[RE-wrenches] Slow clocks

[R Ray Walters]

Personally, on grid or off, I like battery powered clocks. One 2 sec outage, and the clock gets reset. I tend to use the clock on my cell phone and computer mostly (automatic updates), 
My battery powered weather station even has a clock that is linked to the atomic clock system. 
I've actually had more trouble with electric clocks now that I'm on grid! ( the clock on the stove never matches the clock on the coffee maker......)
BTW, I love your "times have changed" comment.....and I otherwise agree with your assessment of off grid today: sleep mode is soo 20th century.

Ray

On Apr 6, 2011, at 8:09 AM, Allan Sindelar wrote:

> Todd,
> Come on now! Times have changed. People expect more from their systems now, and lower module costs make that possible. It's not the electric clocks per se - it's everything else that we come to want on all the time, that happens to also have a clock in it. I don't know anyone any more with a modern system whose inverter ever goes into sleep mode. 
> 
> With three teenagers who have grown up in the digital age, rural wireless, all the electronics, my off-grid home has about an 80W continuous tare load. Maybe ten years ago (kids were small), we had no tare in the winter, but even then it never went to sleep. And we let all or most of the phantom loads stay on during the rest of the year when we have an excess of PV energy. 
> Allan
> 
> Allan Sindelar
> Allan at positiveenergysolar.com
> NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic Installer
> NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional
> New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
> Positive Energy, Inc.
> 3201 Calle Marie
> Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507
> 505 424-1112
> www.positiveenergysolar.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 4/4/2011 8:46 PM, toddcory at finestplanet.com wrote:
>> 
>> I wasn't going to say anything, but electric clocks off-grid? really???
>> 
>> Todd
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Monday, April 4, 2011 6:20pm, "Kent Osterberg" <kent at coveoregon.com> said:
>> 
>> > Kris,
>> > 
>> > Even with generators using an electronic governor, the frequency changes
>> > with load. Also while inverters are stable their frequency is not as
>> > accurate as utility power. Clocks that use the ac frequency as the time
>> > standard will not work reliably when powered with off-grid power. Such
>> > should be disclosed in any contract to install an off-grid power system.
>> > 
>> > Kent Osterberg
>> > Blue Mountain Solar
>> > 
>> > 
>> > Kristopher Schmid wrote:
>> > > I have an off-grid client who tells me that his clocks lose about 1 minute
>> > > per hour while he is running his backup generator. Has anyone seen this
>> > > before? Do clocks use the zero crossing on a 60Hz wave for keeping time and
>> > > could a frequency discrepency in the generator cause this?
>> > >
>> > > My thanks to the brain trust...
>> > >
>> > > Kris
>> > >
>> > > Legacy Solar, LLC
>> > > 864 Clam Falls Trail
>> > > Frederic, WI 54837
>> > > 715-653-4295
>> > > solman at legacysolar.com
>> > > www.legacysolar.com
>> > >
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