SMA SUNNY BOY 3800-US User manual

SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 | TBUS-SB3_4US | Version 1.0
CA
US
PV Inverter
SUNNY BOY 3000‑US⁄3800‑US⁄4000‑US
User Manual

SMA America, LLC Legal Restrictions
User Manual SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 3
Copyright © 2012 SMA America,LLC. All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photographic, magnetic or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of SMA America,LLC.
Neither SMA America,LLC nor SMA Solar Technology Canada Inc. makes representations, express
or implied, with respect to this documentation or any of the equipment and/or software it may
describe, including (with no limitation) any implied warranties of utility, merchantability, or fitness for
any particular purpose. All such warranties are expressly disclaimed. Neither SMA America,LLC nor
its distributors or dealers nor SMA Solar Technology Canada Inc. nor its distributors or dealers shall
be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages under any circumstances.
(The exclusion of implied warranties may not apply in all cases under some statutes, and thus the
above exclusion may not apply.)
Specifications are subject to change without notice. Every attempt has been made to make this
document complete, accurate and up-to-date. Readers are cautioned, however, that
SMAAmerica,LLC and SMA Solar Technology Canada Inc. reserve the right to make changes
without notice and shall not be responsible for any damages, including indirect, incidental or
consequential damages, caused by reliance on the material presented, including, but not limited to,
omissions, typographical errors, arithmetical errors or listing errors in the content material.
All trademarks are recognized even if these are not marked separately. Missing designations do not
mean that a product or brand is not a registered trademark.
The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and
any use of such marks by SMA America,LLC and SMA Solar Technology Canada Inc. is under
license.
SMA America, LLC
3801 N. Havana Street
Denver, CO 80239 U.S.A.
SMA Solar Technology Canada Inc.
2425 Matheson Blvd. E
8th Floor
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K5
Canada

Important Safety Instructions SMA America, LLC
4 SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 User Manual
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS
This manual contains important instructions for the following products:
• Sunny Boy 3000‑US⁄3800‑US⁄4000‑US
This manual must be followed during installation and maintenance.
The product is designed and tested in accordance with international safety requirements, but as with
all electrical and electronic equipment, certain precautions must be observed when installing and/or
operating the product. To reduce the risk of personal injury and to ensure the safe installation and
operation of the product, you must carefully read and follow all instructions, cautions and warnings
in this manual.
Warnings in this Document
A warning describes a hazard to equipment or personnel. It calls attention to a procedure or practice,
which, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could result in damage to or destruction of part or all
of the SMA equipment and/or other equipment connected to the SMA equipment or personal injury.
Symbol Description
DANGER indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, will result in
death or serious injury.
WARNING indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result
in death or serious injury.
CAUTION indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result
in minor or moderate injury.
NOTICE is used to address practices not related to personal injury.

SMA America, LLC Important Safety Instructions
User Manual SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 5
Markings on this Product
The following symbols are used as product markings with the following meanings.
Symbol Description
Warning regarding dangerous voltage
The product works with high voltages. All work on the product must only be
performed as described in the documentation of the product.
Beware of hot surface
The product can become hot during operation. Do not touch the product during
operation.

General Warnings SMA America, LLC
6 SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 User Manual
General Warnings
General Warnings
All electrical installations must be in accordance with the local and NationalElectrical Code®
ANSI/NFPA 70 or the Canadian Electrical Code® CSAC22.1. This document does not and is not
intended to replace any local, state, provincial, federal or national laws, regulations or codes
applicable to the installation and use of the product, including without limitation applicable
electrical safety codes. All installations must conform with the laws, regulations, codes and
standards applicable in the jurisdiction of installation. SMA assumes no responsibility for the
compliance or noncompliance with such laws or codes in connection with the installation of the
product.
The product contains no user-serviceable parts except for the fan on the bottom of the enclosure and
the handle covers on the sides of the unit. For all repairs and maintenance, always return the unit to
an authorized SMA Service Center.
Before installing or using the product, read all of the instructions, cautions, and warnings in this
manual.
Before connecting the product to the power distribution grid, contact the local utility company. This
connection may only be performed by personnel.
Wiring of the product may only be performed by qualified personnel.

