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Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA - Satellite TV Technology (1280) - Nairaland f4y6l

Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA (2779501 Views)

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obinna37(m): 10:40am On Oct 17, 2022
Valto:
depending on your fridge wattage the 1600w can and the 2000w version will carry any fridge. but do note, it is inverter only, no charger.
does the 2000w has 12v version
samir101ng(m): 11:02am On Oct 17, 2022
NiyiOmoIyunade:
Good news all around!

I used to be somewhat of a MorningStar fan boy before porting to Lithium and leaving them behind (tearfully) because they had limited for Lithium chemistries and poor handling of battery disconnects

However, these products or concepts from MorningStar are not so new, they have had a 300w SureSine inverter for some years now and even demoed their bigger inverters in Nigeria (@Richmond had a few units to test I believe). Also they have had a 600v 60a Charge controller that could be parallel stacked with little extra equipment (same as their standard 150v/60a CCs) so fairly ahead of Victron in that area.

Just to set the right base as we evaluate how far they have come.


Forgot to tag you and Oga GeorgeD1 sef as the resident Morning Star fanboys grin grin grin

I believe Oga GeorgeD1 is still rocking his Tristar-60 charge controllers.

Yes, they mentioned in their webinar having had a product in the inverter range (300w12v) but nothing as fully loaded as what they are bringing out to the market now. If i correctly, the lack of certain features/upgrades was what led you and others to port to Victron and they themselves alluded to that fact that it took them years to work on upgrading their lines of products to their "high standards" before releasing them to the market.
NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 11:13am On Oct 17, 2022
Yes you are very correct.

The insider update is that around 2019 or so they came to some Naija exhibition and handed out trial versions of these 'new' inverters you see now to some savvy folks for early testing and review.

samir101ng:


Forgot to tag you and Oga GeorgeD1 sef as the resident Morning Star fanboys grin grin grin

I believe Oga GeorgeD1 is still rocking his Tristar-60 charge controllers.

Yes, they mentioned in their webinar having had a product in the inverter range (300w12v) but nothing as fully loaded as what they are bringing out to the market now. If i correctly, the lack of certain features/upgrades was what led you and others to port to Victron and they themselves alluded to that fact that it took them years to work on upgrading their lines of products to their "high standards" before releasing them to the market.
Valto(m): 11:16am On Oct 17, 2022
obinna37:
does the 2000w has 12v version
yes
ojesymsym: 11:43am On Oct 17, 2022
Many of their mates are now doing 450V na, why should we celebrate 200V?
samir101ng:
Moving onto other news.......

Morning Star have just launched a new range of products upgrading their solar charge controllers and introducing a new range of inverters. O boy, Morning Star have really gone all out on this. They increased the voltage of their flagship charge controller from 150v to 200v and increased the amperage from 60ah to 100ah finally catching up to Victron. They also added Bluetooth and wifi finally. Their new range of inverters is fanless people and over built Morning Star standard to handle and operate in rugged areas and high temperatures. Check them out in the link https://www.morningstarcorp.com/new-products-fall-2022/

2 Likes

NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 12:29pm On Oct 17, 2022
They had a 600v CC since the year 2013.

That is why I was trying to provide some historical perspective.


ojesymsym:
Many of their mates are now doing 450V na, why should we celebrate 200V?

1 Like

zeestone99(m): 12:58pm On Oct 17, 2022
NiyiOmoIyunade:
Good news all around!

I used to be somewhat of a MorningStar fan boy before porting to Lithium and leaving them behind (tearfully) because they had limited for Lithium chemistries and poor handling of battery disconnects

However, these products or concepts from MorningStar are not so new, they have had a 300w SureSine inverter for some years now and even demoed their bigger inverters in Nigeria (@Richmond had a few units to test I believe). Also they have had a 600v 60a Charge controller that could be parallel stacked with little extra equipment (same as their standard 150v/60a CCs) so fairly ahead of Victron in that area.

Just to set the right base as we evaluate how far they have come.


You hear morning star now, see as your adrenaline pumped up... If I catch u and morning star grin
samir101ng(m): 1:13pm On Oct 17, 2022
zeestone99:


You hear morning star now, see as your adrenaline pumped up... If I catch u and morning star grin

Even me sef my blood don dey hot grin cool.

