[RE-wrenches] Bypassing a broken PV module

[Chris Mason]

That wouldn't be a ground fault.

On Jul 25, 2016 9:01 AM, "Jason Szumlanski" <
jason at floridasolardesigngroup.com> wrote:

> That's what the customer wanted, but even if I cut the leads short and
> terminated them, there would still be a risk of a ground fault to the
> module frame from water intrusion. In the end I was able to convince the
> customer to remove it. We moved a module from the end to the middle where
> this broken one was and cut off the excess rails. It looked just fine and
> they were happy.
>
> I don't think I was very clear in my original post. The owner wanted to
> leave it physically in place but bypass it electrically.
>
>
> On Sat, Jul 23, 2016 at 4:14 PM, Chris Mason <cometenergysystems at gmail.com
> > wrote:
>
>> Why don't you bypass it but leave it in place?
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 22, 2016 at 7:26 AM, Jason Szumlanski <
>> jason at floridasolardesigngroup.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I came across shattered glass on an Evergreen PV module while doing a
>>> new homeowner system evaluation. My inclination is to remove the panel and
>>> bypass it, which would still leave the array well within the operating
>>> parameters for the inverter. However, the owner wants to just leave the
>>> panel physically in the array because it actually looks better that way,
>>> which I agree it does. You can hardly tell it's broken from ground level.
>>>
>>> I explained that there is a risk of a ground fault if the module is left
>>> physically in the array, but the owner who is pretty astute, mentioned that
>>> the fault voltage if a ground fault were to occur from that module would
>>> only be at 22.5V potential (he didn't mention the actual voltage, but he
>>> did correctly state that the maximum fault would be limited to the single
>>> module, which in this case is 22.5V @ 12A). While it may trip an inverter,
>>> it would probably not pose a safety risk.
>>>
>>> While he may be technically right, for now I have reused to do the work,
>>> but I told him I would think about it.
>>>
>>> Anyone been through this scenario?
>>>
>>> ​Jason Szumlanski
>>> ​
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Chris Mason
>> NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer™
>> Solar Design Engineer
>> Generac Generators Industrial technician
>>
>> www.cometsolar.com <http://www.cometenergysystems.com>
>> 264.235.5670
>> 869.662.5670
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>>
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>
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