[RE-wrenches] PV powered music festival

Wed Apr 27 18:31:12 PDT 2011

Yep- lighting can be a killer, especially if not LED. I have experience with mobile solar and stage power. Email me directly for more info. I can tell you that I just did an Earth Day concert (3 years running) with a mobile solar trailer for 3000 people and they did not make a Magnum 4048 groan. Admittedly, it is a small stage setup. It really depends on the event. 

Stage people and performers love to tell you, "I need three 15A outlets and one 20A outlet," and then they draw a MAX of 5,000W and well under 10kwh for a 4 hour concert. They have no idea what they really need in terms of RE power. 

Hint: bring a big battery and big inverter- you'll be fine. 

Jason Szumlanski
Fafco Solar

On Apr 27, 2011, at 9:19 PM, "dan at foxfire-energy.com" <dan at foxfire-energy.com> wrote:

> It's the lights that will get you. JB should chime in here soon, but as I recall SF in Vt maxed at around 15-20kw for sound and in the neighborhood of 50k for lights.
> 
> 
> Dan Brown
> Foxfire Energy Corp.
> Renewable Energy Systems
> (802)-483-2564
> www.Foxfire-Energy.com
> NABCEP #092907-44
> 
> 
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] PV powered music festival
> From: R Ray Walters <ray at solarray.com>
> Date: Wed, April 27, 2011 9:04 pm
> To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> 
> Solarfest in Taos had a solar powered stage for years, so it definitely can be done. I've been into sound stuff lately, and I can say the loads are extremely variable.
> I have a 600 watt rated amp, (class D design) that I peaked at 270 watts input and averaged about 150 watts while I was testing with a very low frequency signal.
> I used a Kill-a-watt meter for the test, and the amp's clip light came on. 
> I also tested a class A amp (much less efficient) but I found the same thing: I never could get the input watts even to half the rated output of the amp.
> No load draw was about 20 watts.
> 
> I'd start at having enough inverter surge power to meet all the amps cont. rated output. You'll also want enough battery to hit the surges on the bass notes. (pretend its a well pump)
> Car audio guys know that more battery = more boom.
> You should be able to get some idea of the loads from the generator size that worked before, also.
> Find out how many bands will play each day, and approx how long their sets will be to get KwH/ day.
> 
> Sinewave is mandatory, although the Taos Solarfest used a pair of Trace SW4024s as I recall.
> The rest of the system was 8 L16s, an 8000 watt generator, and about 1000 watt array (again based on my foggy memory)
> This wasn't for the main stage, but a secondary stage that worked well for maybe 5000 people.(their bass was a bit wimpy though. Might want to go with more battery)
> I also recall that this was a trailer mounted rental unit from Sacred Power in Albuquerque, so they may consider some kind of leasing/ rent to own arrangement.
> 
> R. Walters
> ray at solarray.com
> Solar Engineer
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Apr 27, 2011, at 5:15 PM, boB Gudgel wrote:
> 
>> On 4/27/2011 3:51 PM, benn kilburn wrote:
>>> 
>>> Wrenches,
>>> I have been asked about sizing PV systems for a couple different music festivals that have been run solely off of generators in the past.  The problem i'm having is determining the energy consumption of music/stage (amps, speakers, lights, etc...?) loads as well as concession.  The organizers have never considered the kwh of electricity used and it has never been metered.  I believe the attendance of one festival is expected to be in the range of 5000 and the other closer to 15000 over the course of a weekend.
>>> 
>>> Do any of you have any experiences in this area?  How were the loads determined?
>>> 
>>> No doubt that generator back-up will still be needed, to what extent, will be determined.  So what we're looking at would be a temporary off-grid PV system with generator back-up...
>>> 
>>> Any suggestions on how to proceed with this one?
>>> 
>>> benn
>> 
>> 
>> You might want to check the guys out from this article from a year or two ago.
>> I think it's just the kind of thing you're looking for.
>> 
>> 
>> http://www.prosoundweb.com/photos/category/C17/
>> 
>> 
>> Four (4) pacific northwest companies  made some of the products for this tour including the mixer board.
>> 
>> boB
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> 
>>> DayStar Renewable Energy Inc. 
>>> benn at daystarsolar.ca
>>> 780-906-7807 
>>> HAVE A SUNNY DAY
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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