Non Compliance?

[cbw]

Guys , I am fairly new to this, be gentle!

Second install is a twin array/inverter job.

On testing today everything is really good except, my SMA1700 fires up after 1 minute following A/C failure.

Spoke to Germany, they said that serial number is not set for the UK market and I should return it to the supplier.

Therefore spoke to the supplier, who passed me onto their supplier who said I need to buy a laptop and download some free software, then buy some leed and reprogram the SMA1700

I am dreadfull with a basic computer in my office.....God help me in a sweaty old loft with a laptop.

Do I go and buy a laptop and attempt this reprogramming? or do I remove the inverter, rebox it and fill in noncompliance paperwork?

Not sure if this is common, the man said that due to current pressures they were asking for UK programmed inverters but taking what ever they were offered.

 

[SolarCity]

I'd get a laptop. It'll really come in helpful with SMA inverters. You'll need a Bluetooth device for your inverter though.

 

[grandfortune]

I was thinking of only using SMA , i have a laptop but why would i ever need one, i assume they are plug and play these inverters??
thanks
Grand

 

[IronLiver]

I am also wondering what benefit you would get from connecting the inverter to a laptop during commissioning. Are there extra settings that you can't access normally? To date the SMAs we have installed have all started up without any problems following the usual tests.

 

[cbw]

No todays only took 1 min to restart after AC shutdown.

Told that I need to reprogram it?

 

[TedM]

I don't want to sound too harsh here, but it is really up to you as the installer to confirm that everything about the system meets the G83 spec, assuming up to 16A per phase. You cannot just say 'it comes in a box so I'm not touching it'.

When you submit the G83 form you are saying that you have checked that everything complies. So you should have the training, kit and competence to do that - and that includes all inverter settings.

 

[cbw]

Cool, thats the answer I was looking for, new laptop it is then, I just assumed that they would sell UK equipment, and obviously I have checked it, hence I picked up the problem.

 

[Graeme Harrold]

As long as the dials are set, they should be good to go. Also technically you should also be altering the installer password, so the customer cant get into that bit too, even though Gridguard protects the main stuff.

If you plan to do SMA, I would say a laptop is a must, a bluetooth card for non-bluetooth inverters, an SMA gridguard code and Sunnyexplorer.

 

[grandfortune]

I don't want to sound too harsh here, but it is really up to you as the installer to confirm that everything about the system meets the G83 spec, assuming up to 16A per phase. You cannot just say 'it comes in a box so I'm not touching it'.

When you submit the G83 form you are saying that you have checked that everything complies. So you should have the training, kit and competence to do that - and that includes all inverter settings.

well we were never taught any of that on the course i did, he said the inverter software will work out what inverter you need and its simply plug and play.

 

[SolarCity]

well we were never taught any of that on the course i did, he said the inverter software will work out what inverter you need and its simply plug and play.

What a pathetic thing to 'teach' on a course. Little wonder that the standard of PV systems are dropping through the floor.

There appears to be a new batch of installer that we are competing against - They're not cowboys, they simply don't know what they're doing.

 

[dansk]

It's like learning to drive, the learning starts after the test is passed.

 

[grandfortune]

so big solar can i ask, did you go though say the top 7 inverter manufactures and go though all the setting and commitioning of them inverters?. we looked at one (SMA)but that was about it, no reading of instructions oor anything.

 

[SolarCity]

so big solar can i ask, did you go though say the top 7 inverter manufactures and go though all the setting and commitioning of them inverters?. we looked at one (SMA)but that was about it, no reading of instructions oor anything.

I learnt how to match an inverter. If I had been told on a solar PV course that I should rely on design software, I'd have demanded my money back.

 

[grandfortune]

so you dont trust the SMA software or PVsol?

 

[SolarCity]

I trust both of them, but I still always check and that isn't my point.

I wouldn't forgo teaching my son simple addition simply because I have a calculator in the house.

I know a lot of installers rely on design software (I went on a course earlier in the year with a room full of them.....) and I know this isn't necessarily an obstacle to them being competent installers, but I simply cannot comprehend the idea that this shouldn't be part of very basic PV training.

 

[TedM]

There's nothing wrong with using design software - but you can't use it blindly. You've got to understand what it is telling you and why. Just as you might do with cable sizing calcs in a non-PV context.

But checking and testing an installation is quite different. You must not only be able to recognise problems but also fix them. If you don't have the kit, training and competence to do that then you shouldn't be considered qualified (i.e. MCS accredited) in the first place. PV is no different to any other electrical work in this regard.

 

[cbw]

I am sorry but this is going off at a tangent. My newly installed inverter restarts after 1 minuite of ac shutdown.

I have just bought new desktop and spent £10s of thousands getting set up and now my fking inverter needs a laptop and posh leeds to make it comply with UK regs.

Why the hell have I bought this kit from a reputable supplier when I could have bought it on ebay and saved a fortune????


Rather than just critisise me suggest the bloomin lap top and leeds required. I genuinely thought that SMA stuff was ready for the UK market.

I have all but bust my good electrical company setting this up and am still shocked at the mounting costs.

Thought MCS suppliers would supply uk ready kit!!!!!

 

[cbw]

What a load of ****, really upset about it all......paperwork for paper work sake and now mcs suppliers supplying stuff not set for uk market
#

about ready to chuck myself of a motorway bridge

 

[The Launderer]

I trust both of them, but I still always check and that isn't my point.

I wouldn't forgo teaching my son simple addition simply because I have a calculator in the house.

I know a lot of installers rely on design software (I went on a course earlier in the year with a room full of them.....) and I know this isn't necessarily an obstacle to them being competent installers, but I simply cannot comprehend the idea that this shouldn't be part of very basic PV training.

My experience of PV installer training is not great.

The surveyors course I attended was a joke.

The tutor was demonstrating the SAP calculation and he thought the azimuth angle was the slope of the roof. He then took us to an installation surrounded by much higher buildings very close and told us there were no shading issues.

No one complained. All they wanted was the certificate so that they can get their MCS accreditation.

Our electrician attended another course and he was not given any info about changing inverter settings either.

I would hazard a guess that most people on this forum that are using laptops and changing inverter settings are self taught and didn't learn these skills at the courses on offer in the UK

 

[nbown]

My experience of PV installer training is not great.

The surveyors course I attended was a joke.

Are you stating that standards are slipping for newly MCS accreditation members? I am looking into having a system installed soon, when considering quotes should I or anybody else reading this avoid the newer members?