Solar power anyone ?

[dave1949]

Sunny Boy (SMA America) now has a line of string inverters that will produce up to 1500 watts (at a dedicated outlet connected to the inverter) while the grid is down, and of course the sun is shining.

Now that one company offers that feature, I think others will follow. How useful 1500 watts are depends on one's individual situation.

My year-old grid-tied system exceeded the NREL model by 10% over the past year. I have had zero problems with any part of the system.

 

[Beltman60]

solar is the most boring renewable energy there is
once set up it should be trouble free for years

now if you want to work on something all the time get a windmill

I installed 8 205 watt panels on my barn after learning that my electric supplier wanted almost 6k to bring in a meter from my neighbors transformer as my barn that sits back away from my house 600 feet

The neighbors transformer is only about 50 ft from my barn
they also wanted to charge me commercial rates (.38/kw) because my lot already had a residential meter

I picked up 10)205 watt evergreen panels with an Outback MX80 charge controller going into 32)91 amp/hr 12 volt batteries with a 6000 watt inverter
I run all my light in both barns LED 12 volt and have a 12 volt pump that I empty water troughs when ever it rains into 2 275 gal tanks
when the troughs are low I pump it back from the tanks to the troughs

with only running 12 volt you don't need to run wiring in conduit
the only conduit I had to run was from my inverter to my trough heaters and bucket heaters
also to a couple of outlets that run my hay elevator and my daughters radio

I use 12 volt LED tractor lights for floods outside and in the barns
I use 12 volt LED rope light in all the stalls and it looks like Christmas in the barn when I have everything on

I did this all with no previous experience at a cost of about $5500. 3 years ago and not a single bill from my electric supplier
I looked into the costs of ditching from the house and that was going to cost me about 5k doing everything myself and only yielding maybe 30 amps in the barns

just get on the internet and you'll find plenty of people willing to help
If you want I can give you some pointers and pictures of my set-up

heres the only picture I have here at work today and its actually of my daughters gator

 

[dmccarty]

You need to look at your installation and set the factors accordingly, rather than default.

For example, my inverter CEC rating is 95.5%, in our area soiling is minimal 0.98, system availability has been 100% so far, no shading throughout the day and age is at .99. Clouds, non-sunny days, etc are not included in these "installation" numbers since NREL will calculate based on the number of solar hours for your location, which takes into account those "non-installation" factors.

paul

Yes, local conditions are important but if you check the link and how they created their efficiency rating, soiling looks like it caused a big drop in their efficiency value. Soiling as they defined is:

The derate factor for soiling accounts for dirt, snow, and other foreign matter on the surface of the PV module that prevent solar radiation from reaching the solar cells. Dirt accumulation is location- and weather-dependent. There are greater soiling losses (up to 25% for some California locations) in high-trafffic, high-pollution areas with infrequent rain. For northern locations, snow reduces the energy produced, and the severity is a function of the amount of snow and how long it remains on the PV modules. Snow remains longest when sub-freezing temperatures prevail, small PV array tilt angles prevent snow from sliding off, the PV array is closely integrated into the roof, and the roof or another structure in the vicinity facilitates snow drift onto the modules. For a roof-mounted PV system in Minnesota with a tilt angle of 23ｰ, snow reduced the energy production during winter by 70%; a nearby roof-mounted PV system with a tilt angle of 40ｰ experienced a 40% reduction.

They used .95 as as soiling rating which seems reasonable, especially for my area. They also assume no shading, that the array is at the optimum angle, and that the panels have not aged and lost power generation.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

Sunny Boy (SMA America) now has a line of string inverters that will produce up to 1500 watts (at a dedicated outlet connected to the inverter) while the grid is down, and of course the sun is shining.

Now that one company offers that feature, I think others will follow. How useful 1500 watts are depends on one's individual situation.

That is a danged good idea. Do you know what model/product number that does this? I looked on their website and I can't find it. I am curious how they handle power drops. Do they just cut of the AC from the panels if the power drops beyond a given power point due to shading or time of day....

From a back up perspective, we would need a circuit for the fridge, freezer, living room and I suppose the study. The well would be a higher priority but 1500 watts is not going to power the well.

