Greetings Wrenches,
I am a new member and have been listening in for the past couple months,
very grateful to have found this amazing resource. Big Up to all involved!
We have a doomsday-driven customer who is apparently concerned that next
year the sun will wipe out the very devices intended to harvest its energy.
I have pasted a portion of his message below:
"A NOVA special on PBS this evening indicated that the sun is entering
a phase of maximum activity, peaking in 2013, that could include coronal
mass ejections which could damage not only various components in the power
grid, but also most modern electronics in cars, cell phones, etc. My solar
powered back-up system is supposed to provide back-up power in the event of
loss of the power grid. Has any consideration been given to the effect of
solar flares or electro-magnetic pulse effects on solar panels, charge
controllers, inverters and associated components? I assume that the
batteries themselves would be relatively unaffected, and that the inverter
would probably be at highest risk for damage either from a surge from the
power grid or from damage to IC chips from an electromagnetic pulse. Are
the individual solar panels particularly susceptible to such damage? Since
the charge controllers and inverter are housed in metal boxes, are they
essentially the same as Faraday cages, protecting the components contained
inside of their respective boxes?
I realize that a sufficiently strong electromagnetic pulse,
whether man-made or from the sun, will probably fry most electronic
devices. But I would consider spending a bit more if additional hardware,
not contemplated in the current contract, might provide some additional
measure of protection."
I am wondering if anyone on the list has information on the potential
effects of increased solar activity on PV equipment. How would you respond
to this customer's concerns?
--
Corey Shalanski
Joule Energy
New Orleans, LA
_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Home Power magazine
List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Options & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
List rules & etiquette:
www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
Check out participant bios:
www.members.re-wrenches.org
