Charge controllers for 5500 Watts of solar panels ?

[Windpower]

So far I have not found a charge controller for 110 amps at 48 volts

I figure they must be available somewhere as I have seen massive arrays out there

or am I missing something

[Native_NM]

I just did some research.  One of the most common methods for off-grid is "divide and conquer". Break the array into two small arrays.

[Windpower]

Can you run two charge controllers into the same battery bank or do they 'fight' each other . If I understand how MPPT's,  work I would expect them to 'see' the voltage of the other CC at the battery and not function properly, that is the voltage at the battery would be high(from the other CC) and indicate the battery was full. Maybe there is a "dual mode" option that fixes this problem.

Time to down load some manuals...   

At $500 per controller (XWMPPT 60-150) that would add up too

Update: I did find  a 120 AMP controller for 48 VDC but not many details on it -- I'll need to call them up

http://www.solarelectricsupply.com/Charge_Controllers/PV-2-Center/charge-control-center.html

so where is Sparks when you need him ?

[Windpower]

I downloaded the Xantrex manual and while I did not see a wiring diagram showing multiple controllers connected to the same battery bank,
I did see that multiple CC could be Networked via the Xanbus to work together "sharing common DC connections" --- I take that to mean the same battery bank

This would be golden in my application because I like the idea of redundancy of equipment for a totally off grid system.

This system may work out with 3 sets of 12 panels

That would leave 4 panels left (out of the pallet 28) for another use -- maybe a remote water pump, shop or garden shed.

[Rob_O]

So far I have not found a charge controller for 110 amps at 48 volts

I figure they must be available somewhere as I have seen massive arrays out there

or am I missing something

I was wondering when you were going to stumble across this problem. I do not know the full details of your system but I knew it was bigger than a single charge controller could handle

Both the Xantrex you listed and the Outback FM60 seem to be capable of working together to charge those big batteries you want

I like your idea of having one controller for each set of 12 panels, If one craps out you still have most of your charging capacity and if 2 die you can do a little creative rewiring to still have 50% capacity

[MountainDon]

Personally I'd stick with Xantrex, Outback or Apollo for a charge controller

You can have two arrays, feeding through two charge controllers into the same battery bank. I believe it's advisable to set the voltage points for the floats slightly different. The first CC will cut out and leave final float to the other.  ??

If the arrays are fixed you could set one slightly to the east to pickup more morning sun and the other slightly to the west to carry on a little later in the day.

[OlJarhead]

I like the 'divide and conquer' approach and am considering it myself.

With one side of my AC panel supplied via 3000 watts of pure sine wave for those that need it, and the other side with 2500watts (assuming I keep the same inverter) of modified.  Why?  With two banks I can ensure that items like a fridge and freezer have all the power to themselves while everything else has a separate power plant thus eliminating the worry factor that maybe running those lights a little longer will kill the fridge and freezer!

[beckhamk]

Why do you need some sine and modified?  Why not all of one type that could run laptops and computers etc?

[OlJarhead]

Why do you need some sine and modified?  Why not all of one type that could run laptops and computers etc?

One word:  MONEY

[Windpower]

Personally I'd stick with Xantrex, Outback or Apollo for a charge controller

You can have two arrays, feeding through two charge controllers into the same battery bank. I believe it's advisable to set the voltage points for the floats slightly different. The first CC will cut out and leave final float to the other.  ??

If the arrays are fixed you could set one slightly to the east to pickup more morning sun and the other slightly to the west to carry on a little later in the day.

Thanks Don that's the way I read the Xantrex manual

good Idea on the positioning for morning/midday/evening

My latest plan is 3 banks of panels of about 2400 watts each into their own XWMPPT 60 -150  charge controler charging a HuP Solar one bank about 1500 AH

12 205 Watt panel bank
12 195 Watt panel bank
12 195 Watt panel bank

4 left over 195's (from the 28 panel pallet)  going into a Xantrex C-40 controler charging  8 T105s for remote use in a garden shed, gazebo or shop

[Rob_O]

My latest plan is 3 banks of panels of about 2400 watts each into their own XWMPPT 60 -150  charge controler charging a HuP Solar one bank about 1500 AH

I believe that's a great idea!

[beckhamk]

One word:  MONEY

Can you explain why this is. Just trying to understand why you would need both and how the money falls into play with that.

[Squirl]

True sine inverters are expensive in comparison to square wave.  You can easily pick up a 2000 watt square sine inverter that will run 90% of electrical equipment without a problem. They can be had for around $100 with some bargain hunting. The problem comes with that other 10%.  They are usually sensitive electronics devices or battery chargers.  Most of the devices that can't use square sine are low wattage.  You can get a lower wattage square sine inverter at a much lower cost than one big one.  The last I checked it was around $100 for a 400 watt pure sine wave. So for $200 total you can run 99% of all electric equipment.    This is in comparison to getting just one 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter.  The last I checked for just one of them was $350-$400 and up.