An inverter that could power a circuit in an outage would be VERY nice.

Later,
Dan

 

[dave1949]

That is a danged good idea. Do you know what model/product number that does this? I looked on their website and I can't find it. I am curious how they handle power drops. Do they just cut of the AC from the panels if the power drops beyond a given power point due to shading or time of day....

From a back up perspective, we would need a circuit for the fridge, freezer, living room and I suppose the study. The well would be a higher priority but 1500 watts is not going to power the well.

An inverter that could power a circuit in an outage would be VERY nice.

Later,
Dan

I don't have any info on the circuitry or what happens if a cloud passes over, for example.

It's a brand new product that may not be shipping yet.

SUNNY BOY 3000TL-US / 4000TL-US / 5000TL-US. SMA America, LLC

 

[dave1949]

This is the company I bought my system from: Maine Solar Power, Massachusetts, New Hampshire Solar | ReVision Energy

Their web site is a good source of what's happening in the solar arena.

 

[newbury]

From a back up perspective, we would need a circuit for the fridge, freezer, living room and I suppose the study. The well would be a higher priority but 1500 watts is not going to power the well.

The "powering of a well" Has been shown to be one of the biggest problems. A simple solution is a couple of totes.



An easy 300 gallon each solution usually $100 or less.

And as far as running fridges and a few lights a small backup generator does well.

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

great !

 

[TnAndy]

I'm guessing those totes aren't full, huh ?

 

[dmccarty]

I don't have any info on the circuitry or what happens if a cloud passes over, for example.

It's a brand new product that may not be shipping yet.

SUNNY BOY 3000TL-US / 4000TL-US / 5000TL-US.*SMA America, LLC

Ah, I was looking at the 1500ish models.

There solution is only sorta a solution.

22 SB3-5TLUS22-BA-en-11 User Manual
5 Secure Power Operation
If the inverter has a secure power supply, you can use the energy from the PV plant directly via the connected socket-outlet in the event of a grid failure. The inverter automatically regulates the energy supply of the secure power socket-outlet according to the solar irradiation on the PV plant. While the secure power socket-outlet is in use, the inverter is disconnected from the grid and does therefore not feed into the power distribution grid. The secure power socket-outlet can not be used over-night, because there is no solar irradiation available for the supply of the socket-outlet.

Do not connect any devices that require a stable electricity supply

The power available during secure power operation depends on the solar irradiation on the PV modules. Therefore, the power can fluctuate considerably depending on the weather or may not be available at all. In the event of solar irradiation being too low or overload of the socket-outlet, the voltage supply of the secure socket-outlet will also be interrupted. 20 seconds after interruption, re-establishment of the voltage supply will be attempted automatically. This can lead to the inadvertent starting of the connected loads.
Do not operate any devices via the secure power socket-outlet that are dependent on a stable electricity supply for their reliable operation.
Ensure that the loads that are connected to the secure power socket-outlet do not require more than 1,500 W.

Requirements
☐ The inverter must be showing
the error message 202, 203, 204,
205 or 801.
☐ There must be sufficient solar irradiation.
☐ Load with a maximum power of 1,500 W
Procedure for the secure power operation
1. Switch off the inverter miniature circuit-breaker.
2. Switch on the socket-outlet.
3. Plug in the load.
4. Switch on the load.
Do not connect any devices that require a stable electricity supply
The power available during secure power operation depends on the solar irradiation on the PV modules. Therefore, the power can fluctuate considerably depending on the weather or may not be available at all. In the event of solar irradiation being too low or overload of the socket-outlet, the voltage supply of the secure socket-outlet will also be interrupted. 20 seconds after interruption, re-establishment of the voltage supply will be attempted automatically. This can lead to the inadvertent starting of the connected loads.
Do not operate any devices via the secure power socket-outlet that are dependent on a stable electricity supply for their reliable operation.
Ensure that the loads that are connected to the secure power socket-outlet do not require more than 1,500 W.

So this has to be a dedicated socket, the socket cannot be wired to the house grid which makes perfect sense, otherwise it would be back feeding the power. Seems like running a fridge or freezer would be a no no. Looks like this could run lights and charge batteries.

Later,
Dan