Off-grid

Brochure: Off-grid, back-up and Island systems

View our Brochure: Off-grid, back-up and Island systems

Tanzania, Africa: Power in a box - 'Zanzibar'

This wooden box, called ‘Zanzibar energy box’, is a clean energy solution that will replace the use of a generator in areas with frequent power outages. Inside the box is a 12/800 MultiPlus Compact, a BMV-600 and AGM batteries installed. The box is available in 3 options and can be produced in various designs. The BMV Battery monitor will continuously check the status of the batteries while a stabilizer prevents short circuits. Thanks to the MultiPlus, the batteries are charged automatically when the grid is functioning again.
More information: http://www.voltzon.com


More photos

England, Newquay: Off-grid system for agricultural business

This Off-grid system consists of 6 Victron Quattro 48V/1000 VA units, battery bank 48V / 2000Ah, solar panels and charge controllers. It is a 3-phase system with 20kVA/Phase and 50 kWp power. 
The installation was designed and installed by Wagner & Co Solartechnik GmbH Products.
More information: http://www.wagner-solar.com


More photos

Auroville, India: Afsanah Guest House

This 3x10kVA battery backup system is the first phase of the owner's initiative to provide clean PV energy for the guest house complex consisting of three cottages, seven rooms (all air conditioned) including dining hall and the utility area. Retro-fitted into a diesel/grid environment the set-up comprises 3 x Quattro 10000 and 24 x 1200Ah OPzS; low maintenance batteries and is currently programmed as a backup system with automatic generator set start. Since its commissioning on 23.12.12 guests and management enjoyed an uninterrupted power supply 24/7 with zero hours generator run time. The second phase will add on 20kW PV power and turn the backup system into a stand-alone unit with the occasional grid support, the generator will be sold. The installation was designed and installed by Auroville Energy Products, Auroville India.
More information at: www.aep-auroville.com

More photos

Grid-to-go

This ‘Grid-to-go’ unit is especially built to provide power to outdoor events. The Grid-to-go is fully equipped with Victron Energy: 24V 180Ah Lithium-ion batteries, 2 or 3 Quattro 48V 8kVA units that can supply single or three phase, Lynx boxes and several other products from Victron Energy.
The Grid-to-go is designed by Off Grid Energy: www.offgrid-energy.co.uk

Read full article
More photos

Off-grid family home

Port Elizabeth, South Africa. This family home is totally off-grid, even though it is situated 180 meters from the nearest grid connection point. The house owner opted for an alternative energy approach for the electricity generation. The house was built new to be as energy efficient as possible. The system consists of a 3.68kW Solar Array, 48V - 1380A/H Tubular Lead Acid Batteries, a Victron Quattro 48V/10000VA/140A , a VE.Net Blue Power Panel and a 6500Watt Generator. The house uses energy generated from the solar panels and the generator is only required to use after 2-3 days of limited sunshine.

The design, supply and installation of the system were done by Telecom Techniques: www.teltec.co.za

More photos

High end lodge powered by Victron

Tanzania, Africa: Jongomero camp in the majestic Ruaha Game Park in Tanzania has recently been equipped with a complete Victron Energy hybrid solar system. The hart of the system is based on a Multiplus 48/5000 Inverter / charger with added charging capacity from a Titan charger. A Victron OPZS 910 48V battery bank stores power for 20 hours of operation of the lodge while the heavy loads as swimming pool pumps and fridges are powered by the generator for 6 hours a day while also the battery bank gets topped up. The installation has 1500Wp Victron Energy solar panels behind a Blue power grid inverter working as an island system. As the lodge is out of reach of mobile communication the Global Ethernet remote uploads the information from the BMV600S through the lodges satellite internet allowing Voltzon to monitor the performance of the system and handle early fault detection.

More photos

For more information:

www.voltzon.com

www.selous.com/jongomero-camp

Off-grid cabin monitored with a BMV600S Battery monitor

Michigan, US: This wooden cabin in the forest of Michigan is equipped with an off-grid system, consisting of: an inverter, 6 solar panels, a generator and a Victron BMV600S Battery monitor. The essential function of the Battery monitor is to calculate ampere-hours consumed and the state of charge of the batteries. The cabin owner uses the Battery monitor to determine if there is an excess in energy when the solar panels are producing energy and to see how long the system can run under the current load overnight. The owner of the cabin is very satisfied with his Battery monitor: "The Victron BMV 600S does exactly what I want it to do." As of now, it looks like the meter is going to be the most useful addition to our system yet.

