"My Solar Panels Don't Work" - Fault Finding a Solar PV System
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- New build properties can always be a barrel of laughs when it comes to electrics. This particular property has been fitted with a solar panel set up, which has suddenly started tripping the consumer unit whenever the inverter activates. With a flat roof and limited access to investigate this isn't going to be the simplest of fault finds.
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Ah avonside aha
on one of our new build sites they even managed to fit the panels on one plot completely on the wrong side of the roof aha
Outstanding work
as a DIYer and not a pro I find it funny that customers don't clear these areas that surely they know you are going to have to go into; understairs cupboards, airing cupboards etc. Just full of the usual stuff that we all have but you'd think they'd make it a bit easier to access :)
They expect the tradesman to clear it out on their behalf
We seem to be only our country that is obsessed with putting consumer units in useful storage cupboards or in the middle of access corridors. Europe seems to have the right idea with the recessed cabinets that blend in.
Yeah, it must be a comparatively new thing, cos when I was growing up, we used to clear the area. It's like clearing stuff away for the decorator and not expecting them to shift everything themselves. Still they'll charge you for the privileged of being lazy.
Leon smith , @mainly electrical,,, , get subscribed to learn the way of the electrical wizards 👍⚡️
@@elminster8149 I agree.Also a friend who works for a specialist Solar Panel installation company told me recently that after 2 years of being involved, he and a workmate have ever been offered either tea or coffee by any of the householders despite often being up on the roof in lousy weather .His mate once was so appalled that he asked if there was any chance of a drink ?..The reply was ' Oh , we don't drink tea or coffee here ' !.Tells you something ! .
[At a job when an RCD or RCBO has tripped, I do the half trip @ 15mA before troubleshooting just to make sure there is no nuisance tripping of that particular RCD/RCBO. I have come across them that trip under 15mA, faulty product. Great video love watching your channel 👍🏼🇦🇺.]
Looking forward to the next segment to see how the micro inverters malfunctioned!
The only micro inverters I ever fitted was emphases which never give any problems don't forget all the cable is ac
I always thought that as part of the CDM Regulations Architect's/ Designer's have a duty to consider safe access to equipment for future maintenance by others. That would include whoever decided on putting the inverters on the roof especially if it has the potential to be a troublesome part.
@Nicky L I wouldn't touch a new build with a sh***y stick.
And Solar needs routine washing of the panels.
Found one of the best understanding of solar panel wiring. Micro inverters by Gary does solar on UA-cam. Looking at Artisan and Gary has been educational.
This is a massive problem I’m finding with new builds using micro inverters which works for shadowing but for maintenance and replacement scaffolding is probably required no future proofing should be a ladder and railing’s secured to the building to clip on to with harness. Personally I think inverter dc/ac isolated should be in a cupboard/garage easy access apart from the PV panels all electronics are in the dry. Guessing you have 3 or two panel systems with in the next 10 years all the micro inverters will need replacing their not cheep. If it is possible to series link all the panels bring one inverter inside or to accessible area for maintenance. No doubt all the properties will have the same issue.
The Enphase, which is the main microinvertet comes with a 25 year warranty. Do you really think they would give them that length of warranty if they are expecting them all to fail in 10 years ?
A couple of points to mention on a safety front is never leave a live fuse board or any other piece of live equipment open while you walk off and leave it unattended!!
The other point worth noting is when you straightened the busbar, you failed to check that each MCB was clamping the fingers correctly, that is the single wisest thing you can do on that type of modular board.
Absolutely fascinating to my entirely non-electrical mind. Thanks!
As someone who has worked in construction (major infrastructure projects) most of my life I always find it amazing that house builders consistently fail in their duty under CDM. If someone fell of a roof doing this type of maintenance (that could easily be avoided with a simple design change) the Principle Designer should be held accountable. However because its houses I suspect that no one ever would hold them to account.
Principal designers should be held to account for not accessing for future maintenance!
Micro investors and optimisers on the back of solar panels which are then fixed to the roof of a house are a potential problem waiting to happen. Upon failure it's an expensive job for the customer as they also have to pay for scaffolding or cherrypicker on top of the repair bill. Even if the system is under warranty there's still the cost of getting access that needs to be met.
Hi John, I used to think the same, but see what you think of the video I just released. It's really changed my perception of microinverters completely!
