approved site elevations for inverter installations

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jamierob asked Jun 23, '23

approved site elevations for inverter installations

I am planning to install an off-grid solar energy system at a remote cabin located at 7900 ft (2400 meters) above sea level. Many lower-cost inverters apparently have a maximum approved elevation for installation of 1500m due to arcing and cooling issues at higher elevations. I've been looking at the manuals and datasheets for various Victron devices and haven't seen anything about elevation requirements. Someone told me that victon components might be built to withstand these issues, but I've not seen anything official. I'm particularly interested in the Phoenix 48/1200 inverter. Can anyone link me to information about this if there is any? Thanks!

Phoenix Inverter installation elevation

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Answer 1 · 2023-06-23T05:28:12Z

Alexandra answered · Jun 23, 2023 at 05:28 AM

@jamierob

There is a 2000m mention in one of the brochures. I did not read it but i am sure you can check out what it is referring to. [Edit: it refers to the mppts]

But then there is also a victron blog post on Chetang.

Derating is a big factor going higher (so consider a bigger inverter if your loads are close to the unit you chose) and so is safety as air (which is thinner up there as you know) is has insulating properties against arcing when things go bad.

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2 |3000

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nickdb ♦♦ commented · Jun 23, 2023 at 06:22 AM

Yip. Air density is much lower which affects cooling. This can be offset by cool ambient temps, but even on non-victron gear the max ambient temps for operation drop by around 3C per 1000m.

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