Sun hours

[J.P.M.]

Bruce:

Can you tell me a bit about your inverter setup ?

I'd like to know which arrays feed which inverter.

Thank you.

J.P.M.

[bcroe]

Bruce:

Can you tell me a bit about your inverter setup ?

I'd like to know which arrays feed which inverter.

Thank you.

J.P.M.

Each array has strings that equally feed both inverters. If marked it would look like checkerboard.
Originally the east and west sides were not mixed, but there were shade situations where one was
clipping but the other was under peak. Checkerboard conversion cured that. Bruce

[J.P.M.]

Each array has strings that equally feed both inverters. If marked it would look like checkerboard.
Originally the east and west sides were not mixed, but there were shade situations where one was
clipping but the other was under peak. Checkerboard conversion cured that. Bruce

Thank you.

I'll rate each array by assigning inverter capacity as [(15/35) * array size] and use a DC/AC ratio of 2.333 for each array unless advised otherwise.

J.P.M.

[bcroe]

So it was 17 F below zero this morning, a tour revealed the 6 heat pumps
were keeping up and performing as intended in 2 buildings. I believe
heating capacity at best is about 9 tons, that is degraded quite a bit at
this temp. The "just right sizing" people would say I have way too much,
but I say this allows a couple things. First I never need to switch to
auxiliary heating, although it still exists here. Second no single failure
(like a furnace blower motor) can cause a desperate situation, spare
capacity will carry me through till I get around to repairs in summer.
Cost was quite minimal when bought on the internet and DIY installed.

Well into the 11th winter things are quite stable, system repairs amount
to 3 burned out electrical connections and one panel hit by a tree. And
I did have to scrape sap off some panels till that tree was removed. So
it may be the coldest day of the year, but the spinning disc shows with
sun the cold panels are collecting more energy than I am using. I see
about 4200 kWh energy still in reserve, but days will soon be here when
I can make as much as I uses again.

One thing the extra energy has made possible, is running the big
electronic air filter nearly a third of every hour. Looking at the particles
(or rather the lack of them) in a beam of sunlight shows a drastic
reduction in solid stuff floating int the air. Of course the particle charging
method used works no matter how small the particle, not just the ones
bigger than a mechanical screen. And maintenance ia way less as well.
Wish I had done this much earlier in life.

I am realizing the E-W array design has more advantages than I first
planned. It takes an absolutely minimum of snow cleaning effort, often
none while I am clearing the S facing panels. It basically operates all
year with no need to worry about changing tilt. I can collect a better
ratio of energy to unshaded space. And the cost of material for my
6061 aluminum ground mounts has increased so much (way more
than the panels mounted), it makes economic sense to mount twice
as many panels, facing opposite directions. The original objectives
were to maximize energy collected with a 15KW peak limit, and double
output under clouds.
Bruce Roe