🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 ⚡ The River Exe Cafe experienced generator failures, leading to service disruptions. 01:01 🌞 They transitioned to a Victron Energy solar and lithium battery system to replace their noisy and costly generator. 02:58 💡 The diesel generator was unreliable, costly to maintain, and needed replacement every three years, causing power outages and financial losses. 04:58 📊 Exeter University assisted in researching and planning a sustainable energy project to reduce carbon footprint and noise. 09:00 🛠️ The installation included Victron Energy components, such as solar panels and lithium batteries, to provide stable power and reduce reliance on the generator.
Next Summer in Berlin! We are building 3 floating SolarChargingStation in Berlin-Brandenburg. No Diesel-Generator. Just Solarenergy to charge boats on the water.
Enjoyed what you have done for this river business with the details from the owner adding to the total package with the other alarm that can be viewed remotely and give you peace of mind as your tomorrow will be safe or you will know quickly of any problem. Great job Victron. I have a single solar drive way lighting system with your solar controller to allow me to monitor my system with no problems
I don't own any solar stuff and I'm not a technician but I really enjoyed this story and the video was awesome. The narrator sounds like a youtuber I've heard who does camera reviews and owns a camera store/rental place in the UK (I think). The motion graphics on the drone shots with the 3D camera tracking were a nice touch. Top stuff 👍
Out in the middle of the channel like that? He should have some wind energy in the mix for when its not sunny. Couple of 2kw Wind turbines would do a lot for a system like this. Any excess energy could be used for heating.
@Victron_Energy really should start making a series of wind controllers. It is counter cyclical to solar. When you do not have one? You typically get more from the other. The wind is statistically stronger at night, during weather events and during the winter as well.
Being from Exeter I recognised the thumbnail location straight away! Isn't there opportunity to mount an additional string on the side of the restaurant also so take advantage of the lower track of the sun in spring/autumn?
@@callidussolar2474 That's good to hear 👍🏻 is there just one string currently? (couldn't quite see the wiring options on the MPPT) if so, what impact does the chimney shading have on output?
@@SabretoothBarnacle because the café operates in the summer months. The Sun is relatively high, so the chimney offers very little in the way of shade.
I don't mean to be rude, but does it really need University resources? Surely the installer /distributor could have done the calculations? And Victron might have checked the calcs?
The reason Paul at River Exe Cafe reached out to the university for support is because taking a big financial step is risky and having the backing from the university gave him a lot of reassurance. The customisable tool designed by the University gave the cafe the ability to play with the scale of batteries and solar. The tool also looked at financial data and carbon savings, so it gave Paul a good indication on which options would be the most commercially viable for the cafe system. Paul worked with Centre for Future Clean Mobility at the University through the MBTC Project, this was a European funded project to allow the university to provide time and expertise to local businesses like River Exe Cafe that are looking towards decarbonisation.
What amount of solar panels and batteries would give a 90+% chance of having all power the cafe needs at least from may to september? Is it open in the winter? Is/can the pv system be routed to first ensure fridges/freezers are powered and if there is power leftover run other things so the genny can be switched of when the cafe is not open? What changes to how things are done in the cafe would give the biggest energy savings without reducing the quality/results? Would double number of solar panels make it (mostly) generator independant or does it also require more batteries to do that? A follow up video would be nice to see it in operation after a fiew weeks and if you do expand the system.
Sounds real nice in words and a very nice commercial for Victron Energy. I have been world cruising on my 40' sailboat for 13 yeaqrs and totally off grid. I mention that only to establish my experience based opinions. Indeed Victron equipment is what I currently use. Thing is there is just two of us aboard. If you take into account a number of things unmentioned in this video. You might have a completely different picture. This in my opinion is just a very expensive experiment that has not been logically costed out beforehand. I would bet this restaurant cannot operate entirely on solar power, stored in batteries and inverted from 12,24, or 48 volts to 240 because... 1.It rains and is cloudy much of the time in Exceter, hence making Solar undependable for the huge electrical load this Restaurant requires. Necessitating Generator backup. 2.The cost of all that kit would be very difficult to recoup without hefty government or other type grants. 3. He would have to at least change all of his cookers to Natural Gas, and possibly his refrigeration to some kind of DC power that could be derived from his batteries, so as not to loose the 10% power loss when the Victron Inverters turn the electricity to 240 volts. Problem is the size of the tanks for this would may not be allowed due to government safety rules for a public location.
