SMA SUNNY TRIPOWER 12000TL-US User manual

PV Inverter
SUNNY TRIPOWER
12000TL-US / 15000TL-US / 20000TL-US / 24000TL-US
Installation Manual
STP12_15_20_24TL-US-IA-en-11 | IMEN-STPTL-US | Version 1.1 AMERICAN ENGLISH

SMA America, LLC Legal Provisions
Installation Manual STP12_15_20_24TL-US-IA-en-11 3
Legal Provisions
Copyright © 2013 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, be it 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
7th Floor
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4
Canada

Important Safety Instructions SMA America, LLC
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Important Safety Instructions
SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS
This manual contains important instructions for the following products:
• STP 12000TL-US-10 (Sunny Tripower 12000TL-US)
• STP 15000TL-US-10 (Sunny Tripower 15000TL-US)
• STP 20000TL-US-10 (Sunny Tripower 20000TL-US)
• STP 24000TL-US-10 (Sunny Tripower 24000TL-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
Installation Manual STP12_15_20_24TL-US-IA-en-11 5
Warnings 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.
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.

General Warnings SMA America, LLC
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General Warnings
All electrical installations must be made 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.
For all repair 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 electrical utility grid, contact the local utility company. Such
connection must be made by qualified personnel only.
Wiring of the product must be made by qualified personnel only.

SMA America, LLC Table of Contents
Installation Manual STP12_15_20_24TL-US-IA-en-11 7
Table of Contents
1 Information on this Document ...................................................11
2 Safety...........................................................................................13
2.1 Intended Use.............................................................................13
2.2 Skills of Qualified Persons ........................................................ 14
2.3 Safety Precautions.....................................................................15
3 Scope of Delivery .......................................................................16
4 Product Description.....................................................................17
4.1 Sunny Tripower .........................................................................17
4.2 Type Label and Additional Label .............................................19
4.3 SMA Webconnect Data Module ............................................ 20
4.4 485 Data Module ....................................................................20
4.5 Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI)...........................................20
4.6 SMA OptiTrac Global Peak.....................................................21
4.7 SMA Grid Guard...................................................................... 21
5 Mounting .....................................................................................22
5.1 Requirements for Mounting ......................................................22
5.2 Mounting the Inverter ............................................................... 26
6 Electrical Connection...................................................................28
6.1 Safety during Electrical Connection.........................................28
6.2 Overview of the Connection Area...........................................30
6.2.1 View from Below .............................................................................30
6.2.2 Interior View ....................................................................................31
6.3 AC Connection.......................................................................... 32
6.3.1 Requirements for the AC Connection.............................................32
6.3.2 Connecting the Inverter to the Utility Grid.....................................33
6.4 DC Connection .........................................................................35
6.4.1 Requirements for the DC Connection.............................................35
6.4.2 Connecting the PV Array................................................................36

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6.5 Additional Grounding of the Enclosure................................... 38
7 Commissioning............................................................................39
8 Configuration ..............................................................................40
8.1 Connecting the Inverter to the Network ..................................40
8.2 Registering the Inverter in Sunny Portal ...................................41
8.3 Changing the SystemTime and System Password................... 41
8.4 Changing Operating Parameters............................................. 42
8.5 Activating and Setting SMA OptiTrac Global Peak ............... 42
8.6 Adjustable Parameters..............................................................43
9 Disconnecting the Inverter .........................................................44
10 Troubleshooting ..........................................................................45
10.1 LED Signals................................................................................ 45
10.2 Event Messages ........................................................................46
10.2.1 Information ......................................................................................46
10.2.2 Warnings and Errors.......................................................................47
10.3 Cleaning the Inverter ................................................................54
10.4 Cleaning the Fan.......................................................................54
10.4.1 Cleaning the Fan at the Bottom......................................................54
10.4.2 Cleaning the Fan on the Left-Hand Side of the Enclosure............56
10.5 Checking the Fans.....................................................................58
10.6 Checking the PV System for Ground Faults............................. 58
10.7 Resetting the Operation Inhibition after Detection of an
Arc Fault ....................................................................................60
10.8 Procedure for Receiving a Replacement Device .....................61
11 Decommissioning the Inverter ...................................................64

SMA America, LLC Table of Contents
Installation Manual STP12_15_20_24TL-US-IA-en-11 9
12 Technical Data.............................................................................66
12.1 DC/AC ...................................................................................... 66
12.1.1 Sunny Tripower 12000TL-US / 15000TL-US................................66
12.1.2 Sunny Tripower 20000TL-US / 24000TL-US................................68
12.2 General data............................................................................. 70
12.3 Protection Devices.....................................................................71
12.4 Climatic Conditions...................................................................71
12.5 Features ..................................................................................... 71
12.6 Torques ......................................................................................71
12.7 Data Storage Capacity ............................................................ 72
13 Accessories ..................................................................................73
14 Compliance Information.............................................................74
15 Contact.........................................................................................75

Table of Contents SMA America, LLC
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