@@GaryDoesSolar cheers Gary will add to my to watch list!
What’s the plan then Jordan?
Any warranty left on the solar panel install / micro inverters?
Maybe propose a change to String inverters so access/maintenance can be carried out from within? Might be an idea to survey / canvass surrounding buildings that are part of the same development.
I would’ve thought that there’s probably a general roof maintenance programme for the development - access probably in the build / method statements for cleaning & maintenance.
Maybe a cherry picker would be safest / easiest option
We are about to have a solar battery system installed so I appreciate the explanation of the system components so I know what to expect.
You're welcome.
Omg that board 🙈 loving the videos 😎🇮🇪👏
I absolutely shit myself when the Ring chime went off at the start of the video. Thought someone walked into my house😅😂
I paused the video too when watching it 😂
The trouble with all the panels in series and a single big inverter is that it just takes one panel to get dirty or be slightly in the shade for some reason and your output plummets. With an individual micro inverter on each panel you don't have that problem.
Micro inverters can nearly double the cost of each panel though, and if you aren't shaded by trees or buildings, then its not worth it just for the risk of one panel getting dirty that could be solved by a window washing broom.
This is true. The flip side is whenl one of the inverters/optimiser fails and then you are in a world of pain getting access and getting it replaced. Tell me how I know.
Rain largely keeps panels clean and periodic washing if that fails. And micro inverters, just more to go wrong and access to the roof needed when it does. I would much rather have a single inverter thanks.
True. But it is swings that and roundabouts
Does SolarEdge solve some of this problem?
I did similar troubleshooting like on the video and then asked Artisan how much it would cost for them to check the roof, find the broken panel/inverter, claim warranty and replace.
It took multiple emails, no straight answer, in the end "oh we need to hire a ladder/scaffolding and we can do all + £160 or so per hour, then again to replace it" I said thanks but no thanks, I'm not a millionaire. Shocking they don't have a tall ladder!
You saw how he wasted an hour at the start by testing every wire he could find instead of just turning all isolators off and back on one by one until it trips, he even said at the start he had an idea of what it was.
Surprising you don't carry ladders onboard. Double extended isn't too big and you could've got to the roof on the first visit? Saving the customer a second visit charge?
There was a ladder on his van.🤣
Add a thermal camera to your tools. Useful for when looking for faulty panels and shorted stuff.
In the video, when you use terminology like ICR can you write on the video what they mean? Having them pop on the screen for a few seconds would be good!
We'll see what we can do!
Agree. As panels becomes more common. Down the pub it will not be long before chat is on what make of invert or panels.
Should also check the inverter installation guidelines to see what type of ELU to use on them. Normally for PV inverters they recommend at least 300mA ELUs
With regard to the drinks situation, as a retired plumber I’ve been to one or two jobs where the customer has made tea/coffee whilst discussing the job in question and drunk said refreshments without even giving you the chance to refuse the opportunity of joining them in their enjoyment of a drink.
In most places, would you really want to accept a drink ?.
@@rscelectrical7091 a lot of places I would but there has been places where you wiped your feet to come out
"My solar panels don't work", "Did you forget to turn the sun on?"
Great content, perfect length.
Much appreciated!
Jordan, you will be seeing more and more panels with lichen on as the years go by in the Cambridge area.
I’d be interested to know what type of micros these are (haveing chosen micros for my own install).
It’s fair to say that when I had mine fitted they were not the cheep option, and they do have benefits, especially areas where some panel’s may become shaded. They also mean you get stats per pannel and also don’t have to find room for a large inverter. Optimisers may have replaced some of these benefits but that wasn’t an option when I had mine fitted. I’m disappointed that the micro didn’t fail in a way that allows you to locate it via the app, as I thought that was another benefit. Overall I’m reserving judgment as it could still be some other issue!
08:10 "so they have no wired it up properly'" so would you take the neutrals out of the chop block and fit to point 3 and 4 of the switch or are you leaving it as you found it???
Micro inverters need to be smart and be able to communicate with a base unit, otherwise any single fault will mean having to investigate all of them to find the faulty unit and in a big set of panels may even mean pulling many panels off the roof, having a string inverter indoors mean easy access and fault finding and reprogramming at any time
This is why refused to have micro inverters for my panels.
