Just received several containers of Suntech modules and the accompanying flash data.  Flash data are the results of the tests of the modules actual output under a simulated "perfect" sun, which is calculated at 1 Kw per square meter.  As usual, the Suntech modules were well above the power listed on the label.  The container of 85w modules averaged 92.5 watts each!  The weakest module was 85.6 watts and the strongest was 97.3 watts (nearly 15% above nameplate rating).  So, when you buy these modules you will receive an average of 8% more power than you paid for.....how's that for positive power tolerance?

Every week we receive emails from scammers who offer credit cards or cheques in payment for solar equipment that will eventually find its way to Africa.  The signs are easy to spot - always some improbable address and name with grammar and expressions that don't fit the assumed profile.  And they always ask for solar modules that are fast moving in Africa, like 80w and 120w, as well as for Grundfos pumps and Morningstar charge controllers.  Occasionally they will also ask for computer equipment or printers - anything that is fast-moving.  So we were very flattered this week to receive one requesting the Magnum MS4124E inverter/charger.  We've only been promoting them for just over a year, but apparently they've developed a good reputation.  Certainly, it is the best-priced sine wave inverter/charger made in America.  Durable, easy to use and big - but non-stackable at this point.  Perfect for most domestic and office installations - and appreciated even by scammers!

• http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-30/china-shuts-most-lead-acid-battery-producers-to-curb-pollution-poisoning.html

• http://www.skynews.com.au/eco/article.aspx?id=614944&vId

• http://www.flyxin.com/28

It seems like the more modules we bring in, the more we sell.  That's good - it means more and more installations going into service in Africa - building your businesses and helping your populations.  We shipped over a megawatt last year and hope to surpass that this year.  Which means we are taking a risk on inventory levels so that we will have them on hand when you need them.  Keeping the supply chain balanced is a challenge (as is finding space for all the modules), but we are finally ahead of the curve on modules now.  We've got good stocks for the moment - come and get them!

Just got a call today from a good partner in Conakry who asked if we could add more Sundanzer refrigerators and freezers to his container at the last minute - he had already sold his existing stock.  So I asked why that market was working well for him - were these going into remote sites or clinics?  No, these are installed in Conakry by homeowners who are connected to the grid, but power is so bad in Guinea that they want an independent solution for their refrigeration.  Why not connect an inverter backup, since he also sells so many inverters?  Because at least with a solar array on an independent battery bank they know that their food storage will be protected even if the backup system runs down.  Judging from the number of units of Sundanzer we are moving (almost double last year's number), many of you are beginning to appreciate that advantage.  There is a market for solar refrigeration in every African country - the key is just to bring in containers so that your shipping cost is reasonable - and even better if you can include solar modules or batteries in the container.  The more we move, the better the price gets for all of us, so keep up the good work!

Just back from the Shanghai solar show (SNEC) which featured mostly Chinese manufacturers, mostly offering grid-tie product.  But I noticed quite a few battery manufacturers who were proud to tell me they are now making gel batteries.  It seems the market is learning the value of a good gel battery for cyclic (deep cycle) applications.  We hope that this is partly due to the great performance of the Deka gel battery over the years - imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  I didn't see any 12v gel battery that provided more than about 700 cycles at 50% depth of discharge, but at least most manufacturers were publishing that information.  We really need to get customers to start pricing batteries per cycle, rather than per unit.  When you buy a battery, all you really buy is cycles.....

The last shall be first and the first shall be last, but in this case the first are having a hard time getting product at all!  For the first forty years of this industry, almost all modules were made for off-grid use (12v and then some 24v).  Now off-grid modules, or at least modules below 140w make up something like 1% of the total modules produced in the world.  Some of the original solar manufacturers like Sharp, Kyocera and Solar World are abandoning the off-grid market in search of the easy money in subsidized grid-tie installations.  They should re-think their strategy.  The market for small off-grid modules has a population base of over 1 billion people and demand continues to grow.  One quality manufacturer told me last week they have three times as many orders for off-grid modules as they can supply.  There is an opportunity there.  Certainly the margins on an 85w module aren't as tasty as on a 260w module, but a customer base that needs you (rather than one that needs subsidies) isn't a bad thing on which to base your business....

I smiled when I saw the advertisement in Home Power this month (HP140) for the Midnite Battery Capacity Meter.  The ad mentions that the meter was designed for African Energy.  It was, but kudos to Robin Gudgel for the good design ideas and willingness to build this.  We think everyone with an inverter or solar system should have one.  It is a simple voltage sensing meter which shows approximate battery state of charge in increments of ten percent based on battery voltage.  The really useful part though, is the "deficit-cycling alarm".  There are three colored LEDs that indicate when the battery has not been held at 14.2 volts for at least two hours  - in the last one week and in the last two weeks.  In other words, if the battery has not been fully charged recently, the lights will show it.  I wish everyone with those small, "inexpensive" inverter/chargers would buy one and realize that their tiny chargers are not getting their batteries full - eventually destroying capacity and killing their batteries.

