Product Overview
A SunWize hybrid system is the answer when a site’s load is too large for its available sunlight — a high-power telecom site, or a low-insolation or heavily shaded location — where a solar-only build would need an impractically large array and battery. Solar still carries the bulk of the energy, and a secondary source covers the rest — a fuel cell (methanol or propane), a propane or diesel engine generator, a wind turbine, or a thermoelectric generator — that the controller starts and manages automatically on battery state of charge. The design target is a secondary source that runs a small fraction of the time while the array and battery do most of the work. Choose hybrid when the load is large relative to the sun; for a load the sun alone can carry, the off-grid Power Ready and Power Station systems are sized for that.
Other SunWize systems
Power Ready (custom off-grid) — sun-only systems sized to your exact load & site
Power Station (skid-mounted) — larger off-grid skid systems, forklift / crane-set
Power Online (grid backup) — battery backup for grid-connected sites
System Components & Options — modules, batteries, controllers, mounts & enclosures
Key Features & Benefits
- Solar does the work; the secondary source fills the gap — the array and battery carry most of the annual energy, and the secondary source covers only the shortfall, so fuel and service trips stay low. The economics of solar with the reliability of a fuelled backstop.
- Secondary source starts itself on battery state of charge — control software watches the battery and brings the fuel cell or generator on at a set discharge level, then shuts it down once the battery recovers — no site visit to switch sources. Automatic source transfer keeps an unattended site running through a long sunless stretch.
- Sized against your worst sun-month, not the annual average — the array and battery are engineered together against the lowest-insolation month at your site (December in the Northeast) plus a no-sun reserve, so the system carries the load year-round rather than running short in mid-winter. Reliability is a sizing decision, made before anything ships.
- Sized for the high-power loads solar-only can’t reach — hybrid is what lets a remote site run a telecom radio, repeater, or microwave link — loads that would otherwise demand an unbuildable array. The architecture for the watts solar alone won’t carry at that site.
- One engineered, integrated package — not a parts list — array, charge controller, battery bank, disconnect, enclosure, and mounting arrive matched and documented as a system, so the site team installs and energizes rather than designs. Buy a system that is already specified to work together, not a box of parts to reconcile.
Specifications
- System type / role
- Hybrid off-grid power — a solar array and battery carry the bulk of the energy, and a secondary source (fuel cell, engine generator, wind turbine, or thermoelectric generator) automatically covers the shortfall on low-sun or high-load sites.
- Power / load range
- Typically 500 W to 5,000 W or more — the high-power band where a solar-only array would be impractically large. (The master line description cites 800 W–5 kW for telecom hybrids.)
- System voltage
- Configured to the load — 12 / 24 / 48 V DC, with AC available through an inverter, per the off-grid system architecture.
- PV array
- Sized to carry the majority of the annual energy (the design target is a generator that runs a small fraction of the time while contributing the remainder); the array wattage follows the worst-month sizing for the site.
- Charge controller
- PWM or MPPT, selected by array-to-battery voltage gap and system size (MPPT favored on larger arrays and in cold weather).
- Battery & autonomy
- Deep-cycle bank (AGM or LFP); capacity is set for both no-sun reserve and clean cycling of the secondary source.
- Secondary energy source
- A fuel cell (methanol — e.g. the EFOY Pro 2800, 125 W, fully automatic — or propane), a propane or diesel engine generator, a wind turbine, or a thermoelectric generator, started and managed automatically by control software at a set battery state of charge. The target is a secondary source that runs a small fraction of the time while the array and battery contribute the majority of the annual energy.
- Enclosure
- Weatherproof system enclosure for the battery and electronics; sealed Class I Division 2 enclosures available for classified sites.
- Mounting
- Pole, ground, or skid mounting per the site; galvanized hardware (stainless for coastal / chloride environments), engineered for local wind and snow load.
- Hazardous-location capability
- Class I, Division 2 capable — C1D2-rated solar module (445 W) and sealed enclosures for oil & gas, pipeline, and classified telecom sites.
- Environment & site
- Engineered for unattended remote service across the full Northeast & Mid-Atlantic insolation, including winter; remote cellular telemetry of battery state can be built in.
- Pricing
- Quote-only — a complete engineered hybrid system is sized per application (load, site, secondary source, and refuelling interval).
- Fulfillment & lead time
- Authorized distributor — Prater Technical is the vendor of record; factory drop-ship with optional Prater kitting. Engineered build; lead time runs into weeks.
Common Applications
- Telecom site power — BTS, repeater, and microwave links at remote, off-grid cell and backhaul sites
- High-power monitoring and control loads at low-insolation or heavily shaded sites where solar-only would need an unbuildable array
- Remote sites that must stay up through a week or more of sunless weather, where the fuelled source guarantees continuity
- Pipeline, gas-transmission, and environmental installations whose load outgrows a practical PV-only system
Fit guide: hybrid earns its added complexity when the load is large relative to the site’s sun — typically the high-power telecom band. If the sun can carry the load on its own, a solar-only Power Ready or Power Station is simpler and needs no fuel; if the load is small, a compact off-grid system or PVK kit fits. Use the input form to tell us the continuous wattage and the site, and we’ll say whether hybrid is warranted.
Design & Selection Considerations
- Pick the secondary source by site logistics, not just power — a fuel cell runs clean and quiet and needs only periodic fuel swaps; a propane or diesel generator delivers more power but wants fuel delivery and more maintenance; a wind turbine or thermoelectric generator suits sites whose resource or duty fits them. The deciding question is how often someone can reach the site to service it. Match the source to the site visit you can actually sustain, then size the fuel to the interval.
- Set the solar fraction against the site’s sun and the visit budget — more solar means less generator run-time and fuel, but a larger array and battery up front; less solar means a smaller PV cost but more fuelling. The right split is an economic optimum between capital, fuel, and how reachable the site is. Use the input form to give us the load, the site’s insolation, and your service interval, and the fraction falls out of the numbers.
- Size the battery so the generator cycles, not chatters — too small a battery makes the secondary source start and stop constantly, which wears it and burns fuel inefficiently; the battery is sized so each generator run is a meaningful recharge. Autonomy here is tuned for clean source cycling, not just no-sun reserve.
- Telecom loads are continuous — rate the system to the radio, not the average — a BTS, repeater, or microwave load runs around the clock, so the hybrid is sized to a continuous duty figure rather than a duty-cycled one. Use the input form to give us the radio’s continuous draw; that, not a daytime peak, drives the design.
To scope the right SunWize hybrid system:
Use the input form to send the load profile and we’ll scope the system to it. The most useful inputs are: the load in watt-hours per day (or the continuous wattage and duty cycle), the site location (which sets the available sun), the autonomy you need (2, 5, or 7 days of no-sun reserve, judged by how critical the load is), the system voltage (12 / 24 / 48 V DC, or AC via inverter), the environment and any area classification (Class I Division 2?), and the mounting the site allows (pole, ground, roof, or skid). With those, Prater Technical returns a system sized to carry your load through the worst month the site will see.
Remote Solar Power Application Sheet ›Talk to an engineer directly — Scott Prater, Principal · 917-580-0878 · scott@pratertechnical.com
Specifications compiled by Prater Technical Partners from SunWize Technologies published product literature.