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SMA Sunnyboy Solar Inverter Faults and Repairs

German inverter specialists SMA have been a leading manufacturer in renewable energy technologies for the last 35 years. SMA SunnyBoy inverters come in a range of colours including red, blue and yellow. SMA Sunnyboy Inverters have been widely installed in the UK, some of the most popular being the SB1200, SB2000 and SB3000. High frequency models include the SB2000HF, SB2500HF, and SB3000HF. Transformerless models include the SB3000TL and the SB3600TL.

We have installed SMA equipment for our own clients for many years and we also have a lot of experience in working with their equipment for new clients on the support side. So if you would like help with diagnosing faults, carrying out servicing or repairs and or are currently without an installer then you will find us well qualified and pleased to help.

SMA Tripower (three phase) faults and repairs

All Solar Inverter Faults and Repairs

Solar Power System Repairs

SMA SunnyBoy inverters have LCD displays on the front of the chassis, which providing it's working, will highlight any errors with the inverter or the solar PV system that it runs, some will show event numbers, others just a message. We have listed and described common faults with SMA SunnyBoy inverters and what action to take to resolve them below:

Repair SMA SunnyBoy Inverter
TL Series

SMA SunnyBoy Solar Inverter Faults and Warnings:

Some of the advice we give related to identifying, confirming and or resolving some of the faults detailed below, starts with safely shutting down and restarting the inverter and the solar PV system. This is something that nearly all solar PV systems installed in the UK would have been designed to be carried out safely by the solar PV system owner. However, paperwork, schematics and manuals are not always clear or available, so if you have any concerns about how to do this, we will always be more than happy to talk you through the process over the telephone at no charge.

How to Restart a SMA SunnyBoy Solar Inverter:

Repair SMA SunnyBoy Inverter
HF Series

Solar PV System Restart
AC Isolator

Leave everything near the supply meters turned on. At the inverter there will be an AC isolator, this is used to isolate the mains/grid supply from the inverter and to prevent the inverter from feeding solar power into the electrical system. Switch the AC isolator 'off', if the inverter is running correctly you will hear a clunk inside the machine and after a while a 'grid fault', 'missing grid' warning or similar will appear on the LCD display.

Near to the solar inverter might be a method of isolating the solar (DC) supply from the inverter. Often these are black and grey and will be labelled 'DC isolator' or similar. There might be two or more of these if the system is fed by multiple strings.

All SunnyBoy inverters have a built in ESS switch / DC isolator. The TL Series and the older SunnyBoys have a handsized black plastic component on the underside of the chassis. Getting a good grip on this, pulling this straight down will isolate the DC circuits. The HF Series of SunnyBoy inverters have a black plastic piece that runs across the bottom of the inverter. You will find a hand grip in the centre, pulling this straight down will release the whole lower part of the inverter (the black plastic part) and isolate the DC circuits. More modern SMA SunnyBoy inverters have a rotoray style on/off switch to isolate the DC circuits mounted on the left hand side of the chassis.

When all of the lights on the solar inverter have gone out, reintroduce the AC/mains supply by turning the AC isolator 'on'. Introduce the DC supply by reinserting the ESS switch (push straight up) and turn any external DC isolators 'on'.

This will restart the solar inverter, on the display it will show you progress during it's startup procedure. During startup is when the solar inverter carries out all of the tests needed before being able to connect the solar supply to the electrical system. If errors are found during testing they will be displayed on the screen or an indication light might come on. Make a note of any warning messages, warning lights and fault codes.

If the restart is succesful a green light will come on, sometimes flashing at first but once connected to the mains/AC supply, remaining permenantly on. The LCD display will show how much power the solar PV system is generating. The solar PV system can be verified as working at the solar generation / Feed in Tariff (FIT) meter which will count on the display, the red light will pulse as it counts.

SMA SunnyBoy Solar Inverter: No lights, No Display

SMA SunnyBoy solar inverters are powered by the solar panels (the DC supply) and will startup at sunrise each day and shutdown at night. If you find the inverter with no lights or display working during the day, there is either a problem with the solar panels or with the inverter. Follow the shutdown and restart procedure outlined above and if the problem persists Contact us to discuss the next steps.

SMA Sunnyboy Solar Inverter Fault Codes and Explanations:

Repair SMA SunnyBoy Inverter
SunnyBoy
  • Event 1 - Grid Fault - The inverter is measuring a grid (mains) voltage or a grid impedence that is too high in relation to the parameters that the inverter has been set to safely operate within. If this fault persists contact us to arrange for an engineer to visit to establish whether the fault lies with the inverter or with the grid.

  • Event 2 - Grid Fault - The inverter is measuring a grid (mains) voltage or a grid impedence that is too low in relation to the parameters that the inverter has been set to safely operate within. If this fault persists and mains power is available to other local circuits then check that all isolators, MCBs and RCDs on the AC side of the solar PV system are 'On'. If automatic safety devices such as MCBs or RCDs have switched 'Off' then leave them 'Off' and contact us to arrange for an engineer to visit to establish whether the fault lies with the inverter, the supply circuit or with the grid.

