The New Schneider is Here !!

[Windpower]

I just picked up the new Schneider Hybrid inverter charger

XW6048

[MountainDon]

That's a heavyweight!   

[glenn kangiser]

Cool - I just read that they had a problem with their grid tie models but apparently it does not include yours.... good show.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/01/schneider-electric-recalls-certain-inverters

[Windpower]

Heavyweight is right

This crate weighed in at 150 pounds


It is more than I expected it can be grid tied or off grid -- very flexible 

I am going to spend some time with the manual tonite

[Squirl]

That is huge.

[Windpower]

I read most of the Operation Guide last night --one concern I had was if it would be easy to program and operate -- it looks very straight forward

this device is amazing

6 KW continuous and 12 KW for 10 seconds to start up big loads

it can be grid tied, with at least 2 sources of AC in, generator or grid and in either a back up configuration or a sell back to the grid config

the sell back feature has multiple modes available (time of the day "Load Shave")

or off grid with batteries and generator or additional DC input (eg Wind generators)

I also like the capabilty to monitor and control it remotely from the inverter through their "Xanbus Network"

I still have a lot of reading to do, but so far I am very impressed with the documentation and the capabilities

[MountainDon]

That's what you get when you a quality name.

[Dave Sparks]

I have installed 12 of them and they are as reliable as the SW's & SW+'s that they replaced. They also do one thing that is very important for some of my deep well cutomers. It is called Gen support. Most other inverter chargers are either charging batteries or inverting. In Gen support mode the load will draw from the generator (charging) and if it exceeds that, the battery will push current to the load also. All others would require you size the generator almost twice of the amount required to avoid tripping generator breakers.  The SW's all did this also.

I have a customer with a single phase XW and it runs on a little Honda 1KW genny. When his deep well pump comes on the huge surge is supplied by the battery and the little honda keeps on chugging. This feature is valuable because if you depend on generators and your main unit goes out you can beg borrow or obtain a small unit while the main is serviced.

These have been out for about 5 years now. I have been beta testing the matching 600vdc charge controller and it will be for sale in the next two weeks.

Be sure you try and balance your loads as it can be a problem for people who are not use to 220VAC inverters. An electrician always does this in his load calculations.

[davidj]

I have installed 12 of them and they are as reliable as the SW's & SW+'s that they replaced. They also do one thing that is very important for some of my deep well cutomers. It is called Gen support. Most other inverter chargers are either charging batteries or inverting. In Gen support mode the load will draw from the generator (charging) and if it exceeds that, the battery will push current to the load also. All others would require you size the generator almost twice of the amount required to avoid tripping generator breakers.  The SW's all did this also.

I have a customer with a single phase XW and it runs on a little Honda 1KW genny. When his deep well pump comes on the huge surge is supplied by the battery and the little honda keeps on chugging. This feature is valuable because if you depend on generators and your main unit goes out you can beg borrow or obtain a small unit while the main is serviced.

These have been out for about 5 years now. I have been beta testing the matching 600vdc charge controller and it will be for sale in the next two weeks.

Be sure you try and balance your loads as it can be a problem for people who are not use to 220VAC inverters. An electrician always does this in his load calculations.

Thanks for the useful info.  That sounds like a good feature, especially after two winters of hauling everything in sleds for 6 months whilst helping my neighbor trying to diagnose/repair the control board in his Kohler propane gennie.  Fortunately he had a decent spare gennie sitting around otherwise it would have been a dark, dry winter!

What's the downside from unbalanced loads with these guys?  Is it more than just a loss of efficiency in the low-power leg?  Is adding an autotransformer a good fix for this?

[Dave Sparks]

Thanks David!

The down side of unbalanced operation of a split phase XW is you could only get 75% of that leg if the other leg was not supplying any current.  It would be the same with a pair of Outbacks and an external transformer. The XW just has all that happening without the transformer loss electrically. Higher efficiency and a 5 year newer design. In most cases even with the 4KW 24V XW it is hard to get that imbalanced. Not many people would use that much 120vac power on one leg and not use the other. A deep well pump could cause a problem here but this kind of problem is an electrician problem not an equipment problem. Balance your load center if you have spltit phase.  Hope this helps.

[StinkerBell]

I thought this was about a new baby! However looks like a very lovely inverter...congrats

[davidj]

The down side of unbalanced operation of a split phase XW is you could only get 75% of that leg if the other leg was not supplying any current.  It would be the same with a pair of Outbacks and an external transformer. The XW just has all that happening without the transformer loss electrically. Higher efficiency and a 5 year newer design. In most cases even with the 4KW 24V XW it is hard to get that imbalanced. Not many people would use that much 120vac power on one leg and not use the other. A deep well pump could cause a problem here but this kind of problem is an electrician problem not an equipment problem. Balance your load center if you have spltit phase.  Hope this helps.

Thanks. Balancing doesn't sound like too much of a problem for our place - our big load is the well pump, which is 220V and pulls 2.2KVA.  So >30% of the load would be balanced by default and it'd be hard to pull a heavy load without the well pump on.  But it does make the decision to put in a couple of more circuits than strictly necessary seem a good decision - it makes it easier to move a few loads to the other leg if necessary if it ends up being less equally split than planned.

The arrival of the 600V charge controller is frustrating given I've already bought my panels and they are 6 x 28V.  This looks like it's too low for a 600V system but requires big wire and parallel wiring on a regular controller.  What I need is a 250V controller!  (Or, I guess, a bunch more panels).

Choosing an inverter looks like one of those hard-to-make decisions.  Originally all I knew about were outbacks, then I saw the XW and it seemed cheaper (if a little lower power), then I went back to outbacks when I realized all the neighbors had them and they were preferred by the local solar installers, now I'm back into the idea of the XW.  But given how long it's gonna take me to do the kitchen and bathroom I guess I still have the luxury of changing my mind a few more times before my wife lets me start playing with the solar - maybe there'll be a new outback out by then!

[MountainDon]

What I need is a 250V controller!

http://www.midnitesolar.com/

[Windpower]

Thanks for the info,  Sparks

good one, stinker

[Windpower]

Time to buy some more accessories

The charge controller seems close to perfect for this since it communicates with the inverter



XW-MPPT-60
Xantrex XW Solar Charge Controller

The Xantrex XW Solar Charge Controller (XW SCC) is a photovoltaic (PV) charge controller that tracks the electrical maximum power point of a PV array to deliver the maximum available current for charging batteries. When charging, the XW SCC regulates battery voltage and output current based on the amount of energy available from the PV array and state-of-charge of the battery.




I am thinking that this would be very practical too. kinda pricey at  $575

I hadn't seen this before





The Xantrex™ Communication Gateway bridges the gap between Xantrex solar inverters and the system owner's computer, making it the central component for a residential or small commercial remote monitoring system
Xantrex™ Communications Gateway helps the user stay informed with computer access or a simple report

The Xantrex™ Communication Gateway bridges the gap between a Xantrex GT or XW System and the system owner's computer, making it the central component for a residential or small commercial remote monitoring system.

The Gateway logs performance data directly from the Xantrex GT or XW System, and transmits it to the included Yahoo™ Widget based monitoring software for a simple and graphically rich view of system performance. More than a data logger, the Gateway offers a web page with the ability to configure automated email reports and fault status to the user or installer.

[Windpower]

I just powered it up

L1- N    120.1 VAC

L2- N     120.1 VAC

L1-L2     240.2 VAC

passed all diagnostics

I did not put a load on it (just had small batteries hooked up) but it's really nice when something works as advertised

The Comunication Gateway  is on sale from Sunelec  -- maybe I can get some of the shipping charges back ....