On grid w/battery (was non wrenches) [RE-wrenches]

[Bill Brooks]

Joel,

Battery-backed systems sell PV, not the other way around, often. I have been
a proponent of the battery-backed system in the face of almost universal
rejection in the grid-connected PV world because I believe it has very real
"Independence" appeal. Take this from the system and you have taken a very
real benefit from the table. Consumers are NOT morons as some may think.
They vote with their checkbook and that is, simply stated, why we have well
over 1,000 of these systems in the CEC program. It was originally thought
that only 1-2% would be battery-backed (OOPS). I feel very lucky to have
guessed correctly on this issue.

Bill.


-----Original Message-----
From: Joel Davidson [mailto:joeldavidson at earthlink.net]
Sent: Monday, May 27, 2002 4:45 PM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: Re: On grid w/battery (was non wrenches) [RE-wrenches]


It is interesting that so many people on the grid feel the need and are
willing
to pay extra for battery backup.

We hardly ever use backup power. Since May 1998 when we installed our
system, we
have had a few short power outages less than one-half hour, two 1.25 hour
scheduled blackouts and one long outage. The long outage was when a pole
mounted
transformer on the next block went out on Easter Sunday 2001 at 7pm . SCE
decided it was not an emergency so they waited until the next morning to
send a
repair crew out to replace the transformer and restore power by 11am.

The point is our battery bank has just sat there 35,000 hours keeping us off
the
PV array max power point and buying a float charge at night from the grid
for
less than 24 hours of relatively non-essential backup power.

We presently produce 50% of our electricity. Since SCE increased their rates
last June, I've been thinking about adding 1.6 kW DC of PV to our 2.2 kW DC
system. Of course, I'd have to change inverters unless Xantrex figures out
how
to get the SW4048 to max power point track when on the grid and function as
a
UPS in stand-alone mode during grid outages.


Bill Brooks wrote:

> Joel,
>
> The CEC has some more firm numbers on the installations now. Of the more
> than 2,500 installations in the CEC program, over 1,000 are SW systems.
>
> Bill.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joel Davidson [mailto:joeldavidson at earthlink.net]
> Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2002 4:04 PM
> To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
> Subject: Re: Non wrenches [RE-wrenches]
>
> 1) I will start a separate discussion group when postings from Japanese
and
> German
> PV installers become overwhelming. Has anyone on this list ever talked or
> written to
> a Japanese or German PV installer?
> 2) Many postings here are about code issues and system design that
directly
> relate
> to grid-tie PV.
> 3) Estimated U.S. grid-tie PV in 2001 is 10 MW with 80% in California. 15
MW
> of
> grid-tie PV is projected for the entire U.S. for 2002.
> 4) The percentage of California non-battery PV systems has increased, but
I
> don't
> have specific numbers. Between the March 20, 1998 California PV rebate
> program start
> through May 29, 2001, 1,905 residential and commercial PV systems received
> rebates.
> 30% were owner-installed. 70% were contractor installed. I estimate 70% of
> the
> owner-installed systems and definitely more than 10% of the contractor
> installed
> systems have SW4024 or SW4048 inverters.
>
> "Travis Creswell, Ozark Solar" wrote:
>
> > It sounds great but...and this is just my .02¢.. assuming just a few %
of
> > the Japanese and German wrenches joined it would make this list really
> big,
> > I'd say too big.  Plus, I suspect that most of those systems are
> > batteryless/grid tied.
>
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