54 Canadian Solar 350W Poly panel installation

[Steve87]

Over a period of time, I have been asked to rectify a poor but very large installation. They initially had 60 X 350W Canadian Solar Poly PV Array. The installation was not compliant in anyway. P2000 channeling was used without mid or end clamps. The roof is definitely challenging due to its pitch that changes & in these circumstances an adjustable mounting bracket was the only suitable choice. Also being at the coast a quality Aluminium & stainless steel fabrication was again the best choice of materials. 

The previous Installer also had AC & DC wiring mixed into the same conduit & this needed addressing in the short term to gain compliance. We had to then seperate the AC & DC cabling as best we could, a temporary measure, however, we will need to eventually move these inverters anyways so at that point in time, we will completely separate the AC & DC from exposure to the same channel way. 

 

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by Steve87
Edited

[Steve87]

[Steve87]

[Steve87]

[Lee2]

Did they have a COC before you arrived? In my somewhat limited experience in getting COCs you can get a COC for any shoddy job no issue if the first spark won't issue one just phone up the next. The guys doing the inspections don't even come with a copy of the regulations. No one can remember the intricacies of all 300 pages. 

[Lee2]

Do you earth just one panel in the string and the rest are bonded together via the installation clamps? Does it run out into an earth spike into the garden? Can one connect the earth to the earth terminal in the db? I assume we now talking about DC ground so it would need its own earth spike to not mix AC and DC.

[Steve87]

Hi Lee, 

Unfortunately, there was no CoC inspection done nor a certificate presented. You have touched on a very specific loophole in the system at the current moment. 

A CoC is required for any warranty claims done etc. The massive issue we are facing in the Solar SA market is that we rely on a master electrician to furnish a CoC for compliance. Historically a CoC covered the main DB & any Sub DBs. Now the SANS 10142 has added rules & guidelines for Solar installations. 

Most Master electricians are quite clued up with AC power. Unfortunately, the common sparky doesn't have the fundamentals in bred, through no fault of his own. Couple that with a high demand of Solar installations & we have a recipe for disaster. 

I think only in Cape Town where things have been regulated & policed is there meaningful work taking place. However, the amount of jobs I have had to clean up due to clear non compliance is scary. 

My approach is to follow the guidelines as best I can & it involves lots of research & also watching other countries codes & guidelines. Eg. In Aus they Earth the Array into the Main DB board. In SA the exact wording is that an Earth Spike is preferred. An inspector will also measure the resistance & this is recorded on the CoC documents in Aus. 

Now in SA we are exploding with Solar. What we are seeing is potentially a dangerous environment. The inverter technology is promoting higher & higher Voltages especially in the Solar PV domain as well as in the commercial market the High voltage 800v DC batteries. 

All that I can say is that I support the PV Green Card & a few other industry standards bodies trying to improve the overall education not just of installers but of owners especially because they are the end users. This industry needs a lot of help to get to a good standard of understanding & regulations. It's going to be a long journey, but I try my utmost best to not judge anyone's work. You really don't know anything until you have be taught or told better. It needs to make sense why we do something rather than just to randomly do something. 

& I don't know it all. I am just as much as a sponge to new ideas & better ways to be safer & more practical in my approach. 

Sorry for the long winded rhetoric but it needs mentioning the hard task we face in the Solar industry. 

[TimCam]

25 minutes ago, Steve87 said:

In Aus they Earth the Array into the Main DB board. In SA the exact wording is that an Earth Spike is preferred. An inspector will also measure the resistance & this is recorded on the CoC documents in Aus.

I don't understand why the Australian guys would do that, as the solar array on the roof is "absolutely" a lightning conductor, and you don't want lightning discharge fed into your DB, but routed directly to ground with the shortest possible route. The SA wording is correct, as each array should have its own earth spike (shortest path to ground).

All panels should be connected with an earth strap, and an exit point to ground. Clamps and rails corrode and cant be relied on for proper grounding.

[Madek]

On 2022/10/01 at 12:15 AM, Steve87 said:

Hi Lee, 

Unfortunately, there was no CoC inspection done nor a certificate presented. You have touched on a very specific loophole in the system at the current moment. 

A CoC is required for any warranty claims done etc. The massive issue we are facing in the Solar SA market is that we rely on a master electrician to furnish a CoC for compliance. Historically a CoC covered the main DB & any Sub DBs. Now the SANS 10142 has added rules & guidelines for Solar installations. 

Most Master electricians are quite clued up with AC power. Unfortunately, the common sparky doesn't have the fundamentals in bred, through no fault of his own. Couple that with a high demand of Solar installations & we have a recipe for disaster. 

I think only in Cape Town where things have been regulated & policed is there meaningful work taking place. However, the amount of jobs I have had to clean up due to clear non compliance is scary. 

My approach is to follow the guidelines as best I can & it involves lots of research & also watching other countries codes & guidelines. Eg. In Aus they Earth the Array into the Main DB board. In SA the exact wording is that an Earth Spike is preferred. An inspector will also measure the resistance & this is recorded on the CoC documents in Aus. 

Now in SA we are exploding with Solar. What we are seeing is potentially a dangerous environment. The inverter technology is promoting higher & higher Voltages especially in the Solar PV domain as well as in the commercial market the High voltage 800v DC batteries. 

All that I can say is that I support the PV Green Card & a few other industry standards bodies trying to improve the overall education not just of installers but of owners especially because they are the end users. This industry needs a lot of help to get to a good standard of understanding & regulations. It's going to be a long journey, but I try my utmost best to not judge anyone's work. You really don't know anything until you have be taught or told better. It needs to make sense why we do something rather than just to randomly do something. 

& I don't know it all. I am just as much as a sponge to new ideas & better ways to be safer & more practical in my approach. 

Sorry for the long winded rhetoric but it needs mentioning the hard task we face in the Solar industry. 

I totally agree on the COC issue. My husband is A MIE master electrician and very clued up with the regulations. Not one of the solar inspections he recently did was compliant and safe as per safety standards 

. I have pictures. COC being issued left right and center without proper test reports. No proper lightning protection. Ac and DC wires mixed. And then it's big solar companies. I see disaster coming and many people is going to loose money. In a MIE meeting my husband attended. They mentioned 3house burnt down due to incorrect installations. DOL is not doing what they suppose to do. We have reported all the fraulent COC  's to DOL and ECA. and nothing happened to the installers. In 1 case the AiA was called for inspection. 180 pages of faults reported to DOL nothing happened client spend R300 000 in legal fees nothing happened. The industry is in shambles everything goes