Solectria Renewables PVI 1800 Installation And Operation Manual
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Solectria Renewables PVI 1800 Installation And Operation Manual

Residential/commercial grid-tied photovoltaic inverter
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Letter of Attestation IEEE C62.41-2002
PVI 1800/PVI 2500
INSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL
Residential/Commercial
Grid-Tied Photovoltaic Inverter
© 2006, Solectria Renewables
Subject to Change REV 1.04.4

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Summary of Contents for Solectria Renewables PVI 1800

  • Page 1 Letter of Attestation IEEE C62.41-2002 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 INSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL Residential/Commercial Grid-Tied Photovoltaic Inverter © 2006, Solectria Renewables Subject to Change REV 1.04.4...

  • Page 2: Important Safety Instructions

    IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS This manual contains important instructions that shall be followed during installation and maintenance of the PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Inverter. To reduce the risk of electrical shock, and to ensure the safe installation and operation of the inverter, the following safety symbols are used to indicate dangerous conditions and important safety instructions.
  • Page 3 • All electrical installations shall be done in accordance with the local and national electrical codes ANSI/NFPA 70, NEC2005. • The PVI 1800/PVI 2500 contains no user serviceable parts. Do not open the inverter case as this will damage the NEMA4, IP65 seal.

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    7 Technical Data ......................8 Appendices........................Appendix A: Terminal assignment RS 485 / RS232............ Appendix B: PVI 1800 / 2500 Brochure / Datasheet........... Appendix C: Example PV String Sizing Tables ............Appendix D: Contact Information & Authorized Dealers and Installers ....

  • Page 5: Introduction

    The PVI 1800/PVI 2500 is a residential/commercial single phase, grid-tied PV inverter designed to be inter-connected to the electric utility grid. With this manual the PVI 1800/PVI 2500 can be installed and operated safely. This installation guide is used as reference for the commissioning and as a guideline on how to use the inverter most effectively.
  • Page 6 Careful optimization of the overall inverter system’s cost and efficiency lead to the choice of a 400V DC maximum system voltage for the PVI 1800 and 2500 for use with 1kW to 3kW PV arrays per inverter.
  • Page 7 2500. The maximum power processed from the PV array is automatically reduced to limit excessive inverter temperature. The PVI 1800/PV2500 will only operate in parallel with the utility grid. AC grid monitoring is done by microcontrollers set up to meet the requirements of UL1741. This includes grid voltage or frequency...
  • Page 8 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Diagram of the PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Features Fig. 2 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Features Diagram (1) AC conduit fitting and conductors to building/grid (10 AWG, XHHW-2 wire)PV (2) PV array ground fault interrupt (GFDI) fuse...

  • Page 9: Installation

    RMA# must be obtained from Solectria Renewables. 2.2 Inverter Mounting The PVI 1800/PVI 2500 inverter is made up of a sealed NEMA 4 /IP65 corrosion resistant aluminum enclosure containing all electrical and electronic components.
  • Page 10 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Notes regarding mounting and placement of the inverter Criteria for device mounting: • Because the inverter is in a NEMA4/IP65 sealed enclosure, the inverter can be mounted outdoors. • The very longest life for the inverter can be achieved by mounting it in a clean, dry and cool location even given the unit’s robust construction and design for efficient coolin g.
  • Page 11 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual • The ambient temperature must be between –4 F (– 20 C) and +131 F (+ 55 C) for full continuous, full power operation. (The inverter will automatically reduce power or shut down to protect itself if...
  • Page 12 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Fig. 4 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Dimensional Diagram...
  • Page 13 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Fig. 5 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Mounting Screw Pattern Mounting Details Using the mounting diagram Fig. 5, for screw positions on, wall. Four #10 or #12 screws can be used. It is recommended to use stainless steel screws, especially if used outdoors. Be sure to verify sheer and pullout strength of anchors or other wall attachments.

  • Page 14: Electrical Connection And Connection To Electrical Utility Grid

    PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual NOTE: The inverter is set up with pre-wired AC and DC connections to make it very easy and quick to connect to a DC disconnect to the left of the inverter and an AC disconnect to the right.
  • Page 15 AC and DC (PV) Connections: The PVI 1800 and PVI 2500 inverters are pre-wired with 54” (1.35 meter) wires for both the DC (PV) input and the AC connection to the building/grid (so that a 48” long conduit can be used leavin g 6” of conductors available for connection in the disconnect, junction box, etc.).
  • Page 16 Installation and Operation Manual Multiple Units: Multiple PVI 1800 or PVI 2500 units can be used at the same location/facility assuming all codes are followed including NEC, local building codes and area utility guidelines. If multiple units are used, each inverter should have its own dedicated circuit breaker, and a PV string must only be wired to one inverter (although multiple PV strings can be used on each inverter up to unit ratings and power levels).
  • Page 17 Connection Wiring To Electrical Utility Grid And Grid Impedance: The PVI 1800/PVI 2500 must be connected to the grid with 2 conductors and a ground wire. The grid impedance value at the connection point should be as low as possible to avoid an increase of the AC-voltage to non-permissible values while the inverter feeds to the grid.
  • Page 18 PV String Configurations: There is a huge number of PV module string combinations that will work well with the PVI 1800 and PVI 2500 inverters given the very large DC voltage range in which the inverter can operate. See string sizing in Appendix C for several examples.

