hiq solar - 20 common mistakes installing pv systems...
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20CommonMistakesInstallingPVSystems21December2015,v1.1IntroductionEventhemostexperiencedprofessionalsmakemistakes,andPVsystemspresentmanyopportunitiesforerrors.Inthispaperwelistsomeofthemorecommonissueswe’veseenorheardaboutoftenenoughtobeworthmentioning.Ourintentionistobebrandagnosticbutwherewecouldn’tresisttheurgetoputinourownpropagandaitsinitalics.Enjoy!
ContentsInverterPhysicalMounting.............................................................................................................2
1. NotLeavingEnoughRoomAroundInverters......................................................................22. MountinginDirectSunlight................................................................................................2
DC-SideElectrical............................................................................................................................23. StringsAren’tConnected....................................................................................................24. StringWiresReversed.........................................................................................................35. SwappedStrings..................................................................................................................36. PoorQualityCrimping.........................................................................................................47. ConnectorsNotLatched......................................................................................................48. ConnectorsExposedtoMoistureWhileOpen....................................................................49. ExcessivelyHighResistanceonDCSide...............................................................................410. NotAccountingforDifferentialThermalExpansion..........................................................411. WiresNotLongEnough.....................................................................................................512. InsulationColdFlow..........................................................................................................5
AC-SideElectrical............................................................................................................................513. ProblemswithGrounding.................................................................................................514. PhaseWiringIssues...........................................................................................................515. PhasePowerImbalance....................................................................................................616. IssueswithExternalVoltageTranslationTransformers....................................................617. HighResistance.................................................................................................................618. BreakerIssues...................................................................................................................619. ProblemswithTerminations.............................................................................................7
Communications.............................................................................................................................720. CustomerInternetConnections........................................................................................7
Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................7
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InverterPhysicalMounting
1. NotLeavingEnoughRoomAroundInvertersTheenemyherecanbethedesiretohaveeverythinglookingneatinsuchawaythatthereisnotenoughroomaroundtheinvertertoallowittobeaccessedorremovedbyaservicetech.Alternativelyitcanbenotbeingawareofminimumspacingofinvertersthatneedaircirculationoraccesstochangeairfilters.Ifthereareminimumspacingsforaparticularinvertertheywillbespecifiedintheinstallationmanual.
2. MountinginDirectSunlightMostinvertersareratedforoutdooruse.However,mountingstringinvertersonasouth-facingorwestfacingwallisacommonpracticewithpossiblenegativeconsequences.Mostinvertershaveawideoperatingtemperaturerange,butwillde-rateastheyexceedaparticulartemperature–sotheimpactislikelytobeonenergyharvest.Inaddition,manyhavefans,displaysetc.thatwilldegradeovertimewithtemperatureand/orUVexposure,requiringvisitsforrepairorreplacement.Overallit’srecommendedtomountinvertersinashadedlocationifpossible.TrueString™invertersaresealed,havenodisplays,nofansorairfiltersandcanbemountedunderthearray.Otherthanthenormalpowerde-ratingathightemperatureourinverterscanbemountedanywhere.
DC-SideElectrical
3. StringsAren’tConnectedThiscanbeverydifficulttodetectanddiagnosewithlargestringandcentralinverters,butthiserrorisverycommon.EasytoseewiththeTrueStringinverters.Forexample,Figure1showsagraphcomparinginverteroutputsforanarray(a);thelowestperformer(#2766)iseasytoidentify(b).Lookingattheperformancesummaryforthatspecificinverteritisobviousthatonestring(String1)istheculprit(c).
Figure1:Identifyingthelowestperforminginverterinanarray
(a)#
(b)#
(c)#
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4. StringWiresReversedVerycommonwherecustomjumpersareused,canevenhavesamegenderconnectorsoneachend.Inadditiontothestringnotproducingpower,itispossiblethatthiscandamagetheinverter.Errorslikethisarelesslikelyifwiringisclearlyidentified,suchasintheinstallationofFigure2below.
Figure2:Clearlyidentifiedstringpolaritiesmakemiswiringharder
5. SwappedStringsThisislesscommon,butwehaveseenit–plusandminuswiresofunrelatedstringsconnectedtoeachinput.Forlargestringinverterswithmanystringsbundledtogetheritcanevenbeeachsideofastringconnectedtodifferentinverters.Aswiththepreviouspoint,clearlabelingateachendofwiringrunsisusuallyworththetime.Withindividualstringmonitoringandtwoseparateinputsonly,itiseasiertoseeontheTrueStringinverterthanwithlargestringinverterswithmanystringswiredinparallel.
