Removing a Solar System

[Little Bill]

I know very little about solar so I need some advice. I have a customer that wants his system removed. What is the order of things I need to do to dismantle this?
Here is the setup:






instagram hd image download

 

[hillbilly1]

Won’t start with all the violations in the pictures, as a lot of them will be removed with the solar equipment! LOL!

 

[grich]

The only thing I see wrong is the LED flashlight sitting on top of the inverter.

 

[grich]

I'm not an electrician, but I suppose I would throw all of the breakers on the solar stuff, disconnect the PV array, disconnect the batteries, then remove everything. If it's not too butchered up, you could keep the transfer panel and install a 30A generator inlet in place of the inverter.

 

[Little Bill]

The only thing I see wrong is the LED flashlight sitting on top of the inverter.

I put that there so the equipment would be worth something!

 

[GoldDigger]

If you have only the one panel you probably do not need to worry about hazardous DC voltages. With a long string going to an inverter and no experience with this particular equipment I would suggest unplugging the array components at night.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

 

[Little Bill]

I hope you're not saying that like I heard in a story. Earl & Bubba were talking and Earl said that Astronauts were planning a trip to the Sun. Bubba said "they can't do that, the Sun would burn them up."
Earl said "No it won't, they're going at night"!

 

[jaggedben]

Probably as follows...

Turn off all breakers.
Make sure no power is flowing.
Disconnect the PV at the panels using the connectors.
Disconnect the battery.

 

[Little Bill]

Thanks all!
That's the way I had thought it should be. I didn't mention this in my OP, but should have, I was ask to disconnect it so that it would be safe for someone else to remove the system. The customer is giving this to his son who is going to move it. Most likely, I will be the one reinstalling it so I wanted to make sure it was, first of all safe, then to see how it's wired so that I can put it back.

 

[hbiss]

Only place that belongs is in the dumpster. There is nothing about that that is safe or done anywhere near properly.

And from the size of that panel, probably a waste of time. Probably some DIY junk off the internet.

-Hal

 

[GoldDigger]

The Outback inverter is probably quality equipment worth salvaging, but not necessarily to be used in rebuilding the same system.
BTW, where are the batteries in this system? If this system was designed to supply power when the grid is off, then there has to be a substantial battery bank.

 

[jaggedben]

Only place that belongs is in the dumpster. There is nothing about that that is safe or done anywhere near properly.

And from the size of that panel, probably a waste of time. Probably some DIY junk off the internet.

-Hal

You're exaggerating, IMO.

 

[hillbilly1]

Kinda surprised they just used a mono post to support the panel, wouldn’t take much wind to break that over.

 

[Little Bill]

The Outback inverter is probably quality equipment worth salvaging, but not necessarily to be used in rebuilding the same system.
BTW, where are the batteries in this system? If this system was designed to supply power when the grid is off, then there has to be a substantial battery bank.

The batteries were under the controller & inverter in a crate on the floor. You can just see the top edge of the crate in the picture.

 

[hbiss]

You're exaggerating, IMO.

Well, if that mess is an example of something worth saving, much less owning, or even worthy of consideration, I now know why I never got into solar.

-Hal

 

[RumRunner]

I know very little about solar so I need some advice. I have a customer that wants his system removed. What is the order of things I need to do to dismantle this?
Here is the setup:






instagram hd image download

This is long, I hope this helps.

It's a pretty straightforward process.
You started off in the right track. . .documenting the existing setup before dismantling, by photo recording. You can give it more detail by tagging those cables by using T & B Wire markers that you wrap around the cable/wire.

I had a contract once to relocate the entire brewery from L.A. to Mexico. All electrical equipment from brewing to packaging.
My company did almost all of them except the distribution system. It took us four months from start to finish

This is not comparable to what you are dealing with in terms of scope. . . but the job is the same.
The order of things that you mentioned is important. Since solar array is comprised of multiple power source, proper order is a must.

The way it looks. . .the solar energy source is BACKFEED at the main panel. The main disconnect is located (and rightly so) outside where the conduit penetrated the brick wall and the rest are indoors ; battery, ATS, monitoring devices etc.
There are only two solar panels which I assume. . .if connected in series would give you 70 to 90 VDC at the very least 12 volts to 35 VDC. Keep in mind that these numbers are based on popular models on the market. Mine are 12 volts panels connected in series-- which give me 24 volts.

Since you only asked "the order of things" to dismantle I would do the following:

1. Turn off the FEEDBACK circuit breaker but don't disconnect the wires yet.

2. Disconnect the battery and wrap the disconnected leads individually to isolate them. Keep in
mind that the solar array are still connected.

3. Disconnect the solar array.
This is the tricky part. I noticed the solar panels have the leads extended by cables with connectors. It's hard to tell what type of cables were used. Solar cable use specific insulation because they are exposed to the elements--not protected by conduit. Cables are run in conduit only on those going to the COMBINER.
PVC insulations are common. . . they are not very flexible like house wiring cables--very stiff.

