Commercial Project Spotlight:
Solar Smart Living

Solar Smart Living of El Paso, TX expertly installed this unique 5040 watt DC system on the south wall of the Cancer Treatment Institute West, currently under construction. The design concept aimed to make the array resemble a giant-sized “pause” button.

The visionary of the center, Dr. Teresa Reed is creating a prayer garden adjacent to the wall and wanted the array to symbolize “pause and reflect”. In addition, she is having the PV system incorporated into a renewable energy educational area for kids that includes solar hot water and wind spires. Solar Smart Living is also doing the LEED certification for the leading edge project, which features 7 solar thermal panels (in a system designed and installed by Smart Solar Living), a gray water system, a living roof, rainwater collection, and outdoor LED lighting.

The system consists of 24 SANYO 210s coupled with Enphase microinverters mounted on UNIRAC SunFrame racking. Two main factors determined the equipment selection: aesthetics and energy harvest. The array, being an art piece, needed a very clean look.

The SANYO modules with their black frame and 2:1 aspect ratio worked well in the design. Microinverters enabled the wiring and power conditioning to be hidden behind the modules. The SunFrame shared rail system was ideal, eliminating gaps and clamps while matching the module frames with its dark color. The SunFrame also had the strength for a vertical wall application. While El Paso receives about 6.72 average sun hours a day, the 900 tilt reduces the average sun hours to approximately 3.9. To compensate, Solar Smart used the SANYO/Enphase combination to maximize production (see Tech Tip below). The microinverters addressed a partial shading issue in the early morning and late afternoon from lamp poles.

The installation was completed by a four man crew in four days. First microinverters were pre-assembled onto the rail sections on the ground. Then, the crew used a scissor lift and ladders to mount the rail/inverter sections and modules.

“SunWize was able to provide everything we needed. When we had a minor problem, their responsiveness was great,” recounts Tony Reyes, Business Line Manager at Solar Smart Living.