Siemens Solar Industries LP (Camarillo, CA) announced its Earthsafe 20 solar-electric system. According to the company, this is the first complete standard system offered in the industry that converts solar power to utility power, provides emergency backup power, and includes all system functions in a single controller unit, which provides conversion from dc to ac, control for utility interruption and charging capability.
Fred Cherrick, marketing director for Siemens Solar Earthsafe, stated, “In our market research and early trials, we found that solar-electric systems that could provide power during utility brown-outs were highly desirable, particularly among households with young children, home-office professionals and elderly people. Most often, these households wanted to maintain power for their refrigerator, telephone, some lighting, computer, and radio and television. We call this our 'family-safe' feature.”
The system offers both a utility-interconnect output, and an emergency-load output. The utility-interconnect output allows the homeowner to return excess power to the utility, and reduce electrical usage and monthly bills. The emergency-load output will maintain power to desired circuits in the home, and will provide near-immediate backup power for critical electrical appliances. Backup periods range from one to four days, depending on power usage and specific configurations.
