It is my understanding that the Kid is going to be released for wind. The Wind Kid will have a clipper module as well. Will it have to be used with that clipper module or can any dump load be used? Reason I ask is it would be nice to use the Wind Kid to clipper as a water heating source instead of just heating the air.....maybe a air clipper and water clipper.
Thoughts?
Rob
+1
I doubt we will be able to accommodate heating water. Here is the problem:
The KID has an absolute maximum voltage that can be applied or it goes BANG. The Clipper is designed to prevent this. We go to great lengths to get the resitance correct for different turbines. Guess what happens if we use a 2 ohm resistor when it should have been a 1 ohm? The KID goes bang. Sizing the resistor to the turbine is very tricky especially for turbines we have no knowledge of. Heating water is an unknown resistance. That is a problem waiting to happen. It would rarely be matched correctly. Water heaters also have thermal limit switches. Guess what happens if the water gets so hot that it opens up the switch? The KID goes bang!
There is a way to do what you want to do. It is called a diversion load off the battery. Use that method and set the voltage a bit lower than when the KID clipper would cut in. That way nothing goes Bang.
Morningstar and Schneider both have inexpensive PWM controllers that will do load diversion.
Robin,
I had suspected there was some issues with the KID Clipper design since it was using the Kid's load Fets as an integral part of the Clipper switching and unless the resistor was accurately matched to the turbine then over voltage events could compromise the KID.
So, since its been a couple of years since the KID Clipper was designed, is it now time to abandon that design and look at a low cost external Clipper with its own voltage limiter circuit and SSR switching into circuit of resistors?
Using one of the KID Aux outputs to have comms to the Clipper for charge state clipping when necessary.
The existing MN Clippers would work with the KID but the problem here is they are probably well over-engineered hence costly to be useful for a small turbine/KID combination.
Maybe just a single resistor design that clips DC voltage so that for 3phase turbine a rectifier needs to used between turbine and the Clipper.
dgd
Robin - THANKS FOR THE INFO!!!!
So is the KID Clipper that is being released in the fall going to only work with a set number of turbine's? I currently have a Sky Max SM600 750 watt turbine and looking to integrate it into my PV array with an solar KID controller.
Will the Wind KID have the ability to have a dump load connected to it directly and use PWM Divert - OFF/Auto option like what is available in the solar KID firmware. Was thinking that I could use that option to devert to a hot water heater load but still have the clipper for max voltage protection. You were saying another controller would be required to get this functionality.
Any help would be greatly appracatated. Would love to have (2) KIDs (one solar and one wind) working together to keep the batteries charged and the water hot.
Thoughts?
Rob - actually Robin as well :)