Voltage Regulator

[Yianie123.]

Hello, due tot he winds over the past few days in Chicago, 3 out of 4 wind PMA wind turbines crashed to the ground.  So, now I am planning on building a larger, 8ft turbine.  I had it tied into the grid using a 1000W grid tie inverter from China.  Now, your thinking that this is illegal, but I need to tell you that I did do the paperwork with the utility company and they did come out and due an acceptance test, and it did pass.  My question is, I want to regulate the voltage so that I can get 24-27volts no matter how much voltage I produce.  The inverter has a amp limit of 60 amps.  Does anyone know where I can get a regulator that can regulate high voltage to 24-27V?  Thank you.

[tanner0441]

Hi

You want to limit your voltage and your inverter has a maximum amp rating............  I have not heard on here of voltage limiters for battery charging.  The battery voltage will be held within limits by the battery itself, assuming your turbine is reasonably matched to them.  as the battery voltage increases the charge controller will dump surplus power.

Can you explane more about the inverter, is it a combined inverter charge controller or charger.  Your comment needs more explanation.

Brian.

[SparWeb]

Limited to 24-27 volts?  Something smells.  What is the limiting factor that you are considering, but haven't told us?  In the same paragraph you mention equipment made in China, some doubt about approvals, then make the question go away with its acceptance.  Is your inverter an issue or not?  Is there some weakness to this device that prevents it from withstanding voltages over 30v?  Something else in the system? 

Please explain.

[DamonHD]

Is it intended as a 12V-nominal solar inverter?

Rgds

Damon

[Fused]

"3 out of 4 wind PMA wind turbines crashed to the ground."



Uh, you want to put up another mill?

Wouldn't it make sense to work on your tower setup??

Fused

[Yianie123.]

No, it doesn't smell.  The grid tie inverter is rated at 1000W, 12.4V-28V input, 120V, 60cycle output.  I am disappointed in the PMA's performance and due to the tornado winds that occurred, the poles did break.  Chicago has never seen winds like these, 60+ mph.  I want to be able to feed the grid and not batteries.  The PMA were next to the front of the house and where only 20ft high, but had no guy wires.  I do have space in the back of my yard-1 acre where I can install a larger turbine where my neighbor will not get uptight.  So my point in all this is that I need a regulator to keep the voltage from going higher the 28V.  Can you help?

[Fused]

Whats the Name brand and model of the inverter? I'd like to check it out.


Fused

[Yianie123.]

This is what they looked like before the big wind.  Just go to e-bay, search 1000W grid tie inverter and she go's by Ms. Jonna


Fixed the view so all could see the pic
Cheers
Bruce S

[Tritium]

Looks like a Hurricane Electric advertisement. 

Thurmond

[97fishmt]

 

[Flux]

If you have enough capacitance on the input of the inverter any shunt regulator should limit you to 28v if designed for a 24v battrey.

Most of these use pwm, which is fine for batteries but unless the pwm frequency is high you will need lots of capacitance without a battery. Try to choose one with a high pwm frequency or add some additional capacitance if the inveryter doesn't have enough.

Alternatively a level switching controller such as Ghurd's will probably do it if you give it plenty of dead band.

Flux

[ghurd]

I do not find an inverter with those specs, and it does not look like the seller I found ever had GTIs.

How about posting a pic of the inverter.
A pic with it in place would be good too.

What does the manual say about the situation?

It sounds like you are trying to use a solar GTI for wind.
That has a lot of problems, like if the grid goes down pretty much the whole system (from the blades to the inverter) is in serious danger.
The sytem needs to shed power between the turbine and inverter.

There is no advantage to regulating open voltage down to 28V.  That is going to lead to more problems than it solves.
The voltage needs regulated by shedding power before the inverter.

I believe you could use my controller with no problem. 
Might be a good idea to change C1 to 0.1 or 1uF, and use 220K for R1.  It will be fast acting, and operate well into PWM type speeds.

And because I believe the GTI is designed for 12V nominal solar, I believe it should be set below a typical 24V dump load, maybe around 25V max.
If the grid goes down, the dump load will need to take all the power the input sources can make peak, and considerably more.

G-