Outback or Morningstar which one?

Re: Outback or Morningstar which one?

I've added the Morinigstar "Relay Driver" to my system to extend it's capabilities. If you go with the MX-60, you may need to add the "Hub" and the "Mate" to get the functionality you want, making the MX-60 a much more expensive choice than the TS-60.

SJ,

I disagree with this statement. For one thing, the MRD isn’t free, so, while it increases the TS' functionality, it also increases its cost.

OutBack’s Mate and the Hub actually add very little functionality to the MX. The Mate can be a remote display, and it can remotely trigger the MX’ AUX function, but that’s about it. They’re probably not worth the expense without an OutBack inverter in the system. Separately, a PC and third party software can be connected to the Mate to monitor MX performance.

There’s no doubt that the MPPT controllers (Apollo, OutBack, Xantrex) cost more than a Tristar. A Xantrex XW, including a built-in display and RTS, costs $519 from NAWS. A Morningstar TriStar-60 with the optional display and RTS costs ~$315, or ~$200 less. From the perspective of just the controller, the TriStar is indeed “less expensive”.

However, from a total system cost perspective, that savings can easily lead to higher costs elsewhere. The TS-60's lack of a DC-DC step-down feature may mean requiring heavier and more expensive wire from the array to the controller, and its lack of MPPT -- even allowing for the controller’s internal loss -- means a larger and most costly array is required -- everything else being equal -- once a TS-60’s array size is greater than ~400 W.

From another perspective, the TR-60 PWM controller can leave behind -- waste? -- a lot of energy, especially in the winter when an array is cold and the available array voltage is high

The TS-60 is a very good, versatile, and reliable PWM controller. But, in terms of cost of energy harvested (Wh/day), it’s actually the more expensive choice once an array size exceeds ~500 W STC or so.

Here’s a useful example of the ~500 W “crossover” point”, using current prices from NAWS:

System #1, PWM Controller, 540 W STC

One TS-60 w/ display and RTS: $315
Four Kyocera KD135’s: $2654
Total: $2969

System #2, MPPT Controller, 510 W STC

One Xantrex XW: $519
Three Mitsubishi 170 W modules: $2284
Total: $2803

System #2 will cost ~$166 less just for the parts identified, but, due to its MPPT feature, be able to deliver at least as much power.


Regards,
Jim / crewzer