Why is this off-grid family using as much power as possible?

[@Ilnostroamicosole-Casa-offgrid]

congratulations for the fantastic project, but keeping the batteries always at 85% SOC is not good for the battery balance. Since, as you know, lifepo4 balancing is activated in the final part of the charge at high voltages.

[@Burwains_Energy]

Hi thanks for your message, yes I’m aware that the batteries need fully charging regularly to balance the cells, and this is something that Victron were concerned about. I created a flow within Node-Red to disarm the dump loads and allow the MPPT’s to hold the batteries at 100% periodically. It has to be the MPPT’s as it’s not possible to hold the batteries at 100% with the wind turbine. Due to the amount of electricity that we use however, this only works during the summer months, and I need to use the generator during winter to periodically balance the batteries. Thanks again for your interest.

[@ploughable]

Wow, nice setup! I used Node-Red in an IoT project in 2016 :)

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Very nice!

[@casemodder89]

i love how molly makes a short appearance and is the commentators energy on 4 paws ❤❤❤ also miss the boat-related content on his own channel.

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Very kind of you to say. Thank you for watching.

[@IamMotorHomeless]

So good to see Molly... Happy New Year every one

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Haha, wondered if anyone would spot her! HNY to you too :-)

[@EkoNiezalezny]

Fantastic installation. OFF GRID is something that everyone, literally everyone, should check out. Victron makes it possible to be 100% off the grid and that's beautiful. Just like changing your car from an old, smelly diesel to an electric one. Once you try it, you will never want to come back.

[@UKsystems]

It isn’t very simple as the substantial investment and significantly changing your habits most of the time it’s doable because it’s not as easy as you make it seem otherwise everyone would have done it

[@EkoNiezalezny]

@@UKsystems That's right. That's why there are contractors who do such systems. Of course, anyone can try to do it themselves, and many do. But the effects of such actions are different. Lack of knowledge can lead to disaster.

[@UKsystems]

However in the United Kingdom you cannot try this yourself unless you can sign the installation off but you have to be legally competent with part of the building regulations involving electricity so you have to be a member of a competent person scheme. You can notify the council before so they can inspect, but it’s very expensive and they’re likely not going to understand this enough to be able to issue any certificate.

[@TheRonskiman]

Very nice tidy setup, love the system to keep that wind turbine generating. I'm also using Node red in my system, it currently controls scheduled discharge for saving sessions and peak rate periods, uploads to PV Output etc.

[@andym1548]

Just wow! what a fantastic intallation...

[@afos3462]

Well done and the freedom from the grid as well as the price rises have made your gamble pay off I think. Keep one pioneering sir, and I hope you reap the rewards!

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Really nice comment for Jonathan and his family. Thank you.

[@UKsystems]

However, it’s worth knowing that this is a very big investment and it’s going to take a lot of time to pay off so it isn’t immediately free power

[@SabretoothBarnacle]

Beautiful install 👍🏻 I would be thinking about moving that chimney that shades the panels.... You never know - it might reduce that genset percentage further!

[@energietechnik4138]

Grüße ans Victronteam und der glücklichen Familie. Bei so einer windigen Hügellage ist Windkraft natürlich empfehlenswert und vorallem technisch auch umsetzbar, bei uns hier mit ca turbulenten 3,5m/s Durchschnittswindgeschwindigkeit ein Fass ohne Boden. Wir haben allerdings hier viel Wasserkraft in den Dörfern und leider wissen die Leute kaum wieviel Potenzial da drin steckt, gerade in Verbindung mit Victron Energy ist das ein Ziel. Grüße Daniel

[@angel_michael]

👏Very interesting! 👍Well done! I want to install all these systems at my home on my own, with my own money, in Romania.

[@nordicnature9219]

@Burwains_Energy Your installation looks beautiful. Do you want to share what type of DC-Busbars you used in your central cabinet?

