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Deye manual says don't ground PV panels.

kolek

kolek

Inventor of the Electron
Joined
Sep 29, 2021
Messages
526
I have the Deye 8K inverter. The manual says:

"To avoid any malfunction, do not connect any PV modules with possible
current leakage to the inverter. For example, grounded PV modules will cause
current leakage to the inverter. When using PV modules, please be sure NO
grounding."

But everyone on this forum says ground your PV panels.
 
Maybe they mean extra grounding. i.e. grounding to a rod at the modules.
 
DIYrich said:
Me thinks you want your panels grounded. But, you may not want to connect that ground to the inverter.
Click to expand...

On this side of the pond it is pretty clear....

1 ground at the service entrance in grid-tie, at the inverter or main panel in non-grid-tie
EGC to the solar panels back to the single ground. NOTE -- this means the frames ONLY not either pole.
The case of every other electrical device to that same single ground.

Now it gets a little dicy in some of the AIO where it does a N-G bond as part of the equation. And even more dicy when you want to turn it off because the N-G is in the main panel. Some AIO have a screw, some use a relay, some do both.

For any grounding questions I call the expert on all things grounded @timselectric
 
They're talking about grounding one of the conductors. Grounding the positive or the negative.

It used to be a thing, I don't think anyone does it nowadays. But my Schneider equipment does still have instructions for running grounded configs.

You should still ground your panel frames with the Deye or any system.
 
DIYrich said:
Me thinks you want your panels grounded. But, you may not want to connect that ground to the inverter.
Click to expand...
And this is exactly what that means.
Panel frames should be grounded to their own ground (rod) , and not bonded to the negative, nor grounded to the system / home grounding
 
@houseofancients Thanks for dropping by, you're for sure the forum expert on Deye.

So are you saying there would be 2 grounds, one for the panel frames and one for the rest of the system? I thought that would be a no-no because it would create a ground loop. I thought all these systems are supposed to have a single ground point.

@timselectric the expert on grounding would know for sure.
 
Last edited:
kolek said:
@houseofancients Thanks for dropping by, you're for sure the forum expert on Deye.
Click to expand...
This is not specific to deye/sunsynk/sol-ark...
Seen the same in my mpp solar / voltronics inverter manuals from days gone by.
It makes a lot of sense too..
I see and explain it in simple terms like this :

Grounding in systems / buildings is a safety thing to prevent shock to a person

Grounding of panel frames is to protect against lightning / high voltage panel malfunction

Not entirely complete or accurate, but makes it somewhat understandable
 
houseofancients said:
And this is exactly what that means.
Panel frames should be grounded to their own ground (rod) , and not bonded to the negative, nor grounded to the system / home grounding
Click to expand...

Referring to this document on grounding, it says:
"Separate Grounding Rod for the Solar Array: DON’T DO IT!"
diysolarforum.com

Grounding Made simpler - Part 3: Solar Panels

To get the paper, click on the orange button at the top of the screen. The subject of grounding is a complex, multifaceted subject, that is often treated as an after-thought but needs to be considered from the beginning of the design and build...
diysolarforum.com diysolarforum.com

@Will Prowse also has a video, forgot the title, mentioning that there should only be a single grounding point, that putting in more than 1 creates a ground loop.

Maybe others will chime in on this point? I could be wrong or misinterpreting what you're saying, or maybe Deye is unique?
 
@houseofancients is making some assertions that run counter to USA code, and the USA forum consensus, which is that we always always ground the panel frames to the house ground. Ground rods at the array are allowed but not advised, and even when they are present they do not negate the rule to always ground to the house ground. Tim goes as far as to want to actively avoid the arrays forming a local ground connection.

I would not try to settle this here or provoke the debate. I think for remote ground mount arrays that are 50+ feet away from the house, there could be conceptual arguments for what @houseofancients is saying, although I disagree that it offers any lightning protection.
 
Ok @hwy17 that's cool, thanks for that clarification! Wasn't sure myself. Grounding is ridiculously complex I'm still trying to figure it out.
 
Last edited:
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