Page 24 - North American Clean Energy November December 2015

solar energy

Standing the Test of Time:

An engineering story

RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) should be one of the top priorities Today, boat builders are seeking a business solution minded view of long-term ROI, appropriate corrosion
of every solar owner, manufacturer, and inancier. his is true for to mitigate corrosion costs by picking an appropriate decisions can be made.
all aspects of a project, from the design to install, through the fastener strategy. It is driven because of brand

products’ life and even during demolition.
protection, quality, and especially by costs. By making Beyond the salt spray test
smart hardware decisions on the front end of a For many years, several industries accepted the B-117-
Background
project, huge impending warranty cost can be reduced 11 salt spray test as a means of deciding which type of
here is an age old mariner saying, “here is a boat for every on the back end.
hardware to utilize. (Stainless, hot dipped galvanized,

ocean, and an ocean for every boat.” In other words, it is An average new boat purchase comes with a one- zinc, etc.)
important to match resources to achieve outcome.
year parts and labor warranty, but solar manufacturers Many now believe the level of testing aforded by
warranty their products for 20 years or more.
the B-117-11 salt spray test is inadequate. In short,
Up until the late 90’s, several boat manufacturers it doesn’t give a true correlation of how many years a

cut corners with their fastener strategy. Because of product will last in a given environment, and it doesn’t
THE SPEED OF LIGHT
this, warranty costs skyrocketed, and many of them give information regarding ROI.
went out of business as a result.
Everyone accepts corrosion can be damaging

here are a lot of similarities between the marine and often leads to costly replacement in both parts
Does your smart inverter need
world and that of the solar industry. A boat, like
and labor, but what is the ROI for designing the
a revenue-grade power meter with a photovoltaic array, is often located in harsh appropriate level of stainless into a project?
environments and weather conditions. Both are
a fast power (Opt FP) update rate?
faced with corrosion challenges. Similar to the
Seeking a science based solution
early mistakes made in the marine industry, many In looking for a solution to address engineering
manufactures and installers in the solar industry are (corrosion) and inance (ROI), companies have
choosing a lower quality, lower cost fastener product, partnered with corrosion engineers for reliable testing.

over investing in appropriate corrosion solutions for hese studies have provided data suggesting there are
the long term.
six diferent geographic environments within the U.S,
Could the same thing happen with future warranty and all of this information together creates a life cycle
issues arising in the solar industry because of poor cost avoidance model which helps equip clients with

fastener choices? Possibly, and this is why it is solutions based on proven science.
important to make better choices on the front end of It is now possible to determine, based on geographic
a project when it comes to choosing an appropriate location, which fastener strategy to use in installations
fastener strategy.
to mitigate long-term replacement costs.
WattNode Modbus with “Fast Power Option”
Corrosion solutions come with a unique set of
updates the fast power reading every 200 msec.
issues. Hot dipped galvanized (HDG) fasteners and Looking forward
products should be replaced every ive to seven years, Finding a balance between both corrosion and ROI
Allows for feed-in response time of 500msec.
except in dry, desert conditions. When comparing is paramount to a successful project, and using

Modbus®, BACnet®, LonWorks®, Pulse Output 316 stainless steel versus HDG, 316 stainless steel information gathered from ield studies is the key. It
Certiied ANSI C12.1, PBI, UL, cUL
has an ROI of 56% per year for the irst 14 years of a is important to use the correct fastener material based
20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) in tropical on which of the six geographical environments the
environments. In reality, extreme environmental project is located.

conditions should not be a concern to owners, For example, 304 and 316 stainless steel may be
1-888-WattNode (928-8663) • ccontrolsys.com
developers, and inanciers, but rather, with an open
a more durable choice for most environments, but

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nacleanenergy.com
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015