Home emergency backup power that is so simple even the weekend DIY can tackle it with ease. Magnum MS4448PAE E-Panel System is shipped pre-wired and ready to hang and connect with all the essential protective electronic devices with a very small footprint. Magnum /Midnite Solar E-Panel power systems are ideal for applications with minimal to medium power requirements such as off-grid cabins, homes and back-up power systems.

Made USA the fully pre-wired and tested system is designed for a quick installation, saving both time and money with just a few household tools. (Psst… its also very cool that its all made in America.)

Magnum MS4448PAE E-Panel System Power Centers is solid-state electronic device that, when sized properly, can be used in nearly every solar and wind energy system that uses batteries. The Power Centers Blue Pacific Solar sells employ the latest in power electronics to regulate the battery charge by controlling the charging voltage and current from a solar panel array. Power Centers regulate the charge of the battery, but also prevent the battery from being over discharged which can damage the battery bank.

Off-grid or grid tied with battery backup, here is how the Magnum MS4448PAE E-Panel System basically works. For a grid tied battery backup, grid power comes into the Magnum MS4448PAE E-Panel Power System. If the backup batteries are fully charged, the power is then passed to the critical load or backup load subpanel inside the home. The Outback FlexPower power system is monitoring the sine wave of the grid, amps and volts. When the Magnum MS4448PAE E-Panel Power System detects changes outside the default parameters, it immediately begins to draw power from the backup battery system and pushes it to the critical load subpanel.

If you have solar panel system connected to the Magnum MS4448PAE E-Panel Power System, the power center will use the electricity produced by your solar panels to charge the batteries making Magnum MS4448PAE E-Panel Power System a great choice for home backup and off-grid systems.

Magnum MS4448PAE E-Panel System Power Center uses multiple stages of control to regulate different voltage and current levels. The voltage and current of a battery varies over the different stages of battery charge. Though the amount can vary, the bulk charge usually is approximately 80%, the absorption charge is 10% with the float charge representing the balance of the battery charging process.

The bulk charging stage of the Magnum MS4448PAE E-Panel System Power Center process is the first stage to used to bring the battery depth of discharge (DOD) back to 100%. The bulk charge stage happens first in in the morning after the batteries DOD has drained down since sunset the previous day. The bulk charging stage pushes as many amps into the battery bank as possible from the solar panels and gets the voltage up in the process. The effect of a Power Center is not unlike trying to fill a glass of water from a faucet. You first turn the faucet on full while the glass if filling, then slowly taper off the pressure until the glass is full. When the battery bank reaches a predetermined level known as the bulk voltage set-point, the charge is then substantially slowed. Because the bulk voltage set point is determined by the type of battery you are using, many Power Centers have to be pre-set to the type of battery which will dictate the rate of charge.

The second state of charge the Magnum MS4448PAE E-Panel System Power Center employs is the absorption stage. After a battery system has been brought up to the bulk voltage set point, the Power Center slows down the charge rate because the battery bank cannot accept the same rapid charging pace without overheating and damaging the battery bank. At the absorption stage a battery bank is only about 80% full. The absorption charge is the function level in the process that tops off the battery bank. During the absorption stage, the Power Center holds the battery volts constant and reduces the amount of current sent into the battery. When the absorption stage is complete, the battery bank is fully charges.

The final step the Magnum MS4448PAE E-Panel System Power Center performs is the float charge. Typically a Power Center enters into a float charge state when the other charge levels of the battery bank has been achieved. When the number of peak sun hours is limited, a solar Power Center may not be able to get the battery bank back to the float stage before the next cycle begins. These home backup power systems are an added safety feature you will love.

Sherpa 120 Adventure kit is one tough portable solar panel unit that was definitely born hard off the beaten path. I love this small portable solar kit and take it with me to some of the most remote places in America. Goal Zero is working everyday to continue to deliver smart innovative affordable portable power solutions that will change the way you travel.

Trekking the Grand Canyon or spending a weekend climbing in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree, there is never electricity when I travel. The Sherpa 120 Adventure kit starts with the Nomad 27 watt portable solar panel. The Nomad 27 is a mono-crystalline solar panel, well actually several small solar panels, that provide plenty of power that folds into a compact portable pack. Peaking at 18 volts with 12V +/1 2v charging power, the Nomad 27 is powerful enough to get the job done charging the Sherpa 120 power portable battery pack in about 6 hours depending on the sun, angle and location. The Nomad 27 portable solar panel weighs in at just 3.4 lbs and folds down to 10.5 x 7 x 2″ something I have no problem fitting in my backpack.

Next on my list of favorite portable solar panel products is the Goal Zero Sherpa 120 power battery pack. This compact portable battery holds a whopping 120 watts of power storage that you can then plug in your small electronics with a USB or DC outlet. The lithium iron phosphate batter has and extended life of between 2,000 and 3,000 cycles which is roughly equivalent to 70,000 AA batteries. The LCD status monitor keeps track of how much battery power you have left.  The Sherpa 120 portable battery also has built in electrical protection to keep from damaging the unit during charging spikes.

Last but certainly not least is the Sherpa UI universal inverter. Goal Zero Sherpa universal inverter will provide up to 100 watts of continuous power and 200 watts peak or surge power. An inverter takes DC electricity and converts it to AC power. Goal Zero has taken a basic electronic product and redesigned it to a lightweight inverter that can easily be switched between 110V to 220V anywhere. This durable versatile design allows you to power commonly used electronic devices such as laptops, cell phones, or GPS. Can be used from any 12V cigarette adapter such as your car or boat.

