Tweet
So i had a 17.76kw system installed and it went online in october of last year. The panels are 48 REC-370TP4 and the system has 48 iq8a microinverters and an enphase envoy iq gateway. The system cost me south of 50k usd installed. In march we had a small storm, nothing major, our power didn’t even go off. After the storm 47 of the 48 inverters were offline. Enphase blamed it on a power surge initially but I was able to pull smart meter data that showed the voltage was stable (around 250 volts at the time of the failures). All 48 inverters were replaced less than a week ago. Three days later the entire system crashed again. 11 inverters in one string tripped the 20 amp breaker they are tied to, the other 37 showed a “warning” and are offline. I reset the breaker but it changed nothing. again the smart meter data shows the voltage was stable (in 15 minute increments) at 243 volts. Again we had a very minor storm that didn’t affect the power on the house. The odd thing is the error showed up at 8pm in the data, after sunset. I have a surge protector on the entire house tied to the main disconnect and 3 10’ ground electrodes on the house. Anyone have any idea whats going on here or any advice? Someone mentioned lightning emp issues with bigger systems, but supposedly enphase has industry leading protection built into their micros. Enphase has been contacted again by my installers and Enphase is supposed to be sending their own people out to my house this time. Anyone with any advice or knowledge on what is happening to me would be appreciated. I will also add that their are 5 solar arrays on the roof. 1 has 8 panels. 2 and 3 have 18 panels between them. 4 and 5 have 11 panels each. Another solar installer I spoke to said he thinks the strings are overloaded. He also speculated it could be a phasing issue. Im no expert on the technology so I am posting it here hoping for help.
-
-
Ask the installer to recheck all connections and wiring. One possibility is reversing L1/L2 across different branches that can cause odd behavior. -
Would the system operate normally for 3 days before the issue presented itself?Comment
-
Do check, that the AC line voltage does not rise a lot at the point
of connection to the PV system. Poor wiring might let it get high
enough to trip high voltage shutdown. Bruce RoeComment
-
Enphase called today and there was apparently a miscommunication between them and my installer, enphase will not be fixing my equipment personally, they “aren’t allowed to climb on the roof”. So I’m still in the dark on whats going on and when it will be fixed.Comment
-
Do you have access to Enphase events log? There is plenty there that can give hints of what happened in the past.Comment
-
How do I access the logs? I have the equipment, but dont know how to access it.Comment
-
one way is in Envoy Toolkit app and the other in Enlighten Manager webpage, under events tab.
Comment
Comment