Modified on Tue, 23 Apr at 12:52 PM

How do I troubleshoot an SSO?

Answer:

There are many ways to troubleshoot an SSO, and depending on what a step in the troubleshooting indicates, there are different ways to proceed and different conclusions that can be drawn. The guide below presents this as a troubleshooting tree where we partly rely on the information we can retrieve from the EnergyCloud, partly the information we get in the display, and information we can obtain by physically measuring and troubleshooting on-site. We assume that it is perceived that the SSO is not producing as expected or not producing at all.


It's important to remember that all electrical work should be carried out by a qualified person.


Troubleshooting Guide

  • What does the EnergyCloud show?
  • What does the Display show?
  • What does the SSO diode indicate?



What does the EnergyCloud show?

First, we examine what information we can obtain from the EnergyCloud.

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

  1. Check that the EnergyHub is online and verify under system configuration that the operating mode is set to operating mode and that PV is activated. If they are not online, check the internet connection, which you can read more about here. Is there any export limitation that needs to be corrected? In the Dashboard, check that all SSOs are producing (light yellow bar). If they are not, check the LED on the underside of the SSO and see if it is lit, blinking and indicating anything, or if it is not lit at all. See section "What does the SSO LED indicate.
  2. You can also check that the total production of the SSOs is reasonable based on the number of panels and directions (orange bar). To investigate historical data, we use the SSO view. If it turns out that the production is lower than on previous comparable days in terms of sunlight and temperature, or if comparable strings have a higher production, the first step is to investigate if there are any external factors that may affect this, such as shading of any panel, dirt on the panels, or what the datasheet says about the panels' performance degradation.


What does the Display show?

We will now examine the information that we can gather from the Display.


  1. Start by entering the service menu by holding your finger on the display for about 5 seconds. Then, check if PV is enabled and activate it if not. Verify that the operating mode is set to "operational mode." In the SSO status window, you can click on the various serial numbers available to see information about the panel voltage. If the panel voltage is 0, an installer must check the panel connections. In the SSO status window, you can also check if all SSOs are detected. If not, check the SSO diode. See the section "What does the SSO diode indicate?" for details.                                                                                                                                                                                 

What does the SSO diode indicate?

The diode on the SSO can provide a lot of information related to why the SSO is not producing. Note that all troubleshooting involving handling live components should be performed by a qualified person.

 

  1. If the diode does not light up with a solid glow, it means it has detected a fault. In chapter 5 of the SSO's manual, there is a troubleshooting guide for what different blink patterns indicate. Most of these require an inspection of the solar panel installation, but if it indicates that the SSO is not communicating with the EnergyHub, it may help to press the reset button on the EnergyHub and then wait for 5 minutes for the system to restart, or alternatively, restart the system by cutting off the AC power supply to the EnergyHub for about 5 minutes and then turning it back on.
  2. If the diode does not light up, the next step is to check that we have voltage from the EnergyHub to the SSO, which we do by measuring the voltage in our DC distribution. We measure both the incoming cables from the EnergyHub and the outgoing cables to the SSO. 
    1. If we measure the correct voltage to the SSO, the next step is to check that the DC cable to the SSO is connected correctly. First, disconnect the DC cable to the SSO and measure to ensure it is 0 volts. Then, check that the cables are properly connected to the terminal block and that the polarity is correct. To investigate whether it is the SSO or the solar panels causing the problem, we can try connecting a different loop to the SSO.
    2. If we do not measure the correct voltage to the SSO, we need to check if a fuse has blown or if we are not getting any DC voltage from the EnergyHub. First, we check the voltage into the DC distribution. If we measure voltage in but not out, we proceed to check the DC fuses for the SSO. If we do not measure voltage into the DC distribution, we first check for any DC breakers or additional DC distribution panels in the system. For rack cabinets, we check the DC fuses found on the back of the EnergyHub, and for EnergyHub Wall, we check the DC connector to ensure it is correctly connected. Remember always to disconnect AC power to the EnergyHub and to measure the voltage before unplugging connectors or changing fuses.
  3. If the diode does not indicate any faults, we check for external factors that may affect production, ensuring that the installation is carried out correctly according to the manual. If everything appears to be correct, we can test by connecting another loop to the SSO to rule out any issues with the panels.

We constantly want to improve the content in the Knowledge Database and would appreciate it if you give feedback on our articles. Does all the information exist, is there anything that needs to be clarified or is there any information that is missing that would help installing or using the EnergyHub system in general? You can give us feedback by choosing if the article was helpful or not in the options below. 

If you need to get in contact with Ferroamp's Technical Support or if you have any questions about the system, you can do so by creating a ticket 
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