I have attended several Morning Star webinars now, read some of their whitepapers and even ed them on warranty issues. Their high engineering standards and the way they overbuilt the designs on their products made me fall in love with it. Add to it the fact that their products are used in industrial applications with several certifications reassured me on their use. At the time my only issue with them was lack of Bluetooth/wireless, 60amps instead of 100amps and their software was not as good looking nor interactive like Victron. Plus they had no inverter line of products that one can integrate their charge controller into. Things have changed now for the better. Victron still has a far more robust ecosystem and inter connectivity amongst its products but Morning Star has made a huge leap forward to catch up. Please for those who do not know, Victron & Morning Star are the German cars of charge controllers and inverters. America & Europe. Their prices also reflect those high quality.

zeestone99(m): 6:11pm On Oct 17, 2022
samir101ng:


Even me sef my blood don dey hot grin cool.

I have attended several Morning Star webinars now, read some of their whitepapers and even ed them on warranty issues. Their high engineering standards and the way they overbuilt the designs on their products made me fall in love with it. Add to it the fact that their products are used in industrial applications with several certifications reassured me on their use. At the time my only issue with them was lack of Bluetooth/wireless, 60amps instead of 100amps and their software was not as good looking nor interactive like Victron. Plus they had no inverter line of products that one can integrate their charge controller into. Things have changed now for the better. Victron still has a far more robust ecosystem and inter connectivity amongst its products but Morning Star has made a huge leap forward to catch up. Please for those who do not know, Victron & Morning Star are the German cars of charge controllers and inverters. America & Europe. Their prices also reflect those high quality.

I don't want peace. I need to scatter this romance grin

1 Like

isangjohnson: 7:57pm On Oct 17, 2022
[quote author=samir101ng

Any room for upgrading (firmware)....
I've 60A Morningstar Mppt and I was planning to put it on sale.
If the new features are up to date, then we'll compare it with Victron and Deye before making decisions
NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 8:05pm On Oct 17, 2022
Firmware updates on Morningstar are pretty easy - especially in your case you already have T/IP access to your Morningstar's local webserver.

You just need their MS View & MS Load software + the firmware files and you are good to go.

The only issue is that they rarely release firmware updates and the changes are not apparent to the average - pretty much their older firmwares work as good as the newest one.

Of all the manufacturers they probably have the most robust although slow process for releasing products and updates - everything they release has been thoroughly stress tested.

Much earlier in this thread I had shared an SOP for Morningstar firmware updates - again Morningstar products can be very unforgiving of noob mistakes so DIYer beware.


isangjohnson:
[quote author=samir101ng

Any room for upgrading (firmware)....
I've 60A Morningstar Mppt and I was planning to put it on sale.
If the new features are up to date, then we'll compare it with Victron and Deye before making decisions

1 Like

NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 8:06pm On Oct 17, 2022
You know how it is boss. grin grin grin

zeestone99:


You hear morning star now, see as your adrenaline pumped up... If I catch u and morning star grin

1 Like

Gr8teejay: 8:10pm On Oct 17, 2022
Good evening all. I'm a student preparing to return to school as they have suspended the strike. I am looking for a 1kw or 500w inverter system with an inbuilt charger that is reliable (preferably UPS inverter) to power my room. I don't mind buying a used one as long as it works fine. My budget is VERY tight (30k max). Thanks
NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 8:17pm On Oct 17, 2022
So Morningstar had Modbus T , embedded webserver, email and triggered alert functionality and so on bundled into their CCs at least 10 years ago.

It is just that their target market was more of industrial and engineering and dealing with the complexity needed to use those features was normal for those environments - the s had the required technical background and rigor to use the tools without trouble.

Victron appears better because they open sourced their own development and thereby made it easy for hard core technical people and normal s and DIYers to collaborate and leverage on each other's work.

samir101ng:


Even me sef my blood don dey hot grin cool.

I have attended several Morning Star webinars now, read some of their whitepapers and even ed them on warranty issues. Their high engineering standards and the way they overbuilt the designs on their products made me fall in love with it. Add to it the fact that their products are used in industrial applications with several certifications reassured me on their use. At the time my only issue with them was lack of Bluetooth/wireless, 60amps instead of 100amps and their software was not as good looking nor interactive like Victron. Plus they had no inverter line of products that one can integrate their charge controller into. Things have changed now for the better. Victron still has a far more robust ecosystem and inter connectivity amongst its products but Morning Star has made a huge leap forward to catch up. Please for those who do not know, Victron & Morning Star are the German cars of charge controllers and inverters. America & Europe. Their prices also reflect those high quality.