[@Burwains_Energy]

Hi, the DC cabinet was a second hand unit that I re-purposed, I’m not sure who manufactured it. Many thanks for your comment

[@marcobrian1619]

Hats of to you chap.....well done Only down side is, when something goes down. I was in generator hire for 10yrs as customers complained about hire cost compared to buying one....I informed them....when yours goes down it's your problem and the days of blackout....with hired ones you normally up and running with in the working day. But I really don't blame you for what you've done....cost of grid power is stupid now.

[@mikeunum]

Yes Node-Red. So you guys used the extended firmware. Victron, amazing so as always. -The Waltons? Now i feel back in time of the old US TV show.

[@sdfaulk01]

The Victron equipment is a lot more reliable than that Land Rover he is working on. 😂

[@eliotmansfield]

he’s a good businessman then…

[@Alarmanlage_Video_Surveillance]

Dieselengines in the RangeRovers can be changed to use vegetable oil with kits from Elsbett. That's also a use case for thermal power stations, f.e. from brands like Senertec. Such power stations can be used as generators in a Victron-offgrid-system.

[@bryankovar2930]

Lol! True Story.

[@bryankovar2930]

Lol! True Story.

[@chrisdhutch]

I love Land Rovers nonetheless ❤

[@networkingdude]

What is the charge controller for the wind? I understand the Victron MPPT for the solar but what about the wind? Awesome setup, i'm jealous!

[@bramcoteelectrical1088]

😊aura wind there super rare now to find but built like tanks!!

[@frostyfroze7352]

This is why I love Victron, I have one multi plus2 inverter. Once I can afford it I plan to get a second one and then upgrade my charge controller to the RS 450/100 and add a cerbo Gx, I bought the best I could afford, but good equipment is expensive equipment

[@UKsystems]

Check out off grid garage he’s managed to use a cheaper inverter from Victor energy and a multi plus with the cheaper one feeds into the multi plus because you’re not paying for a fancy charger in that inverter it’s a bit cheaper. He also explains how you can use a raspberry pie, to be a cerbo

[@bloepje]

My next house will have a 17kW grid, with the idea to go full off-grid when experience show it is viable. Only after my house is build and I actually live there, will I be able to determine if a wind turbine is needed or feasible at all. I start of with about 44 550Wp panels. Of course victron, because our next house exists of 2 buildings and the plans are not clear yet, and it should be easy with victron to connect 2 islands with 230V. Yes, we need to do power hopping because our plan is in 2 stages where in the first stage we live in campers until we can move into the tiny first part, and then we can set up proper initial power and the second bigger part can be build.

[@margarita8442]

good install,, buy once,, cry once !!!

[@blahffff]

Does anyone recognize the Relay controller? I tried to google the product code that is visible but hard to see in the video but I do not pick it up. Something like KHC-N#1BOP? What do you guys see?

[@bramcoteelectrical1088]

Sy cables for mains and generator try to use hr07 or swa sy or yy isnt proprly rated for uk market or properly to a bs standard its mainly for control cabinets . Other that that beutiful job and looks stunning great work🎉😊

[@UKsystems]

The issue is most electricians seem to think it’s suitable for more than just control signal link which I don’t get because the screen parts are meant for that is the common issue and I think it actually needs a drafting at a regulatory level or explicitly states it

[@garbi8526]

If I can made a suggestion to the victron mkting team, it's nice to see the storytelling behind each video, but the target of people looking your videos I guess they also like more detailed explanations of the system (how busbars are connected, switches, fuses, node red examples or flows...) cheers

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Thanks for the suggestion. It’s a difficult balance to determine how much detail we should go into. Noted however and I will up the amount of technical information in future videos.

[@UKsystems]

If you don’t know that you can try to do it but you’re not really able to do it alone you need to buy your gear from a company who offers design and help for you. This is more expensive but it means you’re not going to simply purchase a switch and have it on fire because you didn’t understand the rating properly.

[@Kosmonooit]

Nice! Did they look at the UP5000 batteries? The thing with wind power and not grid tied so you can feed in excess, is what do you do with the extra power once charged and loads met. Just seems a waste to be dumping it into immersion heaters. How about pumped storage? I need to get up to speed on Node Red.

