Five days without solar power

[marc8]

[FONT=N1395~8a][FONT=N1395~8a]copied from mk site, The Sentry Time Delay RCDs are clearly identified with the internationally agreed representative symb[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=N1396~8d][FONT=N1396~8d]S [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=N1395~8a][FONT=N1395~8a].

try technical information then scroll down to time delayed rcd units all explained there [/FONT][/FONT]

 

[BruceB]

All sentry rcds have 's' at the end of the part number.
The only time delayed ones they make are 100 mA from what I can see.

 

[Worcester]

OK we sometimes installed timed delayed RCD's for various reasons (usually for discrimination), as to availablity, 100mA timed delayed easy to get hold of, most companies do them. The only 30mA timed delayed ones we've come across are 4 pole (3 phase).

Just go back to your BS7671 and follow the rules for whether an RCD is required or not, PLUS solar PV (TL / Transformerless inverters) IF fitted on an RCD should be on it's own, so as not to cause either nuisance tripping or flooding. i.e keep the circuits seperate. If the existing CU is wholly protected by an RCD or combination of RCD's / RCBO's then put another new CU in dedicated for the Solar - simples.

Galvanically isolated inverters shouldn't cause a problem.

 

[iconnect]

Hello ok Sma recommend at least a 100mA RCD not 30mA due to nuisance tripping. Then the PV should not be installed on a shared RCD. Separate the circuit to it own board, as stated the PV it's self does not require an RCD it's the regs that decide that. We install SMA's all the time the smaller inverters are fine on a 30mA RCD, it's all about the design that's the hard part of Pv get that right and the rest is easy.

 

[BruceB]

For completeness, this is the only 30mA time delayed I have come across:
RCDs > Time Delayed > T100-30-2TD - Protek Circuit Protection

 

[SibertSolar]

The smallest that Doepke do is 100mA - I can't imagine there is much demand for a time delay 30mA unit!

 

[Worcester]

We visited one of our sites today, it had also not been generating for 5 days.

We thought it was a comms error to sunny portal at first as we've had a few issues with that site, however as I couldn;t log in to it remotelyu at all, we decided as site visit was nescessary:

We found the problem

Someone had nicked the breaker !!!!

 

[roamwood]

Thanks to everyone who has responded on this thread.

By way of update we have now been back on for 5 days, despite doing nothing to resolve the underlying issue. Better weather seems to reduce the leakage current and enabled the trip to stay locked in place. Despite today being pretty miserable it is still holding, thankfully. It seems my inverter is OK despite the extended down time.

I have been trying to contact my installer, but he hasn't responded to my emails. I now realise that even though his website is still up and running it is very out of date, and he is no longer MCS registered. Although he appears to be still in business it isn't solar related, and he changed his company name last august. Shame, despite the problems he did a good job overall and certainly wasn't a cowboy. I guess my 5 year guarantee is now worthless too.....

Following on from the advice here I have managed to obtain a Wylex consumer unit with 100ma time delayed protection for up to 7 circuits and 10 positions additionally protected by a 30ma RCD. It will fit in my meter cupboard which is why I didn't want to go the easier route of a separate box just for the solar as I didn't have space. I figured that my original installer would likely install it for me under guarantee, but now it looks like I will need to get someone else.....

Could I ask a further bit of advice, who should I get to install the replacement CU? The original electrician was said to be solar qualified, but can I get any "part P" qualified electrician to do the work of swapping over my consumer unit? I can't imagine that the work could be done without pulling the service fuse, so presumably I (or the electrician) will have to make arrangement for that, but will I also have to notify anyone from the FIT point of view?

Many Thanks,

Mike

PS If anyone can recommend a suitable electrician in Suffolk to do this work please let me know!

 

[Worcester]

There are a number of challenges with changing a consumer unit - we have to follow all sorts of rules and regulations, - one of the nost important ones is that to alleviate any issues with a change over, the first thing that should be done is a complete test on every cirucit of the existing installation as well as checking all the existing earthing abd bonding arraemegemnts to identify any faults or issues as these will need to be fixed as part of the change over ... So it is a much more costly excercise than simply adding in a Solar CU - it could easily end up taking days to fix any issues...

Most people would charge in the region of £600 including materials for a CU swap to include all the pre and post installation testing - it takes a long time to do properly.

 

[iconnect]

Yeah getting a part p spark is fine but just make sure he relabels the consumer unit with the PV stickers. He also needs to be aware of how to isolate the pv. As above it's a easy job to change it but may throw up faults and upgrades that need doing.