Is Neutral wire required for Solar Edge single phase inverter (SE5000H)?

Blueman2

I am going to install a Solar Edge SE5000H inverter for home home.  Grid-tied system.  Single phase.   Inverter has connections for GND, L1, L2 and N.  I have a 220 sub-panel near my garage that I wanted to use to feed power out of the Inverter, but it is for 220 only (no neutral wire, just L1, L2 and GND).  Is the Neutral required?  I am guessing power balancing across L1 and L2 occurs in the transformer outside my house, but might code issues come into this?  California if that matters. 

BB.

The official answer is to always follow the installation instructions and code (as applicable to your location).

What was done for MY SYSTEM by the installer... I had an older GT inverter that was L1+L2+Gnd connections on the AC side. And that was what was pulled from the main panel.

The newer version (about 3-5 years later or so), had a requirement for L1+L2+N+Gnd... If the Neutral to Hot connection was not within specifications (something like 105-132 volts or so to either or both(?) of the Lx lines), the inverter would shutdown or never start.

The installer's quick and dirty solution--Connect a white wire from local green wire ground to the Neutral input of the GT inverter. Since Neutral and Ground are bonded at the main panel (and other places too sometimes), ideally there is always near zero volts between GND an NEUTRAL. So, the "local neutral" (aka local electrical ground connection) connected to the GT Inverter's Neutral--It fired up and worked fine.

Will your proposed GT Inverter work the same way--I don't know, but I would suspect that as long as you have a good green wire connection from the remote panel back to the main panel (i.e., not open, no big voltage drops anywhere).

If you take your DMM, and measure from L1 and L2 to local panel ground, and have near 120 VAC volts nominal (I have seen upwards of 5-10 VAC between greenwire and neutrals in large buildings)--I would think it would work fine.

But this is your choice/decision, and I know nothing about your GT inverter/system. Standard GT inverters with 240 VAC output only use L1+L2 legs for current/power and green wire for safety. There should be no current (i.e., less than 1 amp) in the White wire Neutral).

You can try and ask your retailer/supplier for the GT Inverter and see what they say... I understand the issues of having to pull a 3rd neutral connection to a panel that never needs neutral)... But if you will eventually need  120 VAC at that location--Perhaps you will use this occasion to pull the neutral?

-Bill