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Isolation of Solar PV

I came across a small (2 panels) Solar PV installation where the inverters on are the "micro-inverters", i.e. each panel has a integrated micro-inverter so effectively the panels deliver AC power into the property.

On this installation there was only a single AC isolator near the consumer unit. In the loft there was no isolator, just a junction box where the the cables come into the roof. I would have expected an isolator instead of the junction box, for maintenance and so the circuit could be tested & inspected upto the panels.

Does a single isolator in this situation comply with the regs and specifically 712.537.2.1.1? "To allow maintenance of the PV converter, means of isolating the PC converter form the DC side and the AC side shall be provided"

It seems it does but does not seem right.

Parents
  • Probably no maintenance for a micro-inverter other than replacing them when they go faulty - I'm not a PV installer so don't know that much about them.

    How would you test the circuit, say during an ECIR? To undo terminations would you rely on the PV system disconnecting when the distribution system is not energised? Are the inverters designed to fail safe? On this system there were no easily accessible plugs to disconnect (you would need to get onto the roof and under the panels).

    I have seen the the DTI's (BRE) guide "Photovoltaics in Buildings - Guide to the installation of PV systems 2nd Edition" there is a requirement for a second isolator 

    "If the a.c. switch-disconnector and the inverter(s) are not in the same room
    a local isolator should be installed adjacent to the inverter(s). This is to
    facilitate maintenance of the a.c. cable run and inverter(s)."

    I think this installation probably meets the requirements of BS7671, but perhaps falls short of industry best practice.

Reply
  • Probably no maintenance for a micro-inverter other than replacing them when they go faulty - I'm not a PV installer so don't know that much about them.

    How would you test the circuit, say during an ECIR? To undo terminations would you rely on the PV system disconnecting when the distribution system is not energised? Are the inverters designed to fail safe? On this system there were no easily accessible plugs to disconnect (you would need to get onto the roof and under the panels).

    I have seen the the DTI's (BRE) guide "Photovoltaics in Buildings - Guide to the installation of PV systems 2nd Edition" there is a requirement for a second isolator 

    "If the a.c. switch-disconnector and the inverter(s) are not in the same room
    a local isolator should be installed adjacent to the inverter(s). This is to
    facilitate maintenance of the a.c. cable run and inverter(s)."

    I think this installation probably meets the requirements of BS7671, but perhaps falls short of industry best practice.

Children
  • Probably it's not as thorough-looking as the most extreme practice. Not obvious whether that makes a practice with lots of extra contacts a better practice, if isolation wouldn't be needed regularly and there's some way to obtain it when needed. Australia (fond of solar) has realised that required isolators have probably led to more fires than they've done good - that was older designs but the point is often true that more equipment might make more problems as well as more cost.

    I replied again because I was looking at a spec for another reason and saw this (in Enphase IQ7 (pdf)).

    "Disconnecting means
     The AC and DC connectors have been evaluated and approved by UL for use as the load-break
    disconnect required by NEC 690."

    That doesn't help your case in the IEC/EN/BS world, but it shows the principle of accepting pluggable connectors as isolation.