Blue Pacific Solar has complete this custom portable solar panel kit by adding a small LED light. I don’t know about you, but when I am living off-grid for any length of time, nights are dark and the solar girl appreciates all the lights I can get my hands on when I am fumbling around a tent in the dark. This portable solar panel kit sells for about $730 and ships anywhere in the lower 48 for free.

What’s in the Box:

• 1 – Sherpa 120 Power Pack
• 1 – Nomad 27 Solar Panel
• 1 – Sherpa Universal Inverter
• 1 – Estrella 3W LED light
• 1 – 15″ Snake-like Bendable Cord (LED Light)
• 1 – 9′ Extender Cord W/Adjustable Carabineer (For LED Light)
• 1 – AC Wall Charger
• 1 – 12V female cigarette adapter
• 3 – Aluminum support rods (For Solar Panel)

When the grid goes down during and emergency blackout, it is very difficult to do anything without electricity in your home today. If you already own a solar system did you know that in the event of a power outage your home solar system will be disconnected from the grid? This is all the more irritating because as we move forward and our utility infrastructure continues to mature with more demands being placed on it, we will have more blackouts in America.

A bimodal solar system is one that will allow the home or business to run grid-tied or off-grid. Bimodal systems, close that gap for homeowners that already have solar, and the ones thinking of adding a system but want more out of it. The picture above comes from a customers in New Mexico that wanted just that. The consumer moved into her new home and was concerned about having power during extended blackouts. She also needed a home solar system to provide both functions that she could afford.

The solar consultants at Blue Pacific came up with this system that starts with a 2820 watt 12 panel solar AC system. This is how it works; The 12 solar panels create electricity from the grid and feed it to an SMA DC to AC inverter. The inverter then is connected to the home side of the Magnum inverter in the battery box to be installed on the backside of the SunPod.

When the batteries are charged and the grid is up, the Magnum inverter will simply pass through both ways the electricity from the grid as well as the electricity from the solar panels. When the grid goes down, the Magnum inverter will automatically switch from grid tied electricity to draw power from the batteries. While that is happening,the AC power from the solar panels will keep the batteries charged up. When the batteries are full, the system is designed to cause the SMA solar panel AC inverter to shut down until it needed again.

This simple yet effective home backup solar system is a synthesis between grid-connected solar and off-grid technology that ensures safety combined with ease of installation. The homeowner in this case simply hired a local licensed electrician to connect the local wiring according to our electrical diagram.

If you are willing to provide some sweat equity, this bimodal solar system is less than 1/2 the cost of hiring a solar company to site build the complete grid tied solar array. Add in the additional benefit of the federal tax credit that is available and you now have an affordable home solar system that will work to provide emergency backup power keeping your home lights burning and the refrigerator cold during utility blackouts.

The Enphase MicroInverter is a grid tied utility interactive inverter that has been on the market since 2009. Consistent upgrades and strong engineering support has made this product an affordable alternative for the DIY homeowner over hiring and paying for the labor and overhead of a solar company to do the complete installation. Our MicroInverter home solar kits are scalable from 230 watts to 20kW (STC-DC rating). You can potentially save thousands with these simplified home solar kits. Less cost = faster pay-back. Fast and simple to install, Blue Pacific Solar will provide all the documents as well as the permit services (Permit Service Optional), or you can do-it-yourself.

Producing over 352 kW per month (5 Sun Hours Per Day STC), our 2350 watt solar grid tie system comes with 10 Astronergy 235 watt solar panels powering 10 Enphase MicroInverter and the required roof module cabling. Durable and extremely efficient, our 2350 watt solar kit panels and Enphase MicroInverter are UL and CEC listed. Finally a home solar package that matches the 25 year guarantee on the solar panels with a 25 year guarantee on the inverter. Blue Pacific Solar has done all the work for you with this efficient simple grid-tied home solar system. Following our simple line drawings you will end up with an NEC (National Electric Code) compliant home solar system with a life expectancy of well over 25 years.

The Enphase MicroInverter maximizes energy production from your 2350 watt solar panel array using some very simple principles. Each Enphase MicroInverter is individually connected to one solar panel in your array. This unique configuration means that an individual Maximum Peak Power Point Tracker (MPPT) controls each solar panel. This ensures that the maximum power available from each solar panel is exported to the utility grid regardless of the performance of the other solar panel in the array. That is, although individual solar panels in the array may be affected by shading, soiling, orientation, or solar panel mismatch, the Enphase MicroInverter ensures top performance for each solar panel. The result is maximum energy production from your 2350 watt solar kit.

Our 2350 watt solar kit is relatively simple to layout and install. You will not need string calculations, and you can install individual solar panels in any combination of solar panel quantity, type, age and orientation. Each MicroInverter quickly mounts on the solar panel racking (optional), directly beneath each solar panel. Low voltage DC wires connect from the solar panel via waterproof MC4 connectors directly to the co-located MicroInverter.

Blue Pacific Solar has provided all of the main parts you will need for your 2350 watt solar kit, but here are some additional items that your may need prior to installing your solar kit. Conduit, appropriately sized electrical wire, some fasteners and grounding rod and wire. Building and installing your own 2350 watt solar kit is not only the smart choice for controlling your expenses, it may be on the most satisfying DIY projects you ever have undertaken.

