home power magazine - issue 132 - 2009 - 08 - 09

SINCE 1987 MONITOR YOUR SOLAR-ELECTRIC SYSTEM’S PERFORMANCE ONLINE Aug / Sep 09, Issue 132 homepower.com 7 225274 78082 08 $6.95 US • $6.95 CAN Microhydro Design Tips Best Practices for Maximum Energy Output The Making of a Solar Panel A Closer Look at the PV Manufacturing Process 2009 OFF-GRID INVERTER GUIDE Top Solar Water Heating Options Compared PANELS TUBES VS. Get great performance and superb aesthetics with REC’s new black-framed PV modules. Environmental responsibility, trusted quality, pleasing new look REC now delivers its high performance AE-Series PV modules with anodized black frames that blend beautifully on virtually any roof. This makes AE-Series modules the perfect choice for building attractive solar systems that provide reliable power output and long term value. Ownership of the entire manufacturing process uniquely positions REC to deliver rigorous quality assurance and high environmental standards from start to finish. And when you purchase REC modules in North America you get the added value of AEE Solar’s industry-leading technical support and dealer training. EASY TO INSTALL ROBUST AND DURABLE DESIGN US PRODUCED SILICON OPTIMIZED ALSO FOR CLOUDY WEATHER Please visit our website: www.recgroup.com/usa www.aeesolar.com/rec sales @aeesolar.com 800-777-6609 Distributed in North America exclusively by: MK_Solar_09_v2.qxd 2/4/09 3:52 PM Page 1 World Class Small Wind from DC Power Systems. DC Power Systems searched the world over to bring to you the highest quality small wind turbines available. We also offer guyed and free-standing towers, controllers, off-grid and grid-tied inverters for most models. Visit our website to learn more about these great products. f: 707 433 5698 I sales@dcpower-systems.com I www.dcpower-systems.com Proven Kestrel Iskra 2500W 600W 5kW 6000W 800W 15,000W 1000W NOW OPEN! NEW SALES WAREHOUSE IN NEW JERSEY! &DOOXVWRGD\WREHFRPHDFHUWL¿HGLQVWDOOHU 1-800-967-6917 3000W The Powerful Difference Think inside the smaller box The NEW Mini Magnum Panel (MMP) To learn more about this new product visit www.magnumenergy.com Includes: One DC breaker – 175A or 250A  One AC bypass breaker – 30A  dual pole or 60A single pole One AC input breaker – 30A  dual pole or 60A single pole 500A 50mv DC shunt  DC buss bars for inverter  positive and negative Din rail for optional DC mini  breakers – will hold up to six breakers The new MMP is an inclusive, easy-to-install panel designed to work with one Magnum MS-AE, MS, RD or other non-Magnum inverter/charger. Features: Small footprint:  only 12.5” wide x 18” tall x 8” deep Money-saving design:  not only is the MMP less expensive, but it is pre- wired for fast installation, saving labor costs. Easy access:  front-mounted breakers and remote (optional). Choices:  wired for 120 VAC or 120/240 VAC output Inclusive:  works with non- Magnum inverter/chargers (stand-alone parts included) Shown here with inverter (sold separately) and optional remote. 40 thermal collectors Brian Mehalic The pros and cons of flat-plate and evacuated-tube collectors. Plus, how to choose the right one for your solar hot water application. 50 smart grid Mark E. Hazen A smarter grid? New metering and control solutions promise to improve energy infrastructure and empower consumers to better manage their electricity consumption and costs. 58 module manufacturing Rebekah Hren A peek inside solar-electric technology and manufacturing— and see what’s on the horizon. 68 combiner boxes Lena Wilensky Combiner boxes are an integral part of many PV installations. Learn how to choose one to serve your system’s needs. Clockwise from bottom left, courtesy: www.outbackpower.com , www.recgroup.com , www.elsterelectricity.com, www.viessmann.us, www.synergysolar.com, Shawn Schreiner, www.sma-america.com, www.outbackpower.com 6 contents August & September 2009 home power 132 / august & september 2009 VS. 7 www.homepower.com Regulars 8 From Us to You Home Power crew Renewable literacy 12 The Circuit Home Power contributors News, notes & gear 24 Mailbox Home Power readers Feedback forum 30 Ask the Experts Industry professionals Renewable energy Q & A 106 Code Corner John Wiles Inverter ins & outs 110 Power Politics Michael Welch Hunting nukes 114 Home & Heart Kathleen Jarschke-Schultze A fowl mystery 118 RE Happenings 120 Marketplace 122 Installers Directory 127 Advertisers Index 128 Back Page Basics Ian Woofenden Wind power curves 7 On the Cover Scott Crawford and Newt Loken of Solar Assist install Apricus evacuated- tube thermal collectors on a mixed- use building in Eugene, Oregon. Photo by Shawn Schreiner Home Power (ISSN 1050-2416) is published bimonthly from offices in Phoenix, OR 97535. Periodicals postage paid at Ashland, OR, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to Home Power, PO Box 520, Ashland, OR 97520. 