A few years ago we had a solar energy system installed, 16 Schott panels and an SMA Sunny Boy inverter. The sensible location for the inverter would have been inside the laundry but it would have had to be positioned up near the 3.2 metre high ceiling. A bit awkward to read the display but in hindsight......... The installer recommended mounting the inverter on the external south east facing wall near the existing meter boxes. Not realising the effect sunlight had on the Sunny Boy's LCD screen, I went along with the suggestion. I should point out that it would have cost more for the laundry installation and as it was the 3KW setup was expensive.
Last week I thought I would have a look at the display and to my disappointment I could hardly read the thing. The screen had become cloudy and the plastic had started to craze. To halt the deterioration I had to devise a sun screen. The inverter generates heat so it couldn't be an enclosure. I had a sheet of 2mm aluminium measuring roughly 900 x 600 that I thought would do if I could mount it in front of the inverter and maintain space for ventilation.
The sheet needed to be readily removable. A version of a keyhole mount seemed easiest but cutting four 1" holes in the sheet with a reasonable level of accuracy presented some problems. I thought I could simply drill the holes. A trial run with some 3mm thick aluminium proved that I couldn't expect much in the way of accuracy. I tried a hole saw and the saw found a way of exploiting the drill's forty years of wear. I could have possibly filed the holes but they probably wouldn't have ended up round or accurately located.
So I ended up using the mill and some ex Greg Q's helix clamps and the ex GQ scope to centre the 2.5 mm holes drilled previously that align with the holes in the 40 x 6 flat serving as a mount for the round bars. All worked better than expected.
My wife has concerns that the aluminium sheet will act as a heat sink and aid in the cooking of the inverter. I am concerned too. I could affix a sheet of polystyrene to the rear face of the aluminium but how effective it would be I have no idea.
Any other ideas?
BT
Last week I thought I would have a look at the display and to my disappointment I could hardly read the thing. The screen had become cloudy and the plastic had started to craze. To halt the deterioration I had to devise a sun screen. The inverter generates heat so it couldn't be an enclosure. I had a sheet of 2mm aluminium measuring roughly 900 x 600 that I thought would do if I could mount it in front of the inverter and maintain space for ventilation.
The sheet needed to be readily removable. A version of a keyhole mount seemed easiest but cutting four 1" holes in the sheet with a reasonable level of accuracy presented some problems. I thought I could simply drill the holes. A trial run with some 3mm thick aluminium proved that I couldn't expect much in the way of accuracy. I tried a hole saw and the saw found a way of exploiting the drill's forty years of wear. I could have possibly filed the holes but they probably wouldn't have ended up round or accurately located.
So I ended up using the mill and some ex Greg Q's helix clamps and the ex GQ scope to centre the 2.5 mm holes drilled previously that align with the holes in the 40 x 6 flat serving as a mount for the round bars. All worked better than expected.
My wife has concerns that the aluminium sheet will act as a heat sink and aid in the cooking of the inverter. I am concerned too. I could affix a sheet of polystyrene to the rear face of the aluminium but how effective it would be I have no idea.
Any other ideas?
BT
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