Re: [RE-wrenches] 300W 72 cell micro inverters
That would be at the 120% rating, so by rule of thumb, OK. I have a ground mount that has a ration of 1.15% with M-190s (figuring 199 W / inverter). It has quite a bit of clipping in the spring. It has optimized tilt for the location. A ballasted roof mount with a 10 or 15 degree tilt likely wouldn't have that issue. This system went in the spring of 2010, and has only had one M-190 failure out of 24, amazingly enough. At 10:22 AM 2/9/2015, you wrote: What do you typically get out of a 300 watt panel for production when you are grid tied? I know in theory (STC) it is a 300 watt module but we rarely if ever (except in very cold weather)see near that for an output. I use (as a general, 77 degrees F) design parameter, 77% for overall power production output output. I'm sure you would get a little clipping, but I guess a significant amount would depend on a number of variables on the site, time of the year, weather conditions, etc. Daryl Yeahif you're OK with a not insignificant amount of clipping going on. -Original Message- From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of penobscotso...@midmaine.com Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2015 2:33 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] 300W 72 cell micro inverters Hey Jason, The M-250's work well with LG 300 watt (60 cell) modules. Daryl Hi Jason, The Enphase C250 Microinverters for three-phase commercial applications does work with 72 cell modules. On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 12:58 PM, Jason Szumlanski ja...@floridasolardesigngroup.com wrote: The ABB micros seem to be solid and easy to install. We have two sites with them with no issues. Unfortunately, the monitoring system sucks compared to Enphase and was far more difficult to set up. I really wish Enphase would come up with a good 72 cell option because we find ourselves competing with 300W modules occasionally, and consumers (irrationally) jump to the conclusion that bigger is better. [image: Logo-Sq-80.png] Jason Szumlanski Principal Solar Designer Florida Solar Design Group (239) 491-8010 office (239) 410-4985 mobile Authorized Sales Agent for Fafco Solar [image: Fafco-Solar-Enphase-Logo.png] License CVC56701 On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 3:15 PM, Bill Hennessy b...@berkssolar.com wrote: Hi folks-- We're planning a micro inverter install using 300W 72 cell modules for an area with a fair amount of shading. The choices we've found are ABB micro 0.3 or APS YC500A. Any stories to tell about either of these or another suggestion? Thanks for your time. Bill Hennessy Berks Solar, LLC 371 Centennial Rd Mertztown, PA 19539 o 610 682 4300 c 484 560 4666 NABCEP certified installer PA contractor #44411 www.berkssolar.com ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@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/mailli st.html List rules etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org *Florida Solar Design Group is not an engineering or architectural firm and acts only as a consultant and authorized independent sales agent. Any advice or work product provided shall not be considered licensed professional services provided under Florida Statute Chapters 471, 481, or 491.* ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@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/maillis t.html List rules etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org -- Cordially, Nick Soleil *Enphase Energy* | Field Applications Engineer office 707-763-4784 %28707%29%20763.%204784 x7267 cell 07-321-2937 http://enphase.com/ *Powering Whatââ¬â¢s Next*ââ¢* | *The Enphase Energy Management System http://ow.ly/HbVS3 http://community.enphaseenergy.com/ http://facebook.com/EnphaseEnergy http://twitter.com/Enphase http://linkedin.com/company/enphase-energy NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer #03262011-300 California C10 Licensed Electrician #986315 Texas Master Electrician #284451 nsol...@enphaseenergy.com ââ¬ÅDonââ¬â¢t get me wrong: I love nuclear energy! Itââ¬â¢s just that I prefer fusion to fission. And it just so happens that thereââ¬â¢s an enormous fusion reactor safely banked a few million miles from us. It delivers more than we could ever use in just about 8 minutes. And itââ¬â¢s wireless!ââ¬Â - William McDonough This email message
Re: [RE-wrenches] tax credit carryover
