Council Audit
"A 70kWp GC PV system installed at a Leisure Centre, that had 'broken down'"
01
The story
In Sept of 2016, a council approached Udayan and Mark Deutschbein to conduct an audit of their PV system at a Leisure centre delivered by a thrid party.
02
The auditors
Udayan and Mark Deutschbein provided an audit based on their in-depth experience to give a full assurance on steps to take to rectify the system.
IP rating
Here we see that there has been ingress in the mains protection relay. This was due to the IP rating of the main enclosure not being maintained.
Photo - courtesy Mark Deutschbein, auditor.
The cause
And here we see the poor means of penetration that caused water to lead into the board, affecting the relay shown in the previous image.
Photo - courtesy Mark Deutschbein, auditor.
Manufacturer's spec's not met.
The installer took the 'easiest way out' and cut a hole on the side of the inverter in violation of the inverter manufacturer's instructions. Risk of moisture penetration as this is not an 'approved means' of connecting to the inverter.
Photo - courtesy Mark Deutschbein, auditor.
No cooling gaps!
It is a requirement under AS5033, the standard that covers solar pv installation, that cooling gaps should be left between modules to cater for thermal effects. This was not done here.