This i why i don't like micro inverters, until they can make better access to them I prefer to keep the roof installation very simple. I was thinking that if the micro inverters could slide down on a mechanism from the bottom rail so that you can do maintenance from a ladder below. It would need to be able to feed two PV panels above it vertically.
Ayyyyy another video!!
🤜🏼🤛🏼
This may not have been down to a faulty micro-inverter, the cables may be reduced by an infestation or as it's a flat roof the installers may not have kept the cables up off the roof and they could be sitting in water. If it was a faulty micro-inverter then all the more reason to avoid installing them.
🎉🎉🎉another video
Artisan Electrics do Solar Edge installs which also have 'maintenance-requiring' parts on the roof in the form of optimisers...?
PME and TN-C-S are not synonymous as you suggest.
They pretty much are.
In most cases a TN-C-S installation will make use of a PME strategy.
Between neutral and earth a short will show on tncs , tns and tt .
Have you ever come across buzzing/humming sounds from the loft once solar has been installed? Seems to occur even when you turn off all the power & more apparent once the sun sets, not the main inverter. Any ideas mate?
If it's a new build shouldn't everything be in warranty still?
No access from inside to get onto the roof 🤔seems very odd. Why not plan to move the inverter internally to save any future probs While ya sorting 🤔
Might be an idea to see if they’re any plans / dwgs around - if not then offer to provide survey for any future contractors coming in 👍
They are microinverters - One per panel, close coupled at the panels
ahhh thx. I had to look em up. Pros n cons to either string or micro inverters. For this particular project / where there ‘appears’ no easy access - string inverter sounds like a better plan
Why would my campervan solar panel only work when it's cold? During the day it gives zero volts, but as the temperature drops at night I can see the voltage start to rise .. only managed to reach high enough volts for about a couple of hours in the early morning, then throughout the morning voltage drops.
Just use a Solis string inverter next to your consuner unit so much simpler and easier. The new ones even have a built in DC isolator.
Flat roofs, in new build houses in Britain. I'm glad that those houses are in a near-desert part of the British Isles where rainfall is especially low... ap-parently. That's a great idea (not !).
Access equipment is a stretch, flat roof so only really need a ladder that reaches safely
Great videos.
Why oh why, do customers not clear their crap out of cupoboards if they know you're coming?
Nearly all your videos show house junk blocking your access to the CUs
Mostly because half of them have not the slightest clue about where an electrician might need to access. Lack of education, lack of thought, lack of anticipation.
I've worked on sites in Cambridge. Long road, Glebe Farm and Clay farm next to Addenbrookes. You get paid a price per item, the quicker you install the item the more money you get paid.
You get paid more than a site worker does. Site workers have less responsibilities and there are no building regulations when the corporations like countryside regulate themselves based on a snagging list. If the customer doesn't spot it, it's fine...
I still do a good near job on site work but that got me fixing everyone else's mess on a day rate, because I was good with customers. Rather than giving me the first or second fix to do.
What these bodgers don't realise is, if you starts as a bodger, you become a quick bodger. If you start slowly and do things neatly and correctly then you get quicker being an artist in your trade.
The quicker you install an item the more you get paid? That's a novel concept. Can you install the items in zero time? Do you become a millionaire in that situation?
@@deang5622 What kind of a question is that? What answer are you expecting here mate?
@@deang5622 What happens on building sites is this. Companies take on self-employed labourers to install the plumbing and heating. Due to site work being competition driven, no one shares their methods or the right way of doing things, I did, but others? So they bodge the second fix, charge for it, and I had to go back and fix all of their work on a day rate, taking me off the better-earning jobs.
They would smash out one first fix a day. Split between two people would be £600 per day, or, you could do a small 2 bed for £500 on your own. First fixes must be smashed out within a certain timeframe to keep the flow of properties moving. I think within 1 year they had built 110 properties.
The quota was from October to October, and we worked from 7am until 10pm trying to get all the properties installed and ready to be handed over every single year. I complained that they should take me off day-rate and do the installs myself. Do the whole property yourself, then only you are accountable.
There was one idiot I spent a day of my own time teaching him the best way to second fix with the floor tiles being on the walls and a lot tougher to get through. He then went around and did all the fill-ups allocated to me, the easy work, and left all the hard bits for me to do. He did it on another property but forgot to tighten up the expansion vessel for the cylinder. IT blew off and flooded the property. Karma has its own way of dealing with people like that.