  • Page 19: Commissioning The Inverter And Pv System

    PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual The PV-panel open circuit voltage must be below 400V DC (V < 400V DC) under all conditions as per NEC 690-7 using multiplier for cold weather OCV. Please read the Technical Info section and see PV string sizing table in Appendix C.

  • Page 20: Power, Ground Fault, Error Led Indicators And Lcd Display

    The inverter operates automatically without the need for user interaction or maintenance. The PVI 1800/PVI 2500 automatically starts feeding AC power into the grid every morning as the sun rises, as soon as sufficient DC voltage and PV power is available. The inverter microcontroller runs...

  • Page 21: Power, Ground Fault And Error Led Indicators

    PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual 4.1 Power, Ground Fault and Error LED Indicators There are three light-emitting diodes (LEDs) mounted on the front (upper right corner) to show the operating condition of the inverter. Fig. 8: Power, Ground Fault and Error Indicator The green LED "Power"...
  • Page 22 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Operating condition Description LED indicator green: standby (night) input voltage < 120 VDC yellow: red: green: initialization unit is being initialized yellow: red: green: waiting, presence of valid grid conditions is yellow: checking grid...

  • Page 23: The Lcd Display

    4.2 The LCD Display The PVI 1800/PVI 2500 inverter is supplied ready to operate so there are no settings, which have to be made by the user for fully automatic feeding o f power into the grid. The device comes standard with a display on which various types of information can be read.

  • Page 24: Main Menu

    PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Main menu The main menu is sub-divided into 6 menu items and each menu item contains sub-menus: - Menu N (Now) - Menu D (Day) - Menu W (Week) - Menu Y (Year)
  • Page 25 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Sub-menu N (Now) This menu item is used to view current values. ENTER 1. Menu-N Indication of the present 1. N > AC-Power power output xxxx W Indication of the present 2. N > AC-Voltage...
  • Page 26 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Sub-menu D (Day) This menu item is used to call up daily values regarding power fed to the grid. ENTER 2. Menu-D Indication of the daily 1. D > Energy energy output xxxx Wh Indication of the daily 2.
  • Page 27 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Sub-menu W (Week) This menu item is used to call up average values for the current week. ENTER 3. Menu-W Week 1. W > Energy Indication of the weekly energy output xxxx Wh Indication of the weekly 2.
  • Page 28 3. Y > Runtime operating time of inverter xxxx h Sub-menu T (Total) This menu item is used to call up values concerning the power fed to the grid since the PVI 1800 or PVI 2500 was first commissioned. ENTER 6. Menu-T...
  • Page 29 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Sub-menu S (Setup), the last line of the menu. The Setup menu serves to change the default settings of the PVI 1800/PVI 2500. ENTER 7. Menu-S Setup Inverter Setting the brightness 1. S > LCD-Contrast and contrast of the LCD 0 ..

  • Page 30: Troubleshooting

    Diagnosis and analysing data Identifying and resolving faults The PVI 1800/PVI 2500 is fitted with a self-diagnostic system, which can recognise a majority of possible faults and show these on the display. This allows the operator to rapidly identify possible problems in the solar inverter or system.
  • Page 31 AC lines; they concern the frequency and voltage. Such faults can also occur temporarily. The PVI 1800/PVI 2500 will, however, resume full automatic power feed after a short interruption. If the grid frequency or voltage is more or less that values prescribed by UL1741, the inverter will not re-start for 5 minutes and will display: “wait for restart”...
  • Page 32 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Internal operating errors Internal operating errors can be due to inadequate installation or layout, such as excessive temperatures due to poor selection of the inverter’s location, or to an internal fault. A service technician and Solectria Renewables should be consulted if this fault arises.
  • Page 33 Check the GFDI fuse Please contact yo ur installer/service technician or Solectria Renewables. We Internal fault on the device recommend switching off the inverter to The inverter switches off prevent any damage occurring to it.

