Remote Mountain Lodge
The Adirondack Mountain Club retained SDA to improve the accommodations at a remote lodge in the Adirondacks, many miles from the utility grid in upstate New York. SDA engineered and installed PV and solar thermal energy systems to power the facility so it now offers overnight accommodations and cooked meals for up to 40 hikers. The PV system powers water purification equipment, pressure pumps, lighting, music and communication equipment. The solar thermal system provides hot water for the full-service kitchen and baths.

Oceanside Summer Residence
A New England businessman wanted to renovate an existing but badly neglected oceanside farmhouse on a peninsula of land many miles from the utility grid into a summer retreat. The resulting 4,500 sq. ft. luxury residence incorporates a three-story passive sunspace capped by a roof-top observation deck and is powered by a stand-alone PV power system. The system incorporates a roof-mounted array, a large battery bank and fully automatic controls to provide `all the comforts of home' including cellular telephone and data transmission.

Island Resort
A midwestern businessman wished to operate a luxury vacation retreat many miles from the utility grid on a remote, secluded cove in the Hawaiian Islands. The private resort incorporates 17,500 sq. ft. of space including full climate conditioning, refrigeration, lighting, reverse-osmosis water purification, dedicated micro-wave telephone and data service, a heated pool, a communications center, office facilities, a greenhouse and a ballroom.

SDA developed a hybrid energy system to power the complex which includes a large PV array, a 500 kWh battery bank, a 50 kWp sine-wave inverter and parallel interface equipment to operate the PV system in tandem with the on-site generators as necessary. The energy system includes a sophisticated control and diagnostic overlay which allows SDA engineers to monitor operation and performance on their office computer network.

Solar Resources in Hawaii
To encourage and prepare for the development of solar energy as a means toward energy independence, the Hawaii Department of Business and Economic Development wanted to expand on the solar resources blessed on the island state.

Working in collaboration with consultants in Hawaii and on the mainland, SDA provided a network of micro-processor-based solar data acquisition stations on Hawaii. The stations measure direct-normal and diffuse solar radiation and total global irradiance along with ambient temperature. Data is transmitted to the SDA office where it is stored for monthly interpolation. SDA specified, installed and operates the network. More...

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