GOVERNMENT SOLAR TAX INCENTIVE PROGRAM
If you own a home and purchase a solar powered/charged USAutomatic Gate Operator manufactured by USAutomatic, LTD. after December 31, 2008, you may receive a 30% tax credit. This tax credit is available for the installed cost of your solar gate operator on your Federal tax return.
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Solar Charged Gate Operator Information
The system design and the accessories recommended are all Solar Friendly meaning that they require the least amount of energy possible to perform the job they were designed to do. The solar option allows you to install the gate operator in remote areas or in applications where you prefer to be solar charged. Solar charging does provide isolation from lightning that might damage the unit via the AC power needed for the transformer.
Understanding AC Charged System
USAutomatic AC charged gate operators come with a low voltage transformer which plugs into the charge controller and can easily provide 575 cycles of operation a day without decreasing the battery charge. In the event AC power goes out the operator will operate for weeks on the battery (if cycles per day are below 20) before needing service. Again, accessories connected to the opener are critical. Always use Solar Friendly accessories to help avoid premature battery failure in cases of power outages.
Understanding Solar Charged System
USAutomatic solar charged gate operators are designed to provide enough cycles a day for most installations without needing more than one solar panel. Care must be taken to ensure the solar panel has full sun throughout the day; partial sun will give partial results. If no sun is present then a solar system is not practical no matter how many panels might be installed. Solar Panel must be kept clean and in full sunlight.
The design of the system must pay particular attention to any accessories that might be added, use onlySolar Friendly accessories to help avoid premature battery failure. For a complete list of accessories please visit Accessories page.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) have updated the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB).
The 1991–2005 NSRDB contains hourly solar radiation (including global, direct, and diffuse) and meteorological data for 1,454 stations. This update builds on the 1961–1990 NSRDB, which contains data for 239 stations. The update includes the conventional time series for NSRDB ground stations as well as a one-tenth-degree gridded data set that contains hourly solar records for 8 years (1998–2005) for the United States.
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Region 1 covers the area of the country receiving the least amount of solar radiation. On average, the amount of charge time is 1.5 hours in region 1 and 3 hours in region 2 and 5 hours in region 3.
These are conservative numbers and the Patriot opener should have no problem performing as stated in the chart above. See Region Map above to determine cycles that can be expected. These numbers are based on a basic system and adding solar friendly accessories will not have any great affect on the numbers stated.
GATE CYCLES PER DAY SOLAR CHARGED SYSTEM (OPTIONAL SOLAR KIT)
Solar charged systems should not exceed the cycles listed in the chart above. These numbers are based on a single 6 watt solar panel installation. Use the Region Map to determine area of the country in which you live to determine cycles that can be expected. If additional panels are installed additional cycles will be available.