Sunny Island setup

inca2607 · December 2014

Hi all

Can any one advice me on what is the best way forward, we have a sunny island 5048, outback 80amp solar controller and a Westwind wind-turbine 3kw, 11 kw generator the problem we have is that when it is windy the turbine can lift the voltage above the boost set-point of 2.4 volts so the boost time times out but just resets and counts down again, this is fine but the state of charge ( SOC ) does not get reset so continues to drop until the point were the SI call the generator on, but the generator has not work to do so is turned off but the SOC does not still get reset.. what happen is the SI SOC drop until the SI shuts down...

I have now reset the wind-turbine voltage down to 57 volts ( boost is 61 volts) this allows the generator to run and reset the SOC

All summer using solar only has been fine ( wind-turbine down for repair lost a blade in high winds last year )

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,

Adrian

In Sunny Cornwall, UK( its now winter with not much sun but plenty of wind )

stephendv · December 2014

Re: Sunny Island setup

Hi Adrian,

Welcome to the forum

The key element for getting the Sunny Island to work with other charging sources is to install a shunt on DC negative of the battery terminal. The procedure is explained in the manual. Without this shunt, the SI has no way of knowing that the other chargers are charging the battery bank.

If you do already have this shunt installed, make sure that the wind turbine is connected on the right side of it, so that the SI can actually see the charge coming in from the turbine. You can check this in the SI's display too, if you navigate to the charging current menu.

You don't mention a dump load controller, how are you dumping surplus power from the wind turbine?

inca2607 · December 2014

Re: Sunny Island setup

Hi

I will have to check this evening but i think i fitted the shunt in the beginning, I assume by the right side you mean, not the battery side...

The wind turbine has a external dump load/resistor but it is a bit tricky to get the dump voltage set, its a pot on the PCB in the turbine.. I'm thinking that i maybe better to use a outback controller the same as i have on the solar setup to control the turbine output voltage.

Much appreciated as it difficult to discuss this with someone with a grid connect....

Adrian

inca2607 · December 2014

Re: Sunny Island setup

inca2607 wrote: »

Hi

I will have to check this evening but i think i fitted the shunt in the beginning, I assume by the right side you mean, not the battery side...

The wind turbine has a external dump load/resistor but it is a bit tricky to get the dump voltage set, its a pot on the PCB in the turbine.. I'm thinking that i maybe better to use a outback controller the same as i have on the solar setup to control the turbine output voltage.

Much appreciated as it difficult to discuss this with someone with a grid connect....

Adrian

Hi

Update have just looked at the setting and installation, I did fit a shunt in the beginning, but it now looks like i didn't set the setting correctly to allow the current reading, now I understand what I'm looking at, the SI has not been seeing the current flow from the solar or wind.

Miracle it worked at all.....

Adrian

inca2607 · December 2014

Re: Sunny Island setup

Just another up date

Followed SI set up data for setting Shunt, but get no reading on completion, I have measured the voltage across shunt and see a variation when current flows. The display on the SI will display when i disconnect one of the shunt wires so some thing is working but it doesn't display any current. I've double checked the setting and connection. The only thing the SI manual refers to cable going around the battery terminal????.

Any one had a similar experience...

Adrian

Cariboocoot · December 2014

Re: Sunny Island setup

Start with the basics.

Shunt has to be between the battery and ALL other connections.
Shunt detection wires go one on each side of it. If they are reversed it will read backwards.

If the system is able to function at all then current is flowing through the shunt. Shunt itself can not fail in any way to cause this not to happen. The Sunny Island could be wired wrong, programmed wrong, or broken.

inca2607 · December 2014

Re: Sunny Island setup

Cariboocoot wrote: »

Start with the basics.

Shunt has to be between the battery and ALL other connections.
Shunt detection wires go one on each side of it. If they are reversed it will read backwards.

If the system is able to function at all then current is flowing through the shunt. Shunt itself can not fail in any way to cause this not to happen. The Sunny Island could be wired wrong, programmed wrong, or broken.

Thanks for getting back

Shunt is in the correct place,

Wires can only fit the correct terminals

just been reading through some other information, it refers to using twisted pair cable so may try that tomorrow,

but i cant see why i wouldn't see some reading even if it wasn't the correct current reading..

The funny thing is when you select the SI to do a auto tune of the shunt wires with the end shorted together, you have to select "start" but it doesn't come back say it complete, maybe it take time to auto tune....the manual is that clear on the finer points...

Adrian

BB. · December 2014

Re: Sunny Island setup

Use a good digital multi meter with a 200 mVolt (0.2 volt) full scale setting.

You should read a small voltage drop on the shunt if all is working correctly (i.e., if 50 mVolts is 500 Amps, then 100 amps would be 10 mVolts).

-Bill

inca2607 · December 2014

Re: Sunny Island setup

Hi again

Just check shunt defiantly getting voltage at the input terminal for shunt sensing connecting in the SI, and it moves up and down with the current flow through shunt, so i'm going to try once more, if not going systems firmware up date... another big learning curve...

Thanks
Adrian

stephendv · December 2014

Re: Sunny Island setup

Just to be sure this isn't a reading error, how are you determining that it's not working? Current in and out of the battery is visible under the menu: Meters -> Battery -> BattCur (or something like that).

I've set this up on two different installs and don't remember it being too complicated... just that you have to do everything exactly as they say in the manual, step by step.

inca2607 · December 2014

Re: Sunny Island setup

Hi

Ye I can go through the complete setup, set shunt mA, then shunt total current as marked on the side of the shunt, then do a system setup of the wiring ( cant remember what the heading is call, it the last part of the set up, I assume to compensate for cable resistance in the leads) the manual then instructs to check the current flow, it should be Zero the two lead are still shorted together up until this point, then connect them to the correct terminals ( with the ends disconnected the internal current flow reads 400 amp +, then with the leads connected properly it get no reading on the display ( when the SI restarts), even though I can measure a small current flow across the input terminal in the SI, also DC clip-on amp-meter reads current flow it main battery leads.

So i'm some what stumped as to what to do next...

I have just down loaded an up-date system file, which i now need to stick on the memory card up up-date system.

But i'm do convinced this will help...

Not the best time to be doing this the week before Xmas....

Adrian

stephendv · December 2014

Re: Sunny Island setup

Sorry, I'm out of ideas

inca2607 · April 2015

Hi All

Just an up date on our SMA inverter after many hours on the phone to SMA help desk in Germany, it was agreed that the inverter had in fact got a fault, they have now supplied a replacement, and low and behold it worked first time, now we are able to balance the solar and wind turbine and are seeing the battery % at well into the 90,s most afternoons.

On another note does anyone know what has happened to westwind turbine now that Ampair has gone bust.....

Regards

Adrian

Sunny Island setup

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