(OK, here is the scary legal disclaimer.) It is the responsibility of the purchaser to ensure that all products are installed and operated in accordance with local and national building codes as specific by the NEC (National Electric Code), UBC (Uniform Building Code) or IBC (International Building Code) and local utility company policy. These codes may vary from city to city and county to county. All Grid-tied solar installations should be permitted and inspected, where required, by the local inspection authority in the same manner as other equivalent electrical systems. One last thing. It is always a good idea to contract with a local licensed electrician to at least do the final electrical connection of your 2350 Watt Grid Tied Solar Kit from the AC disconnect to your home utility breaker box. Some local permitting authorities require that a licensed electrician do all the wiring from the rack to the utility interconnect. If you need help with the permitting documents for your 2350 solar kit, we are here for you. Solar permit service add on is available at checkout.

Additional Safety Instructions, 2350 Watt Solar MicroInverter Kit; Perform all electrical installations in accordance with all applicable local electrical codes and the National Electrical Code (NEC), ANSI/NFPA 70. Be aware that only qualified personnel should install or replace Enphase MicroInverter. Do not attempt to repair the Enphase MicroInverter in your 2350 Watt Solar Kit; it contains no user-serviceable parts. If it fails, please contact Enphase customer service to obtain an RMA (return merchandise authorization) number and start the replacement process. Tampering with or opening the Enphase MicroInverter will void the warranty. Before installing or using the Enphase MicroInverter, please read all instructions and cautionary markings in the technical description and on the Enphase MicroInverter System and the solar equipment. Connect the Enphase MicroInverter to the utility grid only after receiving prior approval from the electrical utility company. Be aware that the body of the Enphase MicroInverter is the heat sink. Under normal operating conditions, the temperature is 15°C above ambient, but under extreme conditions the MicroInverter can reach a temperature of 80°C. To reduce risk of burns, use caution when working with MicroInverter. Do NOT disconnect the solar module from the Enphase MicroInverter without first removing AC power.

2350 Watt Solar MicroInverter Kit is an affordable, cheap high quality solution for putting some bling in your home or businesses. Reducing on-site labor requirements the 2350 Watt Solar MicroInverter Kit can be expanded at anytime which makes it a cost effective home or business solar solution.

2820 watt (2.8kW) off-grid AC bimodal solar systems is manufactured, pre-wired and pre-tested in the factory, ready to power-up on delivery to your site. A bimodal solar unit works in sync with the utility grid until the grid goes down. Once that happens the inverter on a bimodal system takes over and draws electricity off the batteries. When the batteries are full the solar panels are shut off automatically waiting for the solar equipment to signal when its time to wake up. The complete prepackaged solar, called “SunPods”, are delivered by truck and lowered into place with minimal on-site construction required.

Our 2820 watt off-grid / grid tied solar unit starts with a SunPod platform drawing power from 12 235 watt solar panels. The panels feed into an AC inverter which connects to 8 powerful 200 aH deep cycle batteries, 9,600 watts of reserve power located in the rear of the unit in a Midnite solar outdoor rated battery box. With a system that includes batteries, inverter / charge controller, our off-grid solar units has the solar panels and battery cabinet pre-wired and tested ready to finish the onsite connection. These bimodal ground mount units are scalable from 2.8kW to 3kW (STC-DC rating) per pod. You save thousands because this off-grid / grid tied 2820 watt SunPod with 9,600 watts of battery power is built in a factory controlled environment delivered ready to complete the connections then power up at your site. You save 90% of the on site labor costs. Less cost = faster pay-back. Fast and simple to install, less disruption on to your property.

(We love this) Check out the options you have with this unit. When you move, you can take this 2820 watt ground mount solar unit with you or you can choose to sell it along with your home.

2820 watt off-grid / grid tied bimodal ground mount solar that is complete, pre-engineered to NEC electrical code standards. 12 panels, inverter, wiring, racking, batteries, charge controller, frame and mount system along with a 9600 watt battery bank make this the most affordable bimodal solar systems on the market. Innovative ground mount solar array that is pre-designed, engineered, pre-wired and tested before it leaves our factory. Delivered and placed on your property ready to interconnect with the utility company and power up.

Our 2880 SunPods are designed technology neutral. That means we take advantage of equal or better panels and inverters keeping the cost of the ground mount solar affordable. With a 20 year factory warranty and pass through panel and inverter warranty, you can be sure that our UL listed products will give you years of trouble-free electrical production.

Our self-ballasted SunPods are factory solar panel angle pre-selected and adjusted between 15 – 30 degrees of slope. The frame is engineered to a wind velocity rated to 90 mph. Optional anchors can be used in higher wind areas. Power adjustable legs keep the ground mount module always pointed at the right angle give you maximum solar harvest of the sun’s energy. Legs are adjustable up to 36″ with pads from 12″ – 24″ diameter depending on your soil conditions. Thief and tamper resistant fasteners secure the panels to the frames. These 2820 watt off-grid ground mount solar panel systems can be placed on grades up to 10 degrees of slope.

These 2820 watt off-grid SunPods are perfect for residential DIY (Do-it-Yourself) applications, wineries / vineyards, ranches, farms and orchards. Use our ground mount solar systems for irrigation well pumps replacing old diesel generators. Easily expand your ground mount off-grid solar system as needed.

