Single vs Distributed Inverters? [RE-wrenches]

[Bill Brooks]

Jeff and David,

I think the simplicity and installation of a single 45 or 50 kW inverter is
better than several smaller inverters. Space may be an issue as well. Our
industry, for all the many inverters, does not have a lot to offer in this
size range. Redundancy is not all that great of a benefit, but everybody has
their opinion.

My feeling is that the Square D 60-Amp and 100-Amp disconnects fundamentally
change the way we should do PV system design. They are both rated for their
full current rating per pole for 600Vdc PV systems. Anything 20 kW and
larger should be looking at using one of these disconnects with 6-10 string
combiner boxes fed into each pole of the disconnect. It is so simple and
straitforward, that I can't justify doing it any other way. It also makes
sense for 1MW PV systems to use a whole bunch of 100-A subarrays. Try it
you'll like it.

As far as inverters go, field experience is king when selecting an inverter.
If you are familiar with Solectria SMA 6000 or Xantrex PV45 or Satcon 50,
and that experience is solid, then by all means go for it. If you don't have
the experience, talk to others in the industry who have solid experience. 

Right now there are so many inverters and inverter manufacturers on the
market that it is a bit scary from a designer's point of view. Don't get
adventurous on anything that is more than 1/2 hour from your shop. You will
be sorry.

Bill.



-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Clearwater [mailto:clrwater at earthlink.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 10:40 PM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: Re: Single vs Distributed Inverters? [RE-wrenches]



Hey David,

I would for sure use either 7 or 8 SMA 6000s or 3 Solectria 13 KW inverters.

Installation ease  and redundancy of multlple inverters beat a single 
large inverter by far in my book!

Hope that helps!

Jeff C.

>Wrenches,
>
>We're trying to design our first large PV system - 40kW grid-tied,
>roof-mount, 208V grid - and we're wrestling with the inverter 
>selection.  I've seen traffic on this list with seemingly split 
>opinions as to go with a single large inverter or to use multiple 
>parallel smaller inverters.  So, anyone care to re-open that thread 
>and share your opinions and experiences?
>
>Thanks in advance.  Hope to see all you at the Energy Fair! 
>www.the-mrea.org
>
>-David
>
>
>
>----------
>David Blecker, PE
>Seventh Generation Energy Systems, Inc.
>Ph:  608-467-1518
>Cell: 608-335-3375
>Fax: 866-762-7496 (toll-free)
>Web: www.seventhGenergy.org
>
>--
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
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-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff Clearwater
Village Power Design
Sustainable Energy & Water Solutions for Home & Village
http://www.villagepower.com gosolar at villagepower.com NABCEP (tm) Certified
Solar PV Installer

530-470-9166
877-SOLARVillage
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Nevada City, CA 95959 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`~


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