  • Page 34: Warranty

    Duration of a Solectria Renewables Warranty Period: The warranty period is 60 months from the date of purchase of the PVI 1800, PVI 2500, PVI13kW or PVI60KW, PVI77KW and PVI90KW by the end user or 64 months after the delivery date from Solectria Renewables to installer, dealer, distributor (merchant) whichever is shorter.
  • Page 35 These warranties do not apply to and Solectria Renewables will not be responsible for any defect in or damage a) The product if it has been misused, neglected, improperly installed, physically damaged or altered, either internally or externally, or damaged from improper use or use in an unsuitable environment;...
  • Page 36 A RESULT OF ANY USE, MISUSE OR ABUSE, OR THE (IN-) CORRECT INSTALLATION, INTEGRATION OR OPERATION OF THE PRODUCT. Solectria Renewables neither assumes nor authorizes any other person to assume for it any other liability in connection with the repair or replacement or the Product.

  • Page 37: Return Material Authorization Policy

    2) Include the following: a. The RMA number supplied by Solectria Renewables, LLC clearly marked on the outside of the box b. A return address to which the unit can be shipped. Post office boxes are not acceptable.
  • Page 38 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Input (DC) from PV array: • Maximum open circuit voltage of PV array: 400V DC WARNING: NEC 690-7 must be followed to calculate the maximum number of PV modules allowed for a maximum inverter open circuit voltage (OCV) of 400V DC in extreme cold temperatures for the installation location.
  • Page 39 Output to AC grid connection: The PVI 1800/PVI 2500 is designed to feed power into a standard 60Hz, 240 or 208V AC utility service or 208V AC provided within a facility by a step down transformer (for example, from 480V AC service).
  • Page 40 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Output (AC) specifications for PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Inverter: PVI 1800 PVI 2500 Continuous AC output power 1800 Watts AC 2500 Watts AC Operating voltage range +/- 10% 240/208V AC 240/208V AC Operating frequency range 59.3 to 60.5 Hz...
  • Page 41 DC Input Voltage (VDC) Fig. 11 AC Output power of PVI 1800/PVI 2500 DC input current versus DC input voltage Input current DC 1800W Input current DC 2500W DC Input Voltage (VDC) Fig. 12 Maximum continuous DC current input for PVI 1800/PVI 2500...
  • Page 42 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual 1200 1500 1800 Power (Watts) Fig. 13a PVI 1800 efficiency plot 1000 1500 2000 2500 Power (Watts) Fig. 13b PVI 2500 efficiency plot...

  • Page 43: Appendices

    PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Appendices Appendix A: Terminal assignment RS-485 / RS-232: Not used RXD (RS232) TXD (RS232) GND (RS232/RS485) TERM (RS485) RX_B (RS485) TX_A (RS485) Not used Top view Hint! Both RJ45 connectors have the same pinout.

  • Page 44: Appendix B: Pvi 1800 / 2500 Brochure / Datasheet

    PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Appendix B See separate PVI 1800/PVI 2500 brochure The brochure can also be viewed on the website: www.solren.com Link: http://www.solren.com/downloads/PVI 1800_2500.pdf...

  • Page 45: Appendix C: Example Pv String Sizing Tables

    Installation and Operation Manual Appendix C Example string sizing PVI 1800/PVI 2500 (Note that the chart below is only to show how string sizing charts look. Please refer to the website version for complete and updated charts for use in all temperature zones across the country.)

  • Page 46: Appendix D: Contact Information & Authorized Dealers And Installers

    PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Appendix D - Contact Information Solectria Renewables LLC 360 Merrimack Street Building 9 Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA Tel: 978.683-9700 Fax: 978.683-9702 Email: inverters@solren.com Website: www.solren.com Authorized Dealers and Installers – see website: www.solren.com Specific link:...

  • Page 47: Appendix E: Ul Certification

    PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Appendix E – UL1741 Certification...
  • Page 48 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual...

  • Page 49: Appendix F - Letter Of Attestation Ieee C62.41-2002

    PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Appendix F – Letter of Attestation IEEE C62.41-2002...
  • Page 50 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Products This operating and installation manual can be added to the following products: Description Article numbe r Solectria Exendis Delta PVI 1800 PVI 1800 5.72.36.33157 D0111850 PVI 2500 PVI 2500 5.72.46.33157 D0108361 Document change record...
  • Page 51 PVI 1800/PVI 2500 Installation and Operation Manual Document distribution Version Date Company 1.00 20050714 DELTA W. Bergmann SOLECTRIA J. Worden 1.01 20050818 DELTA W. Bergmann SOLECTRIA J. Worden 1.02 20050923 DELTA W. Bergmann SOLECTRIA J. Worden 1.03 20050919 DELTA W. Bergmann SOLECTRIA J.

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