Grounding Exeltech inverter

James J
15 Posts
May 15, 2009 01:30 pm
Grounding Exeltech inverter

I have a 24v PV system and am confused about grounding the Exeltech 1100 inverter.  The AC neutral, ground and chassis are bonded in the inverter.  Can I just ground from the AC ground/neutral to the main DC buss bar in the main DC box?  Exeltech says no ground is needed on the DC side if the negative is grounded, but the AC should be grounded to the same rod as the DC.  Another thing I need to think about it is a Midnite Solar GFP breaker that I installed in the main DC panel.  Would the AC connected to DC buss bar just trip the GFP?

This inverter ground is far more confusing than I had imagined!
Help!
 
 
Larry Liesner
2 Posts
May 17, 2009 08:59 am
Re: Grounding Exeltech inverter

Are you on-grid or off-grid?
 
 
James J
15 Posts
May 17, 2009 09:39 am
Re: Grounding Exeltech inverter

It's an off grid cabin.  24v, 290watts of panels, 300-400AH battery bank (tbd).
 
 
Larry Liesner
2 Posts
May 17, 2009 10:25 am
Re: Grounding Exeltech inverter

If there is a failure, inverters can leak AC to their chassis or to your DC circuit . So there has to be a path to your grounding rod from the chassis and from the DC circuit. Without this path, then their is a potential of a 120 volt electrical shock if someone touches the chassis or any part of the DC circuit.

Your system should have an AC green ground bus with all the green wires and a DC ground bus with all the DC grounds . Both these should have a connection to your grounding rod. The inverter chassis should have a connection to the grounding rod.

Now you are providing a path for stray AC current but the system is still operating. The GFP will trip the system and stop current from flowing and get your attention to fix the problem.
 
 

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