2820 watt off-grid / grid tied (Bimodal) solar system will deliver up to 423W a month (Monthly Output based on 5 hrs STC). 9600 watts of battery power ensures you the kind of backup energy reserve to carry you through the nights.

These days home owners are searching for ways to lower their expenses making our 2820 watt solar kit perfect. Our 2820 watt solar grid tied kits are easy to complete the installation following our step by step instructions. The 2820 watt solar ground mount modules qualify for the 30% federal tax credit. You can find out more by visiting the incentive tab located near the top of the page. The 30% federal tax credit allows you to deduct 30% of not only the total cost of the 2820 watt solar SunPod, but also all other expenditures associated with the purchase. Home owners who purchase the 2820 watt solar unit may carry forward the excess credit to the following tax years. However, you should always consult your personal tax advisor.

Blue Pacific Solar has provided all of the main parts you will need for your 2820 watt solar kit, but here are some additional items that your may need prior to installing your home panel system. Conduit, appropriately sized electrical wire, some fasteners and grounding rod and wire. You should also study all the safety requirements prior to installation. Building and installing your own 2820 watt solar system is not only the smart choice for controlling your expenses, it may be on the most satisfying DIY projects you will have ever undertaken. Freedom from the grid is an awesome feeling.

With winter storms on the horizon the demand for off-grid home solar backup systems are also on the rise. Backup solar generator for your home or small business 4.8 kW / 4,800 watts of dependable automatic battery standby electricity. Backup system can come in handy when bad weather or other conditions interrupt the utility electrical service.

Home or business owners can find themselves unable to power critical load appliances and lights. This situation can be serious if critical applications such as medical devices, telephone, home office computers, sump pumps, or refrigeration are threatened. This emergency backup solar power systems is one of the best values on the market because it comes matched with ground mount solar panels and comes with a frame to secure the solar panels.

This backup solar kit is even more comforting because it has a Magnum energy MMS pure sine wave inverter. This easy to use, solar battery backup power generator provides a reliable base for your home energy needs. The backup solar power generator is designed to accommodate most home small appliances. There is enough surge power to start sump pumps and freezers. The surge voltage is the startup wattage used by a electric motor to start the cycle. A freezer or refrigerator compressor motor will cycle on and off creating an extra demand for power. Once the motor is running, the surge will die down to a steady flow.

4800 Watt Solar Generator

If you feel you need a home standby emergency generator for storms and expect the grid power down for days, this off-grid solar backup system will work for most homes. A fossil fuel generator can be very noisy and if the power is down in your area that means the gas pumps are also not working. The backup solar generator comes with a flexible tether to the solar panels which can be set up in min in an emergency power outage. The MMS Series pure sine wave invert on our backup solar emergency generator kit is ETL Listed to the stringent requirements of UL/cUL 458, CSA C22.2 #107.1-01 and meets the KKK-A-822E standard.

This home solar backup power system comes complete with its own solar panels and optional ground rack. IronRidge UNI-GR/02A universal ground mount racks (Optional at checkout) is constructed of heavy aluminum material with stainless steel durable fasteners. Easy to set up, the backup solar kit will safely stand up to virtually all-weather conditions including 125 mph hurricane winds if you properly secure the frame to the backup solar rack to concrete footings. IronRidge solar racks (Optional at checkout) are designed to hold these 90 watt solar modules as well as allowing you to add an additional module at checkout. The solar rack to this backup power set is easy to assemble because of carefully engineered parts that are cut with CNC equipment.

Storms, blackouts, or hurricanes, when an emergency blackout happens at your home or business, the 4800 watt backup solar generator is available to start powering critical loads from the batteries until the power comes back on. When the power goes out, lights, refrigerator, computers, television, alarm systems, automatic gate or garage openers, all can continue working with your home backup solar system.

As the midday sun baked the solar panels on his four-bedroom home in the Honolulu foothills, George Hayashi watched two workers, with drills whirring, install 18 gleaming home solar panels on his garage. A retired military man, Hayashi has lived in Waimalu for 35 years. For decades, rooftop solar didn’t seem viable, but now, he said with a laugh, “I look forward to my electric meter going backwards.” It’s a shared experience in his sleepy neighborhood: One house after another is sprouting panels. “I walk this dog every afternoon,” Hayashi said during a visit to his home earlier this year. “And the route I take, I’ve noticed that more and more. People are installing it.”

Hawaii generates most of its electricity by burning imported oil, giving it the dubious distinction of the country’s highest electricity prices. And over the past two years, as the price of solar panels plummeted, Hawaiians realized they had a budget-minded alternative to oil. As one, they began going solar.

Now, so many Hawaiians have installed rooftop panels that entire neighborhoods and soon, entire islands have maxed out the amount of rooftop solar power the energy company wants on the electrical grid. Barring expensive studies no one wants to fund, solar development in these areas grounded to a halt. Homeowners’ and developers’ rush to solar power has run smack into a grid unprepared for their demands.

“There is a manic mania for megawatts where you have developers from far and wide who are champing at the bit to get into the market and install mondo [solar] systems,” said Marco Mangelsdorf, a longtime Hawaiian solar panels developer. One circuit after another is closing, he said, and it is a “frantic race to grab as much open capacity that’s available.”

Hawaii is not alone in its bottleneck. Funded by generous subsidies, California is heatedly debating the worth of similar limits, and the recent solar boom in New Jersey has seen Atlantic City’s electrical company swear off any additional solar power (Greenwire, Aug. 25). And as Chinese manufacturers continue to push down solar prices, experts say, many parts of the United States are going to start hitting the same wall.