[@VictronEnergyBV]

Warning, Node-RED is a rabbit hole of hours of your life! Fun though :/)

[@bloepje]

For the summer I would probably have free power for neighbourhood EV's available until I can find something useful. For the winter I would hope the excess of panels is sufficient. Worst case: if grid and solar fails, I can ask the neighbours for sunflower oil and put that in a (bio)diesel generator.

[@CoolMusicToMyEars]

How I would love to go Off-Grid with Victron Energy Systems but I live in an Apartment one day I will move away to a detached property with Garden facing South, my dream is to see that Energy Meter Spinning backwards Fast 👍 ❤💙

[@matthewhigbee9744]

I am wondering what he has planned next. When they interviewed him I noticed a bunch of batteries and chargers in the back ground, looks like he is harvesting 18650 and the like for home made batteries.

[@Burwains_Energy]

Hi, thanks for your comment, I have a side business where I repair lithium batteries, such as tool batteries, e-bike batteries and EV batteries. I’m not planning to go down the diy battery route at the moment, but maybe in the future!

[@UKsystems]

That is technically possible for the regulations in United Kingdom would require an electrician or qualified person to probably do this

[@hx4791]

and then by the time you need to replace the batteries at a cost i wonder if its really worth it longterm

[@UKsystems]

The answer that is it depends in this case with an excess of energy. I think there are lots of times and the batteries aren’t used. I find with technologies at Lima phosphate. If you are only using a fraction of their capacity they can last years longer than expected.

[@ttkddry]

How does the off grid system handle the overpriduction by the windmill once the batteries are full and the boilers are at temperature? Normally you will dump the excesss load into the grid or in the case of PV the MPPT would reduce production. Does the windmill have variable angle blades to reduce production or do you need a dump load?

[@Burwains_Energy]

Hi thank you for your comment. The wind turbine does have variable pitch blades however we tackle the problem by having a massive buffer tank allowing us to store a lot of heat and by the time we have diverted this heat to various parts of the site we are able to cope with the excess production from the wind. You’re quite correct in that the solar PV production shuts down when not required.

[@ttkddry]

@@Burwains_Energy I am hoping to add a windmill to our Victron setup but dealing with excess wind produced is a worry (that and planning permission :-). I have a 6000 l boiler that I could use as a dump load, but at one point it too will be full unless there is enough drain. Perhaps we need an outside pool... If I understand correctly the windmill needs a load because under heavy wind it would destroy itself, this is quite different from PV?

[@GH-wc5sf]

@@ttkddryI’m no expert but could the excess not just be dumped to earth?

[@ttkddry]

@@GH-wc5sf you would be using the soul as a load, normally there is a bank of resistors or a boiler as a dummy load

[@afos3462]

Over production had been checked by the use of grow lights. They can burn power for many hours if allowed. The vegetables are a lot better as well!

[@matthewplatt5368]

That windturbine will cause brownouts as its 25kw 3 phaze if I'm not mistaken

[@michaelbrown2443]

Who makes the perferated metal backboards?

[@UKsystems]

It looks like cable tray

[@KRich408]

My only issue with victron is post sales support with Victron itself, I had a large system installed in my RV the Authorized dealer butchered both the RV and solar system. I didn't mind paying a Premium for Blue but the support with the company itself as a End User even a DIY is almost impossible. I've had to pay Authorized Mobile Techs to fix the system because they can't warranty work they didn't do. Just a heads up make sure you can trust the installer and if they want to $charge$ you more if you want to hang around to observe them working that's a warning sign. This is in the USA I don't know about other locations?

[@VictronEnergyBV]

That is an issue with the installer and not the product though?

[@PanelsUpSolar]

Unfortunately this often happens when someone is prioritizing a cheap build over a quality install. We often recommend to customers that they need to research the installer just as much as the components. Referencing that you feel there is a premium required for Victron equipment tells that there was a flaw in the design and implementation of the system build. The premium should have been assigned to the skilled tradesmen that were doing the work. If you are worried that you can not trust them to do their work without you watching, then you should find someone that you do. If you are wanting to watch to get an education, then going to find a trade school may be your best bet. We do not allow customers to help or hang out in the shop mainly for insurance liability but also so that the focus can be where it needs to be. Building the system correctly.