78 hydro design Ian Woofenden Before you tap your stream, consider these microhydro design tips. 88 pv monitoring Kyle Bolger & Justine Sanchez Keep tabs on your high-tech grid-tied PV system with feature-rich data-monitoring hardware and display options. 96 off-grid inverters Kelly Larson Sine wave or modified square wave? To stack or not to stack? Here’s help selecting the most appropriate inverter for your off-grid system. home power 132 / august & september 2009 Think About It “If you look at the science about what is happening on Earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this Earth… and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse.” —Paul Hawken s energy prices rise and environmental awareness and concerns increase, inter- est in renewable energy (RE) systems is growing rapidly. Media coverage is at an all-time high, but RE literacy isn’t necessarily keeping pace with the interest and reporting. Not everyone reading or reporting on the technologies under- stands the basic concepts and terminology, which makes confusion more likely. If you only have time to understand one energy concept, make it kilowatt-hours. This is a fundamental measure of energy, commonly applied to electricity, but also useful as a more general measure. Utilities sell us kilowatt-hours, and RE system owners “sell” renewable kilowatt-hours back to the utilities or put them into their battery banks. A kilowatt is a completely different animal—it’s the rate of energy generation, use, or transfer (also called “power”). A kilowatt is like miles per hour (a rate), while a kilowatt-hour is like miles (a quantity). When it comes to solar energy, understanding daily peak sun-hours is critical to good system design and performance projections. This is not something you observe, but a measured value of how much solar energy your site gets over the course of the year, accounting for weather, but not for shading. In North America, average daily peak sun-hours vary from about 2.4 to 6.6, with most sites falling in the 3 to 5 peak sun-hours range. You can find sun-hours data at http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/pubs/ redbook, as well as in print sources. Looking at the wind resource, the most important concept to understand is average wind speed. While utility wind farmers use more sophisticated measurements, simple average wind speed is enough to make realistic design choices for small- scale sites. Home-scale wind sites fall in the 7 to 14 mph average wind speed range, with most below 12 mph average. This is not an instantaneous speed, nor is it a rough guesstimate or observation. Without it, you can only guess about how much energy you might get from a wind generator. Hydro-electric system production is based on two factors. One is head, the vertical distance between where you take the water out of the stream and the turbine. The other is flow, commonly measured in gallons per minute. These are equal factors in the hydropower equation, so doubling or halving either will double or halve production. You need either significant head or flow (or both!) to make a significant amount of hydro-electricity. These basic terms will get you started on understanding renewable energy concepts. Reading Home Power will take you further—we’ve been speaking the lingo and walk- ing the talk for 22 years. Understanding and using the terms of the trade clearly and carefully will help you have reasonable expectations, and then reach them! —Ian Woofenden, for the Home Power crew from us to you Renewable Electricity Literacy FLEXpower ONE The new pre-wired FLEXpower ONE system includes all the essential protective devices in the smallest possible space at the lowest installed cost. Utilizing the compact design of the FLEXware 250 enclosure, the fully pre-wired FLEXpower ONE system is designed for a quick and easy installation, saving both time and money. Using the new FLEXware 250 mounting plate the FLEXpower ONE system includes a single inverter, two FLEXware 250 enclosures, a single FLEXmax charge