PV panels FOCUS Setting benchmarks
As important as regulations are to enhancing the safety of PV systems, so also are the technological advancements that are setting new benchmarks for higher levels of safety. While traditional inverters may offer limited safety solutions, new technology advancements precede and sometimes surpass safety effective benefits. Traditional inverters have limited safety functionality. This is because even when the inverter is shut down, current flow in the DC cables is not necessarily de-energised, and as a result the roof is still unsafe for first responders. For these traditional inverters to meet safety standards, typically additional safety specific hardware needs to be purchased and installed. However, with more advanced technology,
such as DC optimised inverters, safety functionality – which meets regulations to reduce DC voltage when the inverter or AC energy is shut down – is already embedded within the solution itself. These types of safety advancements offer benefits to all stakeholders. In particular, they enable firefighters
to approach a roof without the risk of electrocution and maintenance personnel
can perform physical inspections on the PV system. When safety technology is embedded into module level electronics which also provide module level monitoring, an additional benefit for maintenance personnel is that they can perform remote troubleshooting to limit the amount of work with high voltages on the roof. Although fires which include these PV
systems are infrequent – and fires caused by PV systems even less so – the further advancement of safety functionality within the industry is important for the continued proliferation of PV. As industry bodies are focused on writing
new standards, we remain committed to leading the industry by developing advanced safety solutions, such as SafeD and arc detection technology. The combination of evolving regulations and technological innovation, along with improved consumer awareness, continues to drive safety forward
Lior Handelsman is founder and vice president of marketing and product strategy at SolarEdge. For more information, view page 5
Further information is available from www.
solaredge.com
www.frmjournal.com OCTOBER 2019
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