PVeducation.com

All About Solar Electric Systems and Components

  • Welcome
  • About
  • General Information
    • Working Safely with Photovoltaic Systems
    • Climate-101
    • Leasing Solar Systems
  • Solar Module Quality
    • Poor Quality Solar Module
    • Poor Quality Control – Solar Cell Color Differences
    • Snail Trails
  • Solar Concepts
    • Solar Cells, Modules, and Arrays
    • Series and Parallel Wiring
    • Sun Path
    • Solar Azimuth
    • Roof Pitch and Roof Angle (Degrees)
    • Electrical Fundamentals
    • Weight of Typical Pitched Roof Solar System
    • Solar PV Module Efficiency
    • Fixed or Tracking Array
    • Shadow Calculations for Row Spacing
    • Battery State of Charge vs Open Circuit Battery Voltage
    • Solar System Output
    • sREC – Solar Renewable Energy Credits
    • Roof Zones
    • Common Electrical Services
  • Solar System Types
    • Grid Tied Residential and Small Commercial Solar System with String Inverter
    • Grid Tied Residential and Small Commercial Solar System with Micro Inverters
    • Solar System with Direct Load
    • Grid Tied Large Commercial Solar System
    • Off Grid Solar System with DC Loads
    • Off Grid Solar System with DC and AC Loads
    • Grid Tied Battery Backup Solar System
  • Designing an Off Grid Solar Electric System
    • Designing an Off Grid Solar Electric System, Step 1, Planning Considerations
    • Designing an Off Grid Solar Electric System, Step 2, Determine the Total Load
    • Designing an Off Grid Solar Electric System, Step 3a, Determine the Amount of Solar Needed Using an MPPT Controller
    • Designing an Off Grid Solar Electric System, Step 4, Sizing the Battery Bank
    • Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems Book
  • System Design Equations
    • Calculate Array Voltage
  • Solar Installation Failures and What Not To Do
    • Squirrel Damage
    • Using the Wrong Disconnect
    • Poor Fused Combiner Design
    • Wrong Conduit
    • Improper Row Spacing
    • Badly Placed Conduit and Bad Roof Penetration
    • Inverter Commissioning
    • Water Filled Enclosures
  • Design Parameters
    • Conductor Ampacity of AL
    • Conductor Ampacity of CU
    • Temp Adjustment Conduit on Roof
    • Conduit Fill Table
    • Adjustment Factors Qty of Conductors
    • Solar Radiation by State
    • US Irradiance Maps
    • Wind Speed, Snow Load, Seismic Ratings, Temperature
You are here: Home / Solar Installation Failures and What Not To Do / Poor Fused Combiner Design

Poor Fused Combiner Design

It is always unfortunate to run into a poorly design fused combiner and it is even worse when the manufacturer doesn’t stand behind the repair of that combiner. In this case an inexpensive buss bar was used to combine the fuse outputs and a lug was placed at the middle fuse terminal. As a result of a few thermal cycles and the lugs would loosen creating a hot spot that would lead to a fuse and combiner failure. As I was making the request for repair kits, the manufacturer said they couldn’t cover the expense because the installer didn’t keep accurate maintenance records proving they re-torqued the terminals at a max interval of 6 months.

The take away is to look at the potential failure points in equipment designs even if they are from large experienced manufacturers.

poor-quality-combiner-design-2

poor-quality-combiner-design-1

View Michael Howell's profile on LinkedIn

Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

Copyright © 2023 · Log in