Penuelseun(m): 9:26pm On Oct 17, 2022
Gr8teejay:
Good evening all. I'm a student preparing to return to school as they have suspended the strike. I am looking for a 1kw or 500w inverter system with an inbuilt charger that is reliable (preferably UPS inverter) to power my room. I don't mind buying a used one as long as it works fine. My budget is VERY tight (30k max). Thanks
You can only get a system to power DC bulbs with phone charging with your budget, especially now that prices of things are increasing daily.
isangjohnson: 9:55pm On Oct 17, 2022
[quote author=NiyiOmoIyunade

That's very good.
Thanks
Gr8teejay: 10:00pm On Oct 17, 2022
Penuelseun:
You can only get a system to power DC bulbs with phone charging with your budget, especially now that prices of things are increasing daily.
I actually don't have to power much. Just lights, charge my phone and maybe a DC fan. Maybe I'll go for one of those 500w with an external charger and mange it
Christgalaxy(m): 7:50am On Oct 18, 2022
Gr8teejay:
I actually don't have to power much. Just lights, charge my phone and maybe a DC fan. Maybe I'll go for one of those 500w with an external charger and mange it
I can make you a 3s lithium pack with DC bulbs and phone charging
samir101ng(m): 9:13am On Oct 18, 2022
NiyiOmoIyunade:
So Morningstar had Modbus T , embedded webserver, email and triggered alert functionality and so on bundled into their CCs at least 10 years ago.

It is just that their target market was more of industrial and engineering and dealing with the complexity needed to use those features was normal for those environments - the s had the required technical background and rigor to use the tools without trouble.

Victron appears better because they open sourced their own development and thereby made it easy for hard core technical people and normal s and DIYers to collaborate and leverage on each other's work.


And the open source community that Victron opened up to greatly helped in more wide use adoption. But the killer functionality i think was the bluetooth app that allowed people to use their smartphones to update firmware and tinker with settings without all the technical complexity of morning star that you correctly alluded to. The VRM environment too was much better looking and tight integration with other products within the ecosystem using a cerbo gx also added to ease of use. Now with an inverter and charge controller from morning star, the rate of failure from an installation should be really low looking at our environments here in Nigeria. I love the fact that the products are overspecced and fanless. Perfect for those off-grid rural installations where you don't need to worry too much about the equipment malfunctioning.

1 Like

Obnoxious2001(m): 8:08pm On Oct 18, 2022
Gr8teejay:
Good evening all. I'm a student preparing to return to school as they have suspended the strike. I am looking for a 1kw or 500w inverter system with an inbuilt charger that is reliable (preferably UPS inverter) to power my room. I don't mind buying a used one as long as it works fine. My budget is VERY tight (30k max). Thanks

Comrade no be so oh grin grin.

As a student who is wanting to go solar you should be looking at 120-150k minimum.

2 Likes

olopan(m): 7:32am On Oct 19, 2022
Good morning Guys, i will be hosting a Twitter space on saturday, it is basically a how to guide/education on what to expect, what frame of mind is needed before shelling out some cash to avoid mistakes of having an improperly designed solar system.

I hope to see some of us that may be chanced to grace the event and share their thoughts so that everybody pick a few newer ideas to take away.

I will be ed by Sintolord, trippledot and bigbrovar on the space.

Don't miss out! See you this weekend, Don't forget to set your reminder.

Link to Below

https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1dRJZMovewgGB

4 Likes

FEGEITOK: 8:55am On Oct 19, 2022
Still looking for the comparison with Victron

FEGEITOK: 8:55am On Oct 19, 2022
olopan:
Good morning Guys, i will be hosting a Twitter space on saturday, it is basically a how to guide/education on what to expect, what frame of mind is needed before shelling out some cash to avoid mistakes of having an improperly designed solar system.

I hope to see some of us that may be chanced to grace the event and share their thoughts so that everybody pick a few newer ideas to take away.

I will be ed by Sintolord, trippledot and bigbrovar on the space.

Don't miss out! See you this weekend, Don't forget to set your reminder.

Link to Below

https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1dRJZMovewgGB

Thanks for this.