My CPA said that for residential customers, the credit could be carried forward until the year the credit expires (2016) Carl Adams NABCEP Ceritifed Solar Installer Sunrock Solar On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 12:54 PM, Kristopher Schmid sol...@legacysolar.com wrote: I am interested in the answer to your question, Kirk. If you find it somewhere other than on this thread, can you please let me know. I have heard 5 years, but not from a CPA. Thanks, Kris On Sat, Feb 7, 2015 at 2:43 PM, Kirk Herander k...@vtsolar.com wrote: What is the length of carryover for the Federal tax credit (individual)? It’s clear in the tax code a business has a one year carry back 20 year carry forward. For the residential, it seems to indicate only a 1 year carry forward, but not explicitly stated. Thoughts? Thanks. *Kirk Herander* *VT Solar, LLC * *Proven PV provider since 1991* *www.vermontsolarnow.com http://www.vermontsolarnow.com* dba Vermont Solar Engineering NABCEPTM Inaugural Certificant VT RE Incentive Program Partner 802.863.1202 ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@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 -- Shine On! Kris Schmid Legacy Solar, LLC 864 Clam Falls Trail Frederic, WI 54837 www.legacysolar.com 715-653-4295 NABCEP Certified PV Installer Licensed Wisconsin Master Electrician BSEE ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@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 ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@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
Re: [RE-wrenches] 300W 72 cell micro inverters
Regarding the clipping, which the power electronics guys would rather I call power limiting... To be clear, Longer 100% production around noon (implied in that image that this is somehow beneficial) means this system could have produced more energy but didn't because the inverter was too small. Assuming similar efficiencies, a 300W micro-inverter clearly would have produced more energy on that day than the 250W inverter. I imagine that what you mean was that if you're locked into a certain ac limit here (either you can only use a 250W micro, or maybe your service conductors limit your ac rating) then yes, a higher dc/ac ratio may have more power limiting but will produce more energy at the expense of your kWh / kWdc yield (a consideration for some projects). Given that the ABB inverters have their highest efficiencies at the higher end of their power outputs, which is not where PV modules typically operate (unless you stick a 400W module on it), I'm curious whether a typical 280W module would actually produce more energy over a year with an Enphase 240W vs the ABB 300W in most locations. Over the full Enphase power range it's more efficient than the ABB: At ~100W dc input, Enphase is at about 96.4% efficient and the ABB 300W is at 95.8%. At ~250W input: Enphase 96.4%, ABB 96.1%. And yes, at 315W input: Enphase 76.2% steady-state, ABB 96.4%. It could go without saying (but I have momentum) that you should not spend $2000 on a larger inverter(s) that will help your array produce $200 more energy over its 25-year life. It's up to you to figure that out given your site conditions and as noted in the last thread that addressed this topic, weather data probably underestimates the benefit due to its averaging out most short-term edge-of-cloud effects. Anyway, maybe C250s would meet the OP's needs and they're actually the slightest bit more efficient than the standard 240W unit. That is, until you add the transformer since the output is 220-248V L-N. That presumably makes the ABB the efficiency winner, but hopefully the above is still useful. Sorry, no personal experience with any of the ABB/APS/C250 units. I probably should have opened with that to save you some time. DKC On 2015/2/10 13:05, jarmo.venalai...@schneider-electric.com wrote: Hi: One thing to keep in mind with clipping, (module over sizing), is that if a system has 10%-15% off clipping, that will not affect total annual energy harvest and depending on dust and temperature conditions will likely even improve it. Heres' a graph which shows the energy harvest graphically for a 250W module with a 250W inverter and a and 300W module with a 250W inverter. Please note the graph does not include any dust effects. To compensate for dust, the modules should always be of the order of 4% more powerful than the inverter, unless you plan on washing modules every month. Related to this, large commercial systems we have been supplying inverters to are 30-70% oversized as the sinking cost of modules makes the return on investment come out as maximized in that range of oversizing, JARMO _ * Jarmo Venalainen* | *Schneider Electric **| Xantrex Brand* | *CANADA* | *Sales Application Engineer* * Phone:* +604-422-2528 | *Tech Support:* 800-670-0707 | *Mobile:* +604-505-0291 * Email:* _jarmo.venalainen@schneider-electric.com_ mailto:jarmo.venalai...