PDA

View Full Version : make a pvi sun to wind


Cor van Houtum
21st March 2020, 10:42
Hello Wind friends

As you maybe know is the production from wind inverters stopped from the brand Power-One.
This is a , or can be a major problem when your plant is equiped with this inverter and you loose it by defect.

Most wind inverters are the Aurora 6000 or the Aurora 3.6

The same inverters are still on the marked called PVI 3.6 or the PVI 6000
Lets say that becoming one of these would be mutch more easy because there are thousands manufactured.

But this inverter has a mppt made for solar and you cannot program a curve for a windturbine.

I found that this is partial true,
The PVI Aurora is the same hardware as what the wind version is,
Yes it has a switch for the DC and MC4 connectors but that is not important I think.

It is possible to change the setting in the solar inverter and use it for wind.
All the settings and the windtable will be there , and ready to program.

This is not a hoax , I managed to do this on a PVI3.6 and a PVI6000 in "wind switch"

Works like a charm , tested live with a blow up on customer site.
replaced with a PVI 6000 and worked like it always did , before it was in defect.


this helps !!

It is important to have a rs485 communications dongel to connect to the inverters port
the speed from the virtual windows port should be 19200 n 8 1
the port adres must be lower then com8

The inverter adres should be on 2
you can set this in the settings menu
to get in you need the password 0000

First install the aurora installer software on your computer
try to connect to the inverter
your rs485 to usb dongel has made a port in windows that you put on 19.200 speed (in windows)

The installer software must be setup to this port number Com #

The extended password is 05591 this is when you are having connection and to choose the menu
you must use this password later also when you want to set the power curve in windmode

just look around a little in this software to get familliar with it

if this all is working
then leave the installer software (complete close)

start up The vci software
in the right pane you can chose a windinverter
do this and it will change to windmode after restart
Then go back to the installer software where you will see that you have a extra option menu windtable
this should be filled with a couple of entry's otherwise the inverter gives an error empty table

After changing the inverter makes sure you bridge the input channels and put the switch on parallel mode

to connect your DC output from the turbine i suggest to make a splitter cable to double mc 4
use both channels from the inverter so you are not stessing only one mc4 connectors input and the dc switch
The input current from a windgenerator can be more then one mc4 pair can handle


all this is only possible with a working inverter with grid connected
so there should be a dc voltage higher then 130 volts on the bus
like 3 solarpanels in series
otherwise the inverter stays dead



goodluck


Power one sun inverter change to wind - YouTube

greetings

Cor

password 05591

Rob Beckers
22nd March 2020, 08:19
Thanks Cor!
This is very useful.

What is the "VCI software" you refer to, and where can one download that?

By the way, I have the AuroraInstaller software available for download at our Website (https://www.solacity.com/power-one-abb-aurora-solar-wind-inverters/). There may be a newer version, this is the last one I got from Power-One/ABB before they stopped supplying us.

You mentioned the inverter needs at least 130V DC on the DC (solar) input to make it start up so you can reprogram it: What I used to do to program the wind inverters is to take regular 120V AC from the grid (works for 230V too), put it through a bridge rectifier, and feed that to the DC input of the inverter. The important part is DO NOT CONNECT THE AC OUTPUT OF THE INVERTER!! I've programmed hundreds of inverters this way. As always, you do this at your own risk!

-RoB-

Cor van Houtum
22nd March 2020, 09:20
I use for testing and bench work a 350 volts power supply
that is 1 amp only and regulated drom 1-350 volts
I would not suggest to put the grid on the dc bus with a rectifier
this is kind of dangerous
thats why i say'd to use some solar panel input to do the job
You never know who reads this and what the skills are :D

Rob Beckers
23rd March 2020, 05:48
I use for testing and bench work a 350 volts power supply
that is 1 amp only and regulated drom 1-350 volts
I would not suggest to put the grid on the dc bus with a rectifier
this is kind of dangerous
thats why i say'd to use some solar panel input to do the job
You never know who reads this and what the skills are :D

Cor, don't want to start an argument but feel the need to drag my soapbox out for a moment. :flame:

Do you really think 350V @ 1A is less deadly than the grid? Or for that matter any different from the rectified grid, which works out to about 350V DC if you start with 230V AC. Touching DC is very much worse than touching AC of the same Voltage; your muscles contract and stay contracted with DC, making it harder to let go vs. AC. Voltage is voltage, no matter how you get it, and all these sources (PV modules included) are more than capable of delivering deadly currents when they're working at similar Voltages (a 60-cell panel is good for 9 Amp!).

I'm in favour of letting people make their own decisions on what they can safely do, or should leave alone. I've worked on power supplies for tube amplifiers that were in the kV range, they scare the living daylights out of me and you better believe I handled them as you would live explosives! Similarly, any DC source of 100+ Volt and currents above 50mA should be treated with respect.

-RoB-

Cor van Houtum
23rd March 2020, 07:02
You are right

But with a regulated power supply that starts with 000 volts
and can be cranked up to max 350 the practice is that I put up the voltage just high enough to let the inverter start.

And I forgot to mension that the power supply is current regulated and maximized
on 1 amp
There can never come more then 1 amp output

so with startup voltage from lets say 100 volts , the max power is about 100 watts
and if i think this is to mutch then i can regulate the output amps also down to almost nothing


that feels better to me as a rectifier with 16 amps of grid behind it

Greetings

cor
:cool:

Sean Moore
2nd April 2020, 04:01
Thanks Cor!

What is the "VCI software" you refer to, and where can one download that?



Rob, did you ever receive an answer to your question ?

Rob Beckers
2nd April 2020, 06:09
Sean, no, unfortunately I don't have the software (yet).

-RoB-

Aef william
5th April 2020, 07:37
What can i do to get the softwere ??

Glen Johnson
14th April 2020, 02:32
The software he is referring to is " aurora installer " you will need to register for an account ( free / easy ) with ABB... hope this helps

Sean Moore
14th April 2020, 02:35
The software he is referring to is " aurora installer " you will need to register for an account ( free / easy ) with ABB... hope this helps

Nope .....

"start up The vci software"

Glen Johnson
14th April 2020, 02:36
Installer v3.1.4 - pvi-3.0-w,3.6-w,4.2-w, 6000-w

Their are a few other applications for aurora inverters when you register, that can modify the parameters of them..

http://www.thebackshed.com/forum/ViewTopic_mobile.php?FID=10&TID=11641

A reference on how to connect to them..

Glen Johnson
14th April 2020, 22:10
start up The vci software

Please Elaborate??