600W, 800W & 1.2kw Wind & Solar Hybrid Controller & Load Dump

Full battery, big wind, and nowhere for the power to go.

Your bank hits float on a windy afternoon and the charging stops. The turbine does not stop. With nothing left to push against it unloads, the rotor runs away, and you find out the hard way what an overspeeding turbine does to bearings, to a mast, and to whatever happens to be standing underneath it.

That is the job this controller does. It takes the three-phase output off the turbine and DC off your panels, charges the battery from both, and the moment the bank is full it stops charging and shunts the turbine's output into an external dump load resistor instead — the green finned unit sitting next to the controller in the photos. The turbine stays loaded, the speed stays under control, and the surplus leaves as heat instead of as rotor speed.

It is a small-system controller and it is honest about that. Rated wind is 600W to 1200W depending on the version you pick, and it suits a turbine assisting a solar array rather than a standalone wind farm. It also has to live indoors or inside a sealed enclosure — the supplier states no IP rating at all, and the manual says plainly to keep water out.

One thing you should know before you pick a version, and we would rather you heard it from us. The watt figures in the title are the supplier's. The supplier's own manual also sets a current limit — wind rated power divided by system voltage, 20A or less — and the 1000W and 1200W options do not meet it at any battery voltage this controller offers. Twelve hundred watts on a 48V bank is 25A. On 12V it is 100A. We have not pulled those options, because the supplier's watt rating may well be the honest one and the current line may be the sloppy one; what we will not do is publish the watts and stay quiet about the amps. The arithmetic for every option is in the Specs tab. Size on current, not on the number in the title, and if you are buying near the top of the range put those figures in front of your sparky.

Two things to get right before you order. The first drop-down, Capacity, does not select a battery capacity or a colour — it selects the wind and solar power pairing. The second drop-down, Rated Voltage | Controller Type, picks the battery voltage version, and there are two of them: 12V/24V auto-detect, or 24V/48V auto-detect. They are different units. Pick the one that matches the bank you already have.

What It Solves

• Stops the runaway: when the bank is full the turbine still has wind on it. The dump load gives that energy somewhere to go so the rotor stays braked instead of climbing.
• Runs both sources at once: a shed or a remote pump site with a small turbine and a couple of panels only needs one box, not two controllers arguing over the same battery.
• Suits a lithium retrofit: if you have moved a caravan or a remote hut from lead-acid to LiFePO4, the battery type is a menu setting, not a new controller.
• Runs lights on a timer: the DC load output has a dusk-to-dawn mode and a four-phase timed mode, so yard lighting or a camp site light comes on at dark and steps down overnight without a separate timer.
• Tells you what is actually happening: the LCD splits out wind volts, wind amps, solar and load separately — so when the turbine reads zero you can see whether it is the wind, the panel or the bank.

Key Features

• External dump load included: the resistor ships in the box and wires to the D+ and D− terminals. It is not an optional extra you have to chase.
• MPPT boost on wind: the turbine side runs MPPT boost charging; the dump load and the over-current limiter are PWM controlled.
• Four battery profiles: customisable (b0), lead-acid and gel (b1), ternary lithium (b2), lithium iron phosphate / LiFePO4 (b3).
• Three-phase turbine input: U, V and W terminals for the turbine, separate S+/S− for solar, B+/B− for the battery.
• Three load output modes: light control, always on, or light plus time control with four time phases and a morning phase, each 0–900 minutes at 0–100% power.
• Bluetooth app — shown, but not documented: the supplier's images and listing show a GreenPower Bluetooth app for Android, and there is a walkthrough video in the Watch Me tab. The supplied user manual never mentions Bluetooth or an app anywhere — not in its functions and features list, not in its controller parameter table, not in the settings menu. We have not confirmed it on a unit ourselves. Buy this controller for what the LCD does and treat the app as a bonus.
• Protection built in: reversed solar charging, battery open circuit, battery reverse polarity (via a replaceable internal fuse), over-current and over-voltage automatic braking, and over-load.
• Coated board, no fan: the circuit board is conformal coated against dust, moisture and static, and the aluminium case self-cools — nothing to seize up or clog.
• Wall mounts on four holes: Ø4.5 mm fixing holes at 110.5 mm vertical centres, 167 × 145.5 × 61.8 mm overall, 2.35 kg.
• Full manual supplied: the complete eight-page user manual is on this page as a PDF and as readable images, including every wiring diagram and the full settings menu.