Site workers trample on each other and sabotage opportunities for others. I made £900 in one day doing 6 floors of underfloor heating split between 2 people. £300 per floor with multiple zones. The others were jealous and the foreman kept sending me to flats that weren't ready.
Sire agents sending out labourers to do the snagging, and snagging is a joke. They have labourers going around and filling all the holes, and patching other bits, getting bath repair men in to repolish the bath or fix chips in them. They only repair what the customer points out, and half the customers have no clue about the building which is why they buy a new build.
No oversight at all, Shocking! (He says with a Welsh accent)
We had 4 sparks working alongside us and only one of them knew how to second fix all of the main wiring units, rather than splitting it up per property and signing it off in their name. If they did, Artisan could call them up and hold them accountable. That would change things a lot.
But, it is all about money, or currency should I say. Money is a gold and silver coin and currency a worthless banknote, a promise to pay, read your bank note. I digress.
£500 per property doing hot, cold, and heating, without the soil stack, without the cylinder. Just pure pipework. 1 per day equals £2500 per week, times 48 weeks is £110,000 per year. Without including working on a Saturday. In 15 years you would have earned over £1,000,000. So you were saying, kind Sir?
Did you know that a house in the 70's cost £4460 and now costs £300,000. That is 75 times more. Did you know that our wages back then were £1049 and if you use the same calculation our wages would be an average of £80,000.
We have figured this whole system out mate, uncovering it bit by bit. Join the revolution if you want life to go back to normal and be wealthy and able to own your own land for free, just by making a claim. This is however only possible if you are a natural-born English man or woman. If you have no claim in England then you must return home to your native country to make a claim there on your birthright.
Non-natives won't have to leave, however, they would have to pay taxes because they are trespassers on the land. Plenty more to talk about these coming months, hopefully, see you there
@@mike-ology22 I don't care what happens on building sites.
I am highlighting a factual inaccuracy you said, I am hinting at it but you don't even seems to be aware of you made it.
Let me spell it out.
"The quicker you install an item the more you get paid".
You *DON'T* get paid on how little time it takes you to install an item. You don't. You really don't.
You get paid according to how many items you install.
Now do you get it?
If you can reduce the time it takes to install each item then you can install more items in the same time, an 8 hour day and as a consequence you are paid more.
OR, you get paid by the job and you are able to complete the job in less time enabling you to do more jobs in the same time.
So what you said was factually incorrect and that is what I was picking up on.
@@deang5622 fair play. I guess my being Half-Dutch and half-English fluent in both, living there for 19 years, and here 20 years.
I'll watch my wording a bit better next time hahaha
COOL
what's the reason for the meter on the solar ?
Survey the roof and photograph it in detail. also photo the areas under the flat roof before any access is made.
Do you have a video where you install Microinverters? UA-cam search didn't find one.
Can they be installed so they sit in a dry accessible room or loft?
How are they connected to the house mains? I know that there is a loss if they are to be used for battery storage. Or is there a way of avoiding this loss?
I've seen in other UA-cam videos that Microinverters , if properly installed, the failure of a μinverter should not see the failure of all panels and total loss of power from the panels. Also the failure rates of μinverters is very very low. And guarantees are 30 years.
Great videos BTW
Micro inverters are normally installed on the back of the rails that hold the pannels and pannels connect into them then the micro inverters are plugged into a single cable back into the property all plugs and micro inverters are or should be water proof and when installed each pannel and inverter are logged by position so you can find out which one isn't working and ware it is. access after installation is always going to be expensive on a pitched roof as you will need scaffold message me if you been clarification
do you give a discount for filming in their home? is it alot?
16:07 Smooth like butter 😂
Last solar system on microinverters which I have found that was faulty produced dc current between neutral and earth coming from roof microinverters but that should be ac , be careful
There's been quite a few studies now that show micro inverters and optimisers offer little advantage over central inverters even in shaded situations. And on a new build I think we can be pretty confident they didn't go with a premium brand.
I think installers quite like them because it makes it easier to find faults on large strings
I agrée. MIs are much more hassle than they gain in most circumstances. The only time I would fit is where the roof space isn't big enough to get all panels able to be in sunshine at once.
