Tel: (845) 626-2627   Home   Contact  
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.

WEEB Grounding devices

28 Jan 10 | Solar Electric

On our last project, a ground mounted PV system supported by a post and beam frame, I used  Unirac WEEB grounding system (UGC-1) on the Unirac rails.  WEEB stands for “Washer, Electrical Equipment Bond.”

Unirack UGC-1 WEEB ground clip between two Sanyo HIP-205N PV panels

The electrical inspector was not familiar with the product or the concept.  I showed him the spec sheet from Unirac, which details how the grounding clip creates one electrical path through the mounting rails for the ground.  Basically, the ground clip pierces the aluminum finish on the panel frame and the aluminum surface of the mounting rail.  With that electrical connection established, a ground wire is run between all of the mounting rails and connected to the grounding electrode system.  Keep in mind, that systems should have a continuous grounding path back to the service panel ground bar and cannot be bonded to the neutral or negative conductor of the PV system.

Not all electrical inspectors would accept this method and it is not currently part of the NEC, so it is better to check with them first.  Otherwise, it saves a lot of time, effort and materials to use WEEB grounds.

Tags: ,

28 Jan 10 | Solar Electric | Comments (0)

Solar Hub

26 Jan 10 | Solar Electric

Solar Hub, any technical information you need about PV panels or inverters.

This makes panel and inverter selection much easier.  Downloading then reading .pdf files from manufacture’s web sites takes time and clogs up a hard drive.  This way, you can find out all of the critical information ahead of time.  Of course, any installation will need to have spec sheets on hand for the electrical inspector, the utility company, etc.

Tags: ,

26 Jan 10 | Solar Electric | Comments (2)

Google searchs show what the public is thinking about Solar

18 Jan 10 | General

The search engine known as Google has a handy auto complete function. If you start to type in a phrase, it tries to guess what you are looking for and complete the phrase before you can, thus making your searches easier, at least in theory. The auto complete part of the phrase is based on what people have searched for in the past.

With all of that in mind, I typed: “Why is solar…”  In the search box and let the auto complete fill out the rest.  This is the response:

why is solar...

It is Martin Luther King Jr. day, which explains the graphic at the top of the search results.  It is heartening to see that people are looking into reasons why solar is important or good.  I’d expect result #4, “Why is solar so energy expensive?” to be number one primarily because it is a question that is asked at least once on every sales call.

I believe that the general public is beginning to catch on in that most searches are looking for positive aspects of solar energy.  There is still a long way to go until the preception of solar moves from “alternative energy” to “main stream energy”  source.

Tags:

18 Jan 10 | General | Comments (0)

A right to the Sun?

04 Jan 10 | Commentary

Solar Energy Industries Association thinks so. They are sponsoring an online petition called the Solar Bill of Rights© to call attention to various law makers throughout the country to:

We declare these rights not on behalf of our companies, but on behalf of our customers and our country. We seek no more than the freedom to compete on equal terms and no more than the liberty for consumers to choose the energy source they think best.

Here is a brief list of items this petition hopes to define:

  1. Americans have the right to put solar on their homes or businesses
  2. Americans have the right to connect their solar energy system to the grid with uniform national standards
  3. Americans have the right to Net Meter and be compensated at the very least with full retail electricity rates
  4. The solar industry has the right to a fair competitive environment
  5. The solar industry has the right to equal access to public lands
  6. The solar industry has the right to sell its power across a new, 21st century transmission grid
  7. Americans have the right to buy solar electricity from their utility
  8. Americans have the right to – and should expect – the highest ethical treatment from the solar industry

Sounds good to me. Items 1,2, 4, and 8 are of particular interest to me. Some sort of national solar policy might better define how to accomplish those.

Item 2 is tricky because regulation of the utility companies has been a states issue. Many, if not most states still regulate power companies in the “Natural Monopoly” system. That is to say the state and the utility company recognize the utility is a monoploy and regulate it in such a way the the public benifits (mostly) from the existance of the utility company. Each state has somewhat different circumstances due to there location and the various conditions on the ground. Putting the feds in charge would likely create many new problems and layers of bureaucracy. Which, I don’t know about you, but I like to keep my bureaucracies on the small side.

Via: Clean Technica

Tags:

04 Jan 10 | Commentary | Comments (0)