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  • SolarEdge Active Cooling Mod

    Since the passive heatsink seemed to be doing a rather poor job at heat dissipation and the SolarEdge has a temperature limit where it will derate and lower power output, I decided to add a DIY active cooling solution to my inverter. I paired 4x60mm fans that each blow about 17cfm along with a thermal controller with remote sensor so it will turn on at 105*F and off at 85*F. Undoubtedly it will impact the passive convection cooling, but should anything fail there is still enough gaps around the unit to allow airflow and the whole assembly comes off with 2 screws. I've seen about a 20*F reduction in temperature from the readout on the LCD when the fans are running.
    Attached Files
    Last edited by jragsdale; 08-11-2019, 06:30 PM.

  • #2
    That's pretty cool, probably make your warranty void but looks like you did a decent job.

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    • #3
      Were you having trouble with the unit derating or was this added "just in case"?
      Dave W. Gilbert AZ
      6.63kW grid-tie owner

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      • #4
        Dave, I hadn't noticed any derating or flattening of the curve in the monitoring platform, but it was getting into the 140*s some days and it wasn't even the hottest days around the solstice. More of a fun way to just in case and to extend the life of the inverter. Might consider adding more panels in the future too.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by jragsdale View Post
          Dave, I hadn't noticed any derating or flattening of the curve...
          Okay. Just curious why you added the fans so now I know. My inverter is mounted in the garage which gets just as warm as it does outside but without the extra heat of direct sunlight. My garage temps reach 105-110 just about all summer long and I have a passively cooled Power One inverter. No issues here and it's rated to run at 140 ambient so I never felt I was on the edge or anything. Obviously, electronic don't like heat so no harm in lowering temps if you wish.Thanks.

          Dave W. Gilbert AZ
          6.63kW grid-tie owner

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          • #6
            Originally posted by azdave View Post

            Okay. Just curious why you added the fans so now I know. My inverter is mounted in the garage which gets just as warm as it does outside but without the extra heat of direct sunlight. My garage temps reach 105-110 just about all summer long and I have a passively cooled Power One inverter. No issues here and it's rated to run at 140 ambient so I never felt I was on the edge or anything. Obviously, electronic don't like heat so no harm in lowering temps if you wish.Thanks.
            Well the harm is the losses in efficiency and added dirt to the components, and worst more thermal cycling in the board. I think first two are minor but shouldn't be discounted. The fans are about 1watt so 4watts for maybe 5 hours a day or 7.3kWh / year.

            I would change the settings to be on at ~115 and off at ~105 or so the mother board has less thermal cycling. it will warm up each day and stay pretty warm (but less warm than without the fan).
            OutBack FP1 w/ CS6P-250P http://bit.ly/1Sg5VNH

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            • #7
              Our local temps are heading up to the 100's and I just plug in a timer and 40W fan, and aim at the electronics, with the theory moving is better than static over the heatsinks
              Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
              || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
              || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

              solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
              gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
                Our local temps are heading up to the 100's and I just plug in a timer and 40W fan, and aim at the electronics, with the theory moving is better than static over the heatsinks
                I think I'm going to remove the old case, replace it with some clear plexiglass, put some rgb in there and put a custom waterloop on mine. Maybe get like a motion sensor and a small sound system that plays "I'm sexy and I know it" when it is triggered and the rgb will flash and change colors to the music

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