Someone in the renewable energy industry has finally "built the
better mouse trap". The folks at Outback Power Systems have come up
with a line of combiner boxes, a maximum power point tracking charge
controller, AC & DC system disconnects, battery enclosures and sine
wave inverters that make system installation, operation and maintenance
a breeze. Gone are the days of wishing that your combiner box had more
knockouts, your disconnect had more room or that your inverter was more
user-friendly. Let’s start with a quick look at their line of combiner
boxes.
The National Electrical Code (NEC) requires that each series string
of solar modules has its own overcurrent protection before it is
interconnected/paralleled with other series strings in the array. The
Outback PSPV combiner box satisfies this requirement as well as
providing a disconnect means for up to 12 subarrays by using DIN
rail-mounted hydraulic-magnetic breakers. These 12 circuits can all be
paralleled together with a single output or you can split the incoming
subarrays into two groups for a dual output. Their PSSB segmenting
breaker assembly is designed specifically for use with an SMA Sunny Boy
grid-tie inverter. The PSSB also provides the NEC compliant overcurrent
protection and disconnect means for up to six separate low voltage (48
VDC nominal) PV subarrays combining them into a single high voltage PV
array for connection to a grid-tie Sunny Boy inverter. The PSSB even has
room for an optional 15A 240 VAC breaker to provide a local means of AC
disconnection at the inverter. Both the PSPV and PSSB are ETL listed,
outdoor rated and have more than enough knockouts on the bottom, sides
and back to handle a very large solar array.
The Outback MX60 maximum power point tracking (MPPT) charge
controller will handle up to 60A of PV current at 12, 24, 32, 36, 48, 54
or 60 VDC. It can even charge a low voltage battery bank from a high
voltage array. Maximum power point tracking is the newest charging
technology available and given the right conditions (bright sun &
cool temperatures) it can boost your solar array’s charging current
considerably. Since the MX60 is current limited at 60 amps it would be
wise to size your array short circuit current (Isc) to about 48 amps so
the increase in charging current achieved by the MPPT circuitry won’t
be negated by the 60A ceiling. Its four line, 80 character LCD display
shows the operational status of your solar array and it allows you to
easily change the charging parameters to fit your particular type of
battery. There are four "soft keys" located just below the
MX60’s LCD display whose functions change depending on the screen
being displayed at the time. Multiple MX60’s can be connected to a
single battery bank and to the Outback MATE system monitor which in turn
can be connected to a personal computer (via its RS232 port) for data
logging and remote system monitoring. On top of all that, the MX60 has a
200mA auxiliary output terminal block that can be used to sound a
buzzer, light an LED or power the coil of an external relay whenever a
user-programmable set point has been reached; quite an amazing and
useful variety of options are available!
The Outback PSDC and PSAC disconnects offer more room and user
friendly features than any other system disconnects on the market. The
PSDC can house up to four 175-250A or six 60-100A breakers (sizes can be
mixed; one 175 or 250A breaker is included when you order a PSDC) as
well as ten 15 to 60A DC input/load breakers. It also comes standard
with a 500A/50mV shunt, battery positive bus bar and battery
negative/ground bus bar installed inside. You can also house Outback’s
60A 2-pole DC ground fault protection system (GFP/2) inside the PSDC
(takes up 3 of the small breaker spaces). The PSDC has knockouts for up
to three MX60 , two Solar Boast or three C-series charge controllers.
The PSAC was designed to be a single box solution for all of your AC
wiring needs. Dual snap-in DIN rail-type mounting brackets will hold up
to eight 15-60A breakers each and a 30 or 60A input/output/bypass
breaker assembly (takes up 3 breaker spaces) can be installed for each
inverter in your system. Each PSAC comes with hot, neutral and ground
bus bars. For 120 VAC single inverter systems, there is room to install
Outback’s optional 4 kW X-240 transformer inside the PSAC along with a
fan which increases the transformer rating to 6 kW. Depending on how you
set up the PSAC, there might even be enough room to house all of your AC
load breakers which would save you the cost and hassle of buying and
wiring another AC breaker panel. Both the PSDC and PSAC disconnects are
indoor rated, ETL listed and are designed to mount directly to the end
of one or two Xantrex/Trace DR or SW series inverters without needing
additional conduit boxes or fittings.
The Outback FX2024 and FX2048 sine wave inverters are 2 kW continuous
rated module "building blocks" which can be used for small or
large systems. These inverters are sealed to survive harsh environments
and multiple units can be configured in parallel (120 VAC), series
(120/240 VAC) or even for 3-phase power (120Y208 VAC). You can connect
up to eight FX2000s together to provide up to 16 kW of continuous power
output (assuming that you have a battery bank that can handle it). Four
of the FX2000 inverters interface nicely with the Outback PSDC and PSAC
disconnect all mounted on Outback’s PSMP mounting plate to make a
complete wall mounted conversion system. Currently the FX2000 inverter
is only available for 24 VDC off-grid applications, but they are working
on the 48 VDC unit as well as the software necessary to enable the
FX2000 inverters to sell any excess power back to the utility grid; they
should both be ready sometime in the first quarter of ’03. These
inverters do not have a built-in display so it is highly recommended
that you purchase the Outback MATE and HUB which will allow you to
monitor and control the operation of up to ten FX2000 inverters or MX60
charge controllers. An optional DC cover and AC/DC conduit adapters are
available for the FX2000 inverters.
For more information and pricing on these exciting products offered
by Outback Power Systems, give us a call or e-mail me, Dan Healy, at dan@oasismontana.com
