calling any domestic / grid conected solar gurus.RE 4kw solar

[FZJ]

Ive got a question for any solar installers or anyone that has a 4kw system on their house.

I have just moved into  my new house that has a 4kw solar on the roof
 some background.in short.....

#Itwas installed in2010 by a mob that has gone awol (what a suprise)
# the inverter is a good quality one(sma sunny mini central 5000a) however the installer imported it direct from singapore and never changed the grid tolerance setting.I had this changed this week by sma (great service by the way).The inverter used to tripout every half hour or so .Therefore it never worked for the original house owners properly making about 3 to 4 kw per day .
#With that issue fixed on a bright sunny day today it still only made 8kw.That doesnt sound right to me.
 If you have any suggestions im all ears.

Ta

Pete

[UIZ733]

8Kw gross or net?

[Mandrake]

I think you should have produced about 24 Kwh ( 6 hours @ 4 Kw ) .. So as UIZ states is it net ( ie have you used 16 Kwh today ? )  If not then something else is amiss ..

Cheers

Steve

[FZJ]

its a gross meter on the main switch.The 8kw comes off the inverter display .it adds up during the day telling what it has produced progressivly throughout the day.
Yeah i think something else is iffey.Almost looks like 1 string of panels is out..

[Fivid]

Our son does solar nstalls and I'm pretty sure has a sunny meter on his own install at his house.  Will run this by him and see what he has to say.

 
Dave

[FZJ]

Our son does solar nstalls and I'm pretty sure has a sunny meter on his own install at his house.  Will run this by him and see what he has to say.

 
Dave

Thanks dave

[speewa158]

l have 4.5 of solar on the roof ,  as a general rule its grabs 14 to 19 KWH per day . l am in credit to the Elect Co so far about $1500 over 3.5 months . That works for me     

[Tjupurula]

l have 4.5 of solar on the roof ,  as a general rule its grabs 14 to 19 KWH per day . l am in credit to the Elect Co so far about $1500 over 3.5 months . That works for me     

Living in the desert where I live, that is something I am seriously going to think about.  The additional power, if any, I could give to my parents in law.
Tjupurula

[FZJ]

l have 4.5 of solar on the roof ,  as a general rule its grabs 14 to 19 KWH per day . l am in credit to the Elect Co so far about $1500 over 3.5 months . That works for me     

,cheers speewa, thats about what i thought it should be.might have to get sma to look at it remotely again.

[baldheadedgit]

My 3kw system has done 110kw in a week. thats the best so far...so yep, you got a problem somewhere

BHG

[speewa158]

BHG Your back with us are you        ,     we will talk to you      , Well mabey   

[baldheadedgit]

Awww buddy,, i never left ya,,, how could you think i ever would,, there is no way i could ever leave my Klingon speaking mate...

Sorry for the hijack, i'm done..

BHG

[speewa158]

Awww buddy,, i never left ya,,, how could you think i ever would,, there is no way i could ever leave my Klingon speaking mate...

Sorry for the hijack, i'm done..

BHG

BHG dont go somebody loves you                                                               hopefully             no really         

[Camel Tow]

The first and most obvious thing to check is if there is any shading on the panels. If they are all in one string, even a little bit of shade on one cell can disrupt the output for the whole system. I was even required to shorten a ventilation pipe on the roof so that it didn't cast a shadow.

I have a 2.82kW system and I can get up to 20kW produced on a good day in Canberra. Although Feb & Mar have been lousy.

My outputs are at the following link:

http://www.pvoutput.org/list.jsp?userid=1365

Where are you located? I would suggest that you might need to get an electrician that is experienced in solar to come over and check your system.

Cheers

[FZJ]

The first and most obvious thing to check is if there is any shading on the panels. If they are all in one string, even a little bit of shade on one cell can disrupt the output for the whole system. I was even required to shorten a ventilation pipe on the roof so that it didn't cast a shadow.

I have a 2.82kW system and I can get up to 20kW produced on a good day in Canberra. Although Feb & Mar have been lousy.

My outputs are at the following link:

http://www.pvoutput.org/list.jsp?userid=1365

Where are you located? I would suggest that you might need to get an electrician that is experienced in solar to come over and check your system.

Cheers

Gday cameltow.Im in Bonny hills, about 15min south of port Macquarie.Ive had a solar sparky look at it first up and he checked the panel output etc and it came up fine so he was a bit stumped.I got the grid supplier to do a test on the incoming  ac voltage and its fine.That leaves the inverter  which I thought id solved but perhaps not.I will call them again on tuesday.

Ta
pete

[speewa158]

The Inverter might need to be reprogramed as sometimes they kack themselves , or replace it , warranty 

[Garry H]

Gday cameltow.Im in Bonny hills, about 15min south of port Macquarie.Ive had a solar sparky look at it first up and he checked the panel output etc and it came up fine so he was a bit stumped.I got the grid supplier to do a test on the incoming  ac voltage and its fine.
Ta
pete

My brother inlaw's got a sunny boy invertor and it kept on turning of like you have described, when checking the incoming voltage it appeared fine, but..... after running out of options, and complaining lots, ETSA put on a meter that monitered all voltage coming in,
he (or the local electrician) ended up changing the phase that the grid feed was feeding into and all the problems were fixed, as I understand it it was an overvoltage (mini spikes) that was causing the invertor to drop out and taking a number of minutes to reset itself, hence the system was turned of more than it was turned on,
I am not sure if the voltage parameters that the invertor work within can be reset
my 4 kw system works well and I am more than happy with it
hope this helps as it is disapointing to hear of a system not working well
cheers
Garry

[making tracks]

If the inverter has gone,what would be a fair price for a 4Kw replacement? Have the Chinese caught up with the Germans with quality

[FZJ]

Thanks for the replys.

I did get essential energy to monitor the ac coming in for a week and its all within AU standards.The inverter is still under warrenty.SMA are great to deal with so they should be able to suss it out remotely through the bluetooth connection and see whats going on.

Ta

Pete

[FZJ]

Thanks for those that replied.

And for those interested.......

SMA technicians looked via bluetooth and could see something wrong but it wasnt the inverter.Called the local installer/sparky today and he checked all the connections on the panels and ......bugger me its working.

its now pumping out more than double what it was.very overcast today and it still did pretty well,cant wait to see how it goes on a sunny day.

Speaking to a good installer today,they get at least 4 calls a day asking for repairs to shody installs done by companies that have done a runner.I pity those that got really dudded.
I  recommend SMA inverters after sales service as good as any ive ever encountered.I didnt buy the inverter from them,in fact it it came from over seas and they still spent a good couple of hours on the phone sorting it out.
cheers
pete

[Bill]

We had the same problem after Cyclone Yasi.
Found out it the fuses on some of the panels blown.
Had the fuses replaced and it is all good now...
Bill and Morag