but under a surge like a lightning strike wouldn't the diodes open rather than short? i always considered the pv's to be the least likely thing to be damaged from lightning and inverters and charge controllers (electronics) to be the most vulnerable. what in a pv would fail? an intercell connecting wire or would it actually damage the cell on a semiconductor level? todd
On Thursday, May 21, 2015 4:46pm, "Matt Sherald" <m...@getpimby.com> said: Hi Wayne, Several years back I had all sixteen SolarWorld modules on a tracker get zapped. The two other trackers adjacent to this one had no damaged modules. The same strike blew out the phone box at the end of the road (some distance away). The SolarWorld jboxes were all sealed with no way to get to the diodes. The homeowners insurance covered the loss and I replaced the modules with something similar (SW had since stopped manufacturing 175s). It would have been nice to have had access to the diodes. -- Matt SheraldPIMBY Energy, LLC NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer®304-704-5943 [ www.getpimby.blogspot.com ]( http://www.getpimby.blogspot.com )[ www.getpimby.com ]( http://www.getpimby.com ) On Thu, May 21, 2015 at 7:28 PM, Wayne Irwin <[ wa...@pureenergysolar.com ]( mailto:wa...@pureenergysolar.com )> wrote: Hello Wrenches, Today we visited a 10KW residential ground mounted system where there was a recent lightning strike that fried phones, irrigation system, cable and apparently the array. There was no external visible damage but also no voltage at the combiner. We pulled 10-15 module junction box covers off and only saw clear evidence of damage to one diode. There was no Voc on any of the modules. While I recognize that Florida is arguably the lightning capital of N America, I have never seen an entire array fried. Has anyone on the list ever seen an entire array fried? The modules are Schuco 230's. Obviously not covered by warranty and Schuco has pretty much bailed out of the US market. Does anyone have experience repairing these modules? Any similar experience and/or advice would be appreciated. Wayne Irwin, President License #CVC56695 State Licensed Solar Contractor Pure Energy Solar International Inc. [ wa...@pureenergysolar.com ]( mailto:pureenergyso...@hotmail.com ) [ ]( http://pureenergysolar.net/ )[ http://PureEnergySolar.com ]( http://PureEnergySolar.com ) [ http://SolarChargingStation.net ]( https://solarchargingstation.net ) [ 352 377-6527 ]( tel:352%20377-6527 ) Office [ 352 336-3299 ]( tel:352%20336-3299 ) Fax [ 352 316-1637 ]( tel:352%20316-1637 ) Cell The Sun Is Always Shining! The content of this message is Pure Energy Solar Confidential. If you are not the intended recipient and have received this message in error, any use or distribution is prohibited. Please notify me immediately by reply e-mail and delete this message from your computer system. Thank you. _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: [ RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org ]( mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org ) Change listserver email address & settings: [ http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org ]( http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org ) List-Archive: [ http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html ]( http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html ) List rules & etiquette: [ www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm ]( http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm ) Check out or update participant bios: [ www.members.re-wrenches.org ]( http://www.members.re-wrenches.org ) -- Matt SheraldPIMBY Energy, LLC NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer®304-704-5943 [ www.getpimby.blogspot.com ]( http://www.getpimby.blogspot.com ) [ www.getpimby.com ]( http://www.getpimby.com ) Sent from Finest Planet WebMail.
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