MM5 troubleshooting [RE-wrenches]

[Nick Nicholas, APS]

Hi Jeff:
    In the MM5 system, the customer wanted a convenient solar system
installation.  She refused to replace her electric hot water heater, even
though the cost implications were made clear to her.  However, she insisted
that the hot water was backed-up by utility power.  She realized that the
decision required an additional inverter, battery, and transformer.  Perhaps
you would have refused installing the system.
    This is not my house, and I don't have control over the decision.  The
customer is a net energy producer with 3.84 kW of solar, even with the hot
water heater.  She has a new electric hot water heater.  The batteries only
cycle when the utility grid is off.  Also, DC power is not at the same
building.  Furthermore, she doesn't really want people inside.  As the only
daughter to the founder of Sunset Magazine, money was not her primary reason
for making the decision.
    The original design for the system utilized two SW5548s at 240 VAC,
which was a cleaner, more versatile  system.  Unfortunately, the SWs were
just on the wall when the GTI/UL drama occurred.  We were forced to pull the
inverters.  After five painful months of Xantrex's false ship dates, she
finally insisted on an option, and the MM5 was the only option.
Unfortunately, installing the MM5's required splitting the battery into 2
batteries.  Vanners RE series was re-called at the time too.
    I am not saying that I haven't learned anything from that system.  I
have stopped bidding battery based inverters in utility-inter-tied
applications. Ever since then, I have focused on selling Sunny Boy Systems
with Kohler Generators.  Most Recently, I have been bidding systems with
FX-2000 inverters with Sunny Boys on the FX's sub-panel.  I have sold one
with this design, but intend on testing it at my store before installing the
customers' system.
Nick
Alternative Power Systems
www.alternativepowersystems.com
aps at sbcglobal.net
135 Colfax Ave.
Grass Valley, CA 95945
(530) 274-0588 phone
(530) 274-0589 fax
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Yago" <jryago at earthlink.net>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2003 1:35 PM
Subject: RE: MM5 troubleshooting [RE-wrenches]


>
> "I think it is humorous that she chose to install a six thousand dollar
> inverter dedicated to run a hot water heater, just so that she doesn't
have
> to change over to propane.  When the hot water heater gets older, we
intend
> to change it over to propane..."
>
> Although I would never use a pv system to power an electric hot water
heater
> due to the very high load, resulting short battery run time, and this is
> much more expensive than any other way to heat water,  if you are looking
> for a temporary solution until the heater is replaced, why not:
>
> Replace 240 AC heating elements with DC elements
> Install a load controller with adj. low voltage cut-off
> Power hot water heater DC elements directly from battery bank (no AC
> conversion losses).
> Use inverter only to power "normal" lighting and appliance loads in house.
>
> Just my 2 cents,
>
> Jeff Yago
>
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