mondo off-grid inverters [RE-wrenches]

[Ezra Auerbach, DragonSun Consulting]

<x-flowed>


Marco-

I have to agree with Christopher on this one. I've seen some really  
big battery based inverters in my travels and pretty much everything  
Christopher describes is true. Heavy, inefficient except at a  
targeted very specific power level, few features etc. Offshore have  
seen some fully featured inverters in the 6-10 kW range but they  
typically had 120 Vdc input.

In the end I'd have to ask why would you want the single inverter.


Ezra Auerbach
DragonSun Consulting
Lasqueti Island, B.C. V0R 2J0

ezra at lincsat.com
250 333 8560



On 7-Sep-06, at 6:50 PM, Christopher Freitas --- OutBack Power wrote:

>
> Marco -
>
> There are some large stand-alone inverters out there - but the
> performance is usually surprisingly poor from a efficiency standpoint.
> Often the idle power consumption is in the 10% of the full power  
> rating
> (so 3000 watts for a 30KW unit) and they often weigh thousands of  
> pounds
> - real fun to move...  Most of them also are not "hybrid" meaning they
> will not charge the battery either.
>
> We are fielding our first 36 KW three phase inverter/charger in the  
> next
> few weeks and have many single and split phase 30 to 36 kW off-grid
> systems in the field now - some for several years already.
>
> Keep in mind that for 36 kW you only need TEN OutBack VFX3648  
> inverters
> - not the "dozens" you mentioned.  Our idle power draw will be as  
> low as
> 65 W DC for a 36 kW unit depending on the AC output configuration.
> Since we can turn on the additional slave inverters with increased  
> load
> the efficiency is very good across the entire power range.  All of the
> parts can be carried by one person and even installed solo.
>
> From my experience and research - all of the large military or
> commercial inverter you find will have a price that will be very high,
> less features and the lead time and service response unacceptable for
> most off-grid applications.  Most also will require high DC battery
> voltages which introduces lots of design issues and safety concerns.
>
> I would be very interested in hearing other people's experience.
>
> Christopher
>
>
> Christopher Freitas
> OutBack Power Systems, Inc.
> cfreitas @ outbackpower.com
> www.outbackpower.com
> Arlington WA USA
> Tel 360 435 6030
>
>
> - - - -
> To send a message: RE-wrenches at topica.com
>
> Archive of previous messages: http://lists.topica.com/lists/RE- 
> wrenches/read
>
> List rules & how to change your email address: www.mrsharkey.com/ 
> wrenches/etiquette.php
>
> Check out participant bios: www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/
>
> Hosted by Home Power magazine
>
> Moderator: michael.welch at homepower.com
>


--
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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

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

List rules & how to change your email address: www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/etiquette.php

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

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.bWljaGFl
Or send an email to: RE-wrenches-unsubscribe at topica.com

For Topica's complete suite of email marketing solutions visit:
http://www.topica.com/?p=TEXFOOTER
--^----------------------------------------------------------------




</x-flowed>