Disconnects on Fronius [RE-wrenches]

[William Miller]

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Dan:

I have to say I think you and Fronius are way off-base on this issue.  You 
are encouraging installers to install systems unsafely just to save 
themselves a few dollars.  I presume this is to give Fronius some kind of 
market advantage.

Here's an analogy for you:  I could not install a roof-top air conditioning 
unit and have the disconnect for it at ground level.  The disconnect has to 
be within line of sight of the unit.  Human nature being what it is, 
someone is going to remove a Fronius inverter and fail to get a ladder and 
climb up on the roof just to disconnect the DC feeder to the inverter.

If Fronius had remained silent on the issue, that would be one thing, but 
actively encouraging installers to disregard common safety practices is, in 
my professional opinion, unconscionable.

As I said, I like your product and I like your people.  I disagree 
strongly, for safety reasons alone, on this one issue.


Sincereley,

William Miller





At 12:16 PM 10/19/2006, Fortson Dan wrote:

>Hi William,
>
>I hope you are recovered from the SP-2006 event. I have read your comment 
>on wrenches & will respond there as well. My stand on the Fronius 
>disconnect & code compliance is somewhat more measured than Fronius techs 
>in the past as I believe it's ultimately up to the inspector. I understand 
>Mr. Wiles refuses to commit on the matter. The live wire issue is real & 
>not trivial though. In fact, in the training I just gave at SP2006, I 
>emphasized to those in the class, who would likely be the ones 
>disconnecting a unit from the wall, that it is neither safe nor advisable 
>to do so while the wires are hot. I generally recommend pulling string 
>fuses or disconnecting one connector in each string, then checking with a 
>volt meter or on the Fronius display that DC voltage is, in fact, zero. 
>This method ensures that there will not be live wires unattended for 
>children to play with, etc.
>
>Your solution of using an external DC disconnect ensures safety but many 
>installers do not feel the trade-off is worth the investment. That's a 
>personal decision which must be made by the installer.
>
>Hope to see you next year at the show,
>
>Dan Fortson
>
>Applications Engineer
>
>Fronius USA
>
>(810) 220-4414


__________________________________________________________________
William Miller
Miller Power and Communications
Voice :805-438-5600     Fax: 805-438-4607
email: wrmiller at mpandc.com
http://mpandc.com
License No. C-10-773985
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