“It’s not just Hawaii. It’s a mainland problem,” said Benjamin Kroposki, an expert on rooftop solar at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

“They have to address this now,” Kroposki added. “They can’t wait. Because this is holding up deployment.”

The solar rush has been bewildering for this state’s dominant utility, Hawaiian Electric. Large solar developers have stormed in, offering to finance rooftop solar at little cost to the customer. At one point early last year, the power company was so threatened by the growth that it proposed a solar ban for several of Hawaii’s smaller islands.

It is a challenge without simple solutions or easy villains. There are real technical and safety reasons electrical companies have imposed these solar thresholds, stemming from the centralized model that, since Thomas Edison, has dominated how the world distributes and consumes electricity. No one, it seems, ever suspected that homeowners would seek to generate their own electricity at the levels now seen in Hawaii.

Indeed, while Hawaii’s success in adopting solar power should be cheered, its troubles are putting the lie to the notion that once solar electricity is cost competitive with fossil fuels grid parity, as the idea is called that consumers will rapidly install the technology in a flurry of market-spurred, carbon-reducing glory. Given the realities of electricity production, where risk aversion is sacred, even compulsive, it’s not so simple.

“You could have grid parity with 1 percent penetration of the electric market,” said Steve Hegedus, a researcher at the University of Delaware’s Institute of Energy Conversion. “The two don’t go hand in hand. But the assumption is, once you reach grid parity, people will say, ‘Why shouldn’t I go solar?’”

For a number of Hawaiians, the answer to that question has become: Because you can’t. ‘Taking their energy future into their own hands’

Hawaii came to its solar conundrum from a consensus. It has to get off burning oil. Almost 80 percent of Hawaii’s electricity is provided by oil combustion, making the islands vulnerable to price shocks. For example, when oil reached $140 a barrel in 2008, Hawaii essentially burned away its economic growth to meet its electricity needs, said Mark Glick, the new chief of the state’s energy office.

“Roughly 4 to 5 percent of what our economy turned out went into a black hole,” Glick said. “If get much more pronounced in the future, it could have a really damaging effect on our tourism business.”

These shocks have driven Hawaii’s electricity prices sky high. Last year, the islands averaged 25 cents a kilowatt-hour; the next highest state, Connecticut, was 8 cents cheaper. This year, as oil prices again sloshed upward, Hawaii’s electricity prices have set record after record, reaching 35 cents in Honolulu, the most affordable market, last month. A typical bill now runs $216 a month, according to Hawaiian Electric.

This sustained cost crisis, combined with its near-constant sun and wind, has prompted Hawaii to adopt the nation’s toughest solar renewable energy laws, including a standard that calls for 70 percent of the state’s power to derive from either renewable sources or energy efficiency by 2030. Everyone applauded the standards. But then the questions began: How exactly was the state going to do this?

Government and utility officials heavily aided by the U.S. Department of Energy, which sees Hawaii as a test case for the country began planning for this transition with a particular focus on large, centralized projects, like massive offshore wind farms financed by the real estate companies descended from the islands’ sugar barons.

But while the agencies planned, a revolution was raging below, according to Isaac Moriwake, an attorney for Earthjustice, which is helping solar developers in their talks with the state. “People [were] taking their energy future into their own hands,” Moriwake said.

Businesses and homeowners began installing solar panels in droves, an exponential growth that has continued to this day: Through October, almost 7,700 solar-power systems have been connected to the grid, totaling 55 megawatts a drastic increase for a state of 1.3 million people. Put another way, about 15 percent of all the state’s construction projects last year stemmed from solar installations, Glick said.

Following California standards, Hawaii’s electricity regulator, the Public Utilities Commission, has set a threshold dictating that, once local power generation reaches 15 percent of the peak electricity typically found on a circuit, Hawaiian Electric can require an expensive study gauging what additional rooftop custom solar projects would do to energy reliability. And the utility has not been shy in mandating these reports.

The studies are an open-ended expense, costing thousands of dollars for a large home, and, on average, $45,000 for a commercial installation, said Mark Duda, a solar developer and president of the Hawaii Solar Energy Association (HSEA).

In many instances, this threshold has served as a cap to solar development. Without it, Duda estimates that the number of his commercial customers would have at least doubled.

“Historically, if you had to do the study, people would just say forget it,” Duda said.

The story is not so straightforward, however. Hawaiian Electric has at times allowed rooftop solar penetration higher than 15 percent, noted Darren Pai, a company spokesman.

“On many circuits we’ve taken a look at the specific configuration of the circuit and allowed higher amounts of [solar] integration without doing interconnection studies,” Pai said. “We’re trying to enable as many [solar] installations as possible without creating more hurdles for our customers.”

Still, many communities find themselves near the limit of what can be installed.

Even after regulators raised the study trigger from 10 percent to 15 percent last year, 72 of the islands’ more than 700 circuits remain at the threshold. Utility maps laying out the circuits, with the 15 percent regions painted red, make it seem the islands are starting to come down with chickenpox.

The situation is especially dire in Molokai and Lanai, two of Hawaii’s smaller islands, according to Mangelsdorf, the solar developer, who works on both islands. “Molokai, for example, within the next six to 12 months will be effectively closed down,” he said.

