Redefining marine power onboard brand new vessel

This week let’s hear from Sailectron Services, based in Austria, about their outstanding Lagoon Sixty-5 Catamaran power conversion.

Using their own boatbuilder to reconfigure the on-board electric system for an owner’s brand new boat we learn how they significantly upgraded energy harvest, storage and AC DC supply for quiet enjoyment. 

Whilst plugged in, the vessel can also optimise the use of shore power around the world – regardless of marina mini-grid constraints and quality.

Here is Michael Körner of Sailectron Services:

The Lagoon SIXTY 5 sailing catamarans incorporate one or two diesel generators in their on-board power system. We regularly equip these vessels with a large customised solar system; up to 4x 150A alternators mounted on a custom-made bracket with 4x Wakespeed alternator regulators; lithium battery storage system, and high-performance inverters.

On board energy management is automated and optimised with Victron Energy equipment so that even large power-consumers – such as the air conditioning system – can be operated without noisy generators.

Modification work and preparation

Our boat builder works with the electricians to convert the battery boxes and adapt the AC and DC cabling for the new load situation. Distribution cabinets, cable labelling and the main DC distribution are prepared in the workshop in Austria to minimise installation time.

Energy Management

The biggest challenge for the energy management on board is a 120BTU Air conditioning system. There are also kitchen appliances, 230V water makers and other smaller power consumers. On the 24V side, there are power-hungry devices such as electric winches and anchor windlasses – although these are quite easy for the LiFePO4 Lithium Battery Smart to cope with.

AC loads are provided by three 5kVA Quattro inverter/charger combi units connected in parallel. These not only offer 15kVA inverter power and up to 30kW peak power for starting currents, they also have an integrated transfer switch that switches between shore power, generator and inverter operation without interruption. This represents a considerable improvement on the factory-fitted manual power-switching provision.
Another advantage of this system is the PowerAssist function, which actively limits the current drawn from the shore power or generator and covers peak loads via the integrated inverter. This effectively prevents the generator from being overloaded or a blown fuse on land.

Because of the expected high currents of up to 1000A, the  Lynx Smart BMS 1000A  was installed and combined with a customised DC distribution system. This allows the use of NH fuses that can reliably disconnect the high possible short-circuit currents of a lithium battery in the event of a short circuit. The Lynx Smart BMS combines a battery management system (active control of loads and chargers) with a battery monitor, a contactor for disconnecting the system and pre-charge electronics that pre-charge the capacitors of the inverters before switching through, thus preventing sparking and high switching currents.

As the Quattro units only allow 230V input, most vessels are equipped with five Smart IP43 chargers to provide two benefits: Multivoltage charging, basically accepting any shore input voltage and frequency, and faster charging in 230V/50Hz countries, using two separate shore power connections simultaneously.

All components are connected centrally to a Cerbo GX communication centre device using VE.Bus or VE.CAN data cables.

Wakespeed Alternator Regulator

Wakespeed advanced alternator regulators are fully compatible within Victron system architecture and connected to the GX device the WS500 menu will provide data including power output; temperature; charging state; rpm and error status.

Photovoltaics

In co-operation with SOLBIAN Solar, several variants of the solar system for the Lagoon SIXTY 5 have now been developed for the hardtop and saloon roof, depending on customer requirements. The most powerful system currently available delivers a peak output of 3,254Wp, capable of providing a daily yield of 10-15kWh per day in the Mediterranean summer. This PV system is sufficient, for example, to operate the air conditioning system in ECO mode for 2 hours; without air conditioning, the entire catamaran can often be run using only that power harvest.

The customised solar panels can be walked-on and have a non-slip textured surface. All cabling is concealed beneath the modules so that the system is perfectly integrated into the lines of the ship. The system on the hardtop in particular is virtually invisible from the outside; this solar field already supplies 1,446 Wp.

The SmartSolar MPPT charge controllers are networked with a VE Smart Network via Bluetooth and also communicate with each other via VE.Direct connections using the Cerbo GX. This networking allows synchronised charging and can also compensate for any voltage drop on the cable to the battery, which prevents the solar controllers from influencing each other. As we use far more VE.Direct connections than the Cerbo can accept they are connected to powered USB hubs via VE.Direct USB interfaces.

Monitoring

All data collected from the components – including tank and temperature sensors – is gathered by the Cerbo GX, which not only displays it graphically on a GX Touch 70  but also the Raymarine chart plotter: It connects to the Victron Remote Management portal – VRM – via the Internet. The owner can monitor their system using this free platform to access all data and receive alarms if there is a problem on board. Furthermore, our technicians can access the system via the portal and, if necessary, install updates, change configurations or view data records.

In addition, the crew receives an audible and visual alarm signal in the event of a critical charge level before the batteries are switched off, which can be muted using a customised control panel.

Technical data:

Storage (24V, 70kWh): 14x LiFePO4 Lithium Battery Smart 25.6V/200Ah-a
BMS: Lynx Smart BMS 1000A
Inverter/Charger: Quattro 24/5000/120-100/100
High output Alternator: 4x 150A alternators with 4x Wakespeed alternator regulators
Additional multivoltage chargers: 5 x Smart IP43 24V/25A
Monitoring: Cerbo GX with GX Touch 70
MPPT controllers: 9x SmartSolar MPPT charge controllers, various models
PV: 3,254Wp SOLBIAN Solar

Sailectron Services offer installers top-level product-training from their purpose built facility – which also includes a fully-powered showroom of every Victron device.