controller, a MATE, and a HUB4 in a small footprint. The FLEXpower ONE system also includes the inverter and PV array breakers, PV ground fault protection, an Input-Output-Bypass breaker assembly and either a US type GFCI (Type B) or a EU (Type F) AC outlet with one AC load breaker. The included hanging bracket makes the FLEXpower One easy to install and hides all of the mounting hardware for a cleaner, more professional installation. The OutBack Power FLEXpower ONE system is the only choice when you need a fully integrated, true-sinewave, reliable power system that saves both time and money while still looking great. GTFX & GVFX LA Series The new OutBack LA Series true sinewave grid interactive inverter/charger is designed for use in 60 Hz countries outside of the US and Canada that have utility grids with nominal AC voltages higher or lower than 120VAC. The LA series has been developed for areas that frequently experience high or low voltage conditions such as surges, spikes or brownouts, the LA Series grid reconnect timers have also been shortened to improve system performance. Incorporating a DC to AC sinewave inverter, battery charger and AC transfer the GTFX and GVFX LA Series Inverter/Chargers give you the ability to sell solar, wind or hydro power back to the utility grid while providing back-up power in the event of a utility outage. Our built in transfer switch automatically disconnects your loads from the utility grid and powers them from the inverter in the event of an outage, allowing you to continue using your solar and battery back-up power, unlike traditional battery-less grid-tie systems. SmartRE The revolutionary Smart Renewable Energy solution from OutBack Power, bringing you simplied grid-tie solar with back-up power for residential and small commercial applications. Designed with an emphasis on ease of installation, the SmartRE solution installs and operates similarly to a regular grid-tie solar inverter but with the unique additional benet of providing UPS quality battery back-up during utility outages. An integrated ultra-fast AC transfer switch guarantees that even sensitive back-up loads, like computers, never know when a utility outage occurs. Matching outdoor/rainproof power electronics and battery enclosures constructed of aluminum make the SmartRE a versatile product that can be installed both indoors or outdoors. Available in power levels up to 6kW and capable of providing as much as 69 kWh of back-up power during outages, there is a SmartRE solution for your application. [...]... publication, send them to: 80 0-7 0 7-6 585 or 54 1-5 1 2-0 201 asktheexperts@homepower.com subscription@homepower.com Web Site www.homepower.com/subscribe Back Issues Many of our back issues are available in print and/or online in Adobe PDF Our first 120 issues are also compiled on DVD-ROM More information at: www.homepower.com Order online or by phone: 80 0-7 0 7-6 585 or 54 1-5 1 2-0 201 www.homepower.com Send your comments... regarding the site to: web@homepower.com Advertising For inquiries and information related to advertising in Home Power or on www.homepower.com, contact: Submissions connie.said@homepower.com 54 1-5 1 2-0 201 For inquiries and information related to editorial submissions, write to us at: kim.bowker@homepower.com 54 1-8 5 8-1 791 submissions@homepower.com www.homepower.com/advertising www.homepower.com/writing Letters... 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Services Inc., the Arizona-based company that owns the landfill, worked with United Solar Ovonic of Michigan to develop the first-of-its-kind solar-electric landfill cap—more than 1,000 Uni-Solar flexible solar strips adhered to the synthetic geomembrane liner used to cover and close the landfill when it reaches capacity The new solar-electric cover complements the landfill’s biogas-to-energy system, which . in Home Power or on www.homepower.com, contact: connie.said@homepower.com 54 1-5 1 2-0 201 kim.bowker@homepower.com 54 1-8 5 8-1 791 www.homepower.com/advertising Letters to the Editor E-mail your. & September 2 009 home power 132 / august & september 2 009 VS. 7 www.homepower.com Regulars 8 From Us to You Home Power crew Renewable literacy 12 The Circuit Home Power contributors. field-proven reliability � easy installation � applications flexibility PVI-6000 PVI-3.0/3.6/4.2 1-8 0 0-6 7 8-9 445 or (+1) 80 5-9 8 7-8 741 (OUTSIDE U.S.) EMAIL: aesales-us @power- one.com www .power- one.com Call