SECTION 1
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
PV-15208 Photovoltaic Inverter
Operation and Maintenance Manual
Copyright 2000, Xantrex Technologies Inc./Trace Technologies Corp.
DOCUMENT: 150919
1-2
Integrated Bus Board
The PV-15208 design makes use of a fully integrated bus board as shown in Figure 1-2. The bus board
assembly is mounted to an aluminum extrusion heat sink, which mounts through an opening in the back
of the enclosure. The power electronics is comprised of a six pack of IGBT devices, mounted to the
heat sink. The bus board is mounted on top of the IGBT six pack device, and is supported through a
series of standoffs attached to the heat sink.
The bus board contains all of the necessary control functions to drive the (attached) switching transis-
tors. The bus board contains the following functional circuits: D/C control power supplies (+5V, +/-15V
and four is15V sources for the IGBT’s), A/C and D/C high voltage measurement, A/C and
ground current measurements, contactor and indicator controls, discrete input sensing (on/off switch),
and closed loop PWM modulators. The bus board contains a micro-controller chip to perform the low-
level control functions associated with the collection of measurement and driving the pulse width modu-
lators.
A plug in DSP module controls the bus board. The DSP module is designed to the industry standard,
PC-104 specification, and is used to perform the majority of the calculations needed to control the bus
board. The most significant tasks are: control of PV-15208 electromechanical components and power
electronics converters, signal conditioning (digital filtering and transformations), and communication
with the operator interface panel and system sensors.
The PV array ties directly to the DC bus. The inverter controller manages the transfer of power between
the DC bus and the utility grid.
INTERCONNECTION STANDARDS COMPLIANCE
The PV-15208 has been tested and certified by Underwriters Laboratories to be in compliance with
UL1741 Static Inverters And Charge Controllers For Use In Photovoltaic Power Systems, as well
as IEEE-P929 Recommended Practice For Utility Interface Of Photovoltaic (PV) Systems.
IEEE-P929 provides guidance regarding equipment and functions necessary to ensure compatible op-
eration of photovoltaic systems which are connected in parallel with the electric utility. UL1741 is the
test procedure performed by Underwriters Laboratory on the PV-15208 to verify it meets the recom-
mendations of IEEE-P929. Refer to both documents for details of these recommendations and test
procedures.
CAUTION
The fuses within the PV-15208 are intended for protecting the PV-15208 control cir-
cuitry only. They are not intended to provide protection for the PV array or external
cabling.