[RE-wrenches] Fortress Avalon

[Kirk Herander]

Does the Avalon system have the ability to monitor an AC 400 amp service?
I know the Envy does not. I ran into this in one of my installs, the envy
does not support paralleling CTs to monitor paralleled main feeds.
And besides, you can’t, at least several months ago even monitor a single
feed 400 amp service using their CTs.

I would have much more confidence in Fortress generally speaking if they
would finally come out with some of these upgrades they’ve been promising
for a while.

*Kirk Herander / **kirkh at vermont.solar <kirkh at vermont.solar>*

*Owner|Principal, VT Solar, LLC*

*Celebrating our 33st Anniversary 1991-2024!!*

dba Vermont Solar Engineering

802.559.1225


On Wed, May 15, 2024 at 2:17 PM Michael Welch via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

> Hi gang. Dave Tedeyan is having troubles with his ISP and asked me to
> forward this message to the list:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I installed an Avalon system in March. The SEP (smart energy panel) is a
> nice idea. As Jay mentioned, getting the main and load breakers wired is
> difficult. I was using standard 4/0 AL XHHW-2. It was doable, but I had to
> remove the display screen in order to get things wired, and I was afraid
> that I might break off one of the load relays if the wire slipped, but it
> was doable. I'll attach a photo of the install in progress, you can see it
> is not easy to get those wires into the main breaker. Fortress is aware of
> this issue and presumably will be doing something about it. I like the
> integrated relays though and how you can easily incorporate load shedding.
>
> In general, the product does not yet have its full capacity. They just got
> the AC coupling software available right before I installed this, which is
> good, since this is an AC coupled system. They still do not have the
> software for generator integration, so I will have to come back this fall
> to move the generator feed once that is available. I am not sure whether
> you can have multiple inverters yet either. Plus, the installer app is only
> in beta testing. So, right now, I have to have to share a login with the
> homeowner. The homeowner app seems to be similar to the Guardian app in
> that there is very little info there, and no historical info. All this will
> be coming with the release of their installer app.
>
> The commissioning process almost went very smoothly, until at the last
> screen it gave me an error sending the info to Fortress. I think in the end
> it would have been fine, but I ended up on the phone for a while with tech
> support to know for sure that it was OK. I am not sure whether that was a
> random issue, but it seems that they are still working out some bugs. Not
> surprising, considering that it is a brand new system. I gather that there
> are not too many of these in the field yet, since one of their main sales
> reps, Walt, randomly reached out to me to ask for feedback. I was happy to
> have the opportunity to talk about it.
>
> Also, note, when I was testing the system and I shut off the main breaker,
> it took about a second or two for power to switch over. It was not
> instantaneous. So, yes, clocks reset, although it at least lets the
> homeowner know that there was a power outage. With some other systems, the
> homeowner may not even know that the power is out so they don't know to
> adjust their power usage. (I know, the benefits of having a paired down
> backup loads panel, but sometimes it just makes more sense to back up
> everything).
>
> But, in general, I think that when this system has its full functionality,
> I think it will be a really solid system at a good price.
>
> Cheers,
> Dave
>
> --
> Dave Tedeyan, P.E.
> Owner | Sungineer Solar
> p: he | him | his
> a: 1653 Slaterville Rd. | Ithaca, NY 14850
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/1653+Slaterville+Rd.+%7C+Ithaca,+NY+14850?entry=gmail&source=g>
> w: www.sungineersolar.com
> c: (607) 270-0370
>
>
> Mac Lewis via RE-wrenches wrote at 05:28 PM 5/14/2024:
>
>
> Hello Wrenches,
>
> I am looking closely at offering the Fortress Avalon system.  I would
> like to hear from anyone that has installed, commissioned and seen them
> work in the field. Pros and cons, all of your thoughts are appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
>
> _______________________________________________
> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>
> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org
>
> List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
>
> Change listserver email address & settings:
> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
> There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the
> other:
> https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/
> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
> List rules & etiquette:
> http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>
> Check out or update participant bios:
> http://www.members.re-wrenches.org
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20240515/02d5526b/attachment.htm>