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The Pulliam family are living a unique and satisfying lifestyle. They live in a beautiful area of Puget Sound. Puget
Sound gets considerable rain, but we still get 70% of the solar energy that Los Angeles receives (89% in summer).
The Pulliams grow much of their own food in a greenhouse and in the family garden. Several ponds provide a
beautiful and serene park-like setting.
When the family first bought the home on its 2.5 acres, Rick installed a wood fired boiler to provide hot water
and to heat the floors of their home. He added solar thermal panels to supplement this heat and reduce the amount of
fire wood required (upper photo, right side of roof). Now, it was time to add solar electricity to the mix and apply for power
produced. Sun Wind Concepts provided the system and advice, Rick deserves the credit for the entire installation.
(Sun Wind recommends the use of licensed electrical contractors and will provide an electrician or consultation
to the licensed electrical contractor of your choice.)
The Xantrex GT3 provides up to 3 KiloWatts of power, is clean looking and is a snap to install. Mount it in a cool area
(in this case the basement) next to the house main panel if possible..... But, it can also be mounted up to 150' or more away
if wire is sized correctly.
Only 3 major component groups:
- PV panels
- Mounting Rack (Can be roof; yard installed pole or ground rack; or can also be a sun tracking type (examples shown
on SUN/WIND ACTIVITIES & PROJECTS or SPIRIT RIDGE INN, A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT pages.
- Batteryless Grid-Tie Inverter
The 'Balance of System' components are wire for connection from the panels to the inverter and the home's existing
ground rod, conduit and 2 each 20 Amp. circuit breakers added to the main panel. The PhotoVoltaic panels simply plug together
with convenient male and female connectors, which helps prevent mistakes. Installers should follow our written and
verbal instructions and the supplied manufacturer manuals. We supply assistance via telephone, email, fax and on-site
visits, as needed (in Western Washington). We inspect systems before you turn them on. The Department of Labor
and Industries issues permits and makes inspections in Washington, with the exception of some communities which have
their own electrical inspection departments. Electrical inspection departments have the final say in regard to compliance.
Disclaimer/Waiver
We do not recommend that home owners install their own systems. In most cases home owners
need the assistance of a licensed electrical contractor.
Sun/Wind Concepts assumes no responsibility or liability for owners or installers who install
their own systems. High Voltages and high currents are present at the output of PV panels and connections
'to and from' the inverter!
For your reassurance in response to doubt or naysayers, the following communication regarding this system is provided:
August 20, 2005 from Sun/Wind Concepts
Chris and Rick,
Thanks for the cc on your GT3 system with Sharp solar panels... and for the information. It has been better solar
weather last month (July), but May/June had a lot more cloud cover than usual to my recollection, so if this
is true, a typical May/June should be even better. It will be interesting to see how you do July/August, although we are now
getting more clouds than is typical for this time of year (August).
Rick's energy savings points out the capability and capacity for 'near zero energy' for implementers
that have extensive conservation implementation. With the size of the property and all the outbuildings and other activities,
I am sure the Pulliams use a lot more power than we do. (I think Rick is working on reducing their consumption... )
But imagine what is possible! If Rick saved $100 May/June, that equates to approximately 1,333 kiloWatt hours for that period
(2 months)! ($100/.075 per kW hour = 1,333 kW hour savings). Some of this savings is undoubtedly due to energy conservation
on the part of the Pulliam family. Here at our house, we use approx. 600 kW hours per month (1,200 kW hours for 2 months).
This includes an electric hot water heater, range, and clothes dryer, also a 36" TV that is nearly always on. We need to implement
more energy conservation measures ourselves. Solar hot water and solar heat projects are under way. Once we get
our other systems implemented, a system the size of Rick's would pay our electric bill during sunny months and perhaps yield
a credit for future months. The results here show the potential for PV to significantly reduce PUD load, save customers
a lot of money on power bills and reduce greenhouse emissions.
I would also like to compliment Rick for his attention to Natl. Electric Code requirements and working with state
inspectors and the PUD. It shows that owner or installer commitment to safety and code issues CAN make this happen. This
system is an example of the potential benefits that solar can bring to the nationwide energy grid. Furthermore, Rick's
other system (his solar /wood heating systems) are also exemplary of what homeowners and businessman and women can do to reduce
their heating bills too, and it is also fueled by 100% renewable resources.
Best Regards,
Tom Rentz, Sun/Wind Concepts
----- Original Message -----
From:
"Rick Pulliam"
To: sales@sunwindconcepts.us
Subject: Fw: Solar Tour
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005
22:02:23 -0700
----- Original Message -----
To: (our utility representative and; Tom Rentz
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 9:53 PM
Subject: Re: Solar Tour
Hey you guys,
The PV is working great, thanks for the help, and to Tom too, thanks!! Everyone should
have this stuff. We saw a $100 decrease in our bill for May-June "THAT'S A THIRD". I don't expect that on a regular
basis, I was hoping for 20 to 25%. I now have 24 panels and have seen as much as 3009 watts being produced during
the mid day & a fairly steady of 1500 to 2500 all day long. I am very happy with the system. During these
past few months the system starts up at around 6am and is still producing 150 watts at 8pm, just amazing.
The solar tour is fine with me, I told you before bring 'em on. The Oct. 1st, Saturday
is ok with us. I got plenty of parking, We could have refreshments? What else might I ought....
As far as the billing thing we really have not had time to analysis it, just paid it, too many
things to do, summer is very busy for us. I'll let you know how it reads to me later, ok?
If I can help you more to promote this, just let me know
Rick
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