SMA America, LLC Table of Contents
User Manual SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 7
Table of Contents
1 Information on this Document. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1 Intended Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 Safety Precautions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3 Product Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.1 Sunny Boy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2 Type Labels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.3 DC Disconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.4 Communication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.5 Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4 Operating the Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.1 LED Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.2 Measurement Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.3 Display Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.3.1 Status Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.3.2 Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.3.3 Resetting "Error AFCI" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Table of Contents SMA America, LLC
8 SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 User Manual
6 Cleaning and Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.1 Checking the Inverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.2 Checking the DC Disconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.3 Cleaning the Inverter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
6.4 Cleaning the Fan Enclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
6.5 Cleaning the Ventilation Grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
7 Compliance Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
8 Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

SMA America, LLC 1 Information on this Document
User Manual SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 9
1 Information on this Document
Validity
This document is valid for the following device types:
Target group
This document is intended for end users.
Additional information
Additional information is available at www.SMA-America.com.
Symbols
• SB 3000US • SB 3000US-12
• SB 3800-US-10 • SB 3800-US-12
• SB 4000US • SB 4000-US-12
Symbol Description
DANGER indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, will result in
death or serious injury.
WARNING indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result
in death or serious injury.
CAUTION indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result
in minor or moderate injury.
NOTICE is used to address practices not related to personal injury.
Indicates information that is important for a specific topic or objective, but is
not safety-relevant.
☐ Indicates a requirement for meeting a specific goal.
☑ Desired result
✖ A problem that could occur

1 Information on this Document SMA America, LLC
10 SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 User Manual
Typography
Nomenclature
The following nomenclature is used in this document:
Abbreviations
Typography Usage Example
"light" • Display messages
• Parameters
•Terminals
•Slots
• The inverter switches to
"Balanced" mode.
bold • Elements to be selected
• Elements to be entered
• Select the FanTest parameter and
set to 1.
Complete designation Designation in this document
SMA Solar America, LLC SMA
SMA Solar Technology Canada Inc. SMA
Sunny Boy 3000US/3800-US/4000US Inverter/Sunny Boy
Abbreviations Designations Explanations
AC Alternating Current ‒
AFCI Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter ‒
DC Direct Current ‒
LED Light-Emitting Diode ‒
MPP Maximum Power Point ‒
MPPT Maximum Power Point Tracker ‒
OCU Operational Control Unit ‒
PV Photovoltaics ‒

SMA America, LLC 2 Safety
User Manual SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 11
2Safety
2.1 Intended Use
The Sunny Boy is a PV inverter which converts the direct current of the PV array to alternating current
and feeds it into the power distribution grid. The Sunny Boy is suitable for use with fuel cells, small
wind turbine systems and other DC power sources.
Figure 1: Principle of a PV plant with Sunny Boy
The Sunny Boy takes current from a DC source and converts it to alternating current for the power
distribution grid. This current is then supplied to the local loads (C). Surplus energy is fed into the
power distribution grid (E). The amount of current needed from the power distribution grid is reduced
due to the current supplied to the load from the PV plant. An energy surplus may even result in the
energy meter (D) of your plant running backward. This power may also be recorded as power credits
by the local utility company depending on the interconnection agreement.
The Sunny Boy is suitable for indoor and outdoor use.
The Sunny Boy may only be operated with PV arrays of protection class II. The PV modules used must
be suitable for use with the Sunny Boy and must be approved by the module manufacturer. Do not
connect any energy sources other than PV modules to the Sunny Boy.
For safety reasons, it is forbidden to modify the product or install components that are not explicitly
recommended or distributed by SMA.
Only use the Sunny Boy in accordance with the information provided in the enclosed documentation.
Any other use can result in personal injury or property damage.
The enclosed documentation is an integral part of this product.
• Read and adhere to the documentation.
• Keep the documentation in a convenient place for future reference.
Position Description
APV array
B Sunny Boy with DC Disconnect
C Loads
DEnergy meter
E Power distribution grid

2 Safety SMA America, LLC
12 SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 User Manual
2.2 Safety Precautions
Danger to life due to electric shock
The components in the inverter are live. Touching live components can result in serious injury or
death.
• Do not open the inverter.
• Electrical installation, repairs and conversions may only be carried out by electrically qualified
persons.
• Do not touch damaged inverters.
Risk of burns due to hot enclosure parts
Parts of the enclosure can become very hot during operation. Touching hot enclosure parts can
result in burns.
• Only touch the enclosure lid and display during operation.

SMA America, LLC 3 Product Description
User Manual SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 13
3 Product Description
3.1 Sunny Boy
The Sunny Boy is a PV inverter which converts the direct current of the PV array to alternating current
and feeds it into the power distribution grid.
Figure 2: Sunny Boy design
Position Description
A Ventilation grids (left and right)
BType label
CDC Disconnect
DLEDs
EDisplay
FEnclosure lid

3 Product Description SMA America, LLC
14 SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 User Manual
Symbols on the inverter
Symbol Description Explanation
Tap symbol Indicates display operation (see section 4).
Green LED The green LED indicates the operating state of the
inverter (see section 5.1).
Red LED The red LED indicates the status of the grounding fuse
(see section 5.1).
Yellow LED The yellow LED indicates an error or disturbance
(see section 5.3.2).