@schneider-electric.com | *Site:*_www.Xantrex.com_ http://www.xantrex.com/ | *Address:* 3700 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, BC V5G4M1 *** Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail From: Drake drake.chamber...@redwoodalliance.org To: RE-wrenches re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org, Date: 02/10/2015 06:51 AM Subject:Re: [RE-wrenches] 300W 72 cell micro inverters Sent by:RE-wrenches re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org That would be at the 120% rating, so by rule of thumb, OK. I have a ground mount that has a ration of 1.15% with M-190s (figuring 199 W / inverter). It has quite a bit of clipping in the spring. It has optimized tilt for the location. A ballasted roof mount with a 10 or 15 degree tilt likely wouldn't have that issue. This system went in the spring of 2010, and has only had one M-190 failure out of 24, amazingly enough. At 10:22 AM 2/9/2015, you wrote: What do you typically get out of a 300 watt panel for production when you are grid tied? I know in theory (STC) it is a 300 watt module but we rarely if ever (except in very cold weather)see near that for an output. I use (as a general, 77 degrees F) design parameter, 77% for overall power production output output. I'm sure you would get a little clipping, but I guess a significant amount would depend on a number of variables on the site, time of the year,
Re: [RE-wrenches] tax credit carryover
I am interested in the answer to your question, Kirk. If you find it somewhere other than on this thread, can you please let me know. I have heard 5 years, but not from a CPA. Thanks, Kris On Sat, Feb 7, 2015 at 2:43 PM, Kirk Herander k...@vtsolar.com wrote: What is the length of carryover for the Federal tax credit (individual)? It’s clear in the tax code a business has a one year carry back 20 year carry forward. For the residential, it seems to indicate only a 1 year carry forward, but not explicitly stated. Thoughts? Thanks. *Kirk Herander* *VT Solar, LLC * *Proven PV provider since 1991* *www.vermontsolarnow.com http://www.vermontsolarnow.com* dba Vermont Solar Engineering NABCEPTM Inaugural Certificant VT RE Incentive Program Partner 802.863.1202 ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@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 -- Shine On! Kris Schmid Legacy Solar, LLC 864 Clam Falls Trail Frederic, WI 54837 www.legacysolar.com 715-653-4295 NABCEP Certified PV Installer Licensed Wisconsin Master Electrician BSEE ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@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
Re: [RE-wrenches] NABCEP consultant fee
Chris, I have done this in the past. WI incentives used to require NABCEP cert. Looking back, i probably undercharged. Given that you are putting your reputation and certification on the line and therefor will need to be involved in design, planning, and inspection, i think that a percentage of the installed cost would be a good way to approach it. I see this service as very similar to a construction manager who typically receives 5-7% of project cost. Just my .02 Kris On Sat, Feb 7, 2015 at 9:28 AM, Chris Schaefer ch...@solarandwindfx.com wrote: Good Day All, While I’m unsure how all states handle NABCEP, here in New York in order to obtain state incentives you or someone within your company must be a NABCEP PV professional. With the growth that our industry is experiencing there are more and more non-PV companies jumping into the scene. These companies are seeking out NABCEP individuals to add to their staffs without actually adding them to the payroll. My question to my NABCEP peers is what are you charging per project or how are you getting financially reimburse for your time/skills? Per watt, per project? If you’re uncomfortable making this public feel free to share your thoughts with me off list via my email or give me a call. Sincerely, Christopher Schaefer Chris Schaefer’s [image: SolarWindFX] *Tel/Fax 585-229-2083 585-229-2083 or Cell 585-748-1870 585-748-1870 * * 5115 South Hill Road ~ Canandaigua New York 14424* *www.solarandwindfx.com http://www.solarandwindfx.com ~ E-mail: ch...@solarandwindfx.com ch...@solarandwindfx.com* Thomas Jefferson, the author of our great Constitution, once said, democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@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 -- Shine On! Kris Schmid Legacy Solar, LLC 864 Clam Falls Trail Frederic, WI 54837 www.legacysolar.com 715-653-4295 NABCEP Certified PV Installer Licensed Wisconsin Master Electrician BSEE ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@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
Re: [RE-wrenches] 300W 72 cell micro inverters
