SRCC (Solar Rating & Certification Corporation) & OG-100, OG-300
Dear Friends & Visitors/Viewers/Readers,
(please click on red links below)
Terrific! I was given another opportunity to edit/add to the wikipedia page (my karmic point for mankind)! This time it is on Solar Water Heating of the wikipedia. Under item 10 for Standards: United States is no longer absent ! More details will unfold below, thanks to Executive Director Eileen Prado and Assistant Technical Director Tomas Koenig.
Allow me to share with you an interview with Tomas Koenig, the Assistant Technical Director of SRCC (Solar Rating & Certification Corporation), on September 13, 2012, at Orange County Convention Center, during the SPI (Solar Power International) 2012, in Orlando, FL, below:
The SRCC established its certification and rating program for solar collectors in November, 1980, through a 1979 Department of Energy grant. There are currently two certification programs available at SRCC: OG-100 collector certification and OG-300 for system certification. The need for one national standard was recognized when Florida, California, the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) and SEIA all recognized that each of their individual solar collector and rating programs were not recognized nor accepted by the other. “This lack of reciprocity meant that solar equipment manufacturers had a maze of requirements to satisfy if they wanted to carry on an interstate or national marketing program. One centralized certification was desperately needed.” (Block, 2005) This quote and much of SRCC historical background were provided by Executive Director of SRCC Eileen Prado. Since 1980, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has made a very substantial technical and financial investment in the SRCC and the development of the standards. The full standard investment, benefit, and support of the DOE SHC (Solar Heating & Cooling) Program, the DOE National Laboratories, DOE collaborative universities and industry resources went into developing a single consensus OG-300 standard on behalf of SRCC. A national standard (OG-300) addresses concerns such as safety and health, durability and reliability, installation, performance, and operation and maintenance. A certified solar water heater carries the SRCC OG-300 label, and the system performance is listed in a published directory. A similar program has been established for Florida by FSEC (Florida Solar Energy Center). Both SRCC and FSEC provide collector testing and rating programs. So, the next question should be asked: are there significant difference between these two standards/programs or are they simply functioning as a check and balance for one another or perhaps there is some other reason I have not yet considered.
Some good points to remind consumers thinking of purchasing solar collectors: It is also a good idea to confirm if there is a warranty program (duration, what is covered,and what to do if the supplier goes out of business);make sure that installers are qualified by asking for references;do a thorough walk-through with the contractor upon completion of the installation;be sure that an owner’s manual with maintenance instructions is included as part of the package.
Some related articles:
OG-300 Certification of Solar Water Heating Systems
NREL(National Renewable Energy Laboratory), Dept of Energy, Information Services Program, EREC (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse), DOE/GO-10096-050 FS 119, March 1996
Solar Water Heating of wikipedia
Florida Solar Energy Center
OG-100 & OG-300 Participant Fee Schedule
Please feel free to visit http://sunisthefuture.net for more on solar energy.
Again, any of your comments, suggestions, questions, concerns are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
~have a bright and sunny day~
sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Homepage: http://www.sunisthefuture.net
Tags: Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Institute, ARI, Cocoa, Department of Energy, DOE, Eileen Prado, hot water heating, Is The Future, SEIA, solar, Solar Energy, Solar Rating Certification Corporation, SRCC, Sun, Sun Is The Future, sunisthefuture, sunisthefuture.net, susan sun nunamaker, Tomas Koenig
March 4th, 2013 at 12:08 PM
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