Dear Friends:
I have been pursuing some answers from Solectria on what appear to be significant defects in the design of their residential PVI series inverters. I have finally received some final answers from them on a few issues and I am waiting on final answers on others. Unfortunately the answers are not good. 1. Apparently the electronics portion of the PVI series inverter cannot be separated from the DC disconnect. If you want to replace that inverter, you need to remove the entire chassis. This of course exposes the lone service worker to high voltage DC. The unit looks like it can be separated but they tell me it cannot be. This reminds me of the Fronius IG series inverter. I argued with Fronius for an entire day about how idiotic it was to propose tarping panels to protect service workers. I submit that an inverter without a separatable disconnect requires an outboard DC disconnect or it is not viable. The DC disconnect adds cost and clutter to any install. Solectria has an outboard, remotely activated disconnect. I was hoping to get my hands on one at a recent local sales seminar Solectria held, but the goofball presenting the seminar did not bother bringing one ( I can call him a goof ball because he has since left Solectria. I would not otherwise call anyone at a manufacturer a name, they are all good people doing the best job they can with the products they are hired to represent). Anyway, before I bid another Solectria I will price compare with the cost of the remote disconnect included. I won't install one until I have touched the device to verify it is suitable. I am taking a poll: Which GT inverters have included, separatable DC disconnects? How easy are they to replace? How important is it to you that the DC disconnect be separatable? 2. The Solectria PVI installation manual indicates the inverter is not to be mounted to "flammable surfaces." You cannot mount these inverter on a wood surface, indoors or out. The bracket is not wide enough to span two studs in most cases, so if you are mounting it inside, you cannot mount it on a plywood backboard and you cannot mount it on the exterior of a wood-sheeted structure. It is not unlikely that if any trees are near your inverter, a few leaves will likely become lodged behind the inverter over time and they then could burst into flames. To me this inverter heating seems very limiting. It makes me think: do I want to install a fire-starter on or in my customers homes? Do any of you know of any other inverters that get hot enough to ignite the surface onto which they are mounted? Thanks for the input. William Miller Gradient Cap_mini Lic 773985 millersolar.com <http://www.millersolar.com/> 805-438-5600
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