Of course this isn't going to return his investment overnight but Paul has done way more than most in his research, getting experts from Exeter University to analyse the restaurant and the solar yield locally for example. He would have to have a lot of solar and batteries to be completely off-grid, especially as you say in the dark, wet winter months - but that was never the plan. His install of Victron Energy equipment was to help and assist - not replace. The cost of fuel at the moment is high and Paul is already making huge savings due to the fact he doesn't have to run the generator 24/7. Secondly, Paul wanted to be able to leave the immediate area and not worry that the generator is going to go wrong at any moment and he would have to rush back. That has also gone, Paul has said, since this was recorded that he doesn't need to be on hand 24/7. His cookers are on gas already and have always been so. Thanks for taking the time for your reply.
Great install, very cool use case! I'm wondering why the "remote" wires of the MPPT are extended, is there a remote shut off or was it to prevent the plug from being taken away?
Why only 6kW of PV ? Even using the installed 375w panels (low output), it looks like they could get another 8.25kW to give a total of 14.25kW. It also looks like a wind turbine would work well !
Had my static caravan changed to victron solar on 20th july as my fuel generator broke beyond repair can say I have all my bits and bobs on with out cutting out or worrying the victron app works well to
Does any tidal turbine electrical generation technology exist that could be installed below the barge that could take advantage of the predictable strong tidal currents? This would have the potential of providing complete owed independence free from diesel generator noise, fumes and cost!?
I would think you'd want to build out as much solar as possible and use every square foot of roof so that you can generate some energy on cloudy days. A 6 KW PV array won't generate enough power if it's raining.
What provisions have been designed to mitigate the possibility of thermal runaway in ageing lithium batteries. Ventilation , etc. This is in effect placing customers in a BESS box with the batteries under them. As marine engineer and commercial surveyor myself. I would not be this signing off. With batteries of even wet flood lead acid types to be in public areas. Under the cabin sole. (Floor)
River Ex café already had galvanic isolation, which was attached to the steel structure built in before we installed, this supplied fantastic earth readings when tested.
@@VictronEnergyBV I've seen motorhomes, farms, cabins in the middle of the mountains, yachts equipped with Victron, but I wouldn't have thought of a floating restaurant. Congratulations to the boss for the idea
TYPICAL UNIVERSITY taking months to do what a tech would do in an afternoon. Also, a tech would have had inbuilt redundancy by using two inverters, two solar MPPT's and more solar. The money saved by not engaging a University would have allowed double the solar too.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 ⚡ The River Exe Cafe experienced generator failures, leading to service disruptions.
01:01 🌞 They transitioned to a Victron Energy solar and lithium battery system to replace their noisy and costly generator.
02:58 💡 The diesel generator was unreliable, costly to maintain, and needed replacement every three years, causing power outages and financial losses.
04:58 📊 Exeter University assisted in researching and planning a sustainable energy project to reduce carbon footprint and noise.
09:00 🛠️ The installation included Victron Energy components, such as solar panels and lithium batteries, to provide stable power and reduce reliance on the generator.
Love these videos of Victron success stories. Please keep them coming.
Will definitely be visiting the cafe on my next visit to the UK.
As a user of Victron equipment and installer. I'm impressed.
Next Summer in Berlin! We are building 3 floating SolarChargingStation in Berlin-Brandenburg. No Diesel-Generator. Just Solarenergy to charge boats on the water.
Enjoyed what you have done for this river business with the details from the owner adding to the total package with the other alarm that can be viewed remotely and give you peace of mind as your tomorrow will be safe or you will know quickly of any problem. Great job Victron. I have a single solar drive way lighting system with your solar controller to allow me to monitor my system with no problems
Thanks for watching John!
Great business, location and more importantly the renewable energy system is top notch. Well done Callidus
I don't own any solar stuff and I'm not a technician but I really enjoyed this story and the video was awesome. The narrator sounds like a youtuber I've heard who does camera reviews and owns a camera store/rental place in the UK (I think). The motion graphics on the drone shots with the 3D camera tracking were a nice touch. Top stuff 👍
Such a cool setup! I have Victron In my camper van very happy indeed! It's good equipment!