1 Like

FEGEITOK: 8:57am On Oct 19, 2022
NiyiOmoIyunade:
So Morningstar had Modbus T , embedded webserver, email and triggered alert functionality and so on bundled into their CCs at least 10 years ago.

It is just that their target market was more of industrial and engineering and dealing with the complexity needed to use those features was normal for those environments - the s had the required technical background and rigor to use the tools without trouble.

Victron appears better because they open sourced their own development and thereby made it easy for hard core technical people and normal s and DIYers to collaborate and leverage on each other's work.


In other words they were Industrial Control Systems (ICS) compliant way way back.

To be honest with you. I am beginning to realize that taking some time to understand the market before investing is paying off. I know the power of Modbus and this is capability is important to me.

The way it is going, I might end up not getting the Schneider.
EPOMA(m): 10:33am On Oct 19, 2022
Has anyone looked into the Hyundai shingled s
I am so impressed with them , The 400w produces over 460watts . I am trying to get them

Hyundai Perc Shingled Solar Module - 400w

1 Like

Sapiosexuality(m): 10:47am On Oct 19, 2022
EPOMA:
Has anyone looked into the Hyundai shingled s
I am so impressed with them , The 400w produces over 460watts . I am trying to get them

Hyundai Perc Shingled Solar Module - 400w
That's impressive. How much does each go for.
samir101ng(m): 11:18am On Oct 19, 2022
FEGEITOK:


In other words they were Industrial Control Systems (ICS) compliant way way back.

To be honest with you. I am beginning to realize that taking some time to understand the market before investing is paying off. I know the power of Modbus and this is capability is important to me.

The way it is going, I might end up not getting the Schneider.

Hehehe grin grin grin E dey enter your eye abi. Morning Star dey chook your eye abi. @Zeestone1 we have a propective convert o ! grin

I faced this same issue early in my research. Morning Star has now added all the other bells and whistles you might need to their refreshed charge controller lines and now have expanded their inverter range. My only issue with their inverter range is the lack of a 5kva 48v product. Their 48v inverter range tops out at 2.5kva which is a little too small for my energy needs. The Solax X1 G4 Hybrid inverter is topping my list right now. And a Morning Star setup of inverter and charge controller is going to be too expensive in my opinion for the 2.5kva inverter power you will be getting. Of course the GenStar 100amp charge controller is going to be a solid investment for those with large battery banks with brand agnostic inverters.
samir101ng(m): 12:19pm On Oct 19, 2022
EPOMA:
Has anyone looked into the Hyundai shingled s
I am so impressed with them , The 400w produces over 460watts . I am trying to get them

Hyundai Perc Shingled Solar Module - 400w

I place Hyundai in the same category of products from manufacturers like LG, Sunpower, Panasonic, REC.

solar s with high efficiency but at a COST. Do they even have a reseller here in Nigeria ? I believe you will have to import them directly per crate which will come at another . For now sha, my top 2 s in Nigeria Jinko Solar (Palette) and Trina Solar (solarpoweretal) who both have authrorised dealers in the country and sell s above 500W in capacity. They are also both rater Tier 1 with high efficiencies above the 21% range.
Sapiosexuality(m): 1:16pm On Oct 19, 2022
Guys, say I'm trying to do a 24hr solar source for about 600W or 1000w, would that be possible with a budget of 350k?

The total load is actually about 515 but I'm trying to raise it to 600 or 1000w (depending on cost). Is the budget enough for 600w and 24hr? If not, what can I can with that budget? Thanks.
Malquisoft(m): 2:34pm On Oct 19, 2022
Not possible, that's the cost of cheap inverter and battery alone. That's 200ah * 2 in a 24v system ( cost effective on long run).

100ah * 2 and fairly used (inverter and 2* 250w ) can get you somewhere, but not for 400 watts load continuous.

1 Like

Sapiosexuality(m): 2:46pm On Oct 19, 2022
Malquisoft:
Not possible, that's the cost of cheap inverter and battery alone. That's 200ah * 2 in a 24v system ( cost effective on long run).

100ah * 2 and fairly used (inverter and 2* 250w ) can get you somewhere, but not for 400 watts load continuous.
Wow! So what exactly should my budget be if I were to do proper management? Even if it's 20 hrs per day I just want to cut from PHCN and generators.

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