Thankfully Ray zero of the 150 + of Offgrid homes I have done have their array on a roof, are inspected, or would the owner ever want more than an outdoor shut-down of the system. The few that have had inspections, the inspector does not worry about this as the array is not on the roof. In my opinion there should be nothing that shuts down and offgrid battery inverter other than a dead battery or overcurrent/disco protection.
I feel for you guys! Crazy people everywhere:( In 3 wildfires near my home there has never been an engine until it past the next day. They know they can stay here in the garage where it is cool, no smoke, and power 24/7. Schneider does build the GFCI into the CC and I have had them shut down an XW with close in lightning which is a plus. Yes on fixing this! Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar "we go where powerlines don't" http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/ e-mail [email protected] text 209 813 0060 > Midnite has some string level and module level 690.12 disconnects that > wire in like an optimizer or micro inverter, so those should be able to > meet the 2019 requirements. However beware: they as of yet still don't > have a reasonable disconnect system to disconnect the charge controller > which has capacitors that back feed the PV line for up to 90 seconds. > They have a DC GFI breaker with remote trip capability but it takes 4 > spaces, so with multiple charge controllers it turns into a wiring mess > really fast. > > I actually wired in some 60 amp rated diodes on one system to get it to > pass inspection; what a joke, going back to 1980s equipment to pass 2017 > code.   690.12 is an absolute nightmare for small off grid. There > really should be some exemptions for small arrays (under 3 kW) and under > 100 vdc. Fire fighters are not going to get there till the structure is > down anyway, Response times are up to an hour for remote locations with > volunteer fire departments. Its not like in town at all; no one is > going to go on the roof on an off grid fire. > > On the flip side, there are real dangers created by nuisance tripping of > 690.12 equipment. Again, on grid it's a mere inconvenience, but off > grid it could mean spoiled food, frozen water lines, shut down heating > systems in subzero temperatures, and for the elderly: loss of their > breathing machines. I've already had a 74 year old customer climbing on > their roof multiple times to reset the Rapid shutdown equipment after > nuisance trips. Are we going to wait until we get someone killed in the > name of "Safety" before we fix this? > > Ray Walters > Remote Solar > 303 505-8760 > > On 7/6/18 9:55 AM, cwarfel wrote: >> >> I am wondering about the experience installers have with a DC coupled >> multimode system design that will comply after January 1 with what I >> feel is the biggest mistake/poorly guided part of NEC 2017 690, and >> that is 690.12. We are installing two Outback systems with the remote >> controlled combiner and even that won't comply after January 1 unless >> we parallel more subarrays (There's safety for you, lower >> voltage-higher amperage!). Thanks for any insight. >> >> Chris >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >>         Christopher Warfel, PE >>       ENTECH Engineering, Inc. >> PO Box 871, Block Island, RI 02807 >>               (401)466-8978 >> >> EEI logo <http://entech-engineering.com> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >> >> List Address: [email protected] >> >> Change listserver email address & settings: >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> List-Archive: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html >> >> List rules & etiquette: >> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm >> >> Check out or update participant bios: >> www.members.re-wrenches.org >> > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: [email protected] > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html > > List rules & etiquette: > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > www.members.re-wrenches.org > > _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: [email protected] Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