[@UKsystems]

Veteran energy of a sum level of support however it’s for authorised people to work on the technology or sell it. They are generally responsible for providing regional support on behalf of Victron energy quite simply because there are so many countries and different languages. I don’t think they know all of them.

[@takismenexes6131]

Why the old quatros ?

[@dc1544]

Bifacial fencing east and west facing. he has plenty of land and its proven that bifacial panels facing east and west produce 20% more power a day on average when Vertical.

[@JamEnny]

With steer by wire switching between left and right hand drive will not be a big deal. Tesla has a well taught out design process

[@Ender_Wiggin]

While i hate bit coing mining this would not be a bad way to increase load or use it as a dump load. You could also always start an arc foundry. Power is what runs the industrial world.

[@paradiselost9946]

keep going, keep going. you almost have the key to the whole issue right there with the arc furnace... just think it through a bit more... what does an arc FURNACE do? now, what does that coal FURNACE do in a power station? or, what does the decay of radioactive metals in a power station DO? whats the end goal? ask yourself that, then ask yourself what BRAKES also happen to do... yknow, when the winds too fast, and theres an excess of power, and theres no way to "store" it as an electroplating process in a battery... those brakes happen to be producing SOMETHING... except then we just DUMP it... can YOU connect the dots? ;) dont need batteries. inverters. charge controllers. just gotta use your brain...

[@maikrolf9356]

they could make h2o and use this in the generator as fuel, then you also dont need the oil

[@Burwains_Energy]

I agree that hydrogen is probably the next logical step for us, I have looked into it briefly and it seems that storing it at such high pressures would be the biggest obstacle. Thank you for your interest.

[@UKsystems]

Hi Fitt gym production is a licensed saying that requires special inspections in the UK because classifiers has chemical work. It’s a very expensive process that could not really be done at a low cost. Also if they have too much energy they’ll just have too much of this.

[@Jinguapingi]

2:00: kW ≠ kWh 🙂

[@VictronEnergyBV]

That is true Frank. Thanks for highlighting this.

[@curranhouse]

Won't be long before they start putting up their own poles and then power other houses and properties! 😂😂

[@UKsystems]

It’s actually surprisingly expensive how complicated getting this done is

[@Ender_Wiggin]

I am confused by the incentive? So they made money by just being a producer but were not require to put excess back on the grid. But the ammount they made was not net metering so it still cost them money. That is sort of idiotic. Using the grid as you battery is the right way of alining incentives but that only work if it is net metering or paid out at the same price.

[@VictronEnergyBV]

I know, it is rather odd but something that was encouraged and offered at the time. They get paid for the kW the wind turbine generates regardless where it goes.

[@UKsystems]

The UK government ad period and time offered this as an incentive. It’s when renewable energy technologies like solar panels or wind it’s very expensive and prohibitive so yeah idea was if they give you a little bit the energy makes you probably invest a lot of money into it.

[@MrButuz]

The sad thing is - he literally had to divorce himself from the national grid in order to be as environmentally friendly as he could. The power companies need to take a long hard look at themselves and stop acting like complete @ holes to those of us that are trying to build a better future.

[@UKsystems]

He cannot connect directly to National Grid unless he is having a very high voltage connection which he does not have his connecting to local distribution service operator the energy company then licenses use from the distribution service operator and national quid. This is very complicated The energy companies do not always choose what generation they use. They can handle things like if someone’s putting solar in and another one of their customers is using the same amount of energy. It’s fine but if they need more energy than they have from their customers generating and using they just have to buy it from, a certain company that’s a middleman and they do not have a choice where it comes from also the UK grid is one of the lowest carbon ones

[@tulkooo]

Somebody needs to do some bitcoin mining

[@UKsystems]

It’s probably a clause in the payback that they are not allowed to do this