Hi: One thing to keep in mind with clipping, (module over sizing), is that if a system has 10%-15% off clipping, that will not affect total annual energy harvest and depending on dust and temperature conditions will likely even improve it. Heres' a graph which shows the energy harvest graphically for a 250W module with a 250W inverter and a and 300W module with a 250W inverter. Please note the graph does not include any dust effects. To compensate for dust, the modules should always be of the order of 4% more powerful than the inverter, unless you plan on washing modules every month. Related to this, large commercial systems we have been supplying inverters to are 30-70% oversized as the sinking cost of modules makes the return on investment come out as maximized in that range of oversizing, JARMO _ Jarmo Venalainen | Schneider Electric | Xantrex Brand | CANADA | Sales Application Engineer Phone: +604-422-2528 | Tech Support: 800-670-0707 | Mobile: +604-505-0291 Email: jarmo.venalai...@schneider-electric.com | Site: www.Xantrex.com | Address: 3700 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, BC V5G4M1 *** Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail From: Drake drake.chamber...@redwoodalliance.org To: RE-wrenches re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org, Date: 02/10/2015 06:51 AM Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] 300W 72 cell micro inverters Sent by: RE-wrenches re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org That would be at the 120% rating, so by rule of thumb, OK. I have a ground mount that has a ration of 1.15% with M-190s (figuring 199 W / inverter). It has quite a bit of clipping in the spring. It has optimized tilt for the location. A ballasted roof mount with a 10 or 15 degree tilt likely wouldn't have that issue. This system went in the spring of 2010, and has only had one M-190 failure out of 24, amazingly enough. At 10:22 AM 2/9/2015, you wrote: What do you typically get out of a 300 watt panel for production when you are grid tied? I know in theory (STC) it is a 300 watt module but we rarely if ever (except in very cold weather)see near that for an output. I use (as a general, 77 degrees F) design parameter, 77% for overall power production output output. I'm sure you would get a little clipping, but I guess a significant amount would depend on a number of variables on the site, time of the year, weather conditions, etc. Daryl Yeahif you're OK with a not insignificant amount of clipping going on. -Original Message- From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of penobscotso...@midmaine.com Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2015 2:33 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] 300W 72 cell micro inverters Hey Jason, The M-250's work well with LG 300 watt (60 cell) modules. Daryl Hi Jason, The Enphase C250 Microinverters for three-phase commercial applications does work with 72 cell modules. On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 12:58 PM, Jason Szumlanski ja...@floridasolardesigngroup.com wrote: The ABB micros seem to be solid and easy to install. We have two sites with them with no issues. Unfortunately, the monitoring system sucks compared to Enphase and was far more difficult to set up. I really wish Enphase would come up with a good 72 cell option because we find ourselves competing with 300W modules occasionally, and consumers (irrationally) jump to the conclusion that bigger is better. [image: Logo-Sq-80.png] Jason Szumlanski Principal Solar Designer Florida Solar Design Group (239) 491-8010 office (239) 410-4985 mobile Authorized Sales Agent for Fafco Solar [image: Fafco-Solar-Enphase-Logo.png] License CVC56701 On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 3:15 PM, Bill Hennessy b...@berkssolar.com wrote: Hi folks-- We're planning a micro inverter install using 300W 72 cell modules for an area with a fair amount of shading. The choices we've found are ABB micro 0.3 or APS YC500A. Any stories to tell about either of these or another suggestion? Thanks for your time. Bill Hennessy Berks Solar, LLC 371 Centennial Rd Mertztown, PA 19539 o 610 682 4300 c 484 560 4666 NABCEP certified installer PA contractor #44411 www.berkssolar.com ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@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/mailli st.html List rules etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org *Florida Solar Design Group is not an engineering or
Re: [RE-wrenches] Off Grid Inverter Replacement Questions