Inverters can interfere with Ham Radio signals, especially when they comply to the old CE standard or badly fitted.
Ofcom are on the case.
Hej tak for din gode video, det lang bedre med inverter og mere service venligt , der er ikke den store forskel på mikro inverter produktions tal. som en elektriker siger, dem samme mand udbedre fejlene, det er den billiste måde for vores kunder
It does make me nervous 😬 when your chatting away and sticking your hand in the consumer unit 💀
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If allowed a drone would be a good use to see on top.
Never liked microinverters - too much to go wrong in a really hard to access (expensive) place. Optimisers seem to have a better lifespan and lower real world MTBF.
When the RCD tripped, why did the strip plug behind you stay on???
Without watching the video, I can tell you that the strip is not connected to the output side of the RCD.
Looking at the state of that consumer box alone, I'm not shocked, as more so with new builds, it appears that everything is a botch job, and also if you have someone coming, people should make the areas clutter free.,
Just a thought… when I’m installing micro inverters maybe it would be a good idea to install them in the Attic in case they go faulty, what do you think ?
nope to many holes in the roof ;. same for optimzers .. alle work fine .. until one breaks ... you need to go on the roof ;.
@@kittsdiy I did think about that but would that not be better than needing to rehire a scaffolding. 25years Warranty, would customer not expect me to pay for scaffolding?
@@MacdonaldEdinburghElectrical good question .. i think in a lot of agreements .. the warranty is on the parts only by the manufacture .. not on the labour etc /demounting the panels .
Otherwise yes could make it expensive for the installer :-)
In loft is the best way. So long as the correct flashings are used it’s fine regarding holes. You would generally replace a tile with a special plastic tile with moulded entry points.
Much better going up a loft ladder to fix rather than getting scaffolders and lifting panels off. Especially if it’s a unit in the middle of a row, where all the panels need to come off from the end of the run.
@@newlinerealboi3434 and how do you waterproof the membrane?
NICEIC/ NHBC warrenty claim for work like that ?
Why do you try to disconnect each panel individually. Narrow down and leave others connected
Not the issue here but one thing to look at is what type of rcd is used for solar you need to use an a type rcd not an ac type as the dc current can leak back onto the ac circuit saturating the coils and will eventually stop the rcd working
Technically you are not saturating the coils, you are saturating the ferromagnetic ring with too much magnetic field.
Saturation is a well understood phenomena of transformers.
It makes you wonder if these solar energy systems ever make you much savings following the initial install cost and future maintenance, fault costs such as this.
Oh yes they do on steroids and a cherry on top. Huge savings.
A properly designed system using reputable parts that wasn't bodged together by the cheapest bidder will.
If you don't go for bargain basement price, do your research into reputable companies who will also offer after sales support, and explore design options you should get 25+years from panels, 12+ years from inverter and 10 years from batteries with warranty backed by mcs and supplers. We are a year into our solar pv, so far all good
Another reason not to have micro inverters/optimisers. They marginally work to improve some instances of diffused shading but all modern solar modules are designed to deal with most other shading out of the box.
One huge advantage of micro inverters is being able to slowly add more panels over time as you can afford to.
⚠️thought you could login to the micro inverters to see health & performance. But if tripping RCD…. They really are like integrated LED’s. Great idea, but previous was better for maintenance
Well microinverters tend to communicate via powerline or some obscure wireless to a control unit... it's usually not an option to do this when the breakers are tripping.
Terminology....I don't understand 95% of it mate but I still find it fascinating 🤣
😂 I'll try to explain it better next time!
We find so many like this 😬
The person who done that fuseboard needs a slap a big one
New builds are thrown together in the shortest time. Those giving the lowest quotes figured out that to get their quote that low they don't have the time to do it properly.
1:30 - the bus bars are also on the underside, which in my experience is a bad idea. If you can have them on top it's better. The reason is that if there's for some reason a mouse able to enter the panel and it dies then the liquids will drip down into the bus bar causing some less than appealing results with a potential fire hazard since the bus bar is effectively a tray. With the bar on top then the tray is upside down and then the risk for liquids collecting somewhere is lower. Just my take on the matter, the code for your area might say otherwise. This experience was with a 3-phase bus bar.
