PV-100208 Photovoltaic Inverter
Operation and Maintenance Manual
Copyright 2003, Xantrex Technology Inc.
DOCUMENT: 151700
4-1
SECTION 4
OPERATION
DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM OPERATION
Overview
The PV-100208 is a fully automated grid-tied photovoltaic inverter. Manual interaction or control of
the inverter is necessary only in the event of a system fault. The following conditions govern PV-
100208 operation:
•
Stable utility voltage and frequency must be present for all states of operation.
•
Fault states are automatic from any state of operation. A fault will cause the PV-100208 to imme-
diately stop processing all power. The fault condition will be reported to the operator interface.
•
The on/off switch, located on the front door of the PV-100208, must be switched to the on position
for all operating states.
•
Cycling the on/off switch attempts to clear any system faults and return the PV-100208 to normal
operation.
Operating States
A state machine implemented within the PCU control software governs the operation of the PV100208.
There are five steady-state operating states and numerous intermediate transition states. The intermedi-
ate transition states provide an orderly progression from one operating state to the next. The user has
the ability to manually transition the PV-100208 between operating states from the operator interface
keypad. Manual transitions are initiated by entering a ‘Goal State’, where the goal state is the desired
operating state. Given all applicable system parameters are within acceptable limits, and the request is
valid within the state machine, the PV-100208 will initiate the proper sequence of operations necessary
to progress to the requested goal state. Refer to Figure 4-3 for a description of valid state transitions.
•
Shutdown:
The line interface controller is idle. The PCU monitors the status of the PV array and
utility grid, waiting in standby until the PV array is available to produce power to the grid.
•
Fault:
The PV-100208 has encountered a fault condition. When this happens, regardless of the PV-
100208 state-of-operation, the PV-100208 will stop processing all power and execute an orderly
system shutdown. A description of the fault and fault code will appear on the operator interface
LCD. The Fault state may be cleared from the keypad once the cause of the fault has been cor-
rected. See Section 5 for a complete description of all fault codes.
•
Manual Current:
This operating state is provided to evaluate the existing PV array V-I character-
istics. The PV controller regulates a constant amount of PV current as commanded by the user from
the operator interface keypad, up to the PV current limit of the PV-100208. If the user commands
more PV current than is available, the DC bus voltage will drop below the minimum bus voltage
level and the PV-100208 will return to Sleeping mode.
•
Matrix Test:
This operating state is provided to verify proper operation of the matrix and associ-
ated control electronics. There is no power transfer between the PV and utility in this mode.
•
Power Tracking:
This is the standard operating state of the PV-100208. The PV-100208 maxi-
mum power tracker will demand maximum power from the PV array, given sufficient PV irradi-
ance.
