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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.

Photovoltaic system details

30 Jul 09 | Solar Electric

Every installation is different, that is the number one lesson I have learned.  Those that try to get into the cookie cutter mentality often get into trouble.  This is a PV installation we are currently working on:

5 KW DC Photovoltaic array mounted on a standing seam roof.

5 KW DC Photovoltaic array mounted on a standing seam roof.

It is a 5 KW PV system attached to a standing seam roof. This system takes up about 420 square feet of roof area and consists of 24 Sharp ND-224UF1 PV panels.  We use Sunwize pre-packaged systems because it eliminates a lot of the minutiae involved in installing grid connected PV systems.  They produce well thought out systems complete with engineering drawings.  This speeds the permit process along nicely.  That being said, even Sunwize grid tied systems occasionally need some different parts than what is supplied.

First, all grid connected PV systems installed in New York state must have a lockable disconnect switch that is accessible to the utility company for safety reasons.  Because this is a pretty large house, the wire runs between the utility room and the disconnect switch are quite long.  I had to up size the wiring to stay below 2% voltage drop.  The larger wire would not work with the NEMA 3R switch provided with the pre-packaged system, so I needed to install a larger switch.

Second, this house has a backup generator with an automatic transfer switch for emergency power.  With that configuration, there could conceivably be a time when the generator is running that the inverter tries to come on line.  If the house was using less than 5,000 watts of power, the excess power from the PV array would be fed to the generator windings causing the field coils to melt.  This is a long shot because in all likely hood, the generator frequency would change dramatically when the inverter came on line causing the inverter to drop out again.  Never the less, in order to avoid any possibility of this happening, a generator running relay is installed between the inverter and the power panel.  This way if the generator is running, the inverter is forced off.

Third, because this is a standing seam roof, the traditional Unirack PV mounting racks that come with the Sunwize grid connected systems could not be used.  Instead, we used S5! standing seam mounts (S5! U mini) with PV clamps (PV anchor kit, 41-60 MM).  These worked out very well.  I used to of the S5! mini clamps to mount the combiner box at the top of the array.

S5! PV mount holding down two Sharp ND-224UF1 panels

S5! PV mount holding down two Sharp ND-224UF1 panels

We are waiting for the roofer to make an ingress port at the top of the array to make the final connection between the PV array and the inverter.  Once this is done, the system can be inspected and turned on.

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30 Jul 09 | Solar Electric | Comments (0)

Oil 101

11 Jul 09 | Commentary, Environment, General, General Business

Back in the mid 1980’s, there was a book that was all the rage called The Art of War, which had been written in china around the 6th century BCE by Sun Tzu.  It might aptly be subtitled “Common sense for the military strategist.”  One of the chapters deals with knowing your rival better than you know yourself.

oil-101

To that end I purchased a book called Oil 101.  It is, indeed, a fascinating book that details the complexity of our current energy structure.  The book is an excellent primer on the oil industry, it is well written and easy to understand.  Anyone who drives a car, uses oil to heat their house, uses plastics or any other petroleum product should read this book.  That is to say, everybody should read this book.

What strikes me is how much effort is put into exploration, extraction, refining and shipping.  We take all of this for granted in this country, but any failure in any one of those steps would create a disaster of epic proportions.  Think Hurricane Katrina for the whole county.  The fact that so much of this energy depends on technology, specialized methods, and huge capital outlays should be at least slightly alarming.  That, and our entire economy is build on the availability of cheap energy.  As we have just seen, economic down turns can really put a damper on large cumbersome corporate operations.

It may seem natural to be angry at the oil companies when gas is $4.25 a gallon and electricity is $.20 a kWh.  However, when I read about all of the work and investment these companies have to make, all of the variables from bad weather to bad governments they have to deal with, it also makes me respect the oil companies for all that they do.

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11 Jul 09 | Commentary, Environment, General, General Business | Comments (0)

This is Solar Power, Part I

06 Jul 09 | Commentary, wind power

A review off all the energy systems powered by our sun, either directly or indirectly.

Part I: Wind Energy

Wind Energy is derived from the sun due to uneven heating of the earth’s surface.  This creates pressure gradients.  Because nature abhors a vacuum, air from high pressure areas moves toward areas of lower pressure.  From Wikipedia:

It is estimated that the total amount of economically extractable power available from the wind is more than present human power use from all sources.[12] An estimated 72 TW of wind power on the Earth potentially can be commercially viable,[13] compared to about 15 TW average global power consumption from all sources in 2005

Renewable: Yes
Environmental impact: Moderate
EIER: Moderate to high
Cost: Moderate
Maintenance cost: Moderate

Here are two videos of wind turbines in Portsmouth, RI.  These units are located about 2 miles apart, one was installed in 2005, the other in 2009.  The wind at ground level was low, but you would not know it watching these things turn:

Portsmouth Abbey, Vestas V-47 660 KW

Portsmouth High School, AAER A-1000S 1 MW:

The Vestas unit turns faster and is a little louder. They both look really cool, however, and both schools are saving a lot of money.

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06 Jul 09 | Commentary, wind power | Comments (0)

Solar Electricity Handbook

01 Jul 09 | Solar Electric

I was contacted by Mike Boxwell, author of The Solar Electricity handbook (ISBN 978-1-907215-01-8, Green Code Publishing, Warwickshire, UK.  2009) and asked if I would do a blog post about it.

I went to The Solar Electricity Handbook website and browsed through the first few chapters.  It seems the book is thoughtful and well laid out.  As Mike said in his e-mail:

The book deals with the practicalities of using solar power to generate electricity successfully and in the most ecologically friendly ways and is aimed at the DIY installer and enthusiast.

It is not a work that I would especially refer to for my every day solar installation business. However, for a do it yourselfer that has some good working electrical knowledge and skills, it might be just the thing needed to answer some of the more obscure solar questions.

The web site also has some good links, calculators and other information.  So, if you have stumbled onto this blog looking for do it yourself information, check out The Solar Electricity Handbook.

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01 Jul 09 | Solar Electric | Comments (0)