This is the first and only UL-listed, 120-volt, plug-and-play solar kit in the world, according to SpinRay Energy. The DeckPower120 comes with one, 240-watt solar panel and can be hung on a deck or elsewhere outdoors using a simple mount bracket. The system allows for up to 1,300 watts of AC power with five solar panels and should qualify for available federal (and sometimes state) tax credits.
Upon installation and plugging into a standard 120-volt outlet (with a continuous use cover), the DeckPower120 starts producing energy for your home.
Of course, safety is a critical point of discussion when it comes to these DIY-type systems. SpinRay Energy’s DeckPower120 has UL-listed solar monocrystalline panels and microinverters. If there’s a loss of power from the utility, the inverter will immediately cease any backfeeding for the safety of line workers.
The DeckPower120 solar appliance is currently sold on Amazon.com for $1,099 and the reviews have been positive from what I’ve seen so far. What do you think?
[+] More about solar products by SpinRay Energy.
Credits: SpinRay Energy; noticed at CNET.
Seriously?
Panels you can buy anywhere.
Inverters available everywhere.
A simple cheap bracket and a 240VAC plug that can connect to the inverters and it becomes an “appliance”?
Save your money and find the bests values inverters, panels, and brackets you can find.
Also the final installation probably violates the NEC and is NOT UL approved.
OK, give the guy a break, at least he is doing
something and the cost is not bad. I do agree that I would not want
any idiot going out and hanging one of these on his deck and plugging
it in, just from a weather/wind standpoint. The inverter lockout
probably is UL listed but remember it does not have to be UL listed,
only approved by a certified electrical inspector, according the the
NEC ! I would suggest that anyone planning on getting one of these
units would get the proper building
permits and have it inspected. I would probably have a dedicated line
to the service entrance. Jim Lang, MaybeeWind.com
Price isn’t bad?
“240 Watt Mono 240-Volt 60-Hz AC $849.00”
1 panel, 1 inverter.
Random Google search:
http://www.ecodirect.com/Enphase-M210-s/292.htm
http://www.ecodirect.com/Astronergy-CHSM-6610P-240-240W-29V-Solar-Panel-p/astronergy-chsm-6610p-240.htm
Inverter 190, panel 350 = $540
Overpriced panels and inverters, to be installed on ridiculously expensive frames, with an extension cord, in a setup that probably isn’t legal.
And what is gained even if the setup were legal with the inverters and extension cord adapter? Still need the dedicated circuit and a NEC certified outdoor 240 VAC plug.
Thanks for the informative reply, cost
and benefit are an important relationship. I really hate to promote
someone else’s product, but since you did the math on the raw price,
$550 and change, what do you think the guy should get for his time
and trouble. He has to import or receive the product, build the
frame, and package the product and ship. Yes it is small, yes it is
rather underwhelming but to a lot of people that just want to make a
statement and go green it is inexpensive. ever bought a season pass
to golf, if so why? At the end of the year you have nothing, at least
with this project you have a solar panel that should last the next
four years. Expensive yes; I am still waiting for the market to hit
under a dollar per watt retail. They are able to manufacture them for
about 75 cents a watt so there is at least a 50 percent markup before
they get to the consumer. As a businessman, I would not do it unless
I could come close to doubling my investment, would you? Not trying
to start an ongoing lengthly discussion but have you ever
imported/received anything, put together a company, invested capital
with no guarantee that it will work? The more people that put
together these kits and experiment on packaging the sooner we will
get a good reliable and reasonably priced product on the market.
This product is not UL Listed.
Sounds too good to be true! Please show the UL listed label on your next video. After reviewing the video posts it’s very clear one might want to get the highest liability insurance on the open market if you are installing one of these systems on your home or somebody else’s.
The outlet pictured in the first video was GFCI, which I might add was not properly install on the roof/ deck. This is not a back-feed type outlet and if it was where was the label identifying it? Second what type of wire was that feeding the GFCI in the outlet, kinda looked like an black old extension cord wire feeding it from the electrical panel— question is the breaker a back feed type breaker/ disconnect? Third how was this PV system labeled to protect utility line works? If one of those micro inverters fails under heat gains or they just fail in general how can you be sure there will not be a potential back feed to the utility? Again where are the warning labels at the source of generation and at the electric service disconnect.
This is why we need code enforcement to protect people from themselves and from starting a fire or killing someone next door to your home…
NEC (NFPA 70) Code violations to list a few—trust me there is more but I
lost interest in finding them all.
(Articles 690.9, 690.10(C), 690.56, 690.64(B)(5), plus many more…
Regards, Scott