In the last quarter we've had two cases of "failed" Suntech modules.  This was strange to us because in seven years of working with Suntech we have never had a complaint.  What we found out, in fact was that the modules were perfectly fine, but the diodes had been blown.  The suspected cause of this is a very near lightning strike and perhaps inadequate earthing.  (Although Patrick and I once blew diodes in a module by accidentally reversing the polarity on a battery direct to the module - so we don't rule out one of those "events" either.)  The good news is that the diodes are easy to replace in Suntech modules - they are held in by a tension clamp and can easily be changed in the field.  We have some spares in stock here, or you can probably find them at your local electronics bazaar.....

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Judging from the backlog in orders of MPPT controllers, customers are waking up to the advantages of this technology.  The old faithful Outback FM-60 and FM-80 and the newer Xantrex XW-MPPT 60 are now joined by the new Morningstar TS-MPPT 45 and 60.  Plus the Morningstar SS-MPPT 15 controller becomes very useful for smaller systems.  I predict that in five years  we will hardly be using traditional controllers.  But what is the correct way to size an off-grid system with a MPPT controller, since its impact will vary with the module temperature and with the state of charge of the battery?  Start with a healthy de-rating of the module (probably beyond the PTC rating) and the controller (most will be better than 95% efficient) and then just use the de-rated watts of the module.  It is so much easier than traditional sizing that it seems like cheating....

Imagine buying a car with no instruments at all - no fuel gauge, oil pressure indicator, no speedometer or tachometer.  Now imagine that none of the controls were functional - no brakes, no gears, no lights - just an on/off switch.  This is how I feel when I see customers using an Outback or Magnum or Xantrex XW inverter without the "optional" programming remote (ie. Mate, MERC, or SCP).  It's just crazy.  You can only operate on the factory defaults (which probably aren't right for your batteries) and have no idea about what's happening inside your inverter.  So please - be sure that you and your customers always have access to a programming remote.  They're not really "optional"!

Just back from a great four day training in Lagos, where we were accompanied by Bruce Habeck from Deka Battery, Steve Higgins from Outback Power, and Marius Tresanchez from Xantrex/Trace.  Although this is something like the 18th training we have done, we still had over 60 people in attendance and the excitement about the industry continues to grow.  Surprising that MPPT controllers were still new for a lot of the senior technicians at the training.  There is a great opportunity for those of us in off-grid now that the grid-tie market has cooled - with lower module prices and a range of great MPPT controllers, there are lots of job that are viable now that were not a few years ago.

Anti-gravity and perpetual motion machines are on my mind this week.  I toured the Solar Power 2009 show in Anaheim last week and met with lots of friends and manufacturers.  A year ago at that show, no one felt that the financial meltdown going on in the rest of the economy would have an impact on the solar industry - nor that the solar industry itself was highly overheated.  There was a lot more realism on the exhibit floor this year.  Prices are lower, growth expectations are re-aligned and the old off-grid applications look more attractive.  I also noticed a few "too good to be true" products and prices from last year were, in fact, too good to be true (cheap inverters and "solar" air conditioners come to mind).  They're gone.  It seems that gravity still works and what goes up, must still come down.  So just keep doing a good job and deliver real value to your customers and don't get distracted by the noise....

Maybe our lapse in blog entries shows that the market has definitely rebounded in Africa.  Solar module prices are lower than ever and that is helping on the demand side.  I think our industry assumes that no module manufacturer ever made any profit until about 2002.  And they are all probably back to losses this year.  Most manufacturers seem to be selling at or below the cost of production.  This obviously won't continue forever.  I believe there will be a great reduction in the number of module manufacturers over the next two years.  They will either close or be taken over by rivals.  So as we enjoy the low priced modules, we need to realize that many of them may not have any warranty backing in a few years.  We are still placing our bets on long-time partners like Sharp, who has been in solar for decades and Suntech, a true pure play solar manufacturer.  Interesting times!

It seems like a lot of people have questions about DC or "solar" air conditioners lately - the name seems to imply that these air conditioners could run easily from a solar system whereas the conventional AC air conditioners seem to draw too much power.  Sorry to say that in our experience, the laws of physics have not yet been suspended, and it still takes the same amount of power to cool a given mass of air, whether you do it with AC or DC power.  We don't see much advantage in buying a DC air conditioner in most cases and either a DC or AC unit can be run from solar, if you are prepared to pay the cost.

Here is our reasoning:  Yes, there should be some efficiency gain from running a DC motor direct from a battery bank vs. running an AC motor through an inverter.  But with good motors and inverters, that efficiency gap should not be more than about 15%.  If the area to be cooled (BTU load) is very small and an inverter would not otherwise be required, then it may make sense to use a DC air conditioner.  A telecom cabinet or control room would be a good example of this application.

But, if the requirement were for an office or a home (as we suspect most are) then the client is very likely to require a good inverter anyway, and very likely to have a significant cooling load.  It would be difficult to justify the purchase of a DC air conditioner with the 15% theoretic efficiency gain that it would provide.  As a practical matter, AC air conditioners are mass produced, are available with the same efficiencies as the DC units, and are much cheaper to purchase.  We don't normally recommend DC air conditioners for the same reason we don't recommend DC TV or DC hair dryers or DC blenders...good inverters have changed the world - and they will run all of those devices on AC with only a very small efficiency loss.