Inverter location [RE-wrenches]

[David Palumbo, Independent Power & Light]

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Brooks [mailto:bill at brooksolar.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 12:41 PM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: RE: Inverter location [RE-wrenches]



Kurt,

I have been waiting for the correct response and haven't seen it yet. When
voltage drop issues are essentially equal on the dc and ac sides of an
inverter, as they are with this particular SMA product, it is ALWAYS best to
put the inverter near the service entrance to keep the ac voltage drop to
the lowest possible value. DC voltage drop causes a proportional loss of
power from the array, whereas ac voltage drop can often shut down the
inverter.

SMA recommends no more than 1.5% voltage drop on the ac side and my
recommendation is to keep it below 1%. Having seen numerous inverters
tripping off line because of high voltage at the inverter terminals (due to
3% voltage drop on the ac side), this is a critical operational issue.

Put the inverter at the service entrance. The only time I would consider
putting the inverter at the array is for a 48-Volt array that is more than
75 feet from the service entrance.

Bill.

Bill Brooks, PE
Brooks Engineering
873 Kells Circle
Vacaville, CA 95688
office and mobile phone: 707-332-0761
fax:707-451-7739
email: billbrooks7 at yahoo.com
web: www.brooksolar.com

Ecclesiastes 11:7 Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.


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