Photo courtesy of OutBack Power
In the advent of debilitating storms and unstable or overtaxed grids, uninterruptible power supplies—also known as emergency battery back-up systems — are in greater demand today than ever before.
By Kathie Zipp
Managing Editor
In the advent of debilitating storms and unstable or overtaxed grids, uninterruptible power supplies—also known as emergency battery back-up systems — are in greater demand today than ever before, as Alan Santos-Buch of Magnum Energy has noted from his view of the industry.
“For homeowners and businesses who learn that the renewable energy applications installed on their property does not function during a utility interruption, adding battery back up to the existing grid-direct application has become mission critical,” he says.
As these and other types of off-grid and grid-interactive installations grow, manufacturers must help installers meet evolving needs of their customers. For example, customers in California and Hawaii are concerned about changing solar incentives and how utilities are modifying buy-back policies of surplus renewably generated electricity.
“Commercial and residential customers want to know that the PV systems they buy today will deliver tomorrow, regardless of how policies change,” says Phil Undercuffler of OutBack Power.
Undercuffler says his company has responded with a balancing technology that can ensure users get the most out of their solar power and energy storage investments, regardless of how incentives, utility policies and grid rates might shift. The functionality ensures that users can store renewably generated power for future use and prioritize consumption, effectively zeroing-out the load on the grid while using it when needed to meet surges and spikes in demand.
Charger settings for compatibility with lithium-ion, lead-acid and other advanced battery chemistries is another important feature incorporated into some inverters. This allows installers to coordinate specific charging profiles for various battery types coming into wider usage.
“Many off-grid applications can also be difficult to monitor and geographically difficult to maintain,” says Mike Camesano of CITEL. “Therefore robust surge protection is essential.”
Camesano explains that the purpose of the surge protector is to protect the attached equipment within the installation.
“Contrary to popular belief, not all surge events (such as a lightning strike) are catastrophic,” Camesano says. “In fact, the majority of surge events can be classified as stress events, slowly weakening and deteriorating the attached equipment. Implementing high-quality surge protection can effectively block these stress events, which will greatly increase the life expectancy of the attached equipment.”
One technology CITEL is using specifically addresses this in solar by eliminating leakage current.
“Leakage current not only damages the attached equipment, it can also deteriorate the effectiveness of traditional surge protection components,” Camesano says.
The technology maintains a high level of surge protection to extend the life of the attached equipment.