Homebuild windmill/solar panel control circuit

[WindJuggler]

Hello everyone,

I'm making my first windmill (7ft,24V) for friend by this way I want to start small and learn.

I have been looking around for a regulation circuit but they are very hard to find.

Most of the controllers are for little load or do not use a proper battery charge cycle. Except for the Xantrx C models but they are expensive.

So I tought let's create one.

I'm studying electronics so I know a great deal about it.

I'm going to base my model on some properties of the Xantrex and maybe advance a little.

The properties I value most and that I will try to implement are going to be:

• Proper battery charge cycle(For longer battery use).



• Dump load regulation(even when charging: use all power generated by the mill).



• Load control to keep the mill at a proper speed(Use a tachometer vs current system).

Some extra properties might be:

• Voltmeter(output voltage windmill on a display)



• Ammeter(output current windmill on a display)



• Wattmeter(output on a display)

A Microcontroller will control the system.

The display for the extra properties might be with a selection switch.

If anyone has any other must have suggestions, Doubts or Circuit ideas  for this controller feel free to reply.

If I get the protorype working properly and if there are enough candidades I might consider to have the print made by a firm.

[Nando]

Where are you located ?.

What is your name.?

The price, you are getting to, is going to be very close to the Xantrex C40 cost.

Xantrex C charge controllers are bang units, either ON or OFF and when pulsing the frequency is around 200 Hz.

If you are studying electronics, then be aware of the high current problems and the dissipation of the controller.

I am a retired Electric Design Engineer, power is one of my disciplines.

Nando

[(unknown)]

Some of the new PIC controllers are downright cheap now. I just received a picaxe 28x that is going to be incorporated into a active furl design. The chip with a carrier board is around $20, power mosfets aren't all that expensive anymore. The 28x has all kinds of A?D conversion, pwm in and out etc so design is relatively cheap, writing the software is going to take some bench simulation for the furling though :-)

[WindJuggler]

Thank you for the quick response.

I'm from belgium and my name is Wim.

I know that if I would use powerfets it dissipate arround 50 Watts at 50 amps or even more.

That's one reason I want to use 24V instead of 12V.

To reduce the costs for me at least I will use free samples and salvaged parts.

For a charge cycle I was thinking to take something like this.

When the current to charge goes down transfer the rest to the Dump load.

WindJuggler

[Bruce S]

Wim;

  Curious, what part of Belgium? We have an EU office in both Overjise and on Chaussée de Wavre, in Brussels. Plus I'm pretty sure there is another on here that is also located in Belgium.

If you're asking for circuit requests and will be trying to use the latest *axe circuit controls , then I for one would love to see that has selectable charge personalites. While Lead-acid and SLAs have a common ancestry their charge cycles are somewhat different. And while NiCds are known to be health hazards, they do work quite weel in heavy demand loads and are more suited to weather extremes than either of the others, so a charge cycle for them as well would be welcome.

The dump load control you wrote about, could you explain in greater detail?

Welcome to the board , and have fun

Bruce S

   

[Nando]

MaryAlana:

Can you tell me your electronic technical capabilities?

Indeed, these small microprocessors modules may be a good way to start or build a controller, specially if it is for own use.

Then, later, one may be able transfer the design to a PIC processor with own circuitry to reduce the price of the over all design.

Nando

[(unknown)]

27 years repairing electronics from consumer to industrial including building and repairing and doing some programming on pc's from the early 80's on. Last job was senior electronic tech at a casino repairing slot machines and anything else in the building that ws electronic. I also designed and installed a new data collection system that was connected to 1650 slot machines :-)

[Nando]

MaryAlana:

Great to have you around .

Nando

[dinges]

"I'm from belgium [...]"

That's okay Wim, we won't hold that against you.

Am in the Netherlands myself but 5 km from the border, under the smoke of Antwerp.

You may want to take a look at the 'Commanda dumpload controller', designed and built by Commanda on this board. Mine is nearly finished too (all the critical bits have been tested and work so far; still have to build a few FET boards).

It may prove to be a start from where you can continue designing, perhaps.

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2006/7/21/93147/7405

My implementation:

http://www.anotherpower.com/gallery/album47

Last I heard she was working on MPPT too.

Regards,

[hvirtane]

Hi,

looking for a really cheap way.

Could it be possible to combine two car alternator charge controllers..?

The idea:

The first one is sensing the battery to become fully charged, it will give the message to the 'rotor(1) current' (the primary winding in the alternator rotor) down...

That 'rotor(1) line' would used to trigger the second controller (as a fake battery condition) to give to 'the rotor(2) current' high and that 'rotor(2) current' would go to the dump load?

Any possibilities to make that working?

- Hannu