Great to hear!
keep it up Victron you are the best in the business 👍
Thats is very kind :-)
Out in the middle of the channel like that? He should have some wind energy in the mix for when its not sunny. Couple of 2kw Wind turbines would do a lot for a system like this. Any excess energy could be used for heating.
Because they spin fast (noise), they would have to be on the same pontoon as the genset.
So satisfying
The quietness is probably the nicest benefit
Going to need a few more barges for a decent PV array, 6kWp seems a tad on the small side.
He has a lot more roof space first.
Victron is the endgame of off grid
They are the gold standard.
My home town - and Victron kit as well - what a fantastic project, would love to see the VRM stats
Have you been to the cafe? It's all on show in the cafe - I'm sure someone there would allow you to see the GX Touch etc!
@VictronEnergyBV not yet, I have fitted all victron kit in my van, on VRM so will definitely have a look when there is availability for a table
@Victron_Energy really should start making a series of wind controllers. It is counter cyclical to solar. When you do not have one? You typically get more from the other. The wind is statistically stronger at night, during weather events and during the winter as well.
Being from Exeter I recognised the thumbnail location straight away! Isn't there opportunity to mount an additional string on the side of the restaurant also so take advantage of the lower track of the sun in spring/autumn?
There is a lot of roof too. Baby steps, baby steps!
Hi yes we did talk to Paul about that and he may fit additional panels at a later date.
@@callidussolar2474 That's good to hear 👍🏻 is there just one string currently? (couldn't quite see the wiring options on the MPPT) if so, what impact does the chimney shading have on output?
@@SabretoothBarnacle because the café operates in the summer months. The Sun is relatively high, so the chimney offers very little in the way of shade.
Nice Vlog Jono 👍🏼
Thank you 🙌
I don't mean to be rude, but does it really need University resources? Surely the installer /distributor could have done the calculations? And Victron might have checked the calcs?
Callidus carried out the initial analysis and both outcomes were very similar.
The reason Paul at River Exe Cafe reached out to the university for support is because taking a big financial step is risky and having the backing from the university gave him a lot of reassurance. The customisable tool designed by the University gave the cafe the ability to play with the scale of batteries and solar. The tool also looked at financial data and carbon savings, so it gave Paul a good indication on which options would be the most commercially viable for the cafe system. Paul worked with Centre for Future Clean Mobility at the University through the MBTC Project, this was a European funded project to allow the university to provide time and expertise to local businesses like River Exe Cafe that are looking towards decarbonisation.
Great video
What amount of solar panels and batteries would give a 90+% chance of having all power the cafe needs at least from may to september? Is it open in the winter? Is/can the pv system be routed to first ensure fridges/freezers are powered and if there is power leftover run other things so the genny can be switched of when the cafe is not open? What changes to how things are done in the cafe would give the biggest energy savings without reducing the quality/results? Would double number of solar panels make it (mostly) generator independant or does it also require more batteries to do that? A follow up video would be nice to see it in operation after a fiew weeks and if you do expand the system.
Sounds real nice in words and a very nice commercial for Victron Energy. I have been world cruising on my 40' sailboat for 13 yeaqrs and totally off grid. I mention that only to establish my experience based opinions. Indeed Victron equipment is what I currently use. Thing is there is just two of us aboard. If you take into account a number of things unmentioned in this video. You might have a completely different picture. This in my opinion is just a very expensive experiment that has not been logically costed out beforehand. I would bet this restaurant cannot operate entirely on solar power, stored in batteries and inverted from 12,24, or 48 volts to 240 because...
1.It rains and is cloudy much of the time in Exceter, hence making Solar undependable for the huge electrical load this Restaurant requires. Necessitating Generator backup.
2.The cost of all that kit would be very difficult to recoup without hefty government or other type grants.
3. He would have to at least change all of his cookers to Natural Gas, and possibly his refrigeration to some kind of DC power that could be derived from his batteries, so as not to loose the 10% power loss when the Victron Inverters turn the electricity to 240 volts. Problem is the size of the tanks for this would may not be allowed due to government safety rules for a public location.
