6

Maintenance and

Troubleshooting

Chapter 6 contains information about how to provide general maintenance for the Xantrex Grid Tie Solar Inverter. It also provides information about troubleshooting the unit.

The topics in this chapter are organized as follows:

•“Factors Affecting GT Inverter Performance” on page 6–1

•“Performing General Maintenance” on page 6–3

•“Replacing Parts” on page 6–3

•“Identifying Error/Fault Conditions and Solutions” on page 6–9.

Factors Affecting GT Inverter Performance

This section describes several factors that will affect the amount of power that a properly installed and operating GT Inverter can produce.

PV Array Factors

PV array ratings

PV arrays are rated at ideal factory conditions, such as specified illumination

 

(1000 W/m2), spectrum of the light and specified temperature (25 °C / 77 °F),

 

which seldom reflect real-world installations. This is called the STC (Standard

 

Test Condition) rating and is the figure that appears on the PV module nameplate

 

label.

Expected

Because of several unavoidable environmental factors, you can expect your

performance

PV array to produce around 60% to 70% of its peak STC-rated output for a

 

properly designed and installed PV system on a typical day.

Temperature and

PV array temperature affects the output of the entire system. As the temperature

reduced output

on the array surface heats up, its energy output goes down. Roof-mounted arrays

 

also collect the heat generated by the roof surface (or trapped under the array) and

 

will produce less output than pole-mounted arrays, which allow greater air

 

circulation behind the panels.