Ironridge racking system for 10 PV panels
By GET staff
The Sherwin Solar Store is a new solar installer in Essex Junction, Vermont. Or perhaps we should say it is “almost new.” The store’s background can be traced back seventy years, to the opening of Sherwin Electric Company, an organization that proclaims itself “a proud union contractor since 1943.”
Starting with plenty of experience with electricity gave the store a head start on the work it set out to do. For one thing, it meant a staff of professionals was already on-board. As a member of the USA Solar Store network, Sherwin was able to get support and experience from a large number of other installers and training. Moving into solar installations was a natural move.
1kW PV system installed to offset some of the cost of a pool pump running through the summer
Since the beginning of the summer of 2013, Sherwin Solar Store has made a series of interesting and very different installations, each with its own need for attention to design details.
One job was a 1kW system installed to offset some of the cost of a pool pump running through the summer. Four SolarWorld 250-watt panels were installed on the pool shed, with power going to an Enphase microinverter. The customer can track production online with the Enphase Enlighten communications system.
Another small system has a 1.5 kW array at an off-grid hunting camp. Six Suniva panels supply power to a small bank of four batteries, along with a Magnum Inverter-Charger.
A 2.25 kW system with battery backup was installed in Morrisville. The Suniva panels are tied with a Schneider/Xantrex XW inverter-charger, a Midnite Solar Charge controller, and eight Full River AGM batteries. The system is built to be expanded, with an oversized inverter, for future changes when the utility allows net metering. The system’s battery backup system required creating a critical-loads panel for the off-grid system.
4.5 kW grid-tied PV system in Craftsbury, installed in December.
Another example is a 4.5 kW grid-tied system in Craftsbury, installed in December. It has a Kaco Blueplanet inverter and Canadian Solar panels.
Sherwin Solar’s store manager, Danielle Bombardier, is working toward becoming NABCEP-certified and hopes to help make the store more accessible to the public. She wants to be able to meet a customer’s needs whether it is for design assistance, a purchase of material from a local store, installation assistance, or all three. The store has a pool of qualified electricians, and apprentices through the local IBEW’s apprenticeship program, which includes solar training.
The Sherwin Solar Store is located at 7A Morse Drive in Essex Junction, VT. Give Danielle a call at 802-316-6780.
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