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Hole in my Felt!


mike2016

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So, the PV installers have done their thing but in the attic there's now a new hole where they poked through their DC cables (2 x strings = 4 cables). I did ask them about this and they seemed to think that the tiles take care of the water. I thought the felt was a second line of defense....? Anyway, the inverter etc isn't hooked up yet so I was wondering is this a risk? What are my options? 

I could create a bend with a water trap / alarm under it from the wires? I'm not sure I'd be able to pass them back outside and back in the felt overlap shown though. I could call out the installers, they were very nice otherwise but technically, on reflection, I think this approach let them down. 

Thoughts? 

 

Wire_Drop.jpg

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I wouldn't worry too much. Roofing felt/membrane should drape between the rafters so that it's not tight up under the tile battens. The hole doesn't look like it's at the bottom of the drape so I think it's unlikely any water will get in. 

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The joint is where I would have expected them to pass the cables through but they opted for a more "direct" approach shall we say....!!

My exact worry is just that - if water ingressesed along the cable, it could go straight into the inverter and start a fire. The gubbins aren't yet installed so I have the option of mandating a drop in the cable before it gets wired in so at least that shouldn't happen. I still need to capture the water and lay an alarm in the bowl / whatever but it's a bit of a mess.....!

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My PV cables go between the overlap in the felt, that is just lazy, it would not have taken long to thread them through.

 

You could put a loop in the cable to stop any drips reaching anything electrical.

 

I decided against putting my inverter in the loft, due to the high temperatures in the summer months. Even with it in the coldest room in the house (the garage) the cooling fan still operates during the summer.

Edited by wozza
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