SMA 15000TL User manual

STP15-20TLEE-IA-en-23 | Version 2.3
EN
PV Inverters
SUNNY TRIPOWER 15000TL Economic Excellence
SUNNY TRIPOWER 20000TL Economic Excellence
Installation Manual

SMA Solar Technology AG Table of Contents
Installation Manual STP15-20TLEE-IA-en-23 3
Table of Contents
1 Information on this Manual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.1 Validity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2 Target Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3 Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2 Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1 Appropriate Usage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 Safety Precautions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3 Explanation of Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3.1 Symbols on the Inverter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3.2 Symbols on the Type Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3 Unpacking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.1 Scope of Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2 Identifying the Inverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4 Product Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.1 Sunny Tripower. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.2 Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.3 DC Switch-Disconnector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.4 Communication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.5 Multi-Function Relay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.6 Feed-In Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.7 Operating Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.8 Reverse-Current Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.1 Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.2 Selecting the Mounting Location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.3 Mounting the Inverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Table of Contents SMA Solar Technology AG
4 STP15-20TLEE-IA-en-23 Installation Manual
6 Electrical Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.1 Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.2 Overview of the Connection Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.3 Connection to the Electricity Grid (AC). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6.3.1 Conditions for AC Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6.3.2 AC Connection Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.3.3 Connecting the Second Protective Conductor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.4 Connection of the PV Array (DC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
6.4.1 Conditions for DC Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
6.4.2 Assembling the DC Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
6.4.3 Disassembling the DC Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
6.4.4 Connecting the PV Array (DC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.5 Setting the Country Data Set and Display Language . . . . . . . . 40
6.5.1 Checking the Country Data Set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.5.2 Extension of the Deactivation Limits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
6.5.3 Setting the Country Data Set and Language Using Rotary Switches . . . . . . 47
6.6 Communication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
6.6.1 Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
6.6.2 Multi-Function Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6.6.3 Communication Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6.7 Activating and Deactivating Reverse-Current Protection at
Input Area A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
7 Commissioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
7.1 Commissioning the Inverter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
7.2 Display Messages during the Start-Up Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8 Disconnecting the Inverter from Voltage Sources . . . . . . 55

SMA Solar Technology AG Table of Contents
Installation Manual STP15-20TLEE-IA-en-23 5
9 Maintenance and Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
9.1 Cleaning the Inverter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
9.2 Checking the Heat Dissipation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
9.2.1 Cleaning the Ventilation Grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
9.2.2 Cleaning the Fan at the Bottom of the Inverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
9.2.3 Cleaning the Fan on the Left-Hand Side of the Inverter Enclosure . . . . . . . . 61
9.2.4 Testing the Fans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
10 Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
10.1 LED Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
10.2 Event Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
10.3 Error Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
11 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
11.1 Checking the PV Array for Earth Faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
11.2 Checking the Function of the Varistors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
12 Decommissioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
12.1 Dismounting the Inverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
12.2 Replacing the Enclosure Lid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
12.3 Packing the Inverter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
12.4 Storing the Inverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
12.5 Disposing of the Inverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
13 Technical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
13.1 DC/AC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
13.1.1 Sunny Tripower 15000TL Economic Excellence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
13.1.2 Sunny Tripower 20000TL Economic Excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
13.2 General Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
13.3 Protective Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
13.4 Climatic Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
13.5 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Table of Contents SMA Solar Technology AG
6 STP15-20TLEE-IA-en-23 Installation Manual
13.6 Torques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
13.7 Data Storage Capacity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
14 Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
15 Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

SMA Solar Technology AG Information on this Manual
Installation Manual STP15-20TLEE-IA-en-23 7
1 Information on this Manual
1.1 Validity
This manual describes the procedure for mounting, installation, commissioning, maintenance and
troubleshooting of the following SMA inverters from firmware version 2.54:
• Sunny Tripower 15000TL Economic Excellence (STP 15000TLEE-10)
• Sunny Tripower 20000TL Economic Excellence (STP 20000TLEE-10)
Keep this manual in a convenient place for future reference.
1.2 Target Group
This manual is for the use of electrically skilled persons. The tasks described in this manual must be
performed by electrically skilled persons only.
1.3 Additional Information
You will find further information on special topics such as designing a miniature circuit-breaker or the
description of the parameters and measured values at www.SMA.de/en.
Refer to the user manual provided for detailed information on how to operate the inverter.
The following types of safety precautions and general information appear in this document:
DANGER!
DANGER indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, will result in death or
serious injury.
WARNING!
WARNING indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in death or
serious injury.
CAUTION!
CAUTION indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in minor or
moderate injury.
NOTICE!
NOTICE indicates a situation, which if not avoided, can result in property damage.