Where It Stops — Read This Before You Buy

• The watts and the amps do not reconcile at the top of the range: amps are physics, watts in a title are marketing. The supplier's own manual sets three current conditions, printed against its 24V/48V parameter table and quoted here word for word: "(wind rated power + PV rated power) / system voltage ≤35A", "Wind rated power / system rated voltage ≤20A", and "PV rated power / system rated power ≤20A". That third line says "power" where it plainly means voltage; the first two are unambiguous. Do the arithmetic and the top of the range does not come out. Wind 1200W is 25A on a 48V bank, 50A on 24V and 100A on 12V, against the supplier's own 20A ceiling. Wind 1000W is 20.8A even on 48V. Only the 600W and 800W wind ratings on a 48V bank satisfy all three conditions. We are not telling you this controller is unsafe — we are telling you the supplier's watt rating and the supplier's current limit contradict each other, and the supplier has not explained which one governs. Work in amps for your own battery voltage, and if you are anywhere near the top of the range have your electrician confirm it before you commission the system. Every figure is worked out in the Specs tab.
• The 800W dump load resistor ships with the 1200W option too: the resistor in the supplier's photographs and on the manual cover has 800W 1RJ stamped on its plate, and the supplier lists no larger resistor for the higher power ratings. An 800W resistor cannot absorb 1200W. Once the bank is full the dump load is the only thing loading the turbine, so on the 1000W and 1200W options treat the resistor in the box as a starting point and have your electrician size it for the turbine you are actually fitting. We publish the same warning on our 3kW controller, for the same reason.
• It is not weatherproof: the supplier states no IP rating. The manual says do not let water or snow enter the controller. It mounts indoors, in a shed, or inside a sealed enclosure — never bare on a pole.
• The manual thins out on the 24V/48V version: the supplied user manual (Ver. HECR202108) does publish maximum input voltages for both versions. What it does not publish for the 24V/48V unit are the battery voltage thresholds — the FULL, LOW and RLOW figures your bank charges and disconnects at. Those are given for the 12V/24V version only. Get your electrician to confirm them on the unit before you connect a 48V bank.
• Input voltage is a hard ceiling: the turbine input is 80V on every version — it does not rise with the battery voltage. The panel is 55V on the 12V/24V version and on a 24V bank, and 95V on a 48V bank. A cold, bright morning pushes a panel's open-circuit voltage well above its rated figure — size your string on Voc in the cold, not on the sticker.
• No load output current figure: the supplier never states a maximum load output current. The manual says only that loads must not exceed "the rating loads current", and then never publishes it. Size your DC loads with headroom and have your electrician confirm the figure on the unit.
• It will not run 240V: this is a DC charge controller. Mains appliances need an inverter, which is a separate box.
• It will not replace your solar: a 600W to 1200W turbine assists an array on the days the sun does not show up. If you are looking for something to carry the whole load on its own, this is not the size class for it.
• No lightning protection: the manual is explicit that lightning protection is a separate multi-level system and is not supplied. If you are somewhere strike-prone, that is part of the install, not part of this box.
• Never run it without a battery: the manual forbids operating the controller with no battery connected, and forbids disconnecting the battery while it is running. The battery is the reference the whole thing works against.

Installation — The Bit That Voids Warranties

Wind turbines, solar controllers and technical electrical equipment must be installed by a qualified specialist such as a licensed electrician. That is a condition of our Return Policy, not just advice — returns and refunds are not accepted for damage from incorrect use, DIY installation or improper wiring. The part most buyers miss: if you ever return an electrical item as faulty, you have to provide proof of professional installation, such as the electrician's invoice. Keep that invoice with the manual.

What Else You'll Need

• A turbine to match: the ST 1200W tulip wind turbine sits at the top of this controller's range. Check the turbine's own output voltage against the input ceiling above before you pair them.
• A 3-pin Anderson plug: the turbine's three-phase output lands on U, V and W. Putting a 3-pin Anderson plug in that run means you can unplug the turbine to drop the mast for maintenance, or take it off the van, without cutting anything.
• A main battery breaker: a manual-reset circuit breaker between the bank and the controller gives you a way to isolate before anyone puts a spanner near a terminal.
• An isolator you can grab: a rotary battery isolator kills the bank in one movement — worth having where the batteries live rather than where the controller lives.
• Bus bars, if you are on 48V: good 48V bus bars are genuinely hard to find, which is why we stock them. The 4-post M10 48V 600A bus bar pair gives the turbine, controller, inverter and bank one tidy place to meet.
• Lugs that fit the terminals: pure copper terminal lugs crimped properly, because the manual's first safety line about heat is a loose connection.
• Everything else in one place: the rest of the wiring gear lives in Wind Turbine Electrical Supplies.

What we will not do is size your cable for you. Cable size depends on the run length, the system voltage and the current, and the three of them together — not on the controller. Our range is built around 48V and shorter runs. If you are building on 12V or 24V, or running any distance, work it out properly or hand the numbers to your sparky, because undersized cable on a low-voltage system is where the heat goes.

Q & A

The first drop-down is called Capacity but the options are watts. What am I actually choosing?
The power pairing — not a battery capacity, which is what the word suggests. The four choices are wind 600W with solar 600W, wind 800W with solar 600W, wind 1000W with solar 1000W, and wind 1200W with solar 1000W. The solar rating is tied to the wind rating; you cannot mix them freely. There is no colour choice on this product either — every unit is the blue aluminium case in the photos.