You cannot pull the two wires apart. They are made to be inserted only once and those connectors cannot be re-used. Hence, you cut the wires with your dikes (one at a time of course) and insulate the ends--both wires coming in and out-- most especially coming from the solar panels.
Also, care should be taken not to tug hard on the solar leads because they are only soldered to the diodes. They are there to protect from drain when not producing energy at night.
After these are done-- you can disconnect the wire from the FEEDBACK circuit breaker.

You can leave the interconnection cables between components for easier re-assembly.

I did this on my Motor Home.

 

[jaggedben]

Well, if that mess is an example of something worth saving, much less owning, or even worthy of consideration, I now know why I never got into solar.

-Hal

Sloppy installation aside, the equipment looks like quality and would be useful in the right application, such as an off-grid cabin. You're probably correct that on a regular home it was a waste of time.

 

[GoldDigger]

This is long, I hope this helps.

It's a pretty straightforward process.
You started off in the right track. . .documenting the existing setup before dismantling, by photo recording. You can give it more detail by tagging those cables by using T & B Wire markers that you wrap around the cable/wire.

I had a contract once to relocate the entire brewery from L.A. to Mexico. All electrical equipment from brewing to packaging.
My company did almost all of them except the distribution system. It took us four months from start to finish

This is not comparable to what you are dealing with in terms of scope. . . but the job is the same.
The order of things that you mentioned is important. Since solar array is comprised of multiple power source, proper order is a must.

The way it looks. . .the solar energy source is BACKFEED at the main panel. The main disconnect is located (and rightly so) outside where the conduit penetrated the brick wall and the rest are indoors ; battery, ATS, monitoring devices etc.
There are only two solar panels which I assume. . .if connected in series would give you 70 to 90 VDC at the very least 12 volts to 35 VDC. Keep in mind that these numbers are based on popular models on the market. Mine are 12 volts panels connected in series-- which give me 24 volts.

Since you only asked "the order of things" to dismantle I would do the following:

1. Turn off the FEEDBACK circuit breaker but don't disconnect the wires yet.

2. Disconnect the battery and wrap the disconnected leads individually to isolate them. Keep in
mind that the solar array are still connected.

3. Disconnect the solar array.
This is the tricky part. I noticed the solar panels have the leads extended by cables with connectors. It's hard to tell what type of cables were used. Solar cable use specific insulation because they are exposed to the elements--not protected by conduit. Cables are run in conduit only on those going to the COMBINER.
PVC insulations are common. . . they are not very flexible like house wiring cables--very stiff.

You cannot pull the two wires apart. They are made to be inserted only once and those connectors cannot be re-used. Hence, you cut the wires with your dikes (one at a time of course) and insulate the ends--both wires coming in and out-- most especially coming from the solar panels.
Also, care should be taken not to tug hard on the solar leads because they are only soldered to the diodes. They are there to protect from drain when not producing energy at night.
After these are done-- you can disconnect the wire from the FEEDBACK circuit breaker.

You can leave the interconnection cables between components for easier re-assembly.

I did this on my Motor Home.

I appreciate your advice based on your experience, but would like to correct a few errors in your descriptions:

You cannot pull the two wires apart. They are made to be inserted only once and those connectors cannot be re-used. Hence, you cut the wires with your dikes (one at a time of course) and insulate the ends--both wires coming in and out-- most especially coming from the solar panels.

Actually current MC-4 connectors are designed to lock against casual disconnect but can be safely disconnected without damage using the manufacturers tool for that purpose. Cutting them off is unnecessary and in case of the connectors supplied with the panels, is a bad idea and could be taken to void the warranty. (Although MC-4 connectors are intended to be interoperable across manufacturers, in practices it is better to match brands)

Also, care should be taken not to tug hard on the solar leads because they are only soldered to the diodes. They are there to protect from drain when not producing energy at night.

The first part may be true of older panels, but current designs use potted leads inside the terminal boxes and are pretty well strain relieved., Some even use terminal strips instead of soldering directly to diodes.
The second part is a common misconception. Modern Charge Controllers incorporate all that is necessary to keep the batteries from back draining into the panels at night. The diodes are instead in parallel with 1/2, 1/3 or 1/4 of the cells in the panel and are called bypass diodes. They allow current to flow around a shaded section of the panel, avoiding overheating of the cells and to allow full current and voltage output from the remaining groups of cells.

There are only two solar panels which I assume. . .if connected in series would give you 70 to 90 VDC at the very least 12 volts to 35 VDC. Keep in mind that these numbers are based on popular models on the market. Mine are 12 volts panels connected in series-- which give me 24 volts.

Nothing wrong with what you say, I just want to add that some older amorphous cell panes may have output voltages over 100 V from a single panel. The ones in the pictured installation are almost certainly not that type.