In UK installations its uncommon to come across a top busbar system the only brand I can think of is D-line. The consumer unit installed is a Hager dual RCD and I'd suspect looking at the enclosure its circa 2010 ish. I'd also guess that they are both type ac rcds not type A which handles dc leakage far better.
I have a great photo which I took of a mouse that stepped on the terminals at the back of my oven.
A perfect skeleton with some scuzzy stuff in between which I assume was its fur!
@@colingreer853 before I replaced my 15th edition cu I pulled off the cover and there was a perfect skeleton of a mouse too which had got in and and goodnight sweetheart! 😂😂
can you do a electrical disasters,where subscribers send in pictures of electrics they find at a job and you guys react
How come you do all these solar videos but aren’t on the MCS register?
You don’t need to be MCS to instal solar
You need an MCS certificate for the SEG tariff (Smart Export Guarantee). Not all energy providers require it for an export tariff but the tariff's that are SEG do require it. AFAIK Octopus require it for their export tariff's and tariff's like Intelligent Octopus - if you want to get paid for any export.
It is not a legal requirement to be MCS registered and hence provide the customer with an MCS certificate - however the customer is at a disadvantage without one, as it limits their options to get paid for export and even though that is not much per unit at present - it could become more of a problem in the future with new gov schemes or better export tariff rates.
If i were having a company install solar - i would want an MCS registered one so i get a certificate. It can also be required by buyers if you are selling your house with solar and could reduce value or put off buyers if you don't have certificates.
Apparantly they have said they are in the process of applying for MCS registration, and that it takes time.
I don't know how long it takes but as of today 21st May 2023 they still aren't registered.
Personally if I was charging a minimum 1.5 hours I would be at the job for that time. Find myself something to do for the customer. Things to check so on
Is it a legal a requirement to use a 2 pole isolator….in the UK
Thanks
Normaly standard installation so dc can be isolated
Main switches of single phase domestic installations are required to be double pole, but other than that BS7671 allows single pole isolation on TN supplies in most cases.
I'm not sure if there are any special requirements for isolators used on solar installations.
no demarcation on the diagram for the Type B RCD ? ; doesn't look beefy enough; system might not need one ? most inverters tend to require one, its international standard; surely its tripping due to the different sine; not familiar with micro inverters
No it is not an international standard.
Each country has its own standards for electrical apparatus.
Lots of potentially smelly trainers by the consumer unit. A big thumbs for an evil sense of humour. Ah a better one. Job to fit garden lights and cable to work office/shed. Get three toms of pig manure delivered, not in the way but upwind of the work area. It would make for a brilliant vid.
on rooF
Flooded flat roof? Water ingress into a connector? Same issue would happen to an optimizer. A string might have caused a fire. Let's see the next episode.
What’s the difference between twin and earth and 3 core flex?
Twin and Earth (T&E) is just the nickname given to the flat, usually grey, cable used for internal house wiring here in the UK.
6242Y Flat PVC cable is the full proper name for such cable.
T&E has solid conductors, with the earth cable being uninsulated internally.
3 core flex has stranded conductors, all of which have secondary (their own) insulation.
Twin and earth is not flexible😅
The conductors are solid.
To speed up the note taking can you use the voice function on the apple keyboard to dictate the notes on Tradify, ?
you should collab with Thomas Nagy (london) hes got what you need and your both yters! it makes sense if you not done it already!
Does anyone know what's happened to Nagy? He's completely dropped out of UA-cam.
@@patpending8134 he's locked in betty crockers basement... think he did a podcast in december was the last I heard of him
@@patpending8134 Most likely over leveraged his business.
He just changes street light bulbs, singing and whistling all day. 🤡…. His weekly Fix Radio slot is great, available as a Podcast
I didn't think Nagy likes Artisan or Bundy for some none existence YT drama reasons.
And inverter per panel is not a cheap option
Hello Jason, another fascinating video. I have a question. Why isn't possible to link PV solar panels directly to a car battery. Both use DC. It seems inefficient to convert the PV to AC using an inverter then put the AC into the car which then converts it back again to DC to charge the battery. My PV is a 7kW array. When the battery is fully charged, the solar panel reduce their output to the 3.68kW of the inverter. Why can't I use that spare capacity of the panels to charge the car directly using the DC? Thanks
Because firstly the voltages of the panels and car battery are different.
Secondly you need a constant voltage for many types of car battery. So you really want a charger suitable for the battery chemistry to be present.