More photos

Austria - Installation in private house

This solar installation is built in a private house in Austria and functions as the primary power supply. The system consists of 28 solar panels, 4 solar battery chargers, a battery bank of 3000Ah/48V and at the heart of the system a Victron Quattro 48V/10kVA/140A. The house is also connected to the public grid, in case there is not enough power left in the batteries. When the battery capacity is below 50%, the grid will be switched on to support the system with a limit of 2kW. Above 2kW the PowerAssist function of the Victron Quattro will be activated. When the battery capacity has reached 80% the grid will be switched off and overtaken by the Victron Quattro. To avoid power failures once a year a 50kVA generator is connected to the system. The goal of this system is to get more and more independent from the public grid.

More photos

Radar teaching powered by solar energy

France : This educational radar is replacing the warning signs that were installed before the speed camera. The educational radar is powered by solar energy. When the batteries are full they can provide energy for 8 days without sunshine. The State hopes to reduce car accidents with the new radar teaching.

More photos

Somerset, UK: Commercial Off-grid solution

This off-grid system consists of a 6080Ah battery bank and 9 x Quattro 48/10000/140. The system was designed to store the excess power for times without sun and during night times. The entire design, manufacture and installation was completed by Energy Solutions.

More photos
Read full article

Masaai Mara, Narok County, Kenya

This installation is built at a game lodge in Kenya. It powers 12 luxury tents with swimming pool, modern kitchen and staff houses. The system contains of 45 X 175W Suntech PV Modules mounted on 3 x Lorentz ETA Tracker 1500 solar trackers. The battery bank in the system is 48/3000Ah(C-100). All AC power comes from 3 X 10,000W Victron Quattro inverter/chargers that auto start a 25kVA diesel generator to charge batteries when they fall below a set SOC. The hot water is provided by 18 x 300L Ezinc solar water heaters. The installation is done by Center for Alternative Technologies ltd, Mr. Nawir Ibrahim from Nairobi-Kenya.

For more information visit www.cat.co.ke

More photos

Germany, Munchen: Victron Energy at InterSolar 2011

Victron Energy was present at InterSolar 2011 in Munchen. InterSolar is world's largest exhibition for the solar industry ended with new record exhibitor and visitor numbers. Around 77,000 visitors and 2,280 exhibitors attended the exhibition and were very pleased with the thematic and technological array presented by Intersolar Europe.

More photos

Calig, Spain: Grid connected house with Quattro and BlueSolar Grid Inverter.

This Spanish grid connected house is using solar panels to support the load. It has a three phase system installed, containing three 10kVA Quattros. They are in a three-phase configuration together with three 2000W BlueSolar Grid Inverters, one per phase. The battery bank is 48V 1500Ah. During the day the BlueSolar Grid Inverter is supplying the load for the house and charging the battery. If the battery is full,the Quattro shifts the output frequency to signal the Grid Inverter to stop charging. During this time the installation is not connected to the grid. In the evening and when there is no or little sun, the Quattros are supplying the loads with energy from the batteries. When the battery bank is discharged below 60%, the Quattros enable the grid to recharge the batteries and power the loads. There is also a generator installed to take care of grid failures.

More photos

Cap-Hatian, Haiti: Charity-run hospital.

After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, people are still rebuilding and recovering. At a charity-run hospital in Cap-Haitian, Haiti, a comprehensive hybrid power system is installed to power a complete hospital. At the heart of this system there are five Victron 24/5000/120 Quattros connected in parallel. Only a small grid connection is available, with a capacity of hundred Amperes. When the required power is higher, the Quattros will supplement the grid with energy from the batteries. This is a unique Victron feature called PowerAssist,that synchronizes the output of the inverters with the grid. Effectively adding power to the grid. When the load reduces, the spare power is used to recharge the battery bank.

For more information visit www.onboardenergy.com

Asia, Turkmenistan: Hybrid electric power system for offshore platform.

In this 40 feet Marine container an electric power system is placed. The system is intended to continuously supply 230 VAC/ 50Hz alternating current to consumers, and also to charge its own batteries. The system consists of 32 180W Solar Panels, 8 Dual Charge controllers, 4 Quattro 5kVA units, a Blue Power Panel 2, a BMV 600S and 24 OPzV batteries.

