Numerical Logics, Inc.
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Grid-connected photovoltaic system - history
| Fall 2007 / Winter 2008 | System design. |
| December 2008 | Financing arranged through TD Canada Trust. |
| April 2008 | Fourteen BP SX 3195S modules (silver frame) are purchased from Carmanah Technologies. |
| June 2008 | Module installation by Merlyn Power. |
| July 2008 | Application to OPA Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program (RESOP). |
| October 2008 | Micro-embedded generation facility connection agreement with Waterloo North Hydro. |
| 26 November 2008 | Inverter installation and connection to the grid. System capacity is 2.7 kW. |
| 19 January 2009 | Monitoring begins. |
| 25 April 2009 | The most violent thunderstorm over the last 30 years roars through South-Western Ontario, flattening barns, damaging roofs, and ripping four modules off the roof. One of the modules survives after a 10-m fall in the neighbour's backyard, and is reinstalled. The other three are destroyed. System capacity falls to 2.1 kW. |
| 14 July 2009 | Three replacement modules (BP SX3195B, bronze frame) are purchased from Ameresco Solar and are installed. System capacity is back to 2.7 kW. |
| December 2009 | Monitoring enhanced with SQL database and php-driven interface. |
| 13 June 2010 | Application to the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to transition from RESOP to the micro feed-in tariff (microFIT) program. |
| 9 July 2010 | MicroFIT contract offer accepted. |
Photovoltaic system - characteristics
| Location | Waterloo, ON (Canada) Approx. 43.45°N 80.55°W |
| PV modules | Type: BP SX 3195 multi-crystalline SI modules, rated at 195 W under STC Number: 14 in series Total array power: 2,700 W under STC |
| Array orientation | Slope: 18.4° Azimuth: 20° West of South |
| Inverter | Xantrex GT 3.3 Rated power: 3.3 kW CEC efficiency: 95.5% |
| Installation | Merlyn Power, Waterloo, ON |
| Estimated annual production | 2.96 MWh |
Monitoring system failures
| 2009-04-26 2009-04-27 2009-04-28 |
Flash drive full. Data was stored on a flash drive (memory stick) formatted with the FAT system. This limited the number of daily data files to 128. Flash drive reformatted using the NTFS system to avoid the problem. |
| 2009-05-16 2009-05-17 |
Monitoring laptop accidentally unplugged. |
| 2009-11-16 | Interruption of monitoring while updating monitoring software. |
| 2010-01-03 2010-01-04 2010-01-05 |
Error in update of monitoring software. |
| 2010-02-07 2010-02-08 |
Intermittent and undiagnosed hardware failure, probably loose connection between RS232 cable and inverter. |
| 2010-04-20 2010-04-22 2010-04-23 2010-04-24 2010-04-25 |
Hardware failure of monitoring laptop. Computer replaced with newer laptop. |
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| 2010-11-01 2010-11-02 2010-11-06 2010-11-07 |
Intermittent hardware failure. An analysis led to the root of the problem: two wires in the RS232 connection at the inverter were touching. The problem seemed to be triggered by cold temperatures. It was fixed by isolating the wires with electrical tape.
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