Information on this Manual SMA Solar Technology AG
8 STP15-20TLEE-IA-en-23 Installation Manual
Information
Information provides tips that are valuable for effective installation and operation of the
product.
☑ This symbol indicates the result of an action.

SMA Solar Technology AG Safety
Installation Manual STP15-20TLEE-IA-en-23 9
2 Safety
2.1 Appropriate Usage
The Sunny Tripower is a PV inverter which converts the direct current of the PV array to grid-compliant
alternating current and performs three-phase feed-in into the electricity grid.
Principle of a PV Plant with Sunny Tripower
The Sunny Tripower is suitable for indoor and outdoor use.
The Sunny Tripower must only be operated with PV arrays of protection class II, in accordance with
IEC 61730, application class A. Do not connect any energy sources other than PV modules to the
Sunny Tripower.
When designing the PV plant, ensure that the permitted operating range of all components is
complied with at all times. The free design program "Sunny Design", version 2.0 or higher
(see www.SMA.de/en/SunnyDesign), will assist you in this. The manufacturer of the PV modules must
have approved the PV modules for use with the Sunny Tripower. You must also ensure that all
measures recommended by the module manufacturer for the long-term maintenance of the module
properties are taken (see also Technical Information "Module Technology" at www.SMA.de/en).
Do not use the Sunny Tripower for purposes other than those described here. Alternative uses,
modifications to the Sunny Tripower or the installation of components not expressly recommended or
sold by SMA Solar Technology AG void the warranty claims and operation permission.
Capacitive leakage currents
PV modules with large capacities relative to earth, such as thin-film PV modules with cells
on a metallic substrate, may only be used if their coupling capacity does not exceed
500 nF.
During feed-in operation, a leakage current flows from the cells to earth. The size of this
leakage current depends on the mounting type of the PV modules (e.g. foil on metal roof)
and on the weather (rain, snow). This normal leakage current must not exceed 50 mA, as
otherwise the inverter would automatically disconnect from the electricity grid as a
protective measure. For further information on this subject, see the Technical Information
"Capacitive Leakage Currents" at www.SMA.de/en.

Safety SMA Solar Technology AG
10 STP15-20TLEE-IA-en-23 Installation Manual
2.2 Safety Precautions
2.3 Explanation of Symbols
2.3.1 Symbols on the Inverter
DANGER!
Danger to life due to electric shock
When exposed to sunlight, the PV array generates a dangerous direct voltage which is
present in the DC conductors or the live components in the inverter.
• Do not touch the DC conductors.
• Do not touch live components in the inverter.
• Prior to performing any work on the inverter, always disconnect it from any voltage
sources as described in this document (see Section 8 "Disconnecting the Inverter from
Voltage Sources" (page55)).
CAUTION!
Risk of burns due to hot enclosure parts
During operation, the upper enclosure lid and the enclosure body may get hot.
• Only touch the lower enclosure lid during operation.
Earthing of the PV array
Comply with the local regulations for earthing the modules and the PV array.
SMA Solar Technology AG recommends connecting the array frame and other electrically
conductive surfaces so that there is continuous conduction, and earthing them in order to
ensure maximum protection for property and persons.
Symbol Explanation
Operation indicator
Shows the operating state of the inverter
A disturbance has occurred.
Read Section 11 "Troubleshooting" (page72) to remedy the disturbance.
SMA Bluetooth® Wireless Technology
Shows the status of Bluetooth communication
Danger to life due to high voltages in the inverter
There is residual voltage in the inverter. The inverter takes 20 minutes to
discharge.
• Wait 20 minutes before you open the upper enclosure lid or the
DC lid.