[RE-wrenches] Grid-tied Trace SW

Tue Sep 9 09:10:47 PDT 2014

Hi William,
Please remember the GTI is not compatible with SW models manufactured 
prior to 2002. 
Rgds.
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From:
"William Miller" <william at millersolar.com>
To:
"'RE-wrenches'" <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>, 
Date:
09/09/2014 09:06 AM
Subject:
Re: [RE-wrenches] Grid-tied Trace SW
Sent by:
"RE-wrenches" <re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org>

Russell:

I am curious, how do you perform anti-islanding tests?

The SW4024 should work great with a 3.3 kW array.  Due to battery and 
inverter inefficiencies you would never see the full 3.3 sell back any 
way, which is less than the rating of the inverter.

The SW4024 was UL listed at one time but the listing was removed due to 
failure to apply the testing regimen properly, if I remember correctly. We 
were not required to retrofit existing installations by adding the GTI, 
only to add them to pending installations.  Our utility lost a lot of 
applications during that era and years later, when forced to reapply, they 
accepted the SWs without GTIs.  If you really want one, I have one in the 
shop I would sell cheap, but I don’t have much faith in the design.

Lastly, I can’t comment on the efficiency of the SW versus a modern GTBB 
inverter.  That question would justify some research.  If the SW is 
significantly less efficient than, say, a Sunny Island, the impetus may be 
there to upgrade.

William Miller

Lic 773985
millersolar.com
805-438-5600

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On 
Behalf Of Russell Mueller
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2014 7:43 AM
To: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
Subject: [RE-wrenches] Grid-tied Trace SW

Hello Esteemed Wrenches,

I have a prospective client who has an old GTBB system using a Trace SW -- 
it was permitted and signed off by the utility way back when and has been 
operational ever since.  It's a Trace SW 4024 that's feeding the grid 
through a Trace T-240 transformer -- I didn't see a GTI.  All he wants me 
to do is replace his failing array (which would increase his array size 
from 1152W to 3300W) -- not pull a permit, not change the BOS other than 
to add a 2nd charge controller.

The original question that lead me to write this post is whether the 
SW4024 can handle the full 4kW sell-back onto the grid -- I couldn't find 
any specs on that on the web. 

But the question I have now is whether the Trace SW is UL1741 compliant. I 
didn't think to do an anti-islanding test before I left the site.  If it's 
not, then I'm thinking maybe I should insist that he change out his 
inverter for a modern one, or I'll pass on the job.  If it fails an 
anti-islanding test (which I'll do next time I'm in his neighborhood), 
then the dangers are obvious, and I don't want the liability.

What would you all do in this situation?  Do any of you have experience 
with grid-tied SWs -- any advice?

Thanks,

Russ

--
Russell Mueller
NM EE98 Electrical Contractor, license #382671
NM ER1J Journeyman Electrician
Photovoltaic Designer / Installer

BUFFALO SOLAR LLC
Taos, New Mexico
575-770-4877
russ at buffalosolartaos.com

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