This is a collection of interesting posts, how-to photos, and how-NOT-to articles. These are just a sample of the good and bad things PV Pros has encountered while doing O&M on solar PV sites. We hope you enjoy, but you have been warned… some of them are scary!
The Importance of Torque for PV System Longevity
Torque is a commonly used term in Solar PV system inspection, which refers to the act of tightening a mechanical…
Conduct Due Diligence In-House or Hire a Specialist?
As covered in our previous articles in this series (Article 1, Article 2, Article 3), conducting technical due diligence before…
Buyers Need an Owner’s Engineer in this Sellers’ Market
PV Pros has been helping buyers de-risk in their asset acquisition with our Owner's representative and Independent Engineering services. We…
3rd Party Drawing Reviews Reduce Risk
PV Pros has been helping our clients de-risk in their assets with our independent engineering and owner's representative services. We…
Technical Due Diligence for Solar Purchase/Acquisitions
PV Pros has been helping our client’s de-risk in their assets with our independent engineering and owners’ representative services. We…
3G Wireless Network Obsolescence and Its Impact on Solar
By the end of 2019, Verizon will obsolete its coverage on legacy 3G networks. ATT will follow suit by 2021.…
Spring Time for Preventive Maintenance
Spring cleaning also applies to solar! After harsh exposure to winter’s snow, ice, and rain, systems benefit from routine inspection…
Hall of Shame: Preventive Maintenance Edition
Even when systems are installed with top notch workmanship and thorough inspections by third party commissioning agents such as PV…
ASTM E2848 Capacity Test for Beginners
Capacity and performance ratio tests are used to demonstrate the performance of PV plants to buyers or lenders and de-risk their…
What is Technical Debt?
Technical Debt is the cost to the system owner as a result of prior decisions made to save time or…
Nationwide Owner’s Engineer and Operation & Maintenance Services
PV Pros provides nationwide technical services for investors and asset managers. We manage your technical needs while you focus on…
FAQ’s About Commissioning by a 3rd Party vs the Installer
Commissioning is a formal procedure for ensuring the quality of an installation before it’s turned over to the owner. Commissioning…
Three Solar All-Stars to Join PV Pros
PV Pros is excited to welcome three of the best in the solar industry to its team. Benjamin Compton brings…
Technical Buyer’s Guide for Purchasing Existing Photovoltaic Systems
A Photovoltaic (PV) System may change hands multiple times over its 20+ year operational lifespan. The buyer and seller in…
O&M Veteran Corey Brown joins PV Pros
Solar O&M veteran Corey Brown joins PV Pros as our Field Service Manager. Corey brings 20 years of electrical &…
Photo of the Week – Wire Management Practices
Array wire management is an area where different materials and practices are deployed. There is no 1-size-fits-all and there are…
Jesse Waters joins the PV Pros team
With over 15 years of experience in both the industrial and commercial solar industry, Jesse’s track record of delivering results…
Pure Power & PV Pros team up on O&M
Supported by the resources of Pure Power Engineering, PV Pros brings an industry leading collection of experience, skills, and NABCEP…
2017 Asset Management and Performance Conference
PV Pros Director discusses the needs of O&M team integration in PV Plant Design/Build Phase By Chris Grablutz Operation and…
Photo of the Week – Enclosure Mounting
Enclosures are designed to be mounted from the designed mounting holes or brackets. These mounting locations are engineered to distribute…
Photo of the week – Splice Box Maintenance
Wire Splices are a common point of failure that that can be prevented by annual inspections. Inspecting all raceway enclosures…
Photo of the Month: PVC Conduits
PVC conduits are acceptable when used properly (lots of expansion joints). Metallic conduits (EMC, IMC, RGS) are more expensive, but…
Photo of the Month: Corrosion
NEMA 3R and 4 inverters and outdoor cabinets may be rated for outdoor use, but any scratches in the paint…
Photo of the Month: Improper Raceway
This installer gets full points for creativity, but fails miserably for inappropriate construction means and methods. These cables are not…
Photo of the Month: Maintain Vegetation
Two things went wrong here. First, the vegetation was not maintained, allowing it to grow tall enough to shade the…
Photo of the Month: Wire Management
At this site, the intermodule wiring is zip-tied to the rails but the string homeruns are laying loose on the…
Photo of the Month – Mysterious Water in Enclosures
During O&M we often find combiner boxes and disconnect switches with water inside them, despite the box being NEMA 4…
Photo of the Month: Irresponsible inverter repair
While conducting O&M on a Satcon 250kW central inverter, we noticed this fan with an object lodged between the blades.…
Photo of the Month – Standing on modules
I appreciate Shoal’s new arc fault technology as shown in this advertisement, however I was shocked to see the photo…
Photo of the Month: Irresponsible Layout
Just when I thought I have seen it all… Notice the mid-clamp that was never attached because the module was…
Photo of the Month: Awful wire management
We were called out to investigate a performance issue at a site, and were shocked to see this wire management.…
Photo of the month: Dangerous Cable Tray
At this site, cable tray was used for wire management between subarrays. The wind deflector was cut with jagged edges…
2 Important settings for Thermal (IR) Cameras
Thermal (IR) cameras are a great tool for preventative maintenance and inspection of your PV system. With a little thermography…
Photo of the Month: Improper Edge Setback
There was ample space on the roof, but the installer placed the modules right up against the parapet wall where…
Photo of the Month: Wrong Ballast Type
On this system, the installer stacked ballast so high that it shades the modules at noon of each day. Why…
