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Sun Volt

Sun Volt Solar

earth, the final frontier

Clean Energy, Clean Environment

We are at a cross roads in human history, we can choose to continue on as we have been, or we can make a change to improve our future and quite possibly the future for several generations to come. We are here to promote energy independence, a better environment, a secure future and a higher return on investment for your hard earned dollar. It is what I believe in, it is why I am in the solar business.

Solar Hot Water System components

27 Mar 09 | Solar Hot Water, Training

Solar Domestic Hot Water systems are a great way to save money, cut down on the use of fossil fuels and do a big favor for the environment.  We have install many of these systems over the last two years and they work very well, even in the middle of winter.

I decided to install drain back systems because I like their simplicity and their easy maintenance.  The average home owner can very easily keep track of the water in the sight glass and add water if needed.  They perform well and when properly installed are pretty much bullet proof.  I like that.

This is an 80 square foot 80 gallon storage tank system.  Enough to provide 80% annually of the hot water for an average family of four.

AET AE-40 collectors on roof

AET AE-40 collectors on roof

The system components consist of Flat Plate collectors:

AET AE-40 collectors

AET AE-40 collectors

These are Alternative Energy Technology AE-40 collectors.  They are elevated slightly from the roof pitch to facilitate snow removal and better drain back performance.  They are also tilted to the left so that the water drains out of the bottom of the collectors when the pump is off.  This is a very important detail to avoid freeze damage.

pipe to and from the collectors on the roof

pipe to and from the collectors on the roof

The piping is 3/4 L copper tubing insulated with closed cell (AKA Rubatex or Insultube) R-5 foam insulation.  Where ever possible, the insulation is slid over the ends of the pipe instead of cut lengthwise and placed over the pipe.  The ends and any slit pieces are glued together with special glue called R-420.  The exterior runs are covered with PVC jacket to protect the insulation from UV damage and improve the system appearance.

10 gallon drainback tank

10 gallon drainback tank

The drain back tank is mounted on a shelf attached to the basement wall.  This is a 10 gallon stainless steel drain back tank with an internal heat exchanger.  It has a sight glass which is marked with the proper fluid levels for when the system is running and when it is off.

The solar loop pump is a TACO 009BF5.  I use bronze pumps in the solar loop of a drain back system because the water gets sloshed around quite a bit and becomes oxygenated.  A cast iron pump will rust and foul the site glass.  It also keeps the solar loop a “potable water system” and thus avoids and questions about the single wall heat exchanger in the drain back tank.  The pump is mounted below the lowest fluid level in the drain back tank.  At the very bottom of the solar loop is the drain valve.

The storage tank loop is a TACO 006B4.  This is a larger pump that normal because the storage tank is located about 15 feet away in another room.  This configuration is slightly unusual, however, it was the only way to fit the solar system in a crowded basement.

In the storage tank loop there is an air vent at the highest point in the loop to bleed out any air that may become trapped in that loop.  Trapped air can cause pump cavitation and or reduce the flow in the loop storage tank loop.  For maximum efficiency, the loop needs to move about 4-6 gallons per minute from the bottom of the storage tank through the heat exchanger and back to the top of the storage tank.

80 gallon solar storage tank

80 gallon solar storage tank

The storage tank is an 80 gallon off the shelf unit with a 12 year tank warranty.  It has electric back up elements which are not connected because the home owner has an indirect oil fired tank connected to their home heating system.

Eagle 2 differential temperature controller

Eagle 2 differential temperature controller

The system controller is a DTC-2 (AKA Eagle 2) by IMC.  I really like these controllers because they have temperature reading for the storage tank and the collectors.  They also have variable set points for the high limit and temperature on differential.

Watts 1170 tempering valve on output SDHW system

Watts 1170 tempering valve on output SDHW system

Finally, the output to the backup heating tank has a Watts 1170 tempering valve.  This is very important because the solar storage tank temperatures can get very high durring the summer months.  With out a tempering valve scalding water can be sent to the showers and sinks in the house.

