Intertie Installation Shlock [RE-wrenches]

[Joel Davidson]

Sandy Miller at the CEC would probably like to know the installer's name.

Doug Pratt wrote:

> Wrenches,
>
>   I worry about what the California Intertie Rush is doing to
> installation quality.  This past weekend I cruised down to Silicon
> Valley to visit my son-in-law and check out the Intertie system he just
> had installed.  (I can speak freely on this one because I neither sold,
> specified, or consulted on this system. This was the first time I'd seen
> it.)  Sale and installation was done by a local electrician who
> "specializes" in Intertie. (And will remain nameless here.)
>
>   Josh was concerned, and asked me to come check it out because he never
> saw the meter turning backwards.  Now, with a 5,500 sq.ft. house, a
> pool, and a hot tub in his "starter castle", I wasn't too concerned.  My
> attitude started to change when I found all the battery interconnect
> cables finger tight, and no cover over the L-16 batteries in the garage.
> The real shocker was finding the utility power connected to the AC-2
> terminals on both SW-4048 inverters.  This puppy couldn't sell back if
> it wanted to!   But then, with the SW's float/sell voltage set at 57.5
> volts, the C40s set at 55.0 volts, and the modules wired in series sets
> of THREE (!!), I guess it would be pretty hard pressed to find any
> leftover wattage to sell anyway.
>
>   Yikes!  I tightened cables, adjusted the SW float voltage down to 52.5
> volts, pushed the C40s up to 59v, and corrected the AC wiring.  That got
> us about 3,100 watts of output AC sell power,  but out of a 6,000 + watt
> array (51 Solarex 120s), that's not too impressive.  There wasn't
> anything (reasonable) I could do about the array wiring.  And even with
> the float/sell voltage at a minimal 2.18 volts/cell, we're asking the
> modules to deliver 17.5 volts.  In the California summertime sun?  Ain't
> gonna happen son.  This system will always perform poorly in warm to hot
> weather.
>
>   Seems like our industry's biggest need right now is for knowledgeable
> installers.  All you good ones reading this list, you're training
> apprentices, right?  Good!
>
> Best regards,
> Doug Pratt
>
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