Acme Solar Site Evaluation Tool (ASSET) Cat. No. SWI-426020 Weight 10 lbs

$699.00

Wiley Electronics, LLC Acme Solar Site Evaluation Tool (ASSET) The ASSET is a new patent pending system for evaluating shading at a site. The ASSET consists of a precise positioning system, a digital camera and software allowing the user to efficiently analyze and document installation sites. The ASSET is easy to use: 1) Level the system 2) Align to south 3) Adjust tilt 4) Take seven pictures 5) Download pictures to computer and analyze The ASSET includes a bull's-eye type bubble level for leveling the positioning system. The compass is used to point the system towards the equator (south in the northern hemisphere) because the path of the sun appears in that portion of the sky. The compass has an inner ring which may be used to correct for local magnetic declination. The ASSET has a threaded hole forattachment of a standard 1/4-20 screw directly from a tripod, or from a hot shoe. Some tripods may contain magnetic pieces like steel screws, springs and pins. Such elements may cause compass errors. The panning head type tripods are the worst in this regard and have beenfound to cause errors up to 5 degrees. Ball head type tripods fabricated from aluminum are recommended. The ASSET is positioned to take a series of pictures. The software assembles the pictures into a panorama with the path of the sun superimposed. The suitability of a site can be seen at a glance. Since a complete survey can be done much quicker than with past methods, it is easy to optimize installations. The software also tabulates shading by month and combines with historical irradiance to give a shading factor for the year. The ASSET system ships field ready with a durable hard shell case. An enlarged view shows more clearly the details of the survey. Portions of the sun path which are shaded are highlighted in red. The month labels and hour labels allow one to visualize when the shading occurs. The ASSET comes packed in a foam-padded hard shell case. Parts list: • Camera to computer USB cable • Precision positioning assembly • Digital camera • CD Rom with software • Camera documentation • Optional: spare batteries