Intense competition for limited space is driving down costs, and some companies, seeking a quick profit, are doing shoddy installation work, he added. Barring an increase in the 15 percent rule, the solar industry is in dire straits.

“We’re going to see a winnowing,” Mangelsdorf said. ‘Rule of thumb’ While they may seem capricious to developers, the solar limits are not arbitrary.

Like most utilities, Hawaiian Electric has deep-seated concerns about maintaining the stability of electricity to all its customers. To understand why, imagine the evening news after a damaging storm. Even before the news anchor mentions how many people died, they will list how many are without power. After even a momentary disruption, utilities will hear a chorus of complaints from their customers, Delaware’s Hegedus said.

“Utilities know that,” he said, “and so they’re extremely compulsive about reliability.”

One way this compulsion has manifested itself is the 15 percent rule. At its core, the rule is not solely about rooftop solar panels. It applies to any electricity a household could connect to the grid, from a gas generator to the modular nuclear reactor your neighbors must be using to power their stereo. Any of these power sources are out of the utility’s control, and the electricity they send back into the grid could have mysterious effects.

A tangible example of this unpredictability is voltage, the steady electrical signal — 120 volts in the United States — that electronic gadgets are designed to operate on. Move outside a 5 percent range of 120 volts and devices start to fry. The utility, however, only sets voltage at its substations, and the voltage decreases as it strides along a circuit, a walk carefully calculated by the company.

Add rooftop solar into this equation and it gets tricky, NREL’s Kroposki said. “They may raise voltage above the nominal limits,” he said. “And the utility can’t [stop] that.”

Reliability concerns are fair, Earthjustice’s Moriwake said. But the 15 percent rule is not based in science. It is a rule of thumb, he said, “yet a lot of people take it as gospel.”

“It’s a conservative assumption of a conservative assumption,” he said.

Indeed, the 15 percent rule is a bit of a mongrel, created mostly to allay safety concerns but adapted to reliability rules, Kroposki said. Put simply, it began as a way of preventing utility workers and the public from electrocution.

Regulators had concerns that local electricity generation could create, in a poetic turn of bureaucratise, “unintentional islands,” electrical wires that remained live after the power company had shut off its centralized source. Inadvertently fed by local producers, these charged wires, perhaps toppled by a storm, could threaten the public or emergency crews sent to repair the problem.

To stave off the formation of these islands, regulators have sought to have more centralized than local power available on the grid. It’s a “rule of thumb” that the minimum amount of electricity on the grid is one-third the peak. Round that third down to 30 percent and divide it in half, for safety’s sake, and out springs the 15 percent rule.

It was an engineer’s estimate. “Utilities assumed they wouldn’t see high penetrations of distributed generation,” Kroposki said. “So this rule wouldn’t really affect people.”

There are reasons to suspect the 15 percent rule is too conservative. Minimum electricity use during the day, when solar is relevant, is much higher than at night. New solar panels automatically cut off from the grid when centralized power goes down, preventing islands. And there are numerous examples of circuits operating well beyond 15 percent penetration, Kroposki said.

With the rule now under siege by annoyed businesses and consumers, regulators have scrambled to better define how the threshold should apply to solar panels. DOE has launched multiple studies into “high penetration” home solar, using Hawaii as its guinea pig, and next month Kroposki’s peers at NREL will release a study likely to recommend an increase in the 15 percent threshold. When states will act on such recommendations, however, is another story.

In Hawaii, renewables are now a source of suspicion and debate. And, yes, some hope. They are far removed from the blue-sky optimism of keynotes and pitches, instead lingering in the gritty, technical disputes that influence how investments are made for decades to come. Industries are made in these trenches — there is perhaps no better sign of renewable energy’s arrival as a serious competitor to fossil fuels.

Seeking to heal the divisions between the utility and developers, Hawaii’s Public Utilities Commission brought the two together in an advisory group this year. At the panel’s first meeting, the commission’s chief, Hermina Morita, had tough words for both sides. The state will seek to accelerate rooftop solar, she warned, but not at a cost to reliability.

“We cannot keep piling on new renewable projects until the system breaks down,” she said, “or until your projects are all online but losing money due to regular curtailments. … Poor grid reliability will hurt our economy just as much as high power costs.”

Hawaii is especially vulnerable to disruptions thanks to its isolation. Each island has its own electrical grid and cannot shunt excess power from one area to another, a common trick on the mainland. This fragility underlies all the commission’s decisions and also played a role in luring federal support, according to Duda, the solar association president.

“If you can do [renewables] here, you can do them anywhere,” he said. That fragility has prompted some grand schemes. Hawaii is hosting several smart grid projects, including a $37 million demonstration project on Maui. Most prominently, it is planning an expensive undersea cable that would link the islands’ grids, enabling offshore wind farms and the spread of steady geothermal power from the Big Island. Construction could begin within two years.

Long before the undersea cable is ready, however, Hawaii will need to accommodate much more solar and wind power, said Glick, the state’s energy chief.

“We have to address these issues by default,” he said. “Right now.” At times, it has not looked hopeful. Solar developers regularly accused Hawaiian Electric of slow-walking its acceptance of rooftop solar, seeing distributed power generation as a challenge to its centralized business model. In the utility’s ideal world, it would substitute biofuels for oil in its power stations, or at the least it would build large wind and solar farms that it could easily manage, Earthjustice’s Moriwake said.

“What’s become very clear,” he said, “if it wasn’t pretty transparent from the beginning, was that the utility, as part of this clean energy movement, wanted to maintain control of their [power] generation, and especially their legacy plants.”

