third Party Installations [RE-wrenches]

[graham at solarexpert.com]

Dear Wrenches,

I am out in the field on a daily basis installing systems and trying to 
avoid the inevitable skinned knuckles.  I have also been called by 
numerous parties who have purchased grid-tie PV systems very 
inexpensively.  I wish I knew a competent contractor who would be 
willing to install these systems because I only install complete systems 
including all parts, labor and permits.  I also have a small .com 
catalog but I have never sold grid-connected systems to people 
requesting them.  The time spent on the phone providing support would 
keep me away from what I like doing best, a good installation.

There appears to be a dichotomy in the PV industry  this time.  The 
visionaries, lobbyists, manufacturers and marketing teams appear to be 
out of sync with the integrators, contractors and installers.  When 
marketing is on a faster track than proper installation allows, the 
hopeful signals of a booming PV economy may prove short lived.

I am thrilled that the energy crisis is over here in southern 
California.  Getting many hundreds of phone calls on a daily basis from 
irate utility customers who knew nothing about PV and wanted an hour of 
questions answered was very distracting to say the least.  Now that the 
market has slowed to a manageable pace I have noticed that some 
wholesalers who appeared to be betting the bank on a continuation of the 
rolling blackouts well into the summer, are scrambling to dump excess 
inventory at very low prices, directly to homeowners.

I would equate the possibility of a homeowner installing a code 
compliant PV system to having them also install a furnace with gas lines 
and ducting or an air conditioning system.  Perhaps one in a thousand 
could do it.  This marketing attempt will prove harmful to the industry.

I have been installing solar systems since 1982 and have never liked 
pre-packaged systems. With that said, as of this year I have been 
installing a number of the Siemens earthsafe systems here in Los 
Angeles.  These are the only systems that qualify for a full $6.00 per 
watt rebate from LADWP, and I have found them to be very reliable.  
Customers like a packaged system especially one's with a UL listing.  
These pre-packaged systems can not be properly installed by homeowners, 
except for the one in a thousand.

It truly amazes me how many marketing companies jump into the solar 
business when systems become subsidized.  I have heard unbelievable 
stories of payback and system performance stated by salesmen on 
commission who know nothing about PV.  I have heard it all this year 
from one end of the spectrum to the other.  I have been told that solar 
PV can be compared to extracting gold from sea water, yes it's there but 
it is a waste of time and money processing it.  As well as hearing about 
2 kW systems that pay off in a year, eliminate utility bills and provide 
decades of positive cash flow.  I have also spoke to people excited 
about the recent $100 million dollar renewable energy grant signed by 
our Governor as well as people disturbed that we have been over taxed by 
that same amount.

I guess that I have learned that nothing will make everyone happy.   We 
all need to just get along.

As long as the true wrenches in the industry install systems with a 
caring do-it-right attitude our industry will grow and prosper.  It is 
hard to believe that the US will lag behind Japan and Germany for long.  
It is also hard to believe that India is ahead of us, but I do 
understand that the animals they ride for transportation give off bio 
gas.

My $000.02
Graham Owen
GO Solar Company.




Drake Chamberlin - Electrical Energy wrote:
> To answer the statement below:
> 
> You said:
> 
> "No offense intended, but what technicians? Developing what technology? 
> Salesmen
> exploiting what markets and weakening system design? PV is a developed
> technology. In 2000, PV installers put in 65 megawatts in Japan and 45
> megawatts in Germany. More PV is better. A lot more PV is a lot better."
> 
> ****************************
> 
> There are a lot of solar watts out there for sure, but many systems 
> don't 
> produce half the power consumed. Sometimes they produce much less that 
> half.
> 
> What takes time and savvy is designing the entire system, loads and 
> production, to produce the necessary "end use tasks and conveniences."  
> The 
> loads in the premise must be designed to function on a PV budget.  It is 
> 
> necessary to design house loads, heating systems, etc.  Load shedding or 
> 
> auto generator start for problem loads may need to be incorporated to 
> protect battery investment.  It is generally necessary to specify many 
> conservation measures and DC appliances where appropriate, along with a 
> myriad of  other details.
> 
> I'm beginning to feel like a broken record on this. But people are used 
> to 
> being able to buy things off the shelf, plug then in and forget about 
> them.  That expectation is what sucks a lot of customers into buying a 
> lot 
> of PV equipment that will do them little good.
> 
> "Plug and play" doesn't generally fly for PV.  Customers need to be 
> educated about these issues.  It is amazing that many low ball sales 
> outfits may either be oblivious to this issue, or don't care.  A sale is 
> a 
> sale.   The "selling point" heard from volume vendors, of just hook it 
> up 
> for solar power, makes educating customers that more difficult.  They 
> already have been programmed with false expectations.
> 
> Designing a load that matches production makes all the 
> difference.   Without that, a customer gets a lot of impressive looking 
> equipment hanging on a wall, with a solar array that functions as little 
> 
> more than a political statement.  The customer would have been far 
> better 
> off spending a small fraction of that investment on energy efficiency.
> 
> I've seen situations where mail order outfits have happily sold systems 
> to 
> put on houses, with forced air heating systems, that alone use far more 
> power than the PV system produces.  I've seen people tied to their 
> houses, 
> to run generators, to keep their homes from freezing up in the winter.
> 
> Yet a carefully designed solar solar electrical system can magically 
> stay 
> charged and run all or most of the loads.  You can't just slap up a 
> bunch 
> of equipment and expect it to be a meaningful, cost effective 
> installation.
> 
> True, we are not inventing PV.  We are interfacing the limited power it 
> produces with electrical reality. Systems that work are examples that 
> build 
> the industry.  Putting up $20K boondoggles that supply some minuscule 
> portion of the electrical load gives PV a bad name.
> 
> Additionally,  Wrenches have done tremendous R&D for a lot of equipment, 
> 
> from wind machines to battery boxes.  Over the last decade or so, what 
> works has been ferreted out from what doesn't.  Strategies for 
> programing 
> inverters have been developed.  Problems have been isolated and 
> manufacturers contacted.  Much has been learned and much remains to be 
> improved upon.
> 
> Drake
> 
> 
> 

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