 

SMA SunnyBoy TL Series Inverter Event Codes

Solar Power System Repairs

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SMA Sunnyboy Inverter Manuals:

SunnyBoy 1100, 1200, 1700 Installation Manual SunnyBoy 1200, 1700 User Manual SunnyBoy HF Series 2000, 2500, 3000 Manual
SunnyBoy 3000-6000TL Series Manual SunnyBoy 1VL Series Manual v1.9 SunnyBoy 1AV Series Manual v1.8

 

Solar Inverter Recycling: - Recycling SMA SunnyBoy Inverters

SMA SunnyBoy inverters contain valuable materials such as copper and aluminium, these materials are in high demand and recycling them is significantly less energy intensive than extracting them from ore.

If you find yourself with a damaged or faulty SMA SunnyBoy inverter, we will be pleased to help you recycle it.

Solar Power System Repairs

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Solar Power System Testing, Servicing & Maintenance

Regular solar PV system testing, servicing and maintenance will extend the life of a solar PV system and ensure that solar panels are always operating safely and at their best, whilst maximising yields.

We offer complete safety and performance testing for solar PV power systems of any size. Includes solar panels, cables, inverters, isolators and mains connections.

We provide solar power system testing and maintenance services for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural clients across Southern, South West England and the West Midlands, with specialist experience working with farmers, developers and commercial and industrial buildings owners.

Solar Power System Testing, Servicing & Maintenance

 

Solar PV Inverter Replacement

If you have a faulty inverter, we offer an efficient, value for money, hassle free inverter replacement service. We offer good advice and install quality equipment with comprehensive warranty and support options. We will test the rest of the system as part of the service, take care of all hardware deliveries, record the new unit's serial number and confirm the warranty details with the manufacturer.

Our engineers work cleanly and will dispose of any unwanted boxes, faulty equipment and packaging.

Many modern inverters can now use wireless home networks to transmit solar generation data to PCs, tablets and smartphones, so if you would like something like this, let us know and we will be happy to set it up as part of the installation.

Solar PV Inverter Replacement

 

Mains/Grid Isolation and Surge Protection

Mains/AC Surge Protection Solar PV Systems

A whole house surge protector is installed to provide protection from transient overvoltages originating from the mains/grid. A whole house surge protector is installed directly inline and as close as possible to the incoming mains/grid supply meter, this allows for surge protection for all circuits and equipment including solar inverters, routers, stereos and other sensitive electrical equipment within the network. The addition of a 100Amp lockable isolator also allows for safe and convenient isolation of all electrical equipment within the network including consumer units, solar inverters, battery storage units and EV chargers from the mains/grid in one place.

Surge protectors are in compliance with the recently updated 18th edition amendment 2 of BS7671.

Mains/Grid Isolation and Surge Protection

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Articles: Further Information, Calculators & Inverter Fault Codes

Lots of articles, calculators and technical information including links for further reading. Covering a range of topics related to the installation and maintenance of solar photovoltaic and electrical systems in the UK.

/Solar PV Information Articles

SMA Tripower Inverter Faults and Repairs

German inverter specialists SMA have been a leading manufacturer in renewable energy technologies for the last 35 years. SMA's three phase Tripower Inverters come in a range of power ratings and have been widely installed in the UK for many years, some of the most popular being the transformerless STP-10000TL, STP-12000TL, STP-15000TL and the STP-17000TL.

How to provide power to a house using a portable generator

We look at changeover switches, the importance of earthing, generator loadings, isolating non essential loads. Where to locate the generator and how best to safely isolate the mains supply and switch to a generator supply.

Ground Faults, Isolation Faults, RISO Faults and Insulation Resistance Faults with Solar PV Systems

After a number of years exposed to wind, rain, snow, ice and sometimes animals; solar panel systems can start to develop faults. The most common faults we find related to exposure are ground faults, isolation faults, RISO faults and insulation resistance faults. In this article we take a look at what these faults are, the possible causes and what steps are taken to identify and resolve them.

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What Our Customers Say:

"Glen was very helpful and very reasonably priced. I would recommend him, and use him again in future if I need any solar work." Venu Jega, Highworth

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Case Studies

We've carried out Solar PV System design, installation, testing, repair and maintenance work on solar PV systems of all shapes and sizes all across the UK.

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Areas Served:

We are located in Wanborough, very close to Swindon in Wiltshire, Southern England, UK. From here we service clients within a 90 minute driving radius including the towns, cities and regions below:

Swindon: Abingdon, Aldbourne, Andover, Banbury, Basingstoke, Bath, Berkshire, Bicester, Blunsdon, Box, Bracknell, Bradford on Avon, Bristol, Burford, Calne, Camberley, Carterton, Cheltenham, Chippenham, Chipping Norton, Chipping Sodbury, Cirencester, Corsham, Cricklade, Devizes, Didcot, Evesham, Faringdon, Fleet, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Henley-on-Thames, Highclere, Highworth, Hook, Hungerford, Keynsham, Kingsclere, Lambourn, Lechlade, Lyneham, Maidenhead, Malmesbury, Marlborough, Marshfield, Melksham, Minety, Newbury, Oxford, Oxfordshire, Pewsey, Purton, Ramsbury, Reading, Royal Wootton Bassett, Salisbury, Shalbourne, Slough, Stow, Swindon, Tewkesbury, Thatcham, Trowbridge, Wanborough, Wantage, Warminster, Wiltshire, Winchester, Windsor, Witney, Wokingham, Worcester, Wroughton and Yate.

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