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Nick Arnold avatar image
Nick Arnold asked

Grounding panels and equipment

I have a wooden shed at the end of the garden not connected to the house in any way. I have a 330w panel on a wooden stand, two batteries, a 100/30 smart controller, a Victron 375w inverter, two low wattage led lights. The controller and inverter are grounded using an 8' copper stake. The batteries aren't grounded. It is a 12v system. Everything is fused correctly. Should I ground my panel as well to it's own dedicated rod or not ground it at all. The controller manual says something about it (the controller) is not to be used with arrays that are grounded. It wasn't clear. I am in the UK.



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2 Answers
Kevin Windrem avatar image
Kevin Windrem answered ·

Code probably requires the metal frame of the soar panels be grounded. They can be connected to the same ground as your other components.

The comment in the manual about grounding the array refers to the actual panel outputs that connect to the MPPT inputs.

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Nick Arnold avatar image Nick Arnold commented ·
Thanks for that. The online controller manual is slightly more detailed I see. I will ground the frame of the panel to it's own earth rod (the distance to my other rod is 3 times the distance otherwise) with minimum 16mm cable
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Nick Arnold avatar image Nick Arnold commented ·
Would I need to connect the two rods together
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Kevin Windrem avatar image Kevin Windrem Nick Arnold commented ·
Depends on local codes
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reginald-potts avatar image
reginald-potts answered ·

Victron have a pdf called Wiring Unlimited section 7 has useful info on proper grounding practices for all equipment. We are moving towards (2025) the height of this current 11 year solar cycle so getting your equipment properly grounded may help. If we get a massive CME direct towards Earth then probably everything conductive on the surface will be fried chicken (lookup Carrington event 1859)

It would be great to know from an electrical engineer if there is any further way all this expensive equipment can be protected?


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