More photos

Belgium: Solar Festival running completely on Solar Energy

A Festival running completely on Solar Energy, that was the main purpose of the Belgian organisation "Solar zonder Grenzen", which organised the festival Fiesta Solar. Especially for this green event a mobile energy-supplier was developed: the REN-Mobile (Renewable ENergy Mobile). The REN-Mobile is a truck equipped with a solar system. At the center of the system three Quattros from Victron Energy are installed.

More photos
Read full article

Mali, Africa: solar panels replace the generator

For more than 15 years Camazending trusts on the equipment of Victron Energy for stable power supply. Camazending is an organization that help people to live independent. The organization installed many Victron inverters in radio stations, medical posts in the bush and larger installations in hospitals and schools. This school in Koutiala works completely on solar energy. The solar panels are connected to 3 Victron inverters, which are installed in a cool container underground. The energy is being used for the lighting and the computers inside the school. The generator is only being used occasionally, when extra energy is needed for eg weddings or conferences inside the school building.

More photos

An Island in the Golf of Morbihan, Bretagne, France

The islands of the Golf of Morbihan were occupied by old farms, where now residents are living. The islands are without electricity. Here solar panels were supplying the electricity, with diesel generator back-up. Two MultiPlus 24/3000/70 units and a 1200 Ah battery bank have been added to the system. The solar panels are connected by a grid connected inverter at the 230 VAC output of the MultiPlus. When the 5 kW generator is on, the MultiPlus units will operate in parallel with the generator to provide a peak power of up to 11 kW. Instead of running continuously (and at low average load) when insufficient solar power is available, the generator now operates only a few hours per day and at its most efficient load point, thanks to the PowerControl and PowerAssist functions of the MultiPlus. Yearly fuel consumption is reduced by a factor of three. Planning and installation: Aerec, Thierry Plaqué.

More photos

Lonavala, India: a farm on solar- and windenergy

This farmhouse in Lonavala, about 100 km from Mumbai, is provided of a 1,4 KW Dutch Wind turbine (Passaat) and a 520W Solar PV System. In this area there is no connection to the Indian grid. Therefore people in this area are dependent to Diesel Generators. The installation in this farmhouse substitutes a Diesel Generator. The Phoenix 230V 50Hz Inverter Compact feeds four batteries with a capacity of 24V/300Ah. This is sufficient for a farmhouse using lights, fans, TV, etc. In the next future three more systems are being installed. (in a Hospital, an industrial unit and another farm house.) For Victron Energy these are the first steps in the fast growing Indian market.

More photos

Pyrenees, France: Basecamp relies on Victron Energy

This old Catalan farm in the French Pyrenees has become an exclusive hostelry accommodation. There was only one problem: no electricity, and no way to get it there except at extreme cost while spoiling the landscape with power lines and poles. The only sound solution was to set up a hybrid eco- technology energy system, consisting of a generator, solar panels, batteries and inverter-chargers. The generator, a 50kW set from Benza (Spain) was installed at an early stage to power the reconstruction work. Recently, a set of 9 Victron Energy MultiPlus units and a battery bank of 48V/2000Ah were added. This completes the first stage of the project. Plans for the near future include 100m2 of solar panels, two more battery banks and up to doubling the amount of MultiPlus units to reach 50kW, almost the double when PowerAssist kicks in. Space for extension of the solar field to 300m2 meters is foreseen. In the end, the generator will be almost superfluous.

More photos

Mount Everest: The MultiPlus on its way 'to the top'

The robust construction, compact dimensions and unrivalled reputation for dependability in demanding circumstances were the key reasons why the MultiPlus has been chosen for this project. And the expedition team was not disappointed during the trails. Providing sophisticated battery charging from the generator and switching seamlessly to deliver inverter power if the generator supply was interrupted, the MultiPlus assured power supply at all times. "We were so pleased with the MultiPlus, it has never let us down" said Mac Mckenney, expedition manager, "if power had been lost part way through our tests, then a great amount of valuable work would have been lost". Victron Energy was honored to be involved with this project.

More photos

Netherlands: Giant kites

Scientists from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have produced 10 kilowatts of power by flying a 10sq metre kite which was connected to a generator. This is enough electricity to meet the power needs of 10 family houses. They are now experimenting with a 50KW version of their invention, which is named Laddermill. Their ultimate aim is to create a version which consists out of multiple kites. They claim that this version will be able to generate 100 megawatts. This would be enough to power approximately 100,000 homes.

More photos

Read full article

Watch movie