It's amazing how different our experiences are with the same equipment! I've installed hundreds of outbacks, and fixed my share to be sure. But they are the only one I know of that sends just boards and that you don't have to send the inverter back ( offgrid ). In the dozens of rebuilt outbacks, I've never had to re-fix one. Their ship time on board sets is pretty fast. The CC issue is long in the past, FYI Out of the dozen magnums I've installed I've had one DOA, another fail in 2 months, and a 3rd that had such bad rf noise I had to replace it with a VFX. My last failure took almost 3 weeks from removal to replacement while I waited to get it back. Yes fixed for free. Schneider no longer sends board sets. I just had a customer buy a new XW, vs try and repair it, given the unknown repair time or cost, truck cost both ways, my time etc. SMA, wish I could get my clients to afford them! So I'm with john. Jay Peltz power. On Feb 4, 2015, at 8:01 PM, John Blittersdorf john.blittersd...@gmail.com wrote: Allan, I would replace with a VFX3524 and a Mate3 as long as the backup generator is big enough. FX's don't load share or gen support. I have had lousy luck with getting several magnums repaired. All have been switched to Outback. The Radian would be a nightmare to install compared to a single FX. I sell Radians primarily for grid tie backup systems and very high demand off grid. And to replace Magnums. I have had no trouble with Outback service and getting boards for on site repairs. Quality of boards OK. The Mate 3 is more intuitive than the Mate and has lots more information. Works fabulously with OpticsRE for monitoring. I have a remote mountaintop transmitter site that has been a nightmare for years and now we finally got all the pieces together at one time to make it work.. Good generator (EcoGen) new batteries, and 4000 watts of solar on top of pole racks (to self clear of snow) VFX3648 with IOTA 12v battery charger for the DC Loads, and the MATE3 hooked up to the internet and OpticsRE. All is now calm on the mountaintop. John Blittersdorf Central Vermont Solar wind On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 8:02 PM, Allan Sindelar al...@sindelarsolar.com wrote: Esteemed Wrenches, This question is prompted by a specific customer's situation, and I have a question related to this, but I'm mainly using the situation to ask a broader question. The specific situation: A customer's Xantrex SW+2524 has been acting erratically. Fixing the inverter is not the issue; the client is quite remote, and costs of diagnosis, parts and labor for these legacy units have gone up enough that the customer has already decided to replace the unit with a current product. From my perspective, the issues at hand revolve around how to safely and cleanly install a modern inverter into a system structured around old equipment. The specific question: Outback's FX series is the current product that most readily replaces the SW/SW+ series: it's also 120V in/out, and it has DC on the right and AC in/out on the left of a horizontally-laid out unit. However, several times in recent years I have heard disparaging comments, both here and in private conversations, about the purported drop in quality of Outback's inverters and controllers since Alpha bought them, but specifically because units, or parts of units, are now made in China, rather than in the U.S. What I want to know, please, are answers to two+ questions: 1) what's the real scoop? what is now made where? and 2) what actual experiences, specifically product failures, have any of you had that directly relate to changes directly attributable to overseas production? In other words, how much of this is real and how much is rumor? The bigger question (and this issue will come up frequently in the coming years): the SW+, like the SW before it, operates at 120V AC on both input and output. More and more modern battery-based inverters input and output split-phase 120/240V AC. When should I hesitate to replace a 120V legacy inverter with a 120/240V unit? Among larger whole-house single inverters, Outback's FX and VFX units operate at 120V, but these are older models. SMA's Sunny Island is 120V only, but this is generally considered a weakness in typical SI installations, and these expensive units don't adapt as well as replacements in older home systems. Magnum's MS4024 is available in either configuration. Outback's Radian and Schneider's XW and Conext SW are only available as 120-240 units. Here are the issues that I see: Don't do it if a backup generator is 120V AC-only. It will work, but is hard on the inverters, as all charging current will come in on one leg of the inverter's AC input. Fortunately, relatively few generators are 120V-only; pretty much just the smaller inverter-generators. Most cheaper gennies are 240V, and either run
[RE-wrenches] Off Grid Inverter Replacement Questions
