[RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 15k solar panel frame grounding
Christopher Warfel
cwarfel at entech-engineering.com
Thu Jun 6 06:13:38 PDT 2024
The reason for less white PV wire I believe is due to less UV resistance
capability. Time showed that it was inferior to black. Using black in
lieu of white, and color coding at the terminal connections is an
allowed practice and that is why less white PV wire is used I believe.
Chris
On 6/5/2024 4:22 PM, Bryan Norkunas via RE-wrenches wrote:
>
> White PV wire was something we used to sell often, but that demand has
> dropped off in the last 5 years or so and always wondered why.
>
> Thanks for sharing William
>
> Sunny Regards,
>
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> *From:* RE-wrenches <re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org> on
> behalf of William Miller via RE-wrenches
> <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, June 5, 2024 12:53:52 PM
> *To:* RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> *Cc:* William Miller <william at millersolar.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 15k solar panel frame grounding
>
> Friends:
>
> On a related subject, I was researching the question: What color
> should my grounded PV conductor be?
>
> History:
>
> In the beginning, negative leads were always black.
>
> When it became apparent that negative PV leads were indeed grounded,
> the requirement to have them white or grey became enforced per
> 200.6(A)(3).
>
> When transformerless inverters were implemented it was assumed the
> negative was floating, so white/grey was no longer acceptable.
>
> Then the NEC recognized that some leads were kind of grounded, not
> solidly, but through some components, either OCPD, resistors, sensor
> or a combination. A new term was created, functionally grounded.
> This grounding was most often done to implement ground fault detection
> and interruption, or GFDI. I always assumed that if PV equipment had
> GFDI it had to feature a grounded polarity, most often indirectly, or
> functionally.
>
> Grounded conductors need to be white or grey. Therefore we are back
> to needing grey/white, most often for the negative lead.
>
> I wanted to verify if the Sol-Arc PV inputs established a grounded
> lead. They have GFDI so I assumed it likely they did. In order to
> verify, I called Sol-Arc. Their tech support had no idea what I was
> talking about. They did not know the term functionally grounded and
> could not verify if their equipment established a ground connection,
> solid or otherwise, to either polarity.
>
> This distinction applies here because it may help determine what is
> causing the GFDI fault. I can’t tell you for sure if one side of the
> PV circuit is functionally grounded, but if it is, grounding it
> elsewhere will defeat the GFDI and may cause nuisance tripping.
>
> Does anyone know if Sol-Arc PV inputs have a functional ground bond?
>
> Side note: I called my local Greentech distributor, who sells plenty
> of Sol-Arc inverters and asked if they carried white PV wire. They
> said none of their customers are asking for white PV wire. I suspect
> they should be using white for negative leads. I can’t confirm that
> because Sol-Arc can’t tell me it the PV circuits are functionally
> grounded or not. Frustrating!
>
> Fortunately the manual for Outback charge controllers specifically
> says the negative lead is functionally grounded. So if you are
> installing Outback CCs you must use white or grey. PV-Cables sells
> white PV wire.
>
> Confusing? Yeah, a bit. But as my local roofing companies say:
> “Solar? It can’t be that complicated!”
>
> William Miller
>
> Miller Solar
>
> 17395 Oak Road, Atascadero, CA 93422
>
> 805-438-5600
>
> www.millersolar.com <http://www.millersolar.com/>
>
> CA Lic. 773985
>
> *From:*RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org]
> *On Behalf Of *Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches
> *Sent:* Wednesday, June 5, 2024 6:02 AM
> *To:* RE-wrenches
> *Cc:* Jason Szumlanski
> *Subject:* [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 15k solar panel frame grounding
>
> Can anybody clarify the following instruction from the manual?
>
> "GND the panel MOUNTS/FRAMES to any GND outside the circuit via 12AWG
> wire"
>
> Does this mean do not connect the array equipment grounding conductor
> to the grounding terminal in the inverter? Where would be the
> suggested place to connect the equipment grounding conductor, and why
> does it make a difference? It would still be electrically bonded to
> the grounding terminal in the inverter.
>
> I'm asking because I do, in fact, have an equipment grounding
> conductor from the array connected to the ground terminal in the
> inverter at a home. I am getting an F08 GFDI fault. The manual doesn't
> say anything about the DC side with respect to this error. It suggests
> it is an AC current leakage to ground. But Sol-Ark tech support
> suggested that I disconnect the PV to rule it out as a source of the
> fault.
>
> Jason Szumlanski
>
> Florida Solar Design Group
>
>
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--
Christopher Warfel
ENTECH Engineering Inc.
PO Box 871, Block Island, RI 02807
401-477-5773
EE Logo <https://entech-engineering.com/Home/default.php>
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