Of course this isn't going to return his investment overnight but Paul has done way more than most in his research, getting experts from Exeter University to analyse the restaurant and the solar yield locally for example. He would have to have a lot of solar and batteries to be completely off-grid, especially as you say in the dark, wet winter months - but that was never the plan. His install of Victron Energy equipment was to help and assist - not replace.
The cost of fuel at the moment is high and Paul is already making huge savings due to the fact he doesn't have to run the generator 24/7. Secondly, Paul wanted to be able to leave the immediate area and not worry that the generator is going to go wrong at any moment and he would have to rush back. That has also gone, Paul has said, since this was recorded that he doesn't need to be on hand 24/7. His cookers are on gas already and have always been so.
Thanks for taking the time for your reply.
Very cool!
Thanks for watching
Great install, very cool use case!
I'm wondering why the "remote" wires of the MPPT are extended, is there a remote shut off or was it to prevent the plug from being taken away?
Hi yes it was for remote shut off
Why only 6kW of PV ? Even using the installed 375w panels (low output), it looks like they could get another 8.25kW to give a total of 14.25kW. It also looks like a wind turbine would work well !
This is just the start for Paul to find his feet. He didn't want to run before he could walk!
seems there is a decent current there, why not have a hydro generation optoin as well, which would be 24hrs
Had my static caravan changed to victron solar on 20th july as my fuel generator broke beyond repair can say I have all my bits and bobs on with out cutting out or worrying the victron app works well to
Good to hear!
Why not the whole roof area?
This is the first system for Paul so he wanted to take it a bit at a time. He is already talking with Callidus to add more panels.
@@VictronEnergyBV Very nice, I am sure, he will extend it 😀
Does any tidal turbine electrical generation technology exist that could be installed below the barge that could take advantage of the predictable strong tidal currents? This would have the potential of providing complete owed independence free from diesel generator noise, fumes and cost!?
What are the details of the solar array ( for curiosity )
How do you manage cooling fan noise as the inverter/charge controller package is customer facing?
It's a bar, the walls are literally 2 by 4 studs with a sheet of plywood. If you are the person sitting next to it you might notice it.
I would think you'd want to build out as much solar as possible and use every square foot of roof so that you can generate some energy on cloudy days. A 6 KW PV array won't generate enough power if it's raining.
Hi Yes we agree and we are looking that for phase 2.
I know this is about energy but still I wonder how they deal with the "other" issues... such as sewage and garbage disposal etc....
All the waste and sewage is dealt with via Boat that comes and picks up and takes it back to Shore
@@callidussolar2474 thanks
how was this system grounded ?
The structure is grounded that sits in water, just like a boat.
What provisions have been designed to mitigate the possibility of thermal runaway in ageing lithium batteries. Ventilation , etc. This is in effect placing customers in a BESS box with the batteries under them. As marine engineer and commercial surveyor myself. I would not be this signing off. With batteries of even wet flood lead acid types to be in public areas. Under the cabin sole. (Floor)
Where did they get the earth reference from?
River Ex café already had galvanic isolation, which was attached to the steel structure built in before we installed, this supplied fantastic earth readings when tested.
A smart deal, really!
What can be smarter than taking the free energy from the sun to turn it into power!
@@VictronEnergyBV I've seen motorhomes, farms, cabins in the middle of the mountains, yachts equipped with Victron, but I wouldn't have thought of a floating restaurant.
Congratulations to the boss for the idea
TYPICAL UNIVERSITY taking months to do what a tech would do in an afternoon. Also, a tech would have had inbuilt redundancy by using two inverters, two solar MPPT's and more solar. The money saved by not engaging a University would have allowed double the solar too.
The University work didn't cost the cafe owner anything.
Better to be the best in technical fakts ,the Business comes from alone ? 😂
why didn't they have a mix or lithium and sodium batteries. lithium isn't very eco friendly .
Love these videos of Victron success stories. Please keep them coming.
Will definitely be visiting the cafe on my next visit to the UK.
Please do! It's a really nice cafe in a really nice place! Paul will be happy :-)