Figure3:Connectingwiresfromunrelatedstrings
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ForinvertersthatusetwoormorestringsinparallelperDCinput,itisalsopossibletoaccidentallyconnectthestringsinseriesinsteadofparallel.Thisoftendamagestheinverter.
6. PoorQualityCrimpingUseofthewrongtooltocrimpconnectorscancauseoverheatingofterminals,opencircuitsandburningofconnectors.Useofthewrongtoolisverycommon,butuseofacrimperotherthanthatspecifiedbytheconnectormanufacturerwillviolatecode.
7. ConnectorsNotLatchedAnobviousone,butdifficulttoseevisually.Iftheconnectionisnotmadeitcanbeeasytoseewithgoodmonitoring;themoredangeroussituationiswherethecenterconductorsarenotfullymatedandovertimestarttoarc.
8. ConnectorsExposedtoMoistureWhileOpenThisappliestomodules,homerunsandinverters.Theprojectispartiallyfinishedthendelayed,thenarainstormcomesthrough,itsnowsorwhatever.Homerunshavetheconnectorscrimpedbutnotmatedtogether,andmoisturewicksintothewirejacketandthiscausescorrosionandperformanceandreliabilityissueslongaftertheinstallisover.ThepictureshowsaHiQTrueStringinverterintheprocessofbeinginstalled.Theinvertershipswithcapsonallconnectorstoprotectthemfrommoistureingressduringinstallation.
9. ExcessivelyHighResistanceonDCSideDamageormanufacturingdefectsinmodulessuchasbubblinginathin-filmmodulecancausehighresistancetooccur;thevoltageseemsokuntiltheinverterthetriestodrawpowerfromthemodule,thenthevoltagecollapsesandtheinvertershutsoff.Theinvertertriestorestartandthecyclerepeats.
10. NotAccountingforDifferentialThermalExpansionInthepursuitofaprofessionalandneatlookinginstall,stringwiringispulledtightandzip-tiedtotheracking,butwithoutanythermalexpansionmargin.Hotterdaysandcoldernightscombinedwiththefactthatthethermalexpansionofcopperis2xthatofaluminumrackingcanleadto:
i) Connectorpinsbeingpulledoutofsocketsleadingtodisconnectionand/orarcing
ii) Wirecrimpsbeingpulledapartiii) Strainreliefsbeingbrokeniv) Abrasionofinsulationrepeatedlyovertimeleadingtoshortingandpossiblefire
(Bakersfieldfire,forexample)
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Thelongerthewiringrun,thebiggertheeffect.
11. WiresNotLongEnoughSimilarly,cuttingwirestotheexactlengthtoreachtheinvertercanbeaproblem.Firstly,itcostsflexibilityforlaterintheinstallwhenitisdiscoveredthatanystringmiswiringissueshaveoccurred,andthereisn’tenoughsparelengthtoswapthewirestothecorrectterminals.Itcanalsobeaproblemlaterwhentheservicetechhastoswapaninverterouttoadifferentdesign.TheNECrequiresa‘ServiceLoop’ofbetweenhalfandoneturnofwireinsideajunctionboxpreciselyforserviceabilitylater.
12. InsulationColdFlowWherewiresaretightlyandneatlysecuredtoamoduleframeorrackingmemberpassoverasharpcorner,overaperiodofmonthsoryearsthepressureofthecorneragainsttheinsulationcancausetheinsulationtoflowawayfromthepressureuntiltheconductorshortsagainstthemetalframe.
AC-SideElectrical
13. ProblemswithGroundingManyissuesarepossiblehere,rangingfromcodeviolationstosignificantsafetyissues.MostinstallationsrequiretheDCsidetobeungroundednowthatnon-isolated(TL)invertersarecommon,whichsimplifiesthings.Afewlessobviousones:
• Groundingusingdissimilarmetals–canbemetalswithverydifferentgalvanicvalues1suchasbarecopperwirestouchingaluminumframes;canbemetalswithsimilar(butnotidentical)galvanicvaluessuchascopperandtinplustheadditionofcoastalmoisturewithsaltoveralongerperiod.Theresultisobviouslycorrosion.Inthecaseofcoastalconditions,coatingwithdielectricgreaseismessybuteffective
• Paintedenclosurescaneitherbegroundedtorackingetc.withfastenerslistedas‘paintcutting’,orthepaintmustbeclearedoffthegroundingpointduringinstallation
14. PhaseWiringIssues
APhaseNotConnectedUsuallyrelativelyeasytodetect.
