Re: [RE-wrenches] AC coupling and Outback inverters

2012-10-05 Thread Glenn Burt
I would advise against using CAT-5 cabling for any RS-485 data communications, it is not an appropriate tool for the job. This is a common poor practice in the solar industry. 4 conductor shielded, 24AWG jacketed cable is what SMA recommends, and is appropriate for this purpose. Glenn Burt (m

Re: [RE-wrenches] AC coupling and Outback inverters

2012-10-05 Thread Kirk Herander
I am leaning towards the SunnyIsland. I assume it backs off the SunnyBoy via RS485 communications and the factory 240 xformer is a plus. The Outback setup might be a little less expensive, but as you say a bit of a kludge. I guess I still need the charge controller for the new PV, as the SunnyIslan

Re: [RE-wrenches] SunnyIsland - was AC coupling and Outback inverters

2012-10-05 Thread Kirk Herander
One Question: Output of the SunnyBoy is 240vac. So this is fed to the critical load panel, of which the SunnyIsland 120 vac output is fed to. So we need a 120/240 step up transformer between the SunnyIsland and the critical load panel to fully take advantage of the Sunnyboy array for battery chargi

Re: [RE-wrenches] SunnyIsland - was AC coupling and Outback inverters

2012-10-05 Thread Dave Click
Check out the new SMA Smartformer, though I'm not sure whether it's actually shipping yet. I'm thinking about this for my house eventually (SB5000US). http://www.sma-america.com/en_US/products/off-grid-and-back-up-solutions/smartformer-for-sunny-island.html Alternatively, the new SMA TL invert

Re: [RE-wrenches] SunnyIsland - was AC coupling and Outback inverters

2012-10-05 Thread August Goers
I'm looking forward to checking out the SMA Smartformer. We're sending one of our guys to SMA training later this month to learn more about it is depth. Up to date, we used the Outback PSX-240 like the one found here to 120/240 step up: http://www.altestore.com/store/Enclosures-Electrical-Safety/M

Re: [RE-wrenches] SunnyIsland - was AC coupling and Outback inverters

2012-10-05 Thread Will White
We've had problems with the Outback auto transformer when used with Sunny Islands. The internal resistance of the transformer bumped the voltage up too high on a couple of systems and we were getting over voltage errors in the inverter. We switched to a larger transformer and that fixed the pr

Re: [RE-wrenches] AC coupling and Outback inverters

2012-10-05 Thread David Katz
You customer might consider using two Sunnyislands instead of a transformer. I used the Sunnyislands without 485 and it still backed of the grid tie inverters. 485 let's the SI put the grid tie inverters in off grid mode, making them less sensative to the UL parameters. David Sent from my HTC sm

[RE-wrenches] Sunny Control software on Windows 7?

2012-10-05 Thread William Miller
Friends: Can I run the Sunny control Software, circa early 2000s on Windows 7? Thanks in advance... William Miller Miller Solar Voice :805-438-5600 email: will...@millersolar.com http://millersolar.com License No. C-10-773985 ___ List sponsored by

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sunny Control software on Windows 7?

2012-10-05 Thread David Katz
I am using SunnyControl on my Windows 7 machine. David Katz Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint! - Reply message - From: "William Miller" To: "RE-wrenches" Subject: [RE-wrenches] Sunny Control software on Windows 7? Date: Fri, Oct 5, 2012 9:14 am Friends: Can

[RE-wrenches] Solar Log Scematics

2012-10-05 Thread Max Balchowsky
Does anyone have schematics for wiring the Solar Log monitor to talk to the SMA 5k I've hooked one up in Hawaii, with the wireless card in the 5k, but it's not talking to the inverter. Also, I have another to hard wire but I can't find information anywhere to know what pins on the solar log to

Re: [RE-wrenches] Solar Log Scematics

2012-10-05 Thread David Katz
Hi Max, For an RS-485 connection, Solar-log terminal 1 goes to SMA terminal 2, Solar-Log terminal 3 goes to SMA terminal 5, Solar-Log termional 4 goes to SMA terminal 7. The manual is very clear. You can look at it online or download it at: http://www.solar-log.net/index.php?eID=tx_mm_bccmsbase_z