Acceptable Design Practices cont.
  1. Allow Extra Power For Inefficiencies, Losses and Cold Batteries; No system is 100% efficient. Plan accordingly. At Sunelco, we typically use an overall inefficiency factor of 25% when designing a 120 volt AC system and it has worked well for us. That is, once you have calculated your total daily power consumption, multiply that number by 1.25 to find out how much power needs to be generated to meet your electrical needs. If this seems like a high inefficiency factor, consider that electricity reaching your home via the electrical grid has an inefficiency of 60%.

  2. Use Real Data, Not “Best Guess” Assumptions; If the solar site analyst says you get 5.5 hours of full sun equivalent in the month of May, believe it. You may know that you have more daylight than that but daylight hours are not the same as full sun hour equivalent or Kilowatts per meter squared per day. The same can be said for Available Wind at a site or Gallons per Minute of water in a micro-hydroelectric system. Be as accurate as possible when calculating your power consumption for the same reason. Miscalculations here can be disappointing and expensive.

  3. Allow For Later Expansion of Your System; Life styles change and so do energy requirements. It is important when designing your system to allow for later expansion. Oversizing of charge regulators, wiring and inverters or allowing for duplicates later on can save you money in the long run when you realize you need more power.

  4. Keep it Simple; Employ as few components to do the job as possible. Many manufacturers now produce multi-function components such as inverters with monitors, generator start mechanisms, back-up battery chargers etc built in or offered as options. Wherever possible and if your budget allows, plan ahead and use these components