Sungevity System Owner Manual

Sungevity
Customer Manual
Our Commitment
Congratulations! You are now part of the rapidly growing network of
energized homeowners who are generating their electricity from the
sun. Over the lifetime of your system, we’ll be with you every step of
the way to maximize your solar system’s energy production.
This Customer Manual provides information on how to operate, maintain,
and understand your system and its monitoring. We recommend that you
read it thoroughly, examine your system for the features discussed, and
then contact us with any questions you may have.
A Customer Service Representative can be reached by:
Phone:
Email:
866-SUN-4ALL
[email protected]
For billing questions, contact us by:
Phone:
Email:
866-SUN-4ALL
[email protected]
We are happy to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free
to give us a call at any time.
Contents
Turning Your System On and Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Understanding Your Inverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Understanding Your System’s Monitoring . . . . . . . 6
System Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
System Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Safety Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Inverter On/Off Switch
Turning your
System ON
and OFF
To turn your system on and off, use the on/off
switch on your inverter(s). Depending on the
manufacturer, it will be located on either the
front, side, or bottom of the inverter and will
look like the images at the bottom of the page.
If you cannot find the inverter’s on/off switch,
contact a Customer Service Representative.
Once you have located the inverter’s on/off
switch on each inverter and turned it to the
“on” position, the inverter should begin
starting up and will fully turn on within 5 to 10
minutes. Once that happens, you will see one
or more green LED lights illuminated on the
front of the inverter.
If you do not see one or more green LED lights
on your inverter after starting it up or you
cannot tell if the inverter is turned on, please
refer to the next section “Additional Switches”.
Inverter Off
2
Inverter On
Additional Switches
For emergency situations, there may be ways
to turn your system on and off other than the
inverter’s on/off switch. All switches must be
turned to the on position in order for your
system to function, so you may be asked to
locate and flip one of these switches. There are
two different kinds of switches: the circuit
breaker and the disconnect switch (also
referred to as the ac or dc disconnect).
Circuit Breakers
Your solar system, like all large appliances in
your house, is connected to your electrical
service through one or more circuit breakers
in your main electrical service panel or your
electrical subpanel. The breakers are clearly
labeled and look like the images at the bottom
of the page.
If the solar breaker is on, it will be switched to
the same side as most of the other breakers in
the electrical panel.
PV
PV
Electrical Service Panel
AC or DC Disconnects
Depending on the building code in your area
and the placement of your inverter, there may
be one or more disconnect switches near your
inverter(s), on the side of your home, or even
on the roof. These switches must be in the up
(on) position in order for your system to work.
If the disconnect switch is on, it should look
like the image to the left.
Turning Your Inverter Off
In the rare case that you would have to turn
your inverter off, you can turn any of these
sets of switches (inverter on/off switch, circuit
On Position (Up)
breakers, or disconnect switches) to the off
position. If the inverter is off, none of the lights
on the inverter(s) will be lit.
Note: An inverter will shut itself off when it is
dark out or when no light is hitting the solar
panels. No LED lights will be visible. Once the
sun starts hitting the panels, the green LED
lights should automatically come on.
An inverter will also automatically shut itself
off if there is any fluctuation or irregularity on
the grid (such as during an earthquake, or
voltage spike or power outage). Once
everything returns to normal, the inverter will
automatically turn itself back on. If not, follow
the instructions to turn your system back on or
call a Customer Service Representative.
Understanding
Your Inverter
When Will I Need to Turn the Inverter
On or Off?
You will very rarely need to turn your inverter
on or off. The only time you may need to turn
your inverter on or off is when:
• You or an electrician is doing electrical work
on your home.
• You see an error code on your inverter.
Error Codes
If you are checking your inverter and notice
that a red LED light is illuminated, restart your
inverter by turning the inverter switch to off,
waiting approximately three minutes, and then
turn your system back on. If the red light comes
back on after the 5 to 10 minute restart phase,
please contact one of our Customer Service
Representatives. If there is an error code on the
inverter, please note it in your telephone or
email message.
Data Displayed on the Inverter
If you are interested in a more detailed
explanation of the data displayed on your
inverter, please refer to your inverter manual
and/or contact a Customer Service
Representative. If you do not have the inverter
manual, please contact us and we will email
you a copy for your records.
Inverter LED display
5
Your solar electric system was installed with a
Understanding
Your System’s
Monitoring
monitoring device that interprets and explains
your system’s energy production. The
information is displayed on our online portal,
which allows both you and Sungevity to
monitor your system’s real-time and historical
energy production.
