Consulting Services

Consulting Services...	Several Installation Options to be Determined (Click here to return to Homeowners) PV installations most likely need building and/or electrical permits from the city or county where you live. Electrical code requirements may vary but all are based upon the National Electric Code, Article 690 that spells out requirements for installing safe, reliable, code-compliant PV systems. LBA Renewable Energy, Inc. engineers have been trained using these requirements for sizing wires, switches, fuses, etc. and for designing a properly grounded system. The PV installation needs an unobstructed view of the sun from 9AM to 3PM throughout the year. The PV designer has a physical device that shows the path of the sun in the winter at its lowest orbit and in the summer at its highest orbit so that is determined if any vegetation or buildings will shade the PV panels. If the orientation of your roof is to the South or if the roof is flat then the solar panels may be mounted on the roof. If not, the panels are mounted either on poles or on a ground mount in your yard. The panels may be a considerable distance from the house but the associated electronics will be installed in a small "Power Dome" that is co-located with the panels. If possible the panels will be aligned exactly with due South, however, a rough rule of thumb is that if the panels are oriented within 30 degrees of due South, then they will provide about 90% of the rated power. The panels are usually tilted at the same number of degrees as is the latitude of your location, which is 40 degrees for the Washington area. Ideally, the tilt angle of the panels can be adjusted for winter when the sun is much lower in the sky and summer when the sun is 15 degrees higher in the sky but this is not really necessary. If you decide that you need to maximize the power during the summer then the tilt is reduced by 15 degrees since the sun is more overhead. Others decide to maximize the performance in the winter and thus add 15 degrees to the tilt angle. There are also fixed mounts in which the panels are always pointed to due South and there are "tracking" mounts which move during the day and follow the sun from East to West. While the trackers do provide more performance, most professionals agree that it is better to use fixed mounts and spend the extra dollars on another panel or two rather than going to the expense of tracking mounts. Backup Power Option The PV system will be tied into the electrical grid so that you can sell excess power back to the utility company. The only choice is whether or not you want to include batteries with the system. Batteries increase the cost of the system yet they provide a backup power system that seamlessly switches on when the electrical grid goes down. The backup power may be important to you if you have a home office with computers or if you have security systems which depend on continuous, high quality power for their operation. Electrical Considerations In a PV installation, critical electrical loads are identified and moved to a separate electrical panel that is powered by the PV system inverter. This second panel serves four purposes. The first reason for the new power panel is to isolate the electrical loads that can be powered by solar, such as computers, electronic equipment (stereos). lights, refrigerator/freezers, heating system circulators and pumps, oil/gas furnaces, well pumps, sump pumps, garage doors, security systems, and microwave ovens. The second is that the PV system also acts as a "backup system" to the electrical grid, so that when the grid goes down, the backup system delivers power to the second panel. The switch over from grid to backup takes only 15 milliseconds so that not even Personal Computers are affected. No more automatic reboots with resulting loss of data at the most inopportune time. The third reason for the new power panel is to isolate the electrical loads that can never be powered by solar, such as electric stoves, air conditioners, and space heaters, on the first power panel. These loads may be replaced in the future by more energy efficient alternatives such as propane or natural gas heating appliances. The fourth reason is to have a grid-tied electric circuit that can be backfed into the electrical grid in order to run your meter backwards during "net metering". The system is connected to a PC and/or the Internet so that the system can be monitored remotely by LBA Renewable Energy for maintenance purposes and so that the owner can verify that the system is working.

Consulting

Services...

Several Installation Options to be Determined (Click here to return to Homeowners)

PV installations most likely need building and/or electrical permits from the city or county where you live. Electrical code requirements may vary but all are based upon the National Electric Code, Article 690 that spells out requirements for installing safe, reliable, code-compliant PV systems. LBA Renewable Energy, Inc. engineers have been trained using these requirements for sizing wires, switches, fuses, etc. and for designing a properly grounded system.

The PV installation needs an unobstructed view of the sun from 9AM to 3PM throughout the year. The PV designer has a physical device that shows the path of the sun in the winter at its lowest orbit and in the summer at its highest orbit so that is determined if any vegetation or buildings will shade the PV panels.

If the orientation of your roof is to the South or if the roof is flat then the solar panels may be mounted on the roof. If not, the panels are mounted either on poles or on a ground mount in your yard. The panels may be a considerable distance from the house but the associated electronics will be installed in a small "Power Dome" that is co-located with the panels. If possible the panels will be aligned exactly with due South, however, a rough rule of thumb is that if the panels are oriented within 30 degrees of due South, then they will provide about 90% of the rated power.

The panels are usually tilted at the same number of degrees as is the latitude of your location, which is 40 degrees for the Washington area. Ideally, the tilt angle of the panels can be adjusted for winter when the sun is much lower in the sky and summer when the sun is 15 degrees higher in the sky but this is not really necessary. If you decide that you need to maximize the power during the summer then the tilt is reduced by 15 degrees since the sun is more overhead. Others decide to maximize the performance in the winter and thus add 15 degrees to the tilt angle.

There are also fixed mounts in which the panels are always pointed to due South and there are "tracking" mounts which move during the day and follow the sun from East to West. While the trackers do provide more performance, most professionals agree that it is better to use fixed mounts and spend the extra dollars on another panel or two rather than going to the expense of tracking mounts.

Backup Power Option

The PV system will be tied into the electrical grid so that you can sell excess power back to the utility company. The only choice is whether or not you want to include batteries with the system. Batteries increase the cost of the system yet they provide a backup power system that seamlessly switches on when the electrical grid goes down. The backup power may be important to you if you have a home office with computers or if you have security systems which depend on continuous, high quality power for their operation.

Electrical Considerations

In a PV installation, critical electrical loads are identified and moved to a separate electrical panel that is powered by the PV system inverter. This second panel serves four purposes.

The first reason for the new power panel is to isolate the electrical loads that can be powered by solar, such as computers, electronic equipment (stereos). lights, refrigerator/freezers, heating system circulators and pumps, oil/gas furnaces, well pumps, sump pumps, garage doors, security systems, and microwave ovens.
The second is that the PV system also acts as a "backup system" to the electrical grid, so that when the grid goes down, the backup system delivers power to the second panel. The switch over from grid to backup takes only 15 milliseconds so that not even Personal Computers are affected. No more automatic reboots with resulting loss of data at the most inopportune time.
The third reason for the new power panel is to isolate the electrical loads that can never be powered by solar, such as electric stoves, air conditioners, and space heaters, on the first power panel. These loads may be replaced in the future by more energy efficient alternatives such as propane or natural gas heating appliances.
The fourth reason is to have a grid-tied electric circuit that can be backfed into the electrical grid in order to run your meter backwards during "net metering".

The system is connected to a PC and/or the Internet so that the system can be monitored remotely by LBA Renewable Energy for maintenance purposes and so that the owner can verify that the system is working.