Solar power farms and HV transmission lines...

[RolandSWL]

Hi all and happy new year.
We are still scouting areas in Maine for our forever home. When looking at Zillow or Realtor.com, I always look at the satellite view of the property of interest. In a few cases, there are HV transmission lines and or solar power farms within a thousand feet (or less) of a property. Is this a red flag for possible electrical noise? On our trips to an area of interest I always bring along a portable radio or use my car radio   tuned to a vacant A.M. frequency to check for noise.
Thanks, Roland........

[W1ITT]

I have a large solar farm about 1.5 miles from me that hasn't been a problem, either on Broadcast or HF.  I make it a point to listen on a vacant Broadcast frequency when I go by any new ones.  The ones to watch out for are the homeowner grid-tie setups.  Some of them have been pretty nasty across the HF spectrum and, of course , the installers aren't clued in to RFI.  There's an RFI Reflector associated with contesting.com that had quite a bit of discussion a year or so ago regarding home systems.  Evidently the FCC and ARRL have been in contact with the providers and they now know what to do.  But remediation can take time and, at our age, we may not want to waste a year or so while the process works itself out.  I think if I were looking for new real estate I'd take along an HF receiver or transceiver and a magnet mount and a couple HamStick type antennas tor local RF snooping.
The things to worry about are the ubiquitous Chinese grow-lights that the dopers use to grow their weed.  Here in Maine an adult is allowed about a dozen plants but it appears that not everyone counts very closely.   Not all of those folks are happy when told that their grow-lights are out of compliance with Part 15. 
And yes, taking a virtual flight with the aerial photo is wise from a number of standpoints.  Good luck with your quest.
73 de Norm  W1ITT

[KD1SH]

   Definitely, checking for noise yourself, with a receiver, is wise. I would suggest using, if possible, an all-band rig like an Icom IC-706, on several bands, including six meters. One would expect power-line noise to be "DC to daylight," but my experience has been that it can be surprisingly selective.
   A friend of mine recently moved to a location where his house is almost literally in the shadow of a line of 80 foot steel towers with cables carrying 345 KV. He scouted it out first with his mobile rig and was amazed to find it dead quiet.
   And, probably ten years ago now, a neighbor about a hundred yards down the road from my QTH put up a massive steerable solar array on a pedestal tower, and my first thought was, there goes my amateur radio activity, but no; it's dead quiet, also. Sometimes you just don't know.
   There's a lot of inertia in big government agencies, but it's good to hear that the FCC is finally starting to hold solar equipment manufacturers accountable. As far as those Chinese grow-lights, though, good luck with that. And, even though pot growing might be legal now in many states, tigers don't change their stripes; I'd be cautious about approaching those dopers about their noisy lights; they just might just let their nine-millimeters do their talking for them.

[W1RKW]

at the former QTH we were surrounded by HV transmission lines.  We were right in the V where they changed direction. At the point of the V was where the local nuclear power plant tied in. We never had a noise issue.  

Also have 2 neighbors about a 10th of a mile on each side that have grid-tie solar systems.  No issues from them either.

[RolandSWL]

Thank you for your replies.  I did tune around on the bands a bit and I could not find anything even close to the cacophony I've got going on where I now live. There is literally nowhere in this suburban town that is not noisy. I am aware of the r.f. noise generated by LED drivers as I have lots of those light fixtures right now. My other passion is orchid growing. Oh, and the quality-of-life here leaves much to be desired.
We can't wait to move.

[W1RKW]

any noise problem I have has been self inflicted with all the crappy electronic devices in existence. We unplug stuff or put stuff on timers when not used. It can be a  PITA for network type stuff waiting for it to boot up when you want to use something. But the plus is all that stuff and its few watts adds up on the electric bill. I have some devices on timers to turn off when we're asleep. And use ferrites where needed too.

[K3ZS]

Check in different weather conditions.  My area is very low noise unless it is very dry and windy.  It ruins 10 to 20 meter bands.  No effect on 80 and 40.  It is from a power line connection about a 300 yards away.

