RFI Filters On Solar Panels/Inverters? (4K)

Learned something new about solar: whether you are using an AC inverter or DC-DC system, those lead in wires can become antennas for radio frequency interference (RFI), and that's not good!

Sources of RFI on your solar system:
1) Inverter itself
2) Nearby transmitters (radio, TV, cell phone, etc.)
3) Amateur radio
4) Lightning (especially nearby strikes) (chokes are NOT a substitute for an arrestor system!)

Typically you can block RFI (ex: grounded metal conduit), or filter RFI (ex: clamp on RFI filters). It helps to keep the DC leads as short as possible and twist them if possible.
Typically used are type 31 and type 75 ferrite clamp on beads. Type 75 is most effective at lower HF frequencies (3MHz to 30MHz) while the type 31 is best around the higher HF and low VHF (30MHz to 300 MHz) spectrum.

Per the Palomar-Engineers "As solar photovoltaic (pv) system installations are becoming more popular, solar pv radio frequency interference (RFI) is also becoming more evident and effective RFI suppression techniques are needed to ensure the performance of electronic devices connected to or in the presence of the pv system."

INTERESTING LINKS
google article by Tony Brock-Fisher, K1KP "QST20Solar20April2020165b25d.pdf"

https://palomar-engineers.com/rfi-kits/solar-system-rfi

NOTE: This video was taken with my phone because the nearby cell phone tower interferes with my digital camera's microphone!

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