Why Design Phase Inspection Should Be Done By O&M Provider?

by | May 1, 2020 | O&M | 0 comments

Design phase inspection in solar O&M

While planning the design of a solar PV plant the O&M team plays a very important role. There are some issues that should be considered in the design, engineering, and construction by the O&M team to make sure that future risks are mitigated in the design phase itself to save two important resources in time and money. Below are the measures to mitigate those issues and risks :

– Select low- or no-maintenance alternatives when available.
 
– Track the performance of all the fielded equipments especially the inverters and the panels. Also, identify and specify the ones that have low failure rates, and which have the best OEM warranty service and based on the research standardize on preferred products to avoid mismatch of parts and expertise.
 
– Make use of network-connected inverters for remote testing, software configurations and/or updates, and remote resets.
 
– Provide required access to and clearance around equipment for maintenance
 
– Build PV and storage systems to relevant standards.

 

Now, we will dwell in some of these issues in detail –

  1. Selection of low/no-maintenance alternatives when available

While inspecting the design phase, making sure that the devices and components that are being used are of good quality, have durability and are low maintenance is should be a key part of any O&M strategy. The initial investment of time and money in the use of low maintenance alternatives guarantees liberation of these valuable resources later. It may seem like a hefty investment initially, but it comes to around to pay long-term dividends. for example, plastic wire ties would require replacement whereas coated metal ones may not.

  1. Tracking the performance of equipment being used

The types of equipment that are used in a solar PV plant have to reliable and accurate. The output of a solar PV plant is the return you get on the multi-million dollar investment done by you. And that output is dependent on the types of equipment and tools that are present on the site. If these devices are not accurate and can’t be relied on, then the output gets affected severely resulting in financial losses. Hence, it is vital that the performance of these devices is tracked to avoid the aforementioned losses. To track the performance of the equipments of the solar plant, one can take assistance from a reliable data monitoring solution provider like TrackSo. A monitoring solution like TrackSo can provide you high-frequency data of panel strings, inverters and sensors for efficiency and performance benchmarking with 1 week data of the plant. This activity of performance tracking and equipment monitoring can bring great insight and help in rectifying or replacing equipments at the initial stage itself. 

  1. Inverters

No single inverter is best for all circumstances. Diverse solar-based PV module innovations and designs may suit distinctive inverter types. Care should be taken in the combination of modules and inverters to guarantee ideal execution and lifetime. The most practical inverter alternative requires an investigation of both specialized and budgetary elements. By and large, inverter shortcomings are the most well-known reason for framework personal time in PV power plants. In this way, the booked support of inverters ought to be treated as a midway significant piece of the O&M methodology. 

Here is an agenda which will assist you with choosing the correct inverter: 

Inverter Selection Checklist 

– Suitable limit with respect to extending size. 
– Compatible with national lattice code. 
– Supplier recognizable proof and reputation checked. 
– Minimum accreditation acquired. 
– Product flexibly terms and conditions in accordance with showcase measures. – Technology and model are reasonable for the natural conditions (e.g., outside/indoor, derate at high temperatures, MPP run).
– Compatible with meagre film modules (transformer or transformerless inverter). – Efficiency in accordance with advertise norms.

  1. Provide required access to and clearance around equipment for maintenance 

While setting up the equipment, special care has to be taken as it impacts various facets of a plant. These equipments should be easily accessible for the purposes of cleaning, inspection and usage. For example, mounting of solar panels should be done in a manner that they are easily accessible to the site workers and engineers. Wrong mounting can raise serious issues like a risk to life. Cleaning of equipments is an important activity which cannot be neglected as it is directly linked to the performance and durability of these equipments.  Providing ample space around the equipment ensures that. 

  1. Build PV and storage systems to relevant standards

The exhibition of a PV power plant might be upgraded by a mix of a few empowering factors: premium modules and inverters, great framework structure with high calibre and accurately introduced parts and decent precaution upkeep and checking system prompting low operational shortcomings. Accordingly, building the PV and capacity frameworks to important guidelines ought to be the need for any O&M group.

Following these practices can bring out the best in any solar PV plant. The onus should be on getting the best return out of the investments that are done. 

Keep following this series of blogs to know more about the best practices of O&M. We will be back with more insight next week.