|
61
June 2020
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Solar Stik
®
, Inc.
SYSTEM SETUP AND OPERATION GUDIE FOR THE 1 kW HYBRID POWER SYSTEM (HPS)
PRELIMINARY DRAFT
Procedure to Measure PV Array V
oc
with a Multimeter
• Carefully place the leads of the voltmeter on pins A and C in the bayonet connector (Figure 30) at
the end of the Solar Cable. Pin B is unused.
• Alternatively, disconnect the Solar Cable from the array leads and place the meter probes into
the array lead connectors (orange boxes in Table 2).
Under ideal conditions, the reading should be 55 V or more. If a normal voltage reading cannot be
measured at pins A and B of the Solar Cable but CAN be measured at the PV array lead connectors,
replace the Solar Cable.
Contact the FSR if a PV array voltage measurement indicates that a PV array is either not functioning
or is performing very poorly.
Figure 30. Measuring PV array open circuit voltage V
oc
30’ Solar Cable
The rated V
oc
for the array is 65 V
A(-)
C(+)
B
Measuring PV Array Voltages
Voltage “open circuit” (V
oc
)
is unregulated PV array voltage and measured directly from the leads
of an array when not connected to a “load” such as a charge controller. The rated V
oc
of the Solar
Venture 300W PV Array is approximately 65 V under standard test conditions (STC).
When the array is connected to the PRO-Verter S 2000 (i.e., the array is connected to a “load”), it is
more likely the Operator will see voltages around 45–53 V
mp
.
The V
oc
and V
mp
should be measured for each PV array in “ideal” conditions if possible. This means
the arrays should be oriented directly at the sun and unshaded on a clear day to identify the
maximum V
mp
and V
oc
