Hi Jason,
We just removed 2-3 shattered mods from the roof of the old KACO HQ because, in
my opinion, the shattered glass poses a fire hazard by exposing normally
protected electrical connections. The risk may be small but if there is any
risk present what-so-ever, I want to mitigate that. I believe you made the
right call by refusing to do the work as you may be liable in the (however
unlikely) event of catastrophic failure at the mod in question. The array won't
look so nice anymore if half of it is melted and charred. Play it safe. Get rid
of it.
Eric Stikes
Founding Director & CEO
Good Sun Solar, A CA non-profit corp.
www.goodsun.life
(530)798-3738
--------- Original Message --------- Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Bypassing a
broken PV module
From: "Glenn Burt" <[email protected]>
Date: 7/22/16 5:11 am
To: "RE-wrenches" <[email protected]>
If it will be removed electrically from the system, perhaps you can come up
with a way to apply a clear sealant coating across the face of the module to
decrease further degradation by the elements.
From: Jason Szumlanski
Sent: ‎7/‎22/‎2016 7:26
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: [RE-wrenches] Bypassing a broken PV module
I came across shattered glass on an Evergreen PV module while doing a new
homeowner system evaluation. My inclination is to remove the panel and bypass
it, which would still leave the array well within the operating parameters for
the inverter. However, the owner wants to just leave the panel physically in
the array because it actually looks better that way, which I agree it does. You
can hardly tell it's broken from ground level.
I explained that there is a risk of a ground fault if the module is left
physically in the array, but the owner who is pretty astute, mentioned that the
fault voltage if a ground fault were to occur from that module would only be at
22.5V potential (he didn't mention the actual voltage, but he did correctly
state that the maximum fault would be limited to the single module, which in
this case is 22.5V @ 12A). While it may trip an inverter, it would probably not
pose a safety risk.
While he may be technically right, for now I have reused to do the work, but I
told him I would think about it.
Anyone been through this scenario?
Jason Szumlanski
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