After years of disappointment a chicken farmer in Turkey is thrilled with the remodelling of his solar power system.
What began as a small chicken rearing operation 55 years ago in Arnavutköy, Türkiye has grown into a large farm business housing 110,000 chickens and 100,000 chicks at any one time. It also produces around 3,200 eggs a day.
To maintain the health of the livestock, reliable electricity is vital for the farm’s temperature and ventilation control.
Reliable electricity, however, is seldom found in rural locations. Business success brings increased power demand – so alternative power sources simply had to be found.
Some years ago the farm installed a substantial 412 panel solar array which was connected to budget-priced AC inverters, but the investment didn’t yield the hoped-for solutions.
Large array with long term problems
The total photovoltaic capacity of 224.5kW was connected to five 50 kW on-grid inverters configured for net-zero power export.
The solar installation suffered from persistent faults – especially during wet weather when the inverters would regularly shut down as a result of grounding faults caused by damaged cables, poor connections, and inadequate protection for the power installation.
It was by chance that the disillusioned farm owner heard of a three-phase solar power installation nearby – running perfectly and exceeding expectations. After visiting and viewing the professional workmanship and meticulous approach of that installation, he asked his neighbour who the installer was.
As a result Victron installer Erman Energy visited the farm installation and found a number of faults with the workmanship and with the devices. In addition to damaged cable insulation, the cable runs were unnecessarily long, and an energy meter – installed in the wrong location – meant that only half the potential power was being delivered.
The owner agreed to diverting 98 kW of the PV system to a Victron-based system.
The solution they proposed was not at first accepted – partly because of disenchantment with the solar energy concept, but also because it required investment in more reliable – and much more capable – power switching devices which would allow reconfiguration to an Energy Storage System. That way the very significant energy which could be generated, could also be stored for overnight use. Further enhancements would also become possible.
Erman Energy reset the original configuration faults, rewired the faulty cabling – shortening runs wherever possible, which allowed the original rooftop solar array to reach its full potential.
Construction work was carried out for a properly ventilated technical room. PV module strings were connected to Fronius inverters …along with Solar MD batteries. The system now operates flawlessly and has reduced electricity costs by half.
The farm installation now operates from two supplies: the enhanced grid-connected solar installation; and the 90kVA Victron Energy ESS system. The technical room – where the batteries are housed – has been designed to allow future expansion to 180kVA and further storage as the business grows.
Node-RED programming
The ESS stores surplus solar production during the day and uses it later to support daytime loads and continue supplying the farm after sunset. Through custom Node-RED programming, surplus energy produced by the on-grid inverters is directed into the battery bank – allowing even more of the site’s solar generation to be used by the farm itself.
For the owner, the most exciting change has simply been the reliability of his new power system. The intermittent shutdowns which plagued the previous installation have absolutely disappeared, and he’s delighted that the Victron installation maximises the power harvest from the original installation, using it to significantly reduce dependence on ‘paid-for’ grid electricity. With typical loads of 130kW, the savings are huge.
Battery storage of energy which cannot be exported is clearly a worthwhile investment. The new installation provides low electricity costs and the system that can be expanded at any time without needing to be redesigned from scratch.
System overview
The installation combines both AC-coupled and DC-coupled solar generation within a Victron Energy ESS.
The system is both AC- and DC-coupled and operates as an ESS and includes:
- 6 × Quattro 48/15000 Inverter/Chargers
- 160kWh SolarMD lithium battery storage
- 1 × SmartSolar MPPT RS 450/200 solar charge controller
- Cerbo GX communication centre
- GX Touch 70 local touch screen UI display
- 2 × Fronius Verto 30.0 inverters
Standing with sales manager Bülent, in blue left to right are: Erman Tanyoldas – owner of Erman Enerji, Enes Dik – technician, and Hasan Tendik – project manager.
Victron sales manager for the Middle East and Caspian Resat Bülent Aydin says: Systems like these may initially appear expensive to customers. However, with the right engineering approach and empathetic listening to the customer’s perspective, it’s evident that these investments deliver high returns in the long run. We can see from this example that systems built with low-quality solutions typically operate at around 50% efficiency and lead to ongoing maintenance costs. Short term savings become long term costs.
Erman Enerji can also be contacted on Facebook
