George Mackintosh's posts

Thanks for getting back to me.  I will have a look into the stand-alone idea with a battery charger.  The problems with running 60hz devices on our 50hz grid supply are not significant .. we have all been doing it for decades without any big problems.  I was just hoping to come up with a set-up that would eliminate the need to run the household at 50hz and reduce some of the associated inefficiencies.

If it is not too much trouble, what set-up would your recommend for a 3,000 Watt (50 Kaneka 60w 48vdc panels) as far as inverters go.  Our grid supplies 110v at 50hz.  I will likely be starting with less than 50 panels (maybe 25), but would like to invest in an inverter/panel set-up that can handle expansion to 50 such panels or more.

Outback inverters seem to come in two main flavours - 120v 60hz or 230v 50hz.  Is it correct that I would have to go with the European flavour and use a transformer to bring it down to local voltage levels for the grid and house?  Would it make sense to go with another type of inverter?  I would have really liked to just go with a standard package, but nothing seems to fit with our grid.  Any advise much appreciated, even if it is a point towards a good resource to better understand the options out there.  Thanks.

Hi all!  I am looking into purchasing some Kaneka 60w panels for a small installation at home.  I am planning on having a grid tied system with battery banks and have a query about the unusual power supply we have here, Barbados.  Our grid supplies 110V at 50HZ.  Pretty much all appliances in our country come from the US, so are more often than not suited to a 60HZ supply.  Whilst most equipment can work on our power set-up, it does cause a few issues with overheating motors, poorly functioning microwaves etc.

Is it possible to convert both the power from the panels and from the grid to 60HZ, so as to have appliances run more efficiently and what would be required to do this.  I am self schooling on  solar cells and systems, so please forgive if the question is a little novice ... I am!  Much appreciate any help.