Beyond my level of knowledge but can an apparent sooner than anticipated derating (i.e. 25ºC is not where one might expect the inverter to derate yet to Tariqe’s level?) be influenced/explained by type/s of load (crest factor?)? So the inverter temp is not high because of ambient temp but the type of load makes the inverter work harder?
I have a Goodwe, it does not have a fan, so now with ambient temps around 35C, the inverter, pulling max power from pv, gets up to 55C.
I put a small bedroom fan to blow onto it and it reduces the temp down to 45…Makes me wonder if an internal fan of sorts would actually e a good idea.
It does not seem to derate, even at 55C, it still pulls 4.8kW from pv.
I created some flow to avoid temperature issues and it seems to work well. Ideally I would of wanted the MPPTs not to be mounted underneath the inverter, as it is likely sucking in some of that hot air as well, but I only realised that afterwards.
Is it only the one fan? If so, can your system really run at full power for extended periods?
As a basic rule of thumb, you need around 600m³/hr of air flow to cool 1000W of dissipation with 5°C temperature rise.
The goodies in the cupboard need to get rid of around 1200W at full power, which would typically require at least 3 150mm ventilation fans. A single fan would see the interior temperature ~20°C above ambient, which would limit max continuous power.
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Define extended periods? What is the benchmark? I normally can run 4300 without issues…
I have not experienced such a huge ambient difference, even without the fan.
Defining ‘extended’ periods is difficult, as it depends on a lot of factors. But typically it would be 20-30 minutes and longer.
At 4300W output, your inverter will be dissipating around 850W, which would give you a 10-15°C temperature increase with only one fan.
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Well, have it from the horses mouth that the Easysolar II GX with the built in mppt is the same as a standard Multiplus II when it comes to de-rating !!!
Today the ambient temperature was 16, not 26 and the inverter was still de-rating, if I clamped a pc fan to the bottom of the inverter below the cooling slots, do you guys think it would make a difference
How hard was the inverter working at the time?
Was batteries being charged when the house loads where powered?
By how much did it derate?
the load was 2250 watts AC, the batteries were fully charged, batteries were not being drained, but grid was supplying approximately 300 watts.
will a pc fan clamped to the bottom air vents make a difference
Try it …
I use a large fan to circulate the air around the entire system on very hot days.
Anything that takes heat away from a component will always help.
Heat is one of the biggest influencers on any electronics.
I added extra heat sinks to my MPPTs and they can run full amps for hours.
You can see the aluminium plates that my MPPTs are mounted too in these pics
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Exactly why I upgrade my 3kva to 5kva.
And its not as if the garage is hot. Quite cool in there actually.
Ek sit letterlik op hete kole en wag om nog meer van 'n vinger vir Eksdom te wys.
Rekord maand gehad gedurende Februarie waar ons kragrekening R72.00 was.
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