Duda is more conciliatory. Hawaiian Electric has an understandable self-interest that may bias it against rooftop solar, he said. After all, how could it be good for the utility?

“There really isn’t a business model that they’ve embraced that isn’t primarily about owning things, including generation,” he said. There’s a lesson here: Regulators in other states, he said, need to find a business model that will prompt utilities to embrace rooftop solar. Or, he added, they can “drag the utility kicking and screaming along.”

Hawaiian Electric has never seen itself as opposed to solar, added Pai, its spokesman. “[Solar] is an important part of the solution to Hawaii’s energy problems,” Pai said. “There is no ‘either-or,’ there is no silver bullet. It’s not a matter of playing one solution off against the other. If you look at the projections done by others on the amount of available resource for [solar], wind and other resources, it’s clear we can do them all.”

Despite these suspicions, the groups have made progress. Late last month, Hawaii’s regulators approved a deal that will relax its solar study triggers. While the 15 percent threshold remains, the utility agreed to allow circuits reaching the trigger to first use a quick, free “supplemental review,” which will allow small rooftop projects to proceed if the local generation does not exceed half of the daytime minimum supply.

In effect, the deal should allow a number of circuits to surpass the 15 percent impasse without raising the threshold. It is a standard that places like California may soon also adopt.

“This is kind of a preview of coming attractions,” Moriwake said. Like the threshold increase from 10 to 15 percent last year, the deal is another peace treaty in a long-running campaign. Given the difficult circumstances, Hawaiian Electric is “doing the best they can,” said Mangelsdorf, the solar developer. Still, he added, there’s little doubt that the entire 15 percent threshold will need to go up. The imperative to add rooftop solar is not going away, he said. It will only grow.

Back in Waimalu, the retired soldier, George Hayashi, can explain exactly why. Hayashi has seen the promos for wind farms and burning waste for energy, he said. The technologies look amazing, but he doubts any of their savings will go into his pocket. “Wow, that’s cool,” he said. “But I’m not seeing it. It’s going to Hawaiian Electric.”

Source: EE News Greenwire

When the stuffy noisy bustle of the city starts to close in its time to escape. That means either the Sierra Mountains or Grand Canyon and it also means going off-grid with my favorite portable solar charger. As the years passed the romance of the West Coast big city life has grown old. Travel in the desert brings a sence of peace only heightened by a hike or a camp under the stars. In case you were wondering, the picture was taken at Deer Creek in the Grand Canyon with one of my BFF.

Just watching a portable solar charger sun suck and make energy is always fascinating to me. I totally get how a portable solar panel absorbs protons from the sun to make electricity to charge all types of portable electronics, but it still makes me nostalgic and a little dreamy.

Going back to the days of chemistry, you might remember a thing or two about electrons and protons. A portable solar panel is 2 plates with wires sandwiched together that use basic chemistry to create electricity. As you might recall, electrons have a negative charge and protons have a positive charge. This is important in understanding the basics of how solar power works.

One plate in the portable solar panel is made up of silicon and phosphorus. This results in having one more electron than is needed. Because of the extra electron, that plate has a negative charge. On the other hand, the other place has a positive charge. This plate is made out of silicon and boron, which leaves one extra proton in the outer “orbit”

So how do these two plates create electricity with a little help from the sun? Well when the sun releases energy, it releases many different types of particles. This is what creates light and heat. The main type of particle we’re interested in for the portable solar panels is the protons sent down from the sun. One of the products produced protons bombard the silicon / phosphorus plate, which has the extra electron floating around.

Eventually that extra electron gets knocked off the outer ring. It doesn’t just float around though, because the silicon / boron plate attracts the electron (due to having a natural positive charge, and positive charges attract electrons).

As the electrons get pushed off of the first plate, electricity is created. This electricity is sent through the wires connecting the plates, which can then be used to power low amperage motors, light bulbs, or other electronic devices!

This is a wonderful method to create electricity because solar energy isn’t going away, whereas the amount of coal, natural gas, and petroleum in the earth is very limited. For me though, portable solar represents an escape into the silence of the great outdoors.

Contributing Source Explore Green Energy

Here is a compact 1350 watt solar kit that is the perfect size for quick dependable home emergency back-up power. Don’t let another utility blackout leave you in the dark. This is a fabulous small solar backup kit is completely plug-n-play with a 90 watt solar panel ready to power a wide variety of electronics.

This home solar comes complete with our 90 watt solar panel and the Xantrex XPower 1500 PowerPack that will product 1350 watts of continuous AC 110 volt power. We also prewire the Morningstar Sunsaver charge controller to prevent overcharging of the battery. The 1350 watt kit is built to run a range of small appliances and will run a standard size refrigerator and microwave for a short time. Don’t try and use the 1350 watt kit to run your furnace, AC or oven, it’s just to small for those large appliances. The 1350 watt emergency solar kit is better suited for running a coffee pot, office equipment such as a computer, monitor and fax machine.

The 1350 watt solar kit is a home power system that can supply household AC electricity enough to run almost any small electronic product or appliance you might connect to your wall outlet at home. This 1350 watt solar kit consists of a battery pack that stores 51 amp-hours of electricity, state-of-the-art electronics that convert 12 volts DC electricity from the battery pack to household power, an AC power panel that contains two standard outlets, and a DC power panel that is used to run 12 volt products.

