HETL (Willy Bennett) presented an orientation study to the solar industry technical advisory group on August 31st. It recommends a revised orientation de-rating chart for solar water heating in Hawaii. If accepted, this will result in less tilting of panels on roofs that do not face due south.

This announcement was placed in the Honolulu Advertiser yesterday and in the Maui News today:

Maui Community College is requesting proposals from industry and other organizations for testing of solar systems or components at its Hawaii Energy Test Lab (HETL) for a service fee.

The Hawaii Energy Test Laboratory (HETL) solar thermal lab has three 80 gallon solar water heating systems set up at Maui Community College in Kahului, Maui, Hawaii. Interns use computerized instrumentation to measure temperatures, current, flow rates, and solar energy. A usage simulator is used to control hot water release and to simulate a user turning on the backup heater when needed. The system allows comparisons to be made between the three solar systems, which can be configured differently. The lab also has equipment and protocols to troubleshoot problems with systems in the field. The solar electric/PV lab has a small array and a grid tie inverter with battery backup, monitored by a computer. There is a classroom adjacent to the labs. Results of tests performed to date are available at the HETL website:

http://www.hawaiirdp.org/hetl

Contact the director William Bennett at wbennett@hawaii.edu or 808-283-0404 for more information.

We are testing updates to the solar water heating lab in preparation for announcing the availability of the lab for the use of outside organizations. The modifications should lead to increased accuracy by being to trade collectors between two different tanks.

Willy Bennett presented a paper at the Solar 2007 Conference.

After years of faithful service we have taken down our Air X Marine turbine as it stopped putting out a charge. The interns dissasembled it and we are replacing the bearings and cleaning the contacts. Hopefully we can get it working with a few simple fixes. Otherwise we will salvage another turbine for parts and get it back up there generating free energy from the strong trade winds.

Lots of exciting things are happening here at the lab. Right now we increasing the percentage of accuracy from 2.6% to 1%. This will open up a lot more options for monitoring and testing panels. In this change we are adding controls to switch between the tanks and panels we have as to do rigorous studies.

Currently we are working with the Maui Community College administration to reduce the energy load and the electric bill for the campus. The energy management system will be configured as to give us the best use of the power we are drawing without the waste. For lighting there are plans to retrofit all the existing lights to more efficient T8 flourescent tubes and to replace the exit signs with efficient LED signs.

We are really putting the pedal to the metal so to speak.

A new class for homeowners wanting to maintain their solar systems on their homes will be offered Monday August 13, 2007 from 5:30-7:30 at Maui Community College in Laulima building. There will be a fee for the class. Call 984-3231 to register or online at www.ocet.org

Our 4th Advisory Group meeting will be held Friday, September 22nd from 9:00-10:30AM HST, or 3:00-4:30PM Eastern Standard Time. For information on the Maui meeting location, conference call number and instructions, agenda, and presentation, please visit the Advisory Group section of our website.