Safety at 600v [RE-wrenches]

Phil Undercuffler, Positive Energy phil at positiveenergysolar.com
Wed May 22 16:09:54 PDT 2002


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Brooks" <billb at endecon.com>

> I know most of the wrenches design their own systems, but how do people
feel
> about the newbees designing systems? How about wrenches with 600 Volts--we
> talked about this over a year ago on the list and there was a lot of
> well-deserved apprehension--I'm still worried.


Forget about wrenches--how about Joe Handyman?  Last month I got the latest
catalog from the big West coast mail order solar catalog company that will
remain nameless.  Prominently featured on the back page was Sunnyboy solar
packages, both small and large.  Just for kicks n grins, I called up & made
dumb (insert easy pot-shot here).  The helpful person on the other end of
the line assured me that anyone with handyman skills could install the
entire system!  He was still willing to take my credit card number after I
balked at pulling a permit or hiring an electrician, or even about notifying
my utility company, (although he mentioned that they wouldn't like that).
To his credit, he did suggest that I hire someone to look at my work,
although I'm sure that doesn't really meet the intent of the law.  I wiggled
off the hook by protesting "what do you mean it doesn't work on 12 volts?
Gee, I don't know if I feel safe working at linesman voltages!"

To take this a little further, I was tapped to lead a training for my fire
department regarding solar power systems.  A common part of fighting a
structure fire is cutting a large hole in the roof directly over the fire.
The thought of being on the unhappy end of an 18" gas-powered roof saw that
accidentally cuts through an array conductor operating at 600VDC made even
the newest recruit blanche.  I know that we can tarp the array and be safe,
I THINK that smashing out a couple of modules will break the string and make
it safe, but I can also see the day when firefighters see the array on the
roof, the red box on the wall, put two and two together and unless there is
someone trapped inside they stand back and protect the neighbor's house.

Don't get me wrong, I LIKE the Sunnyboy.  I can't wait to get my hands on a
Sunny Island.  I think SMA has a great product line, support, and design
philosophy.  I'm just really concerned about what happens when things don't
go right; in fact what happens when things go horribly wrong.

Enjoy the Sun!

Phil Undercuffler
Positive Energy

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious....
the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art
and true science"  --Albert Einstein

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

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

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

Check out participant bios: www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/index.html

Hosted by Home Power magazine

Moderator: michael.welch at homepower.com

==^================================================================
This email was sent to: michael.welch at homepower.com

EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bz8Qcs.bz9JC9
Or send an email to: RE-wrenches-unsubscribe at topica.com

T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail!
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register
==^================================================================





More information about the RE-wrenches mailing list