<div dir="ltr">We had that issue once. It was after a night of heavy rainfall and the error only read for the first few early hours of the day. SMA told us it was a poor connection in an MC4 connector that most likely got some dampness in it...</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">Adam Katzman<br>Autonomous Energies<br>PO Box 1245</div><div dir="ltr">Kingston, NY 12402<br><a href="http://www.autonomousenergies.com" target="_blank">www.autonomousenergies.com</a><br>(518) 567-1468<br><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Mar 23, 2016 at 5:16 PM, August Goers <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:august@luminalt.com" target="_blank">august@luminalt.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Hi Drake,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">What model SMA inverter(s) and modules do you have? We had one case where a MC4 connector under the array was not making good contact. It was not seated properly when the installer made up the connector and the arc fault sensor in the inverter did its job. We had another site where some electrical noise on the AC side, presumably a sump pump, caused the issue and we could not solve it so had to switch to another inverter manufacturer. There were other cases where the impedance or other electrical characteristics of the solar modules where the likely culprit. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Is your roof and array totally equipment grounded?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Best,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">August</span></p><span class=""><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p><div><div style="border:none;border-top:solid #b5c4df 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> RE-wrenches [mailto:<a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Drake<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, March 23, 2016 2:08 PM<br><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a><br><b>Subject:</b> [RE-wrenches] AFCI trip on metal roof</span></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">Hello Wrenches, <br></p><div><div class="h5"><br>We have a project with an array on a large metal roof. The AFCI has been tripping. Investigating the system, there is no evidence of any arcing: the wiring and connections are all very tight. <br><br>SMA tech support says it is likely that the nuisance tripping comes from electrical noise getting picked up by the large metal roof. <br><br>What has been your overall experience with nuisance tripping of arc fault protection? What were the suspected causes? What was the solution?<br><br>Thanks,<br><br>Drake <br><br>Drake Chamberlin<br><i>Athens Electric LLC<br>OH License 44810<br>CO License 3773<br>NABCEP Certified Solar PV <br><a href="tel:740-448-7328" value="+17404487328" target="_blank">740-448-7328</a><br></i><a href="http://athens-electric.com/" target="_blank">http://athens-electric.com/</a> <br><br></div></div><p></p><div><div class="h5"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="border:none;border-top:solid #aaabb6 1.0pt"><tbody><tr><td width="55" style="width:41.25pt;border:none;padding:13.5pt .75pt .75pt .75pt"><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient&utm_term=oa-2115-v2-c" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none"><img border="0" src="https://ipmcdn.avast.com/images/2016/icons/icon-envelope-tick-round-orange-v1.png"></span></a></p></td><td width="470" style="width:352.5pt;border:none;padding:15.0pt .75pt .75pt .75pt"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:13.5pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#41424e">No threats detected. <a href="https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient&utm_term=oa-2115-v2-c" target="_blank"><span style="color:#4453ea">www.avast.com</span></a> </span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></div></div></div>
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