Once your system has been connected to the
utility grid, a Customer Service Representative
will email you instructions on how to access
this information. Once you’ve logged in to the
online portal, take a few minutes to familiarize
yourself with the data. Feel free to phone or
email a Customer Service Representative to
learn more about your monitoring system.
Although we encourage you to learn how to
monitor your system and check it frequently, it
is not imperative that you do so. Sungevity is
also monitoring your system. If we see that
your system is underperforming or it is turned
off for some reason, we will contact you to
diagnose and correct the issue and get your
system back up to its optimal production.
6
Performance Guarantee
If you are leasing your system, Sungevity has guaranteed
that your system will produce a certain amount of power
over the course of a year. In order for Sungevity to
provide you with your Production Guarantee, it is required
that you:
• Provide an Ethernet port in your router dedicated to
Sungevity’s monitoring.
• Provide a high speed internet connection 2 hours a
day, 65 days a year. If the internet connection is
bridged with an EoP adapter, that EoP adapter cannot
be unplugged or moved from its installed location.
• Respond to our emails and reconnect the internet
connection should it come unplugged and provide us
with access to remedy any monitoring issue.
• Maintain the same amount of sunshine on the solar
panels as existed when you installed the system by
trimming overhanging trees and shrubs .
The most important measure of a solar
System
Performance
system’s overall performance is how much
energy it generates for you over time. This is
measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) and is
reported by your inverter monitoring system.
Seasonality plays a significant factor in solar
energy production. Your energy production
will vary from month to month because it is
directly correlated to weather, temperature,
and the angle of the sun. In general, your
system will produce 60-0% of its total annual
power production in the summer months. If
your utility bill seems higher than it should be
in the winter, don’t worry! Your system will
produce plenty of energy in the summer to
make up for it.
8
Generally, a solar energy system requires very
System
Maintenance
little maintenance once it is installed, largely
because it has no moving parts. With that said,
there are some regular actions you can take
that will ensure optimal energy production.
Inverter
It’s a good idea to check your inverter once
every couple of weeks to make sure the green
LED lights are illuminated. If the green LED
lights are not lit during daylight hours, please
contact a Customer Service Representative as
soon as possible so we can quickly bring your
system back to optimal energy production.
Solar Panels
Annual rainfall should be enough to keep your
solar panels clean. If you notice that the
panels are very dirty, contact a Customer
Service Representative to determine whether
your system’s production is being affected by
the dirt. Typically, dirt has little to no effect on
energy production.
For safety reasons, Sungevity does not
recommend that you get on your roof to wash
or rinse your panels. If the panels appear
extremely dirty, you may hose them off,
however, spray off the panels only in the early
morning or late afternoon.
9
Shade
Shading has a major impact on your system’s production.
Over the course of your system’s life, trees and bushes
could grow and obstruct the sun. At least once a year,
please examine any trees surrounding your home to see
if they’ve grown enough to shade any part of your solar
system. If you lease your system, your Performance
Guarantee could be voided if shading is not kept to the
same level as when the system was installed. Please
maintain and/or prune your trees to provide maximum
sunlight to your solar system.
Snow
If your system is covered with snow and ice, do not
attempt to remove it, as it could result in damaged
equipment. Please let the snow and ice melt naturally and
your system will soon be back to normal production.
Roof Repairs or Remodeling
If your roof requires repairs or is being altered due to
remodeling, your solar system may need to be removed
and re-installed. Please contact a Customer Service
Representative to discuss a roofing issue or a repair.
Selling or Refinancing Your Home
If you are leasing your system and you are considering
selling or refinancing your home, please contact a
Customer Service Representative to help you with this
process.
10
Your solar system contains live electricity with
Safety
Information
high voltages and current. Do not attempt to
tamper with any part of the system at any
time. Tampering with any part of your solar
system—modules, conduit, inverter or wires—
could void your Warranty, Lease Agreement
and/or Performance Guarantee and could
cause physical harm.
An inverter will automatically shut itself off if
there is any fluctuation or irregularity on the
grid (such as during an earthquake or power
outage). Once everything returns to normal,
follow the instructions to turn your system
back on.
We are here to help you if you are ever
concerned about the safety of your solar
system. Our team has decades of solar
installation, electrical, and technical
experience. If you have a question about the
safety of your system or any other question,
please feel free to contact a Customer Service
Representative by phone (866-SUN-ALL) or
email ([email protected]) at
any time.
11
Customer Service:
866-SUN-4ALL
[email protected]
Billing Questions:
866-283-3609
[email protected]