Plug-and-Play Solar Array

For eco-conscious homeowners who have considered a solar system for their rooftops but have found the cost and complexity daunting, Clarian Power thinks it has an idea.

The Seattle-based clean tech start-up is developing a “plug-and-play” solar appliance called the Sunfish that will generate clean solar electricity for the home. “You bring it home and plug it in, just like a refrigerator, and it will cost about the same,” said the company’s president, Chad Maglaque.

Today’s typical roof-mounted solar power systems start at $10,000 and go up from there depending on the amount of electricity generated and the home’s location. The bigger and more expensive systems can meet most of a house’s energy needs and even put electricity back on the utility grid, essentially turning the meter backwards.

A contractor usually installs the solar power system and turns it over to the homeowner in ready-to-use condition. An electrician will connect the system to the home’s electric panel through an inverter, a device that converts the DC power generated by the solar panels to the AC power used by lights and appliances.

Clarian is hoping to simplify this process through the use of its patented micro-inverter, which does not require a dedicated panel or circuit. In fact, they say that a handy homeowner can set up Sunfish in less than hour without the need for a contractor or electrician.

The company expects to retail a starter kit with one solar panel for $799. The system can handle up to five solar panels with the purchase of add-on kits, which would bring the retail price to $3,000 to $4,000.

Plug the Clarian micro-inverter, which they call the “power module,” into any electric socket in your house, typically an outdoor outlet. Connect up to five solar panels to the power module. The panels can be mounted anywhere on the house with the best sun exposure. Finally, plug in the kit’s circuit monitor into any outlet, and Sunfish will start feeding solar-generated power directly into the home’s electrical system.

Sunfish will be Wi-Fi-enabled so the homeowner can monitor the system performance using desktop software like Google’s PowerMeter. As a safety feature, the circuit monitor will shut the system off if the utility grid power goes down.

Clarian does not expect the Sunfish to satisfy all power needs for the average home, which the federal Energy Information Administration estimates at 920 kilowatt hours per month. The largest Sunfish kit, with five solar panels, will produce 150 kilowatt hours per month, according to Clarian’s estimates.

Still, with a starting price of $799, Mr. Maglaque hopes to hit a sweet spot where a homeowner’s desire to reduce home energy bills will match his or her budget. “This is about slowing the meter down and having an impact,” he said, “not getting the meter to run backwards, because if that’s your goal it’s going to cost you $30,000 to $40,000, which not many people can afford.”

Whether Clarian’s Sunfish catches on or not, industry watchers like Dave Cavanaugh, a senior analyst with Pike Research, applaud the effort. Innovations aimed at reducing home energy use will play their part, he believes, as the United States upgrades its antiquated energy grid system to the so-called smart grid.

“Products like this are a good first step to get people to use less energy from the grid and begin thinking about how they can use energy more efficiently,” he said.

Before the product can reach the market, however, the Sunfish components must go through Underwriters Laboratories testing to certify they are safe for home use, a process that Mr. Maglaque admits is not trivial.

If all goes well, Clarian expects to have the Sunfish on the market by the spring of 2011. Large retailers like Costco and Lowe’s have already expressed interest, he said, as have some electric utilities in the Northwest. He hopes the utilities will promote the product to homeowners as they do Energy Star appliances, compact fluorescent bulbs and other conservation measures.

In the meantime, the tech community has taken notice. The Sunfish was a semifinalist for the Pacific Northwest region of the Cleantech Open, a business competition in which regional winners move on to compete for grant money in a national contest.

The Sunfish is also among the top vote getters in the General Electric Ecomagination challenge, another competition for financing that kicked off last month.

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