One of the surprising facts about Offgridshop – a Victron distributor with an impressive portfolio of Luxury Yacht power installations under their belt – is that they are based in land-locked Austria!
At 350km from the nearest coast, the Marine arm of their business has grown by word of mouth, and through their attention to detail. Even their new training facility and showroom offers a hands-on power-up experience of every product we make!
The strategy of paying attention to every detail seems to be working – requests are rolling in not only from shipyards but also from wealthy clients to replace the factory-installed power systems of brand-new luxury production yachts even before they hit the water (Well, if you’re going to invest millions of dollars in an exclusive sailing boat with luxurious accommodation for your guests you don’t want to be worrying about how the batteries are holding out!)
To ensure that their B2B partners make the best possible use of Victron Energy products, Offgridshop have invested in a training facility and product demonstration showroom which not only includes devices from the entire range of Victron products – but everything is plugged in and live! It’s a hands on Victron Experience says CEO Lukas Vrecer.
One recent alumni from a one-day training course was Stephan Kress – a seasoned Marine power installer and designer and also Yacht builder – who took the opportunity for some face-to-face problem solving and in-depth discussion to find technical solutions for a whole series of boat installations he has in mind.
Talking about his work, Stephan says:
We design and engineer power systems for yachts, tailored for clients who seek reduced noise, lower emissions, minimal pollution, and decreased running costs.
Together with our partners, we engineered SAMAR Yachts, a solar-powered electric boat designed for enjoying the sea with friends. This yacht can cruise for eight hours at 8 knots, fully powered by batteries. It recharges with solar energy over five days – or overnight via shore power. SAMAR Yachts offers a way to enjoy the sea whilst respecting and protecting the marine environment.
Power systems on boats have unique requirements and Offgridshop offers expertise tailored to those needs. Today we explored the best fusing and racking options for the new Lithium NG Battery system. Victron Energy’s new NG battery system provides a versatile, modular toolkit for various electrification projects, including our vision of a solar-electric yacht like SAMAR.
The Offgridshop facility presents Victron products in a comprehensive and positive light. The presenters are highly knowledgeable, and the training modules are interactive and engaging.
Offgridshop only offers Victron Energy devices: They have specialized in creating a one-stop-shop for everything Victron to provide a seamless customer experience – from systems planning, training, installation, commissioning and full systems support. Offgridshop staff work with customers from all over the world including large shipyards, automotive corporations and telecommunications providers.
Their showroom – which, of course, is powered by an Energy Storage System (ESS) – is open to everyone. The training facility is available to retailers and installation engineers in Automotive; Marine; Mobile; Telecommunications; Industrial applications; and the ESS sector.
What’s On display?
There are a number of functioning systems:
- Small demo / training 3-phase ESS featuring MultiPlus-II 48/3000, 10kWh storage, Victron EM, EVCS, MPPT RS, Cerbo, GX Touch 50
- Large 3-phase ESS powering the whole building (70kWp PV, 100kWh storage, 3x MultiPlus-II 48/10000, MPPT RS, Fronius Symo, Cerbo, GX Touch 70, EVCS)
- Large Marine / Automotive demo system (24V LiFePO4 Smart, Lynx Smart BMS, Cerbo GX, GX Touch 70, Raymarine chart plotter, tank level simulation, temperature simulation, PV simulation with SmartSolar 100/20, MultiPlus-II 24/5000, Orion XS, Phoenix IP43 charger, 12V AGM battery, SmartShunt, Shore power simulation
- LiFePO4 NG demo system (two redundant 24V battery strings with Lynx BMS NG 500A, Phoenix Inverter, Phoenix IP43 charger, Cerbo GX, GX Touch 50)
- Victron Remote Management Demo system connected to the Marine and Demo ESS
Showroom devicesMost devices are powered and working, but not as part of a power installation:– Cerbo GX MKI & MKII– GX Touch 50 & 70– GX Tank– GX LTE 4G– GlobalLink 520– BMV-712– SmartShunt 500A & 2000A, Standard & IP65– Phoenix Inverter 12/250 & 12/1600– MultiPlus & MultiPlus II 4 sizes– Quattro & Quattro-II 2 sizes– SmartSolar MPPT 12 versions– MPPT RS 450/100– Blue Smart IP65 charger– Blue Smart IP67 charger– Blue Smart IP22 two chargers paralleled with VE Smart Network– Phoenix Smart IP43– Skylla IP65– Skylla-i– Isolation Transformer– Galvanic Isolator– Shore power connectors– All versions of busbars and fuse holders
– Battery switch– Lynx Distributor– Lynx Power In– Lynx Smart BMS– Lynx Shunt– Battery balancer– ArgoFET battery isolator– Cyrix ct– Cyrix Li-Charge– Smart BatteryProtect 65A & 220A– SmallBMS– Ve.BUS BMS v2– Smart BMS CL– Orion XS– Orion-TR Smart– Orion-TR different sizes, isolated and non-isolated– EV charging station– All sizes of LiFePO4 NG batteries– All sizes of Lithium Smart batteries– Different sizes of AGM and Gel batteries
Offgridshop’s installers and engineers travel the world installing new marine DC installations capable of revolutionising power generation – whilst motoring; in silent anchorages, from solar; greatly expanding installed energy storage; and offer clients automated power-management, optimised to the owner’s energy use.
It ‘looks’ right too – seamlessly integrated into glass-bridge multifunction displays – power data is available at-a-glance alongside other critical data – including navigational information, climate control, tank levels and everything else pertaining to safe yacht management.
We’ll go on board a LAGOON Sixty5 in the coming weeks to take a look at one of their installations.
