16v or so. I may eventually have it automatically switched in by monitoring wind speed. But that's going to take me getting the anemometer up and running. I've modified it to have only one magnet on the hub and have to get it calibrated. Hopefully sometime this summer I'll have it mounted and running via a raspberry pi. I'll modify the above circuit diagram to include the buck power supply. I'm thinking I might install another turbine at a family home in Iowa where it's windy using this circuit. Then see the results. But that will be a ways off. In the meantime, I'll keep fine tuning my operation.

    Here is a video of the power output of the turbine with a buck power supply added. This is one of the ones that smoked after about 5 minutes due to high input voltage (I think).


    9000+W grid tied IQ7 22 panel rooftop and 6 panel ground combination with 1 additional IQ7 connected to 500W wind turbine+200w solar 
  • WebPowerWebPower Registered Users Posts: 62 ✭✭
    The revised diagram with the buck power supply added to the turbine output

    9000+W grid tied IQ7 22 panel rooftop and 6 panel ground combination with 1 additional IQ7 connected to 500W wind turbine+200w solar 
  • WebPowerWebPower Registered Users Posts: 62 ✭✭
    To update on the buck supply, it does work but in low winds the cut in voltage is too high to produce any power. The turbine has to get up to 29+ VDC before the supply kicks on. Lots of my wind is under that so I miss production. There is a guy on an Arduino programming site that has a wind turbine power converter that is boost and buck combined. It operates as low as 10v. The posts are 2-3 years old so I'm not sure if he still sells the boards.


    But here is another design that may also be of interest:


    Then also a UNT masters thesis on a combined solar and wind MPPT:


    Will I build one? Maybe. The UNT provides the most code and might be the where I take from to do the mattgadient version. Right now I have a switch installed to manually toggle between the buck supply and direct from turbine to the IQ7. The UNT paper discusses cutting in higher loads as the wind speed increases. Something I might want to do. Light winds are forecast for the next two weeks which will limit my being able to test switching in the power supply during higher winds.

    Pat

    9000+W grid tied IQ7 22 panel rooftop and 6 panel ground combination with 1 additional IQ7 connected to 500W wind turbine+200w solar 
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