Posted by Aeeon on September 16, 2003, 11:51 am
A guy on CSPAN today was demonstrating his solar powered home. He also stated
that he had to connect with a 'grid' also. My question is how does the 'grid'
affect solar power when there is a distribution problem as in the recent
Blackout?
Thank you!
Posted by rlsusenet@NOSPAMPUHLEEZschnapp on September 16, 2003, 6:18 pm
On 9/16/2003 8:51 AM, Aeeon wrote:
> A guy on CSPAN today was demonstrating his solar powered home. He also stated
> that he had to connect with a 'grid' also. My question is how does the 'grid'
> affect solar power when there is a distribution problem as in the recent
> Blackout?
It depends on the kind of PV system you've installed.
If you are batteryless, then when the grid goes down, so does your
power, even if you're in Phoenix, at noon, on a bright, sunny day.
If you've got batteries, you keep right on running. If the sun is up,
you aren't drawing from the batteries unless your house sucks up more
than the PV is supplying. In fact, if your batteries are full and your
load is low, the charge controllers are busily dumping the excess power
into heat sinks. (If the grid was up, that excess would have been
pushed out onto the grid.)
Posted by Aeeon on September 17, 2003, 4:06 pm
>If you are batteryless, then when the grid goes down, so does your
>power, even if you're in Phoenix, at noon, on a bright, sunny day.
>If you've got batteries, you keep right on running. If the sun is up,
>you aren't drawing from the batteries unless your house sucks up more
>than the PV is supplying. In fact, if your batteries are full and your
>load is low, the charge controllers are busily dumping the excess power
>into heat sinks. (If the grid was up, that excess would have been
>pushed out onto the grid.)
Thanks!!
Posted by Antonio VELA VICO on September 17, 2003, 4:45 pm
www.solener.com
Posted by William P.N. Smith on September 16, 2003, 6:59 pm
aeeon@aol.com (Aeeon) wrote:
>A guy on CSPAN today was demonstrating his solar powered home. He also stated
>that he had to connect with a 'grid' also. My question is how does the 'grid'
>affect solar power when there is a distribution problem as in the recent
>Blackout?
Grid-connected solar power systems are cheapest and easiest to
implement, as they use the grid as an infinite-capacity,
100%-efficient (assuming net-metering) battery.
The downside is that they don't (can't) provide _any_ power when the
grid is down.
[For the purists, yes there are battery systems that can sell excess
power to the grid and still operate when the grid is down, but those
are very rare, and more complex and expensive than even stand-alone
solar systems]
--
William Smith wpns@compusmiths.com N1JBJ@amsat.org
ComputerSmiths Consulting, Inc. www.compusmiths.com
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> that he had to connect with a 'grid' also. My question is how does the 'grid'
> affect solar power when there is a distribution problem as in the recent
> Blackout?