Unisolar Roofing [RE-wrenches]

[Bill Brooks]

Carl,

How long did you wait for the a-Si to "attenuate?" It has a major impact on
your results. Even 90 days is on the short side. I apologize for getting
into the emotive language game, but we do need more 3rd party testing before
any Wrench can select a module based on its performance.

Also, the test set you put together is for an off grid application. Any low
fill factor module will tend to perform better under those conditions.
Amorphous is not evil or awful, I just don't like a lot of the rhetoric that
gets thrown around by manufacturers, whoever they may be. There are so many
factors that influence how a PV module will perform, that it is important to
be clear about how transferable a certain test is to other applications and
other areas.

Right now, we need tests for grid-connected equipment in California. I'm not
really concerned about who outperforms who in the Netherlands (but I'm sure
they do there). I want to know what happens here, and what the implications
are for our market in California. If that benefits New Zealand, Canada, or
the Netherlands, so much the better.

Bill.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Carl Emerson [mailto:freepower at freepower.co.nz]
> Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2001 1:15 PM
> To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
> Subject: Re: Unisolar Roofing [RE-wrenches]
>
>
> Bill Brooks wrote:
>
> > Jeff,
> >
> > Don't believe it. You are being sucked into the dark side (a-Si).
>
> Hullo again... here goes
>
> I am fascinated by the emotive language that appears whenever
> this topic comes
> up.
>
> Back in 1996 I wanted to get to the bottom of the issue and set up my own
> democracy rack. I installed the leading brands available at the
> time, namely
> Siemens, Solarex, BP and Canon/Unisolar, and watched them perform
> for 12 months.
> I particularly concentrated on the daily amp/hour yield.
>
> At the time I had no loyalty to a particular brand.
>
> I set-up the jig with automatic voltage cycling to simulate real world
> conditions as you would find in any battery based RE system.
>
> For my trouble I received threatening phone calls from agents,
> such a test is
> not to be done I was told.
>
> The results I got were consistent with other similar tests in
> other parts of the
> world.
>
> Anyone can Email me personally for a summary.
>
> I note that the tech. who did the Real Goods solar shoot-out in
> Sept. '98 at
> Ukiah California had his hand smacked similarly but I managed to
> get a copy
> before the report became hard to get.
>
> It is a long time now since we have an update from the Homepower
> democracy rack,
> this would help the situation especially if it were possible to
> take Amp/hour
> yield readings as well as power output. I understand that
> Homepower have a lot
> to do who else would like this to be a priority ??
> --
> Regards,
>
>
> Carl Emerson
> Manager
> FREEPOWER LTD.  "Harnessing Natural Energy"  Auckland, NEW ZEALAND.
>
>
> - - - - - - -
> To send a message:
>  RE-wrenches at topica.com
>
> The archive of previous messages:
>  http://www.topica.com/lists/RE-wrenches/
>
> List rules & etiquette:
>  http://www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/etiquete.htm
>
> To unsubscribe send a message to:
>  RE-wrenches-unsubscribe at topica.com
>
> To check out the other RE-Wrench participants:
>  www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/index.html
>
> Hosted by Home Power magazine:
>  www.homepower.com
>
> For info contact list moderator by email:
>  michael.welch at homepower.com
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> T O P I C A  -- Learn More. Surf Less.
> Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.
> http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
>

- - - - - - -
To send a message:
 RE-wrenches at topica.com

The archive of previous messages: 
 http://www.topica.com/lists/RE-wrenches/

List rules & etiquette:
 http://www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/etiquete.htm

To unsubscribe send a message to: 
 RE-wrenches-unsubscribe at topica.com

To check out the other RE-Wrench participants:
 www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/index.html

Hosted by Home Power magazine: 
 www.homepower.com

For info contact list moderator by email:
 michael.welch at homepower.com

____________________________________________________________
T O P I C A  -- Learn More. Surf Less. 
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01