<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by John Berdner:
We are working on a version of the Sunny Island for the US market but it will be different that the Sunny Island we sell in Europe. The Sunny Island is very sophisticated and targeted at the remote viullage electrification market. IMHO, it is too expensive for the US backup power market. The new Sunny Island Light will be a lower cost option that provides you with backup power during an outage. UL requires us to disconnect from the grid and then the SIL "fools" the Sunny Boys by giving them a grid to work into. They then come back online and provde PV power plus anything extra comes from the battery. IF there is too much PV power available the SIL commands the Sunny Boys to reduce the power. We think the system should be available late in 2003<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi John.

Art Toy here, I corresponded with you earlier on the status of UL certification for the Windy Boy.

I am planning on installing a Proven WT2500 Windy Boy system and a 1800 watt Sunny Boy PV system this fall.

As a battery backup, I was considering using the UPS system designed by Joe Schwartz & Richard Perez in HomePower #84 page 34-40.

I do not plan to have batteries involved in the Windy Boy or Sunny Boy systems and hope have a bank of 8 sealed Concorde 6v 220amp-hr AGM batteries on standby.

Having found [Thanks Solar-Guppy] this chat site and your comments about the Sunny Island Light, I may be holding off on the UPS project.

Am I correct in understanding that the SIL will be a grid interupt UPS [with grid disconnect of course]that not only fools the Sunny Boys and Windy Boys, but can ALSO have a standby battery bank to drawn on?

If so, then my UPS install can wait till the SIL comes out.

Thanks, Art Toy
Lawrence, Michigan

I have a SunnyBoy powerplant, with 3 SunnyBoy SB2500 and 72 KC120 panels. I had a Trace 5548, 2 of them that I used as battery backup in my other home. The person that bought the house did not want it, so I brought it down to sunny S. Ca. to use on my, I always wanted one, solar system. Only to find out Edison hates Trace/Xantrax and no way was I going to use them. So I have the SunnyBoy system and in addition, the Trace system for battery backup. So, when power goes out, the Trace holds the fort and if there is a power failure of any duration, the Trace which is powering the second main to the house, takes over. The grid tie system is in compliance since it shuts down. The Trace system is on generator backup, so when it needs to power something heavy, it turns on the generator which can run up to 45KVA which is everything including the heavy central air and hot tub and pool pumps and well pumps and air pressure surge pumps since we have our own well. We have had several switch failures, I.E. Edison under load will switch main pwoer lines and they are supposed to do it in a manner that slides one in and the other out. But that never seems to work. So we end up with a 2 or 3 second power failure. The SunnyBoys go thru their 5 minute recovery and the house stays up as if nothing ever happened. Maybe the lights blink, but rarely.

[ July 30, 2003: Message edited by: dzldan ]