{"id":7893,"date":"2018-01-24T13:49:55","date_gmt":"2018-01-24T12:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893"},"modified":"2018-01-24T13:49:55","modified_gmt":"2018-01-24T12:49:55","slug":"problems-solar-pv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893","title":{"rendered":"Problems with solar PV"},"content":{"rendered":"

Problems with solar PV are few and far between but I’ve had a few issues recently.\u00a0 The first is an ongoing problem with grey squirrels nesting under one module on the main roof.\u00a0 Obviously there is an issue with them chewing through the wiring.\u00a0 I have seen them have an experimental try at the DC cables on the newer system (see below).\u00a0 I drove them out but recently they show signs of coming back.\u00a0 This is despite the water that must pour under the module when it rains.<\/p>\n

The second of my problems with solar PV has been potentially more serious although relatively easy to solve.\u00a0 Last Tuesday when it snowed I realised one of the inverters (4 x 250W, 2 per inverter) was not working.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_3621\"<\/a>I found two cables had parted at a connector. I taped over them with frog tape in the meanwhile getting a shock from the panel side (despite the snow on the module).<\/p>\n

\"DSC_3623\"<\/a>Eventually I discovered the remains of the old connector which had melted.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_3625\"<\/a>What to do? \u00a0Was it something I could repair itself.\u00a0 The second question was had the arcing from any potential short damaged the modules on that inverter or the inverter itself?\u00a0 On the first point there was no working at height, its on a shed that is just above head height.\u00a0 It would involve working from my neighbours shed roof but she was fine about that.<\/p>\n

With cuts to the feed in tariff many of the installers\/dealers have closed including the company that installed the system (apparently).\u00a0 There is a company that sells systems and system components that I know about that has been around for many years.\u00a0 I rang them and ordered the connectors.\u00a0 In the meanwhile I covered the module concerned to stop any output and reduce the chances of arcing.\u00a0 When the connectors arrived they were difficult to fit.\u00a0 No instructions came with them nor could I find any on the net.\u00a0\u00a0 I covered the two modules up and had a go but could not get the connectors together.\u00a0 After several phonecalls to the supplier (who were very helpful) and looking a video on youtube I went back after dark and had more success.\u00a0 Would everything work OK.\u00a0 The next morning revealed yes it would.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_3627\"<\/a> This is a minor issue and was easy to solve since I had easy access.\u00a0 This problem on the old system on the main roof would need professional help and hence the need to keep the squirrels at bay (with chickenwire).\u00a0 The reasons for the arcing?\u00a0 Probably the connector had not been installed properly 6 years ago (the supplier of the connectors thought).\u00a0 Its amazing what you can get away with though with no damage to the rest of the system.\u00a0 A last thought.\u00a0 If this had happened in the loft though we would have had a fire.<\/p>\n

Neil<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Problems with solar PV are few and far between but I’ve had a few issues recently.\u00a0 The first is an ongoing problem with grey squirrels nesting under one module on the main roof.\u00a0 Obviously there is an issue with them … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,4,176],"tags":[177],"class_list":["post-7893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-practical-low-carbon-living","category-renewables","category-solar","tag-solar"],"yoast_head":"\nProblems with solar PV - The oil lamp - shining God's light on peak oil<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893\",\"name\":\"Problems with solar PV - The oil lamp - shining God's light on peak oil\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/DSC_3621-300x201.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-24T12:49:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b6f2831189b0d01294e9672bb540ba6f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/DSC_3621-300x201.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/DSC_3621-300x201.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Problems with solar PV\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The oil lamp - shining God's light on peak oil\",\"description\":\"Blogging by Neil and Andy about Peak oil and faith.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b6f2831189b0d01294e9672bb540ba6f\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2070f70411f2eab27f08cd0b2332e27e3987c781423ecba6c16b575181ce2a6a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2070f70411f2eab27f08cd0b2332e27e3987c781423ecba6c16b575181ce2a6a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Problems with solar PV - The oil lamp - shining God's light on peak oil","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893","url":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893","name":"Problems with solar PV - The oil lamp - shining God's light on peak oil","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/DSC_3621-300x201.jpg","datePublished":"2018-01-24T12:49:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b6f2831189b0d01294e9672bb540ba6f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/DSC_3621-300x201.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/DSC_3621-300x201.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=7893#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Problems with solar PV"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/","name":"The oil lamp - shining God's light on peak oil","description":"Blogging by Neil and Andy about Peak oil and faith.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b6f2831189b0d01294e9672bb540ba6f","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2070f70411f2eab27f08cd0b2332e27e3987c781423ecba6c16b575181ce2a6a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2070f70411f2eab27f08cd0b2332e27e3987c781423ecba6c16b575181ce2a6a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7893"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7898,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7893\/revisions\/7898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}