NeutralConnectedtoHotPhaseAgain,usuallyrelativelyeasytodetect.
TwoHotPhasesConnectedtoOneSeepicture,twophasesoftheinverteroutputmightaccidentallyconnecttothesamegridphase.Commonlyleadstoaninverterfault.
1http://inspectapedia.com/BestPractices/Galvanic_Scale_Corrosion.php
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15. PhasePowerImbalanceCanbeadesignissue,oranelectricianissue.Withamaximumimbalanceallowedof6kW,thiscanbeanissueincommercialinstallsparticularlywithsingle-phaseinverters.Obviouslyaninherently3-phaseinvertersuchasourTrueStringdoesnothavethisissue.
16. IssueswithExternalVoltageTranslationTransformersThelackofcost-effective208Vinvertersuntilrecentlyhasmeanttheuseoftransformers.Somepossibleissues:
• Neutralnotcarriedthroughthetransformer.Ifcommunicationsbetweeninverterandgatewayisoverpowerline,thiscaninhibitthemtalkingifthegatewayisontheothersideofthetransformer
• Transformershaveparasiticlosses24hoursaday,soitiscommontodisconnectthemovernight,controlledbyatimer.Ifpowertothetimerisinterruptedthearraycanhaveproductivehourswastedformonthsoryearsifnobodynoticesthatthetimeisoffset.
17. HighResistanceGridvoltagemeasuresokuntilpowerisexportedfromtheinverter–becauseofthehighresistancethevoltagethenrises,andcancauseovervoltagetrippingoftheinverter.Thepictureshowsonephaseofa3-phasebreakernottorqueddownproperly,whichresultedinahighresistanceandovervoltagetrippingoftheinverter.
18. BreakerIssuesInadditiontotheexampleabove,breakerscanfailinalotofwaysontheirown,althoughthisismorecommoninoldersystems–theycanfailopenorclosed,orjustonephasecanfailopenorclosedwhenthehandleindicatesallthreephasesareclosedorviceversa.Verydangerous,alwaysde-energizeandtest,testagainbeforetouching–don’ttrustthelabelonthehandle.Ofcoursethereisalsoselectingtherightbreakerinthefirstplace–sizingit,physicalformfactorforthepanelboard,havingtherightinterruptionratingwhichissomethingthatdoesn’t
Shutdown)
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comeupuntilit’scalledupontostopthebuildingcatchingonfire.TheOCPDInterruptRatingmustbesizedtobethesameorgreaterthantheshortcircuitcurrentcapabilityoftheutilityconnection.Thencoordinatingwiththeotherovercurrentprotectiondevices.
19. ProblemswithTerminationsWhenyouhavealotofthemorthey’rebig,there’salottogetright.Thesecanbeterminals,inverters,spliceboxes,otherconductors.Aretheconnectionstight,letalonetorquedproperly,atleasttight?Forstrandedconductors,arethereanywaywardstrandsthatcouldoccasionallyarcovertothenextconductor?Forbreakersarethewiresterminatingproperly,andthenisthebreakerterminatingproperlyonthebusbars?Andtherecanbeanissuewithcoldflow.Afteraconnectionistorqued,andovertime,thesoftcopperoraluminumconductor“givesway”andcausestheconnectiontoloosen.Itisalwaysadvisabletodoafollow-upretorqueingofmajorconnectionssomemonthsafterinstallation.
Communications
20. CustomerInternetConnectionsUsingthecustomer’sinternetconnectiontokeeptrackofthesystemperformanceisalowcostapproach,butcanbefraughtwithissueslater.ThesecanincludedelaysgettingthesystemconnectedatthebeginningwhilethelocalITdepartmentdragsitsfeetopeningtherightportsontherouter.ItcancatchyoulaterwhentheytakeonanewITguy,orchangesecuritypolicyandclosealltheportsthatdon’tdirectlyaffectthem.Fromthispointofviewcellularmodemsthatareentirelyindependentofthecustomerseemexpensivebutareprobablyworththecost.ForcellularmodemsinfarawayareasitcanbeagoodideatohavethemonanACtimertoautomaticallyandregularlypowercyclethemincaseoflock-up.
AcknowledgementsThankstoBlakeGleasonofSunLightandPower(http://sunlightandpower.com)forhelpwiththisarticle.CopyrightHiQSolar,Inc.,2015www.hiqsolar.com