What size turbine does it suit?
Match the turbine's rated output to the wind figure you select, up to 1200W — then do the current arithmetic as well, because the supplier's own limit is written in amps, not watts. It wants the wind rating divided by your system voltage to come out at 20A or less, and 1200W on a 48V bank is 25A. The full working is in the Specs tab and it is worth reading before you choose a version. Just as important, check the turbine's output voltage: on the 12V/24V version the controller's ceiling is 80V from the turbine. A turbine that free-spins above that in a gale is a problem the controller cannot fix for you, so confirm it with your electrician before you pair them.

Will it charge lithium, or is it lead-acid only?
Both. There are four battery profiles in the menu — lead-acid and gel, ternary lithium, LiFePO4, and a fully customisable one where you set the charge, cut-off and reconnect voltages yourself. On the 12V/24V version LiFePO4 charges to 14.4V or 28.8V and disconnects the load at 10.0V or 20.0V by default. The full table is in the Specs tab.

What is the dump load for, and what happens if I do not connect it?
A wind turbine that is spinning with nothing drawing off it has no brake. When your battery is full the controller has to stop charging, so it needs somewhere else to send the turbine's output — that is the resistor. It wires to the D+ and D− terminals and turns the surplus into heat. Leave it disconnected and you have removed the controller's only way of loading the turbine when the bank is full, which is exactly the condition where the rotor can overspeed. Wire it in. The manual's own FAQ lists a burnt-out dump load circuit as a cause of the turbine behaving oddly.

Is the resistor in the box or do I buy it separately?
In the box. The controller ships with the external dump load resistor, a pair of battery leads with lugs, and a cable tie. Here is the honest part: the plate on that resistor reads 800W 1RJ — 800 watts, 1 ohm — and the supplier lists no larger resistor for the higher power ratings, so the same 800W resistor is what comes with the 1200W option. An 800W resistor cannot absorb 1200W. On the 600W and 800W options that is fine. On the 1000W and 1200W options, treat what is in the box as a starting point and have your electrician size the dump load for the turbine you are actually fitting, because once the bank is full that resistor is the only thing loading the rotor.

Where do I mount it, and does it get hot?
Indoors, in a shed, or in a sealed enclosure — it has no stated IP rating and the manual says keep water and snow out. It cools through the aluminium case with no fan, so give it air around it and do not box it in tight. Keep it away from corrosive gas and strong electrical interference. On working temperature the supplier contradicts itself on a single page of its own manual — -25°C to +80°C against one table, -25°C to +55°C against the other. We publish the conservative figure, so plan around -25°C to +55°C. The dump load resistor is the part that actually gets hot in use, so mount that where the heat has somewhere to go and nothing flammable is touching it.

What happens on a still day with no wind?
Nothing dramatic. The turbine reads zero volts and zero amps, the solar side keeps charging on its own, and the load output keeps running off the battery to whatever mode you set. The two sources are independent — you can switch the wind charge and the solar charge on or off separately in the menu.

My turbine is spinning but the controller shows 0W. Is it faulty?
Usually not. The most common causes are the battery already sitting at float voltage, or the turbine's output voltage being dragged down close to battery voltage so the speed drops away. The controller can only charge when the turbine or panel voltage is above battery voltage. We have written the whole troubleshooting sequence up: read the 0W troubleshooting and correct installation guide before you assume anything is broken.

How long is delivery?
10 to 14 days from the day you place your order — not from the day we dispatch it. Allow up to 3 weeks, and longer again if you are regional or remote. Delivery is free to Australia and New Zealand.

Specs

The Versions You Can Actually Buy

Taken from the checkout, not from the brochure. Every pairing below is available in both voltage versions.

There is no 600W wind with 1000W solar pairing, and no 800W wind with 1000W solar. The solar rating is tied to the wind rating you pick.

Technical Specifications

Download the full user manual (PDF)

Battery Voltage Thresholds — 12V/24V Version

Your sparky will want these. FULL is the charge-protection point, LOW is where the load disconnects to protect the bank, and RLOW is where it reconnects. Every figure is the manufacturer's, from manual Ver. HECR202108. The manual does not publish these for the 24V/48V version — for that unit they are not specified by the supplier.

Where the manual does not state something, this page says so rather than guessing.

Typical Off-Grid Wiring Layout

The Full User Manual

All eight pages, Ver. HECR202108. Worth saving to your phone before you head out to the install — there is rarely signal where these go.

Watch Me

Setting Up The Bluetooth App

Pairing, and what each screen is telling you. The app is called GreenPower and it is Android only. Worth knowing before you count on it: the supplied user manual does not mention Bluetooth or an app anywhere, so we cannot confirm it from the manufacturer's own documentation. Treat the app as a bonus rather than a specification. If you would rather read than watch, the full user manual is here as a PDF.

Turbine Spinning But Showing 0W?

It is almost never a faulty turbine or controller. Read the 0W troubleshooting and correct installation guide before you assume something is broken.