ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area DIY grid connect solar panels...safe to use?

Are GFCI circuits are power source sensitive, in that they work the same whether power comes in thru the building system and is used by the load connected to the receptacle, or vice versa.

I suspect they will not work correctly because the power for the sensing magic comes off of the building wire side.

I can't see too many people buying a panel so that they can run the Christmas lights in the daytime.
I can't see too many people buying DIY panels if there is no rebate available.
What I can see is share market shenanigans.
Bazza has done this sort of thing before.

This is from 2009 (Lowes seems to be a bit slow putting them on the shelves)

Akeena to sell solar panels at retailer Lowe's
Thu Dec 10, 2009 1:41pm EST
* All-in-one panels to sell at 21 Lowe's stores for $893

* Part of company's strategy to boost revenue

* Akeena shares up 43 cents, or about 43 pct

LOS ANGELES, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Akeena Solar Inc AKNS.O will start selling its all-in-one solar panels at Lowe's Cos Inc (LOW.N) retail stores in California, Akeena said on Thursday, as the company looks to boost revenue.

The Los Gatos, California company hopes to break even by selling panels at retail stores and to installers outside its home state, in addition to its traditional installation business. The move puts the company in competition with the likes of SunPower Corp (SPWRA.O) in selling panels.

Akeena's panels hit the shelves on Thursday at 21 Lowe's home-improvement stores in California. Each panel will sell for $893 and can plug into a regular electrical outlet, generating 175 watts or enough electricity to power a computer or 42-inch flat screen television.

In October, Akeena's chief executive Barry Cinnamon told Reuters the company was actively trying to sell its solar panels through big-box retailers. [ID:nN27259574]

The company says its panels -- branded Andalay and manufactured by Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd (STP.N) -- have 80 percent fewer parts to install than comparable products, reducing inventory logistics.

Akeena has struggled to turn a profit and posted a narrower-then-expected quarterly loss in October. [ID:nBNG480161]

The news sent the shares of the solar company up about 43 percent, or 43 cents, to $1.42 each in afternon trading on the Nasdaq. (Reporting by Laura Isensee; editing by Andre Grenon)

Naughty naughty Bazza

http://www.zhlaw.com/Akeena-Derivative-Complaint.pdf

Since this is a grid tie inverter and will not work without power on the line side, I bet a garden variety GFCI will never know the difference. The current in the CT switches direction every 8MS anyway.
I can't believe they have not tried that.

Keef, the point was that the receptacle would be in the same spot, not that the usage would be coincidental.

As for buying them, Americans are pretty gullible. They sell tons of solar garden lights and they suck.
At $5.42 a watt with tax it is not horrible. If Obama would give you the 30% tax credit, I bet they sell.
You are still looking at a 24 year payback without a rebate (16.8 with) at 12 cents kwh but that is not bad in the solar biz.

AS long as UL does a test through and gives a green light I see no issue. As long as some device inside can safely stop backfeed during loss of AC, these should be safe.

They should forget homes and go for RV's.

Any use that is constrained to good weather -- and clear skies -- and to PLAYTIME use -- is bound to be a money maker.

One should never target basic human needs at the outset -- always start with status assets -- purchased by the price insensitive crowd.

Solynda manufactured a collector specifically tuned for snow country.

Then the idiots tried to go toe-to-toe with simple Arizona technology.

Their true market was Alaskan and Canadian gold miners. These fellows are in a mining boom -- and paying bloody royal for diesel-electric juice well off the grid. They only work the summer months -- when the Sun is up 23-24 hours a day.

All that Solynda would have to do is punch up the rays with a reflector and keep their collector aligned to the Sun. Far enough north -- you don't even have trees to block the Sun. The cool local temperatures would permit the array to really perk along.

The additional back-scatter would pump Solynda's performance twice over. And mirrors are cheap.

All that would be left is some high wind sensor -- which would trigger an array shift -- into protect mode.

Throw in batteries and inverters -- and Solyndra has the lowest cost juice at any northern mine site. There are many -- to include Siberia.

BTW, it'd be a big hit in Nome -- it's off the grid, too. Power prices are brutal.

Miners claim that it costs them $3.00 per kW-hr! They are THAT far off the grid -- and ( no kidding ) hundreds of miles from the fuel pump.

Gold is now at $1900 -- so the tempo is only going to pick up.

With enough arrays -- even the excavator could shift over to electric power.

Even without road taxes -- diesel in the boonies is brutally expensive -- like $10 per gallon.

The other market for Solyndra was and is Afghanistan. Our DoD is paying brutal prices, net, net, net -- to get power to our troops.

What's up with Solyndra?

It sounds like solyndra is not interested in competing with the real solar boys. They are trying to slide in the back door and go for the DIY crowd.
The Lowes connection is interesting.
It may not be a bad strategy, particularly if they can get the rebates going. I wonder who their lobbyists are.

****caution shameless stock market statement ***
It might be worth buying some of their stock.
I think I will do a little more research ... like how much money did Lowes give the Democrats and Obama?

I looked and Lowes is greasing all the right people.

What the hell, I put in an order for some WEST at 90 cents.


Now I like these collectors

Sigh!
Greg, have a look at the 5 year chart for WEST
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=WEST#symbol=west;range=5y;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=;

Golly, what happened back in 2008 to make the shares worth $60?
http://www.zhlaw.com/Akeena-Derivative-Complaint.pdf
What happened back in 2009 to make it perk up again?
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/akeena-solar-shares-skyrocket-on-lowes-deal-2009-12-10

Solyndra?
OMG!!

Even…More…Fraud… And it Goes All the Way Up…
September 1, 2011 nsl Equities, Scams
Solyndra is the latest in a long line of Solar Pump and Dump frauds going bust and taking with it billions of dollars of investor and taxpayer dollars. First there was ESLR (0.18 ↑0.00%), then there was ENER (0.66 ↑0.00%), and now there is Solyndra — All told, the US has likely lost over 1-2 Billion funding pump and dump scams in the solar space! Where are the jail sentences? How do you catch a fraudster when the SEC is understaffed and, well, less than well equiped to gauge accounting fraud? Here is an excerpt on Obama’s latest Solar Debacle: From Infowars.com

“We smelled a rat from the onset,” Republican House Energy and Commerce Committee members Rep. Cliff Stearns and Rep. Fred Upton said in a statement to ABC News of the the $535 million government loan guarantee awarded to Solyndra in 2009.

The manufacturer of rooftop solar panels opened in 2005 and in 2009 became the Obama administration’s first recipient of an half-billion dollar energy loan guarantee meant to help minimize the risk to venture capital firms that were backing the solar start-up. Obama made a personal visit to the factory last year to herald its bright future.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news folks, but the wonderful American free enterprise system is in need of repair.
Much too easy for corporate crooks to exploit the renewable energy boom and gouge money from the gummint and the shareholders.

We have a wonderful new GREEN WIDGET.
It will be ready real soon, just give us the MUNNY now!

This thread is starting to touch the forum "3rd rail" of no political comments.....