How to ensure peace of mind your solar site is running efficiently? We understand solar sites can be a headache to manage, and one bad site can turn you off. However, this doesn’t need to be.
At Valen, we aim to do it once and do it right and are passionate about saving our clients money for onsite labour costs, call-out fees and reducing downtime.
There are multiple factors to an efficient solar site, and in this blog, we touch on one that can be a significant game-changer in knowing how your site is running through monitorable solar controllers.
Victron SmartSolar controllers
Victron SmartSolar controllers are high-quality products that ensure you get the return on investment at your solar site.
solar charger
A solar charger collects energy from the solar panels and transfers this to your batteries for storage. The Victron SmartSolar is developed with the latest and fastest technology resulting in this being able to maximise the energy production and efficiency to achieve full charge in the shortest possible time. In turn, this maintains battery health, extending its life and can result in fewer panels required.
Victron SmartSolar Key Features:
- Bluetooth compatible so you can monitor your installation from your phone and check critical data of your setup.
- SmartSolar controllers can operate with a battery voltage as low as 0 volts, provided the cells are not permanently damaged.
- There is multiple add on features to the SmartSolar controller within the Victron Range; including remote monitoring etc.
Victron SmartSolar Bluetooth App
To enable Bluetooth monitoring on your SmartSolar, download the free VictronConnect app to your smartphone. You may need to do a few restarts to your device as there will be some updates it has to go through. Then you will be likely asked for a password. This will be six zeros, 0000, which you can change once in the app.
The status tab on the app will show you what is happening in real-time with your solar system.
For example,
– 425W is the number of watts being generated from the panel/ PV array
– 36.00V is the voltage from the panel to the controller
– 11.8A is the current (amps) from the panel to the controller
Next, we see what the function of the MMPT controller does in taking the higher voltage from the panels (36v) and dropping it down to charge the batteries at a lower voltage ( 28.30V) and then taking the difference of 7.7 and turning it into more amps.
The MPPT charge controller is producing;
– 28.30V – the voltage from the controller to the battery bank ( 24v nominal battery bank)
– 15.0A the current (amps) from the controller to the battery bank
In conclusion, the MPPT controller is giving us 3.2A ‘extra’ or an increase of 21.2% more power than we are getting from the solar panels.
The history tab will show the power production each day for up to the previous 30 days. The bar for each day can then be clicked to display more detail, such as time spent in bulk charging, time spent in absorption charging and time spent in float charging.
These features of the SmartSolar can save hours of troubleshooting time and money, simplify your installs and give you confidence in the results they will produce and return on investment.
want to find out more?
Reach out to the Valen team today to see how we can help you with your next solar installation, by phone 1300 734 253 or via our quick and easy Contact Us form and one of the friendly team will answer your questions.