@@deang5622 Thanks Dean 👍🏻
Micro Inverters are not the "Cheapest option" as you stated.
They are a simply a better way of addressing shading issues to maximise output of the array.
Unfortunately they are also well known for failing.
you should knoq ita a bad job its got a NICEIC logo on it
What is the difference between an isolator and a switch?
Same things really except an isolator of the type required for solar installs will normally be sold to have a certain (better) isolation and safety reg spec. They are usually beefier, with more insulation, and more expensive. Better materials, different switching mechanics. The actual switching mechanism usually puts more distance (isolation) between conductors when off, for example, so they might be less likely to arc or fuse shut in a fault situation. Also, an isolator is more likely (but not necessarily) to cut both conductors (live and neutral) unless some monkey bypasses it as would appear to be the case with the neutral in this video.
@@jam99 Thanks for that information 👍
As I understand it.
An isolator is a device that performs isolation, that is disconnecting parts of the installation in a way that makes them safe to work on. In particular an isolator is designed to ensure a sufficient contact gap is maintained for safety and to give a positive indication of the position of the contacts.
A switch is a device used to turn stuff on and off, in particular a switch is designed to safely perform connection and disconnection under load.
In practice though many devices are designed to perform both functions, Indeed my understanding is that isolators that are not suitable for switching duty are only allowed in situations where the installation is under the supervision of a competent person.
Whether these devices are referred to as "isolators" or "switches" seems fairly arbitrary. The rotary style always seem to get referred to as "isolators" while the din rail mount ones used in consumer units get referred to as switches. Despite both performing the same functions.
@@jam99Isolation of DC is harder to perform than isolation of AC so a different type of isolator that is DC rated is required.
@@deang5622 Good point. My understanding is that it is not really the isolation when off/on that is more difficult in steady state, it is more the (transition of on to off) dc arcing under load when switching off so current and voltage ratings of an isolator are normally not the same for ac and dc. Hence, the dc rating of an isolator must be observed in a dc application (and, typically, the dc rating will be 'weaker' than ac rating). But I am not sure this is relevant to what is a 'switch' and what is an 'isolator'.
Don’t run Enphase micro inverters down they have a 25 year guarantee.I put all my micros inside the loft by extending the solar panal dc cables to them.have had no broblems with them for the last 6 years.
A long guarantee is evidence that the manufacturer trusts the quality of the product they are selling.
If it was prone to failure, the quality was low, then the manufacturer is going to incur great cost issuing replacements throughout the life time of the warranty.
So generally, a manufacturer, if they know what they are doing, won't issue long warranties unless they are absolutely sure their product is of excellent quality.
you should be always carrying an extension ladder.
I'm not an electrician but would the rats nest of a consumer unit has something to do with it?
No
It can be a rats nest and still function properly. Just so long as the pesky electrons decide not to jump from cable to cable without permission.
На заставке видео я уж подумал вы нецензурное слово на русском написали , присмотрелся что нет 😂
If anyone watching does not understand the terminology RCD or TNS please a different video
Surely the Isolator should be BEFORE any Circuit
No. It doesn't actually matter.
Any physical break in the circuit will stop the current flowing.
However, if the isolator is interrupting dangerous voltages of 50 volts or more AC or 120 volts DC then the risk of placing the isolator anywhere in the circuit is that someone might perform work on the circuit before the isolator which is still live and receive a fatal shock.
So generally it is good practise to place the isolator at the origin of the circuit.
If at all possible, do not site inverters in a loft. In high summer, the inverter(s) are working flat out and in the process also generate a lot of heat. Additionally, the loft itself gets incredibly hot unless adequately ventilated. All this heat damages the delicate electronics of the inverter leading to failure.
you need to carry a ladder
Hang on . . . thumbnail was a pitched roof and property was a flat roof. Enjoyed it all the same!
Couldn't get on the roof to take a photo! 😂
Do you actually know anything about solar installation because if the pannels don't show they are working the problem is on the roof normaly that's the first place to look and test this should be an easy job if its on a flat roof
Do people not clean up where the people are Gunna work on to make it easy? Jesus home owners do better. If your having someone to come fix something please clean up and move things out the way. Maybe that’s just me who grew up with a mother who’s doesn’t like leaving a mess if a company is coming to install or fix.