Solar near Airports [RE-wrenches]

Matt Tritt solarone at charter.net
Mon Jul 19 17:03:10 PDT 2004


 

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John,

I don't know why or how you would know this, but to your knowledge, does the
Bergey Excel 10 inverter (Xantrex) meet these guidelines? There is one
located right at the end of the main runway here. From what I heard, the
only thing the FAA was concerned about at the time it was installed was how
height the tower was.

Matt T
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Berdner" <jberdner at sma-america.com>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2004 4:10 PM
Subject: RE: Solar near Airports [RE-wrenches]




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Bill / Wrenches:

I had to jump in here to correct some misinformation that could be
potentially costly to Wrenches out there.

Inverter size is irrelevant as far as FCC is concerned.
If an inverter has a microprocessor operating at a clock frequency of
more than 1.705 MHZ
it is subject to FCC verification under 47 CFR 2.952-956.
If the inverter is marketed to consumers then it must meet the Class B
requirements of FCC part 15.109
If the inverter is connected to an ac power supply, e.g. the grid, then
it must meet the conducted limits of FCC 15.107
There are two very narrow exceptions in 47 CFR 15.103 which are
application specific (not product specific).
To paraphrase these exceptions:
1) if the inverter is sited in an industrial facility, i.e. a
manufacturing environment, or;
2) If the inverter is sited in a utility generation facility, i.e.
behind the fence (not customer sited!).

The requirements of FCC Part 15 are Federal requirements
They are not suggestions, good ideas, options, guidelines, etc.
FCC has the authority and the teeth to enforce these requirements.
Others may disagree but I spent a lot of time and money getting very
specific, detailed, and clear information on the subject directly from
the FCC.
FCC can and probably will come in and shut one of these things down
some day.
At the end of an Airport runway is about the most highly likely place I
can think of for this to occur.
Go ahead an roll the dice but don't blame me when they come up snake
eyes.

>>>>

To answer Ray's direct question:
SMA Inverters shipping today meet FCC requirements.
The Sunny Boys meet FCC Part 15 For Class B (residential) and Class A
(commercial).
The Sunny Central meets FCC Part 15 for Class A only (commercial
only).

Best Regards,

John Berdner

>>> billb at endecon.com 7/19/2004 03:21:20 PM >>>


Ray,

I can't speak for John, but I think he is focused on an important
issue,
that of FCC compliance for inverters. There is some disagreement in
the
industry about how and what applies to differing size inverters, but
the
fundamental issue is important--Inverters should be tested so that they
are
not likely to cause radio frequency interference (RFI).

Being FCC compliant does not guaranty immunity from RFI problems. Right
on
the FCC label it explains that if a problem exists because of this
piece of
equipment, relocate antennas or move the equipment.

I currently have an installation in SoCal where we have 10 SMA SB2500U
inverters and two Xantrex PV20208 in an 8'x10' room that is literally
3'
from a very large computer server room. Many were nervous about this
installation, many questions were asked, some data was presented, but
until
we flipped the switch, no one knew what would happen. The impact of
high
frequency noise is seldom predictable.

In this case we had no interference problems with the adjacent
equipment.
Formal tests have not been completed, but an interesting test would be
to
look at the RFI produced by the 10 SB2500U versus the PV20208
inverter.

All this is to say some form of RFI testing should be required of all
inverters. Companies that show compliance with FCC regulations should
be
congratulated for proving that they are compliant. It is one reference
point
to consider when purchasing an inverter.

As it pertains to your question at hand, the probability that a
PV-series
inverter will cause a problem at your installation is extremely small.
It is
a similar probability to a dozen SB2500U causing a problem (equipment
is
tested one at a time, not as a block of a dozen). As was pointed out in
a
post, distance is the key. No airplane is going to get close enough to
be
affected by a Xantrex or a SunnyBoy. In either case, if you cause
interference with either FCC or non-FCC compliant equipment, it is up
to you
to solve the problem. The airport is not going to move their antennas
for
you. Neither is Xantrex or SMA going to pay for RFI remediation. So
pick the
inverter you like best and ground everything really well.

Bill.


-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Walters [mailto:ray at solarray.com]
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2004 10:00 AM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: Re: Solar near Airports [RE-wrenches]

Thanks all;

Looks like I dug up a good topic. First, this installation is not on
airport property, it is not a large airport, and my installation is
not
subject to the scrutiny that some of your previous installations had.
(This
is next door is a 30 ft two way radio transmitter for instance). So
basically Bill is saying don't put the inverter on board the aircraft,
and
John is saying that every install I have done is a potential hazard to
low
flying aircraft. I am very interested in this. Lets cut to the chase,
which
inverters have FCC compliance, and which have serious interference
problems. Can we talk brands and models now?
Also, for watt-sun trackers, I agree with your comments William. I
replaced
Watt-Sun controllers damaged from lightning many times. This site will
be
under my watchful eye, so any failures will only last a day or two at
most.
As for accuracy, I used these on concentrator systems that required
extreme
accuracy. I've found the Watt-suns do the job right out of the box. I
have
not experienced the sensor degradation problem.

Ray



>Ray:
>
>My experience with Watt-sun trackers is that they work great, when
they
>work. I've sent each controller I've installed back more than once
for
>repair. I suggest you find out independently (not from someone on the
>list wanting to promote them) if they are any more reliable these
days
>than they used to be.
>
>Also, if the tracking is not completely accurate, you could be
reflecting
>towards the shadow, not right at it, exacerbating the problem, right?
>
>William Miller

Ray Walters
ray at solarray.com
President, SolarRay, Inc.
NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer
BS Mechanical Engineering, UT Austin 88
Returned US Peace Corps Volunteer







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