[RE-wrenches] Large off grid

[Ray]

I would second Allan's comments; I've had huge wastes of time with folks 
that had no idea what they needed.  I think the most important 
information to share with the customer at this time, is that the code 
does not require a stand alone inverter system to meet the capacity 
calculated for the service.  The exemption has now moved from article 
690, so it took me a little time to find it.  Please read the new 
710.15(A) .  It defines that the inverter(s) only need to be able to 
meet the single largest load. So Joe Residential Electrician may be 
required to run a 400 amp load panel, but theoretically you could feed 
that with a single 4 kW inverter, as long as it could start the well 
pump, for instance.

You really want to start right away trying to identify and reduce 
loads.  I regularly coordinate with the plumber on the well pump and 
circulator pumps, work with the appliance supplier to make sure 
everything is reasonable and Energy Star rated, and then make sure all 
lighting is LED, and there are no crazy loads like hot tubs, 3 ton Air 
Conditioners, or electric heating elements, hot plates, etc. Ground 
source heat pumps are another no no,  people think they are really 
efficient, but that's because the energy needed to run the pumps is not 
included in the calculations.  The pumps can take up to 2000 watts of 
power for many hours/ day.

I charge a consulting fee; if they don't want to spend a few hundred 
working out a load analysis and overall electrical system design, 
they're probably not going to be good customers later.

Ray Walters
Remote Solar
303 505-8760

On 7/23/18 6:29 PM, Allan Sindelar wrote:
> Aaron,
> In thirty years my largest off grid residence (2005 install) had four 
> Outback VFX3648s, with the inner two in the Quad Stack included 
> primarily as slave battery chargers. Principle One still holds, even 
> with today’s numerous exceptions: electricity is a high quality form 
> of energy, best suited to specific uses - lighting, electronics, drive 
> power. Shift (most) bulk uses of electricity to other forms of energy.
> I wouldn’t spend my unbilled hours designing a system to meet an 
> arbitrary 200A service.
> Hope this helps,
> Allan Sindelar, Sindelar Solar
>
> On Jul 23, 2018, at 4:35 PM, Peter Giroux <pgiroux at mindspring.com 
> <mailto:pgiroux at mindspring.com>> wrote:
>
>> Aaron
>>   Can use up to 8 radians "stacked " through their hub. One mate 
>> should control all of them. The Radians are solid and deliver a 
>> very good value.
>> thx
>> peter
>>
>>     ----- Original Message -----
>>     *From:* Aaron Mandelkorn <mailto:reosolar at gmail.com>
>>     *To:* RE-wrenches <mailto:re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>>     *Sent:* Monday, July 23, 2018 7:28 PM
>>     *Subject:* [RE-wrenches] Large off grid
>>
>>     What do you say to the person who wants "200 amp" electrical
>>     service from their off grid system.  I generally use Schneider
>>     xw+ inverters.  Is it even possible to put 4 or 6 of them
>>     together? How many radians can be put together? I'm curious to
>>     know how others would proceed or is this to unreasonable to spend
>>     my time on.
>>
>>     Aaron Mandelkorn
>>     President / Founder
>>     Renewable Energy Outfitters
>>     www.reosolar.com <http://www.reosolar.com>
>>     Off Grid Depot
>>     www.offgridnow.com <http://www.offgridnow.com>
>>     970-596-3744
>>
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>>
>>     List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
>>     <mailto:RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>>
>>     Change listserver email address & settings:
>>     http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>>
>>     List-Archive:
>>     http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
>>
>>     List rules & etiquette:
>>     www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>>     <http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm>
>>
>>     Check out or update participant bios:
>>     www.members.re-wrenches.org <http://www.members.re-wrenches.org>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>>
>> List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org 
>> <mailto:RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>>
>> Change listserver email address & settings:
>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>>
>> List-Archive: 
>> http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
>>
>> List rules & etiquette:
>> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm 
>> <http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm>
>>
>> Check out or update participant bios:
>> www.members.re-wrenches.org <http://www.members.re-wrenches.org>
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>
> 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
>
> List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
>
> List rules & etiquette:
> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>
> Check out or update participant bios:
> www.members.re-wrenches.org
>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches_lists.re-wrenches.org/attachments/20180723/cf62c30e/attachment.htm>