These components are custom packaged into a rugged hand truck with a removable handle that allows 1350 watt solar kit to be wheeled from room-to-room or outdoors. 1350 watt solar kit powers AC products up to 1350 watts easy to monitor, dual-outlet, AC panel with built-in inverter with protection features 51 amp-hour battery. The 1350 watt solar kit will recharge quickly from the sun via its solar panel or wall outlet.

We had an interesting conversation about home plug-and-play DIY solar kit with a customer from Florida this week. The Floridian was asking about our DIY home solar kits with micro-inverters and could he just rig a plug that just connects via an outlet. This is not an uncommon question and when the inquiry was directed to me to answer I wrote him back and told he no, we would not recommend him to do that but rather, he has to run conduit etc according to National Electric Code (NEC) with an AC disconnect, get a building permit and secure an interconnect agreement with his local utility.

The answer to the home plug-and-play DIY solar kit question seem pretty routine and straight forward to me. I promptly pressed click and sent off the e-mail. About an hour later he wrote me back and said he was not trying to circumvent the building code but read in an article where a company intended to sell a home solar DIY plug-and-play kit that was designed to do just that.

When I started reading the article I thought they must be talking about a home solar kit that is portable and stands alone off-grid. But no, sure enough there is was. The product is advocating setting up the system and just plugging into the home wall outlet. I have to say I was a little shocked. In my opinion the author did not do his homework because if he would have called a code official from any major jurisdiction around the country I am certain they would advised that this would not have been not only illegal, but highly dangerous on many levels.

As much as we hate the burden of building permits and criticize the bureaucracy and cost that hinders building, there are some very sound reasons for most of the code behind the permits. Building codes have evolved from many years of practice usually where there was a structural failure or fire. Electrical codes in particular are put in place for the sake of safety not only for the homeowner but also the fire department and others.

It is illegal in most areas in the country to back feed solar onto the grid without the permission of the local utility. I honestly don’t know what the fine would be but I do know that permanently installing a home solar kit that connects with the grid without a permit is a serious violation of the national building codes.

Are legitimate solar companies really advising homeowners they can do this with no problems or consequences? As I looked closer the answer is apparently so. Anyway, here is the article we were directed to. I will let you decide for yourself. In the meantime, we are going to keep advising homeowners to follow standard building practices when installing their home solar DIY kits, get a building permit and work with your local utility securing an interconnect agreement.

From NY Times Green Blog – For eco-conscious homeowners who have considered a solar system for their rooftops but have found the cost and complexity daunting, Clarian Power thinks it has an idea.

The Seattle-based clean tech start-up is developing a “plug-and-play” home solar kit called the Sunfish that will generate clean solar electricity for the home. “You bring it home and plug it in, just like a refrigerator, and it will cost about the same,” said the company’s president, Chad Maglaque.

Today’s typical roof-mounted solar power systems start at $10,000 and go up from there depending on the amount of electricity generated and the home’s location. The bigger and more expensive systems can meet most of a house’s energy needs and even put electricity back on the utility grid, essentially turning the meter backwards.

A contractor usually installs the solar power system and turns it over to the homeowner in ready-to-use condition. An electrician will connect the system to the home’s electric panel through an inverter, a device that converts the DC power generated by the solar panels to the AC power used by lights and appliances.

Clarian is hoping to simplify this process through the use of its patented micro-inverter, which does not require a dedicated panel or circuit. In fact, they say that a handy homeowner can set up Sunfish in less than hour without the need for a contractor or electrician.

The company expects to retail a starter kit with one solar panel for $799. The system can handle up to five solar panels with the purchase of add-on kits, which would bring the retail price to $3,000 to $4,000.

Plug the Clarian micro-inverter, which they call the “power module,” into any electric socket in your house, typically an outdoor outlet. Connect up to five solar panels to the power module. The panels can be mounted anywhere on the house with the best sun exposure. Finally, plug in the kit’s circuit monitor into any outlet, and Sunfish will start feeding solar-generated power directly into the home’s electrical system.

Sunfish will be Wi-Fi-enabled so the homeowner can monitor the system performance using desktop software like Google’s PowerMeter. As a safety feature, the circuit monitor will shut the system off if the utility grid power goes down.

Clarian does not expect the Sunfish to satisfy all power needs for the average home, which the federal Energy Information Administration estimates at 920 kilowatt hours per month. The largest Sunfish kit, with five solar panels, will produce 150 kilowatt hours per month, according to Clarian’s estimates.

Still, with a starting price of $799, Mr. Maglaque hopes to hit a sweet spot where a homeowner’s desire to reduce home energy bills will match his or her budget. “This is about slowing the meter down and having an impact,” he said, “not getting the meter to run backwards, because if that’s your goal it’s going to cost you $30,000 to $40,000, which not many people can afford.”

Whether Clarian’s Sunfish catches on or not, industry watchers like Dave Cavanaugh, a senior analyst with Pike Research, applaud the effort. Innovations aimed at reducing home energy use will play their part, he believes, as the United States upgrades its antiquated energy grid system to the so-called smart grid.

“Products like this are a good first step to get people to use less energy from the grid and begin thinking about how they can use energy more efficiently,” he said.

Before the home solar kit can reach the market, however, the Sunfish components must go through Underwriters Laboratories testing to certify they are safe for home use, a process that Mr. Maglaque admits is not trivial.

Article Source: NY Times Green Blog