[RE-wrenches] Anybody else caught up with the Lumos urgent recall?

[Corey Shalanski]

Hi Scott,

You are not the only one. We have at least one project that falls under the
Vision module recall, and our O&M Director is reporting that Lumos hasn't
exactly been forthcoming with their plans for how the recall will actually
proceed.

I think the manufacturing flaw (and the potential risk) is fairly well
understood at this point. You correctly pointed out that it is related to
the junction boxes, which, of course, are where the bypass diodes are
located. My understanding is that they simply ran a single ribbon to some
junction boxes, which effectively provides an electrical path 'in' to the
diodes but no 'out' path. So, those cell substrings - that would otherwise
be protected by the diodes - are essentially unprotected from the thermal
effects of partial/hard shading. As a result, we have seen hotspot buildup
- that would otherwise be prevented by the diodes - lead to shattered glass
and even *melted* glass in one case where an internal arc fault apparently
went undetected by the inverter. It is interesting to note that this damage
is entirely internally-generated, not due to some sort of external factor
(e.g., projectile impact). See attached damage photos, along with an
example of the manufacturing flaw.

--
Corey Shalanski
Cherry Street Energy
Atlanta, GA


On Mon, Apr 22, 2024 at 8:29 AM <scot.arey at solarcentex.com> wrote:

>
> First time seeing this in 10+ years: Lumos sent out urgent recall for
> improper architecture/design of its junction boxes on Lumos Vision modules.
> Not all effected, but those with certain ribbon count going to the junction
> box are said to have some undefined risk in partial shading conditions.
>
> So our first customer who opted to use the Vision line of modules instead
> of the old LSX now has a $50k solar pergola turned off with no answer from
> Lumos on warranty replacement except for new modules inbound around July.
> Questions on if Lumos will pay labor for deinstallation and reinstallation
> have gone unanswered. Also unanswered is reimbursement for lost production.
>
> Anybody else caught up in this and having the same frustrations? Makes we
> wonder if standard warranty boilerplate language is applicable or if this
> faulty design of module a bigger issue that might supersede the
> manufacturer-centric protections.
>
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