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Re: AC PV panels



John A. Stanley <jstanley@gate.net> wrote:

>The electric utilities don't take too kindly to folks simply
>pumping juice back into the grid.

Gee I wonder why :-) I think in a few years, what you do with your
electric line inside your house will be mostly your business, the way
it is now with the telephone line. Utilities are exaggerating the
safety problem.

>Most grid intertie systems use two meters, 

In some states, eg Vermont and California, the law says you have to be
able to do this with one meter, if you want to. I imagine this will
become more widespread.

>and there are stringent safety requirements to make
>sure the PV's are disconnected in the event of a power failure.

Not a bad idea. Also not hard to do.

>Grid intertie inverters tend to be costly (several thousand dollars.) 

Sheesh. I've been saying that this is not true for 3 months now, for
technical reasons. I think we will see at least one 500 watt grid-tie-only
inverter on the US market within 6 months, from one of several companies
who are now nearly finished developing this product. At that point,
rational suburbanites and city dwellers would give up their expensive
PV habit and put a $500 400 watt wind turbine on the roof, with one of
these $100 inverters to reduce their electric bills.

Nick


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