Energy Matters Forums

[Inspector]

Certainly not recent news, but still interesting information (and alot of reading!)

http://www.energyaustralia.com.au/~/med ... nical.ashx

http://www.energyaustralia.com.au/~/med ... eport.ashx

http://www.energyaustralia.com.au/~/med ... lysis.ashx

[Tracker]

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Of the 711 systems with available data, 129 (18%) exhibited behaviour that suggested they were not performing as expected, and the decline in reliability was relatively constant over time at about 3.5% of systems per year. This could suggest that more attention may need to be paid to vigilant monitoring and maintenance to ensure continued satisfactory performance.

I just read this for the first time.. (final summary)

Where is that BP Supporter ?

Sounds like "They" are starting to realise how naive it is thinking that that you can install a PV system and just forget it for 25 years. Where did we read the questions of one Newington owner, where they had no idea that their system was out for many months.

One starts to think that there should be more to an INVERTER than just producing power.
Perhaps they should also be smart enough to alert owners that a statistically LOW amount of power is being produced..

A useful measure of PV system performance is the Performance Ratio (PR). The PR is calculated
by dividing the actual PV system output over a year by the expected output of the PV panel under
those same insolation conditions. The PR therefore reflects the total system losses from all the
factors described above. An International Energy Agency study of 339 grid connected PV
systems around the world over 1200 operational years found the average PR to be 0.684 (IEAPVPS
Task 2, 2004). The same report found that for systems built after 1996, the PR was 0.70,
reflecting slight improvements in system design and component efficiencies.

to those in the know - Is this suggesting that when a system Installer starts quoting figures from PVWATTS or other Solar-Return Estimators, that the more realistic return is only 70% of the claimed annual returns.
That seems to be a BIG difference ! .. ..
and a serious disappointment for System Owners..
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[Inspector]

3.5% per year over a 10 year period they've probably been installed for - if my maths is good enough, that's 35% failure rate over 10 years, and that doesn't looks so good now, does it?! Are the BP inverters the same re-badged Sunny Boy SMA1100's that are currently available?

[Tracker]

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and are they not the device that RG thinks very poorly about..
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[Inspector]

reposting broken links from OP:

http://www.ausgrid.com.au/Common/Our-ne ... nical.ashx

http://www.ausgrid.com.au/Common/Our-ne ... lysis.ashx

[Tracker]

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It is interesting that the consensus is that there is no such thing as a SB1200 in Australia. SB100, YES...!
So , here at Newington we see that performance is not all that great, and much of that disappointment is likely because of the poor efficiency of the inverter.

It seems that there IS such a thing as a SB1200 and it is also seems to be pretty much on par with the SB1100 device... ie. VERY crappy these days !

How interesting that a job installed just a few weeks ago, uses TWO SB1200 GCI's with 8 panels and installed as a 1.5Kw system.
So, they have chosen to install them as two 750W systems.

The inverter is officially a CONERGY, but is clearly marked SB1200..
http://www.awsolar.com.au/downloads/Conergy%20Power%20Plus%20190%20Solar%20Hot%20Water%20Bundle.pdf

Whilst the SYSTEM is said to be GERMAN, one wonders if there is some dumping going on.
http://kingforestcn.en.made-in-china.com/product/ioRnlapUVBkr/China-Sma-Solar-Inverter-SB1200-1700-.html

This IS the same inverter , but painted a grey colour, and showing a PEAK efficiency of 92.1%.
Again, rather sad, these days when my put-down CMS-2000 has a minimum of 95%... !... . .

The only good point is that when you check the Efficiency Curves, the peak efficiency of the SB1200, a 1350W max inverter, is at 750W, and similarly, the SB1200 significantly de-rates the efficiency with higher Vdc.. like below 88%... at max Vmpp

Ironically, a single inverter could have done the same job, without being overloaded.
ie 1500W x 80% = 1200W. but then the power would be at the top-end of the efficiency curve and the voltage efficiency would be at it's lowest. 88% Ouch ! ..

It's a shame that a reputable solar installer is using LESS than optimum components.

A 3 to 4% loss of power , over a system life-time, is a significant power loss.

I seriously wonder if equipment suppliers are DUMPING crap equipment, whilst they can.
After July1 PV installs will be a thing of the past, and those that do take place , will be closely looked at for value-for-money.

Ironically, next to that home with the Conergy System, is another home but with a humble Chinese system.
It seems to be performing very well and cost the owner less than HALF the Out-Of-Pocket expenses...

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