[Tom W2ILA]

This is a tough one because around here any open land is now being scouted for either “affordable” housing or solar farms.  So a few years ago we would look for places in less densely populated areas but now densification is a goal in our state so watch out for potential cluster housing and the RFI it brings.  While I don’t have info on solar transmission lines, the new offshore wind farm lines have become a noise source.

[W1ITT]

Roland...  You mentioned orchids.  A friend of mine is an orchid aficionado and I got her going on Wollastonite (soluble silicon) organically certified  mineral soil additive. It was a quantum leap for her.  More blossoms and they last longer.   I use it out on my vegetable garden and the corn doesn't fall over and things grow better.  Cell walls need silicon.  Get it at Fedco Seeds out of Clinton Maine.  Just a pinch in the water every so often.  Good on grass too but  it just means you have to mow more often.
73 de Norm W1ITT

[RolandSWL]

This is one property of interest:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/287+Eaton+Mountain+Rd,+Skowhegan,+ME+04976/@44.7573057,-69.6345439,2013m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x4cb1c48e1d294037:0xc57a090642bb250b!8m2!3d44.7581057!4d-69.6303382!16s%2Fg%2F11c5mxyjp7!5m1!1e8?authuser=0&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

I hadn't considered the possibility of future housing expansion projects. I thought that moving to a rural area would mean lots of elbow room from the neighbors. Maybe, maybe not.
If that link is good, you will see the solar farm and the H.T. lines to the west.
I will have to try the silicon supplement on the orchids. Thanks for the info.

[W1OAT]

I’m no expert, but as I understand it, RFI from a solar array is generated by the type of inverter that is used. There are pure sine wave inverters that produce little or no RFI, but they are expensive. The cheaper inverters used by most home installation companies are micro step inverters that mimic a sine wave by switching on and off many many times in one cycle, to form the alternating current. It’s this switching and the many harmonics that cause the RFI. The problem is there is no regulation pertaining to this type of pollution so the problem keeps getting worse . You can install your own PV system and not be affected by RFI, you just need to buy the right equipment.

[Opcom]

May as well throw this out too, on 'consumer' home-based PV installations.

When Chuck in a truck a typical PV installer contractor installs entire systems, there can be honest mistakes, deviations from design, and slap-dash work, which can all cause interference, yet the PV system will supply electricity as intended for the owner.

[w9jsw]

I have been studying this a lot for a new installation I will be making. There is virtually no information on RFI with respect to install, regardless of how to install to avoid it or how to correct it if encountered. A total crap-shoot.

[Opcom]

I hope it goes well.

[KD6VXI]

I have been studying this a lot for a new installation I will be making. There is virtually no information on RFI with respect to install, regardless of how to install to avoid it or how to correct it if encountered. A total crap-shoot.

This is not true.

The rfi mailing list on contesting.com has a plethora of data available.

There was an article in qtz a couple years ago.

I have put up quite a bit of information from the systems I've installed over the years.

The rfi handbook by Jim Brown goes into what needs to be done.

Each install is different and as such the mitigation factors will be different as well.

Ferrite and proper bonding techniques are what is needed.  Proper conduit selection (length) matters.  Having a conduit that is an electrical quarter wave long at say 40 meters will act as a choke for any noise and prevent it from being brought down to the ground rod.  Same as a sleeve balance.

A simple string inverter system takes different remediation measures than a micro inverter or a optimized system.

--Shane
WP2ASS / ex KD6VXI

[w9jsw]

Shane,

My comment is based on the POV of looking at what the manufacturers provide in the way of installation notes and best practices. Nothing official about RFI mitigation provided in any of the documentation from them. I don't know if installers are given different information or provided training with respect to RFI mitigation. I have been looking at both high frequency and low frequency inverters from name brand manufacturers. Zero RFI data. Not testing data at all. The average installer in my neck of the woods would not have any clue to go to the sources you name.

I am building a whole house UPS for my new place. Very little solar planned if any. Basically, a brownout/blackout solution.

Thanks for posting those other sources, I will dig into them. My understanding thus far is that most of the noise comes from the MPPT solar side. Will investigate further.

Is your documentation available? I need recommendations on brands and technology. Victron LF, EG4 HF, Schneider, etc. Brands to avoid. Target is a 48V split phase 120/240 in 3000W per phase range.

73,
John