Every time I commision one of these systems, I think to myself  “There is less oil.”

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27 Mar 09 | Solar Hot Water, Training | Comments (3)

Capture and store the energy from Lightning?

21 Mar 09 | Technology

A few years ago, I was having a conversation with my brother in law about wind mills and solar panels and he stated “Why can’t we just use the electricity in lightning?”  To which my answer was of course, there is no way to safely do that.  Then I thought about it.  Lightning has a large EMP (ElectroMagnetic Pulse) component that travels some distance away from the actual lightning strike.  In fact, most equipment damage cause by lightning is due to induced currents on power and telephone transmission lines, not direct strikes.

What if say, around tall metal structures like radio and TV transmitting towers, arrays of EMP capturing devices connected to banks of large capacitors were employed.  During a lightning strike the capacitors would become charged, then they could slowly discharge there stored energy to the electrical grid using grid tied inverters.  Of course, this would work best in an area where there is a lot of lightning to begin with, like Florida, for example.

The average lightning strike disipates about 1 Terawatt of power in about 20-40 microseconds.  The magnetic field generated from this event travels out uniformly from the strike point disipating exponentially as a function of distance.  Therefore, the closer to the stike point, the higher the field and the greater yield potential.  To store any meaningful amount of power, a massive capacitor bank, or capacitor bank and battery bank connected in parallel would be needed.

Perhaps some further research is in order.

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21 Mar 09 | Technology | Comments (0)

Typical day for a solar installer

06 Mar 09 | General

For those who might be interested in a solar job, I thought I would write down some of the things I do on an average day.  A solar installer is a specialty contractor, as such, we behave much like other contractors.

For me, the day starts right after I finish my shower, around 6 am.  I turn on the laptop and check my e-mail.  As the business owner, it is important that I keep abreast of events like equipment shipments, appointments, work schedules and so on.  All of that is organized on line through iGoogle. It makes like much easier to keep track of.

After I look at my appointments, I get dressed, shave and head out into the big world.  I look at my appointments before I get dressed so I know the appropriate attire.  Placing solar collectors on a roof, Carharts and steel toed work boots.  Meeting somebody for a sales presentation, a nice shirt and kakis.

On my way to the “office” I pick up a cup of coffee.  I only started drinking this stuff about 4 years ago when I turned 40.  I find the day starts better when I have a medium with milk and 1 sugar.

Yesterday, the job involved finishing a warranty repair on a SDHW system.   Seems one of the collectors sprung a leak in the manifold header.  We had to remove it from the roof, bring it back to the shop, braze new parts in, cart it back to the work site, place it back on the roof, then pressure test and refill the system.

I also installed a flow balancing valve in the attic, which involved crawling over pipes and insulation, cutting 3/4 soft copper tubing, soldering in two 1/4 turn ball valves, all the while being careful not to set the very old dry wood or attic insulation on fire with the torch.  I have a hard rule that fire extingushers are on hand and ready to be used whenever torches are lit.  Very important not to burn the customer’s building down as that type of activity will give a company a bad reputation.

I also took the time to explain to the customer what happened, what was done to fix it and what they should to if it happens again.

Once the system was up and running, a grabbed a bite to eat for lunch.  I came back and watched it run for a little longer then labeled all of the valves and tanks, and cleaned up the floor in the mechanical room.

On the drive home, I returned a few calls on the cellphone.  Once home (the other “office”), I checked and answered e-mail again.  Set up my schedule for tomorrow, typed up two proposals for photovoltaic systems, printed out receipts for this years tax filing, and read a few trade news items on line.

In between all that, I had dinner, gave my kids a bath and did their night time routine (read books with my son, tell stories to my daughter), watched a little news, paying close attention to the weather forcast.

I switched off the laptop at about 9:30 pm.

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06 Mar 09 | General | Comments (0)