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Hi Ray, Allan and All,<br><br>
That is a very informative article. Our utility, American Electric
Power (AEP) is taking steps to deal with the problem before it
hits. This will include the ability to remotely disconnect areas of
the grid and reconnect them from other sources. <br><br>
As I understand the issue, the EMP is caused by magnetic fields streaming
through our environment. As a generator creates power when a wire
cuts through a magnetic field, the moving field will create currents and
voltages in conductors. Long electrical power lines will be
strongly affected. <br><br>
Also affected are the conductors in micro chips and other electronic
devices. The tiny conductors in computers can be burned by small
electrical impulses, as evidenced by the fact that care must be taken
when working inside a computer to ground your hand on the frame. A
potential, generated by walking on a nylon carpet and arcing from your
finger, can destroy your computer's processor. In a similar
fashion, the conductors in a great number of electronic devices are
susceptible to damage by potentials resulting from rapidly moving
magnetic fields. As micro chips are in so many products these days,
many things will not operate after a major EMP event, including the
electronic ignitions in automobiles. <br><br>
In military context, an EMP may be generated in order to shut down a
society by producing a high altitude nuclear blast. It is an effect
that has been studied at length. We have not had any major,
naturally occurring EMP activity since the micro electronic age
began. <br><br>
My concern for the list is what the effect on PV systems will be.
Having a spare inverter may not help, because it could be damaged even
though it is not connected. But what about PV modules? They
have very small conductors within them. Could a significant EMP
produce enough potential to damage modules? If this were to become
an issue, who would be liable for the damage? Lightning potential
can be shunted to ground by proper grounding procedures. I'm not
sure the same would be true for potential generated inside the busses of
a module by a pulsed magnetic field. <br><br>
It would be good to get some definitive information about these
issues. <br><br>
Drake <br><br>
<br>
At 02:34 AM 3/20/2011, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Hi Allan;<br><br>
<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7819201/Nasa-warns-solar-flares-from-huge-space-storm-will-cause-devastation.html">
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7819201/Nasa-warns-solar-flares-from-huge-space-storm-will-cause-devastation.html</a>
<br>
<a href="http://science.nasa.gov/heliophysics/big-questions/how-does-solar-variability-affect-human-society-technological-systems-and-the-habitability-of-planets/" eudora="autourl">
http://science.nasa.gov/heliophysics/big-questions/how-does-solar-variability-affect-human-society-technological-systems-and-the-habitability-of-planets/</a>
<br>
<a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/solar-flare-electronics.htm" eudora="autourl">
http://science.howstuffworks.com/solar-flare-electronics.htm</a><br>
<a href="http://www.wind-sun.com/ForumVB/showthread.php?t=10548" eudora="autourl">
http://www.wind-sun.com/ForumVB/showthread.php?t=10548</a><br><br>
<br>
Should I shield all my electronics under my lead batteries, or is this
our next Y2K non event?<br>
<br>
Ray<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
On Mar 19, 2011, at 11:58 AM, Allan Sindelar wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">For those of us less aware of
solar flare issues and what we might expect that relates to PV, could
someone provide a good link to educate us?<br>
Thanks, Allan<br><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times"><b>Allan Sindelar</b></font><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=2 color="#000099"><u>
<a href="mailto:Allan@positiveenergysolar.com">
Allan@positiveenergysolar.com</a></u></font>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times"><br>
NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic Installer<br>
NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional<br>
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician<br>
<b>Positive Energy, Inc.</b><br>
3201 Calle Marie<br>
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507<br>
<b>505 424-1112</b><br>
<u><a href="http://www.positiveenergysolar.com/">
www.positiveenergysolar.com</a></u></font><br><br>
<b><br>
</b><br><br>
On 3/19/2011 11:48 AM, R Ray Walters wrote: <br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Hi Drake; <br><br>
No, I don't have answers, just more of your same concerns. I had a high
altitude (12,500 ft) installation damaged recently, possibly by a solar
flare in Feb; we lost a C40 charge controller. <br>
At this point, I don't know if the flare was the cause or not, but I
would expect more problems at higher altitudes.<br>
So far, my internet research says that the panels and batteries would be
ok, but we might expect damage to electronics similar to the induced high
voltages caused by lightning.<br>
Would grounding help? (I, too, also considered the Faraday
cage....)<br><br>
NASA is predicting the solar storm of a generation for 2012-2013, and I
read of a similar EMP incident in the 1800s that set telegraph equipment
on fire. <br>
I think very long utility lines and transformers at the ends of those
lines are the most vulnerable, so this could be more of GridTie
issue?<br><br>
R. Walters<br>
<a href="mailto:ray@solarray.com">ray@solarray.com</a><br>
Solar Engineer<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
On Mar 19, 2011, at 8:53 AM, Drake wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Hello Wrenches,<br><br>
I had an inquiry concerning the effect of EMP on photovoltaic
systems. We are heading for a period of solar activity that likely
will produce this effect. According to a local AEP (American
Electric Power) representative, the utility is spending a lot of money to
counter this anticipated problem. Additionally, nuclear related
issues are moving back to the front burner. <br><br>
It is clear that the pulse would damage an inverter, but possibly it
could be put in a Faraday cage. But a number of questions
arise.
<ul>
<li>Would the pulse damage the modules?
<li>Could the large currents and voltages induced by EMP damage the
conductors in the cells?
<li>Even if the inverters were surrounded by a Faraday cage, would
induced currents & voltages from the modules harm the
inverters?
<ul>
<li>Would series fuses and surge protectors be adequate protection.
</ul>
</ul>Has any research been done in this area? Does anyone know
answers to any of these questions?<br><br>
Thanks,<br><br>
Drake <br><br>
<font color="#0000FF">Drake
Chamberlin<x-tab> </x-tab>
<br>
Athens Electric<br>
OH License
44810<x-tab> </x-tab><br>
CO license 3773<br>
NABCEP Certified PV<br>
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<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font color="#0000FF">Drake
Chamberlin<x-tab> </x-tab>
<br>
Athens Electric<br>
OH License
44810<x-tab> </x-tab><br>
CO license 3773<br>
NABCEP Certified PV<br>
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