Enphase IQ Microinverter System Planning Tech Brief
Table Of Contents
- Planning for an IQ Microinverter System
- IQ 6 and IQ 6+ Micros
- Q Cable and IQ Micro Accessories
- IQ System Design using the IQ Combiner
- IQ System Design with Q Aggregator
- Field Wireable Q Connectors and Raw Q Cable
- Splicing Q Cable and Raw Q Cable with Junction Boxes
- Example IQ Microinverter System Layouts and Bill of Materials (BOMs)
- Wire Management of AC and DC Cables Under Array
- AC Wire Management at the Junction Box or Q Aggregator
- Installing IQ Microinverters with Frame Mount Bracket
- Installing the Power Line Filter (Q-LCF-064-1)
Planning for an IQ Microinverter System
© 2017 Enphase Energy Inc. All rights reserved. July 28, 2017
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Design Considerations for the Q Aggregator
The Q Aggregator:
• Is a roof mounted combiner box, which supports up to three circuits.
• Requires protection at the feeder panel by an over current protective device (OCPD) rated at an
ampacity not to exceed 60A. Make sure the conductor size selected for field wire from Q Aggregator
to the service connection is adequate for the OCPD chosen.
• Allows for a single homerun back to the service of #12 to #4. The homerun must consist of two
ungrounded conductors (hots) and one ground conductor to provide equipment grounding for the
racking and modules as required.
• Does not need neutral. A neutral is not needed for the IQ system on the roof and need not be
provided at the Q Aggregator.
• Includes 20A fuses permanently installed on the fuse board contained within the Q Aggregator for
providing individual over current protection for each of three
branch circuits. The fuses are not consumer serviceable and
are labeled as such on the lid of the Q Aggregator.
• Must be installed underneath a solar module on the roof and
out of the direct sunlight. You may install the Q Aggregator
beneath a solar module, as per NEC 690.34 Access to Boxes.
• Ships with a mounting bracket for rail-based mounting where
the mounting flange is flush with the lid of the enclosure.
Installers can rotate the mounting bracket so it is flush with the
bottom of the enclosure for mounting on an L-foot (e.g., for
rail-less racking systems that do not have a rail to which to
mount the Q Aggregator).
• Requires sealing caps (Q-BA-CAP) to seal unused connectors
on Q Aggregator. (These are the male connectors/caps.) Each
Q Aggregator ships with one spare Q-BA-CAP. If all three
circuits are used, we recommend that you keep the unused
cap for a future installation.
• Greatly facilitates center-feeding. Center-feeding is the
process of dividing a branch circuit into two or more sub-branch circuits. When using Q Cable and
the Q Aggregator, a center-fed branch circuit is a single cable that can be fed from the Q Aggregator
at any position along the circuit where an open connector is available. Never loop back a circuit to
more than one connection on the Q Aggregator.
IQ Envoy Installation Options
When installing the Q Aggregator, you must consider the location of the IQ Envoy. The IQ Envoy is installed
in an enclosure. Some options are detailed below.
IQ Combiner with Factory-Installed IQ Envoy
The IQ Envoy can be factory-installed as part of the Enphase IQ Combiner, but in that case the Q Aggregator
circuit cannot terminate in the IQ Combiner if the total of the Q Aggregator’s microinverter output circuits
exceed 16A. The IQ Combiner with IQ Envoy contains three 20A branch circuit breakers and cannot support
larger breakers at this time.