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Sol ark installs vs 690.31

electrofelon

electrofelon

Senior Member
Location
Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
It seems like it's practically universal to install these with a wire way under them. Isn't this a violation of 690.31? Or are people locating the entries strategically so a partition can be used to keep the PV circuit isolated? Here is an example :

Sol-Ark Grid connection options

I could use some feedback on three options I put together for a Sol-Ark system design. 2023 NEC applies here. Attached is simple 1-line of each. I don't think option A is feasible because our utilities generally require an external accessible and lockable PV System disconnect. It is not clear...
forums.mikeholt.com

And I'm not picking on @solarken , I have done the exact same thing.
 
S

solarken

NABCEP PVIP
Location
Hudson, OH, USA
Occupation
Solar Design and Installation Professional
electrofelon said:
It seems like it's practically universal to install these with a wire way under them. Isn't this a violation of 690.31? Or are people locating the entries strategically so a partition can be used to keep the PV circuit isolated? Here is an example :

Sol-Ark Grid connection options

I could use some feedback on three options I put together for a Sol-Ark system design. 2023 NEC applies here. Attached is simple 1-line of each. I don't think option A is feasible because our utilities generally require an external accessible and lockable PV System disconnect. It is not clear...
forums.mikeholt.com

And I'm not picking on @solarken , I have done the exact same thing.
Click to expand...
There is an exception in 690.31(B)(1) in 2023 NEC that permits PV ckts in wireway with inverter output ckts. However, in hindsight, for the post you referenced, I would have not used the trough for that project as it did not offer much benefit and a 12 x 12 trough is expensive. The Sol-Ark is so deep, and the knockouts are so far from the wall, a 12-inch trough is needed if using EMT. Bad design IMO.
 
electrofelon

electrofelon

Senior Member
Location
Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
solarken said:
There is an exception in 690.31(B)(1) in 2023 NEC that permits PV ckts in wireway with inverter output ckts. However, in hindsight, for the post you referenced, I would have not used the trough for that project as it did not offer much benefit and a 12 x 12 trough is expensive. The Sol-Ark is so deep, and the knockouts are so far from the wall, a 12-inch trough is needed if using EMT. Bad design IMO.
Click to expand...
Can you post that section ? It would need to allow more than just inverter output circuits to cover everything going into the sol ark🤔
 
W

wwhitney

Senior Member
Location
Berkeley, CA
Occupation
Retired
electrofelon said:
Are they? Not in the 2017.
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Sure they are. Look at the definition in 2017 NEC 376.2 (Article 376 Metal Wireways):

Metal Wireways. Sheet metal troughs with hinged or removable covers for housing and protecting electrical wires and cable and in which conductors are laid in place after the raceway has been installed as a complete system.

Cheers, Wayne
 
electrofelon

electrofelon

Senior Member
Location
Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
wwhitney said:
Sure they are. Look at the definition in 2017 NEC 376.2 (Article 376 Metal Wireways):

Metal Wireways. Sheet metal troughs with hinged or removable covers for housing and protecting electrical wires and cable and in which conductors are laid in place after the raceway has been installed as a complete system.

Cheers, Wayne
Click to expand...
Ok you got me. I was just about to do a full text search to make sure I didnt miss it. I guess I was focused on the first sentence which is where the word raceway appears in every other article. 🙃
 
P

PWDickerson

Senior Member
Location
Clinton, WA
Occupation
Solar Contractor
It is really easy to bring all but the PV circuit through the gutter, and then run the PV circuits in a conduit routed directly to the bottom of the inverter. That's what we usually do.
 
J

jaggedben

Senior Member
Location
Northern California
Occupation
Solar and Energy Storage Installer
Lol it makes little sense that PV circuits should be allowed with AC inverter circuits but not battery circuits. I didn't even compute the issue. Seems like this area of the code still needs work.
 
electrofelon

electrofelon

Senior Member
Location
Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
jaggedben said:
Lol it makes little sense that PV circuits should be allowed with AC inverter circuits but not battery circuits. I didn't even compute the issue. Seems like this area of the code still needs work.
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Yeah I always wondered about the whole "DC separate from AC thing". What exactly are they concerned about and was there any documentation of issues here? (I guarantee there wasn't).
 
B

Birken Vogt

Senior Member
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
I've been involved in this industry for about 25 years and everything was always just run into a big messy gutter and distributed from there.

Back then the codes regulating this stuff were nowhere close to the actual state of the industry, maybe they still aren't.
 
G

ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Consulting Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
Birken Vogt said:
I've been involved in this industry for about 25 years and everything was always just run into a big messy gutter and distributed from there.

Back then the codes regulating this stuff were nowhere close to the actual state of the industry, maybe they still aren't.
Click to expand...
25 years ago high current and voltage DC was not so much a thing as it is now with the proliferation of PV systems. Some AHJs I have worked with say no AC and DC in the same raceway or gutter, no matter what.
 
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