SMA America, LLC 3 Product Description
User Manual SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 15
3.2 Type Labels
Type label of the Sunny Boy
The type label provides a unique identification of the inverter. The type label is on the right-hand side
of the enclosure.
Figure 3: Layout of the Sunny Boy type label
You require the information on the type label to use the inverter safely and for customer support at the
SMA Service Line. The type label must be permanently affixed to the inverter.
Position Description Explanation
AModel Device type
B Serial No. Inverter serial number
C Device-specific characteristics ‒

3 Product Description SMA America, LLC
16 SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 User Manual
Type labels of the DC Disconnect
The type label provides a unique identification of the DC Disconnect. The type labels are on the
right-hand side of the enclosure.
Figure 4: Layout of the DC Disconnect type label
Position Description Explanation
AItem No.I Device type
B Device-specific characteristics ‒
A
B
www.sma-solar.com
Utility interactive inverter
LISTED UL 1741 36AN
DC-Disconnect
DC-DisconU-XX
Item No.l
Date of manufacture
Max. system voltage under all conditions*
SMA Solar Technology AG
Engineered in Germany
DE34
XX/XXXX
XXXX Vdc
CAN/CSA C22.2 No.107.1-1
DC max operating current*
XXXX Adc
Max. string fuse rating*
XXXX Adc
Operating temperature range*
-XX °F to +XXX °F (-XX °C to +XX °C)
ENCLOSURE
Type 3R
SB 3000US / SB 3000US-12 / SB 38000-US-10 /
SB 3800-US-12 / SB 4000US / SB 4000 US-12 /
SB 5000US / SB 5000US-11 / SB 5000US-12 /
SB 6000US / SB 6000US-11 / SB 6000US-12 /
SB 7000US / SB 7000US-11 / SB 7000US-12 /
SB 8000US / SB 8000US-11 / SB 8000US-12
* For mor details and for tightening torque,
allowable wire size and type see the
Installation Guide
AC max voltage and rated current*
XXX V / XX A
This unit is UL approved for use with
PV arrays and the inverter types

SMA America, LLC 3 Product Description
User Manual SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 17
Figure 5: Layout of the DC Disconnect type label
You require the information on the type label to use the DC Disconnect safely and for customer
support at the SMA Service Line. The type label must be permanently affixed to the DC Disconnect.
Symbols on the type labels
Position Description Explanation
A Serial No. DC Disconnect serial number
Symbol Explanation
Observe the operating instructions
Read the documentation of the product before working on it. Follow all
safety precautions and instructions as described in the documentation.
UL1741 is the standard applied by Underwriters Laboratories to the
product to certify that it meets the requirements of the
National Electrical Code®, the Canadian Electrical Code® CSA C22.1,
and IEEE-929-2000. IEEE 929-2000 provides recommendations
regarding the proper equipment and functionality necessary to ensure
compatible operation when power generation is connected to the power
distribution grid.
A
www.sma-solar.com
DC-Disconnect
XXXXXXXXXX
Serial No.
SMA Solar Technology AG
Engineered in Germany
DE34
DC-DisconU-XX
Item No.
XXXXXXXX
Date of manfuacture

3 Product Description SMA America, LLC
18 SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 User Manual
3.3 DC Disconnect
The DC Disconnect safely disconnects the PV array from the inverter.
Figure 6: DC Disconnect design
The DC Disconnect forms a conductive path between the PV array and the inverter. Actuating the
DC Disconnect interrupts the flow of current and the DC cabling can be safely disconnected from the
inverter.
3.4 Communication
The inverter can be fitted with a communication module to enable communication via cabling with
special data capture devices or a PC with the corresponding software (for information about
supported communication products for communication with the communication module, see
www.SMA-America.com).
Position Description
ARotary switch
BCover

SMA America, LLC 3 Product Description
User Manual SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 19
3.5 Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI)
In accordance with the National Electrical Code®, Article 690.11, the Sunny Boy is equipped with
a system for electric arc detection and interruption.
An electric arc with a power of 300 W or greater must be interrupted by the AFCI in the time specified
by UL 1699B. A tripped AFCI may only be reset manually.
Only the following types of Sunny Boy are equipped with an automatic arc-fault circuit interrupter:
• SB 3000-US-12
• SB 3800-US-12
• SB 4000-US-12
The 2011 edition of the National Electrical Code®, Article 690.11 stipulates that newly installed PV
plants attached to a building must be fitted with a means of detecting and disconnection of serial
electric arcs on the PV side.
The automatic arc-fault circuit interrupter can be deactivated in the "Installer" mode via the
communication device if this function is not desired.

4 Operating the Display SMA America, LLC
20 SB30-40-BA-eng-BUS121010 User Manual
4 Operating the Display
The display shows the current operating data of the inverter (e.g. status, power, input voltage) and
errors or disturbances.
The displayed operating data is updated every 5 seconds. The backlight shuts off automatically after
2 minutes.
You can operate the display by tapping on the enclosure lid:
• To activate the backlight, tap once.
• To move on from a displayed message, tap once.
• To display the serial number and designation of the inverter, the firmware version and the status
of the Power Balancer (if active) in succession during operation, tap twice in succession.