Adding wind power to a solar system

it depends on the turbine.  some turbines will come with controllers, (either built in) or in an enclosure.  if that is the case, follow the manufacturer's instructions.

if you choose a turbine that does not come with a controller, you will likely have to use a diversion load controller setup.  this is different than a pv controller because it does not go in between the turbine and the batteries like a solar controller does.  the turbine goes to the batteries, and the controller does as well, but not in between.  the diversion load controller closes a circuit to a diversion load when the battery hits a pre-set voltage point.  this way it prevents overcharging of batteries without removing all loads for the turbine.  removing all loads from the turbine without shorting it usually will wreck the turbine as it will spin itself to failure.

cheers,

james
altE staff

any battery will read higher instantaneous voltage while under charge, so in that sense, sure the air-x controller could be fooled.  so can a diversion load controller though.  it depends on a few factors, including state of charge, rate of pv charging, temperature. 

so it wont "see" solar input, but if there is input, the voltage will be rising, so the likelyhood of the turbine regulating is higher, to the best of my knowledge.

james
altE staff