I have to share Jays experience here. I have lost track of how many OB inverters and charge controllers I have installed since OB hit the scene. I have never had a dead unit out of a box and have only had to swap out 4 sets of circuit broads over the years(mostly due to lightning related). I have never had a bad board initially and not had a replacement die. I can say that the wait on the tech line has lengthened severely over time and leaving a message for a call back is a joke (3 days till a response on the last message I left). I have to applaud the OB collection of equipment for compatibility OB to OB and communication has been great. The old Trace SW series used to have “HAL2001” on the front panel as a reference to 2001 Space Odyssey movie because it ran the ship. I would have to say that today’s OB equipment has taken that a step further. I live in OB GTVFX grid tied with battery backup for the last 10 years and it has been flawless. I caution the new owners of OB to not get complacent (Xanterex is a prime example) and keep the quality that they were famous for and improve the tech support access. When I am on a site 2 hours from the shop, barely have cell service, need tech support, I need it then not in 3 days the email response time is typically the same as leaving a message. I will continue for now to install OB. Dana Orzel Great Solar Works, Inc - NABCEP # 051112-136 E - d...@solarwork.com - Web - solarwork.com O - 970.626.5253 C - 208.721.7003 - No FAX Line Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988 P Please consider the environment before printing this email. From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of jay peltz Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2015 12:09 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Off Grid Inverter Replacement Questions It's amazing how different our experiences are with the same equipment! I've installed hundreds of outbacks, and fixed my share to be sure. But they are the only one I know of that sends just boards and that you don't have to send the inverter back ( offgrid ). In the dozens of rebuilt outbacks, I've never had to re-fix one. Their ship time on board sets is pretty fast. The CC issue is long in the past, FYI Out of the dozen magnums I've installed I've had one DOA, another fail in 2 months, and a 3rd that had such bad rf noise I had to replace it with a VFX. My last failure took almost 3 weeks from removal to replacement while I waited to get it back. Yes fixed for free. Schneider no longer sends board sets. I just had a customer buy a new XW, vs try and repair it, given the unknown repair time or cost, truck cost both ways, my time etc. SMA, wish I could get my clients to afford them! So I'm with john. Jay Peltz power. On Feb 4, 2015, at 8:01 PM, John Blittersdorf john.blittersd...@gmail.com wrote: Allan, I would replace with a VFX3524 and a Mate3 as long as the backup generator is big enough. FX's don't load share or gen support. I have had lousy luck with getting several magnums repaired. All have been switched to Outback. The Radian would be a nightmare to install compared to a single FX. I sell Radians primarily for grid tie backup systems and very high demand off grid. And to replace Magnums. I have had no trouble with Outback service and getting boards for on site repairs. Quality of boards OK. The Mate 3 is more intuitive than the Mate and has lots more information. Works fabulously with OpticsRE for monitoring. I have a remote mountaintop transmitter site that has been a nightmare for years and now we finally got all the pieces together at one time to make it work.. Good generator (EcoGen) new batteries, and 4000 watts of solar on top of pole racks (to self clear of snow) VFX3648 with IOTA 12v battery charger for the DC Loads, and the MATE3 hooked up to the internet and OpticsRE. All is now calm on the mountaintop. John Blittersdorf Central Vermont Solar wind On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 8:02 PM, Allan Sindelar al...@sindelarsolar.com wrote: Esteemed Wrenches, This question is prompted by a specific customer's situation, and I have a question related to this, but I'm mainly using the situation to ask a broader question. The specific situation: A customer's Xantrex SW+2524 has been acting erratically. Fixing the inverter is not the issue; the client is quite remote, and costs of diagnosis, parts and labor for these legacy units have gone up enough that the customer has already decided to replace the unit with a current product. From my perspective, the issues at hand revolve around how to safely and cleanly install a modern inverter into a system structured around old equipment. The specific question: Outback's FX series is the current product that most
