[RE-wrenches] SMA Arc-Fault

[penobscotsolar at midmaine.com]

There is at least one company (nameless at this point, but not SMA) that
has been providing replacements for swapping out faulty arc fault
detectors in their inverters. Could it be possible you have a bad
detector?

Daryl



> Hi All,
>
> Maybe someone will have some ideas for why a couple inverters keep arc
> faulting:
>
> -There are two SB7000TL-22 inverters, Sunpower branded.
> -3 Strings of 7 SPR-327's to each inverter. Kept separate until the
> inverter.
> -Ground mount about 50' from the shed where the inverters are located
> (indoors)
> -Simple grid connected system, no batteries.
> -There is a whole house generator co-located in the shed.
> -We interconnect by using piercing taps on the line side of the generator
> transfer switch
> -There has been only one power outage there since the system was installed
> in April, but the generator fires up weekly.
>
> -The arc faults have been happening on both inverters. Sometimes only one
> at a time, sometimes both will go within a day of each other.
> -The events have been approximately one a month, but sometimes more,
> sometimes less.
>
> -We have already checked every single connection in the system twice, by
> two different people.
> -We have replaced the underground wires (and they looked just fine)
> -We have replaced all home runs.
> -We have replaced both inverters.
> -Arc faults are still happening.
> -Arc faults are not always on the same day/time of the week.
>
> I am wondering if this can be caused by the generator?
> Has anyone run into a situation like this or something similar?
>
> Thanks for your help,
> Dave
>
> *--*
>
>
> *Dave Tedeyan*
> *Project Engineer*
>
> *Taitem Engineering, PC*
> 109 S. Albany Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
> Voice: (607) 277-1118 x121
> www.taitem.com
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