Solmetric PVA-1500T User Manual

1 Getting Started
2-53
CAUTION Place the I-V Measurement Unit in the shade to reduce the likelihood of thermal
shutdown. Never place the I-V Measurement Unit on an asphalt driveway, on a solar
panel, or roof in direct sunlight.
Sweep-to-Sweep Delay and Thermal Capacity of the PVA-1500xx
In order to manage the internal temperature of the I-V unit there is a sweep-to-sweep
delay that limits how quickly a subsequent I-V sweep can be made. The delay is
different depending on the Voc measured as shown in Table 9.
Table 9. Sweep-to-Sweep delay
Voc
PVA-1500S/V2/V3/V4
PVA-1500T
≤200V
6 seconds
6 seconds
201-1000V
10 seconds
6 seconds
1001-1350V
17 seconds
8 seconds
>1350V
22 seconds
11 seconds
The thermal capacity of the PVA-1500xx is the number of I-V measurements that can be
made before the maximum allowable internal temperature is reached and an extended
cool off period is required. Thermal capacity decreases with higher Voc, higher outdoor
ambient temperatures, and shorter wait time between measurements. For a reference PV
system with 16 strings per combiner box and string Voc of 1300V, if the 16 strings are
measured one after another followed by 5 minutes of no measurements (e.g. while
moving to the next combiner box), then the thermal capacity is as shown in Table 10.
Table 10. Thermal Capacity (# I-V measurements before extended cool-down)
Sweep-to-sweep delay
PVA-1500S/V2/V3/V4
PVA-1500T
18 seconds
800 (77
o
F ambient)
225 (113
o
F ambient)
unlimited (77
o
F
ambient)
550 (113
o
F ambient)
9 seconds
N/A
unlimited (77
o
F
ambient)
330 (113
o
F ambient)
After reaching the thermal capacity a message will appear and further measurements will
not be allowed. Every minute of cooling (i.e. no measurements) increases the number of

Solmetric PVA-1500T Specifications

General

Brand	Solmetric
Model	PVA-1500T
Category	Measuring Instruments
Language	English