MAINTENANCE TIPS FOR SOLAR INVERTER SYSTEM
The first step to having a long lasting solar-inverter system is buying quality products and ensuring professionals carry out the installation design. while these two are vital, they are almost completely dependent on the kind of engineer supplying and installing the products for you, ensure to get reliable and professional engineers. Our discussion here is centred on the maintenance of inverter system as it is your contribution to ensure a lasting solar-inverter system. Below are tips on how to maintain your solar-inverter system to ensure a long and lasting usage.
Protection against Thunder/Lightening strike: Under normal circumstances, houses with electrical gadgets should have a thunder/lightening arrestor, but this is usually not the case. The impact of thunder strike can have a lasting effect on the inverter system. The cost of thunder Arrestor might be high, but not having one can cost you more when your inverter system is affected by thunder strike.
Battery Refill: If your inverter system uses the Tubular battery Technology, it is important you check the battery water level frequently and refill when it is low.
Input & Output Voltage: Check input and output voltage of the inverter regularly. If generator is used to charge batteries, ensure generator delivers 220V±10% and 50Hz±1%. When the generator output is not sufficient to charge the inverter, it is important to turn off the input(charging) switch.
Time is crucial: Always charge to FULL even if batteries are discharged to 50%, If unit is to be idle for 24 hrs plus, ensure that batteries are fully charged and the front power switch is turned OFF to avoid battery discharge.
Clean & Corrosion Free: Corrosion in connecting terminals restricted flow of current to the Batteries, hence reduces charging and thus affect the over-all battery life. To avoid rust and corrosion always keep your battery in a dry place and apply petroleum jelly on the terminals.
Solar Panels: Cleaning of the solar panels during the dry/dusty season is also important, as dust covering the panel cells could lead to slow/delayed charging, irrespective of the sun intensity.
Avoid appliances with heating elements: Appliances with heating elements such as irons, water heaters, Microwave, electric stoves/kettles, etc should be avoided except you installed an industrial inverter.
Deep charge: Let the inverter charge the batteries fully with the Inverter power button in OFF position daily. This helps ensure deep charging and longer battery life.
Inverter Installation: Never install inverter in a completely Sealed container. It requires proper ventilation for cooling.
How much backup time can I get? The less the loads the more power back up time you will receive, Manage your loads diligently. Do not overload your inverter. Overloading inverter do not only affect the inverter but reduces the lifespan of the batteries too.
Energy saving: Always use energy saving bulbs for all your lighting powered by the inverter, as a rule of thumb, do not use bulbs that generates heat, as they usually consume more energy.