Three phase Solar Power for commercial use

Posted by Adam Cu on October 01, 2008, 03:00:17 PM

Three phase Solar Power for commercial use
Hey everyone,

I'm currently designing a three phase solar power system for commercial use. I've pretty much decided on using (24) Kyocera KD205GX-LP panels, (3) Fronius IG 2500-LV inverters, (3) Delta LA602 DC Lightning Arrestors, (1) Delta 303R Three Phase Lightning Arrestor, (1) Square D AC Disconnect DU321RB. I'll also need a panel to combine my three inverters.

There are a couple of things I'm unsure about.

How I'm going to mount it for one. We have one south facing roof but the angle of the roof is no where near optimal. We do have a ton of land if I wanted to do a ground mount and the location would be impossible for vandalism or theft.

Code is another portion. I don't know if the disconnects contained within the Fronius inverters are up to code. I know that I will need a disconnect capable of being "Locked Out" per OSHA rules on the AC side but I'm not sure about the DC side of things. Going along with code, how would I ensure that all of the equipment is properly grounded.

I'm very confused by grounding the equipment. I've read the NEC Code about 10 times and I'm just confusing myself. Can someone give it to me in Laymen's terms.




My plan is to wire 8 panels in series to each inverter, then have each inverter wired to my "AC combiner panel" which following the directions Fronius gives to wire in 3 phase. Then I'd run my three phase power from my "AC combiner panel" into my AC Disconnect and from there into my main panel. The only other question I have is where do I need fuses/breakers other than where I connect to the panels?
 

Posted by Adam Cu on October 24, 2008, 11:13:40 AM

Re: Three phase Solar Power for commercial use (Reply #1)
Does anyone have something to say?
 

Posted by John B on October 24, 2008, 12:35:56 PM

Re: Three phase Solar Power for commercial use (Reply #2)
Adam,

The best thing for you to do is consult a professional who will have experience with both solar and commercial power systems. I think most people here are more familiar with the basic home power.

Having said that, in really simple terms all equipment must be grounded, all grounds must be connected together, and neutral and ground must be bonded at one point, and ONE POINT ONLY! Assuming that you already have commercial power this should already be done, so you should not be bonding neutral to ground anywhere in your system.

The State of California is very forward looking in terms of solar and also the protection of their citizens. For example, I believe that any inverter sold in California must now be offered with at least a 10-year warranty. They also test and approve all equipment before it can be sold.
http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/equipment/inverter.php

From the above list you will see that there are much larger and more efficient inverters available on the market for 3-phase power systems. It's your system, but I would give consideration to going with a single high efficiency inverter with a 10-year warranty that could handle all of the panels rather than what is essentially three separate systems and then combining them.
 

Posted by Ken Hall on October 24, 2008, 01:10:09 PM

Re: Three phase Solar Power for commercial use (Reply #3)
Great response John B.
The only thing I can add is that given the option between a roof mount and a ground mount, I always choose the ground mount.

Ken
 

Posted by James Cormican on October 24, 2008, 02:35:06 PM

Re: Three phase Solar Power for commercial use (Reply #4)
what is the voltage? 208? 277? something else?  i am thinking 1 larger inverter may be easier than three small ones.  if we know what the panel voltage is, I can find some inverters that will match.

james
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