Fraunhofer ISE offers examination represent arc fault detectors

• A modular test mean solar inverters with integrated arc detectors has actually been established by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany.

According to a press release, it can be made use of to carry out tests in accordance with the IEC 63027 standard, which was released on May 3. This test standard, in the growth of which ISE was entailed and also the basic features of which represent the changed US standard UL 1699B, gets rid of "a few of the weaknesses of the old United States criterion, which did not simulate genuine operation sufficiently." According to ISE, this resulted in both unnoticed arcs and false alarms.

Arcing takes place as a result of defective contacts on the DC side of PV systems, for example at defective solder joints in solar components or in the inverter. Although they occur infrequently, they pose a substantial fire hazard because of the heats involved. In the USA and also some other countries, arc mistake detectors have actually as a result been obligatory given that 2011, whereas in Europe only a few makers use inverters equipped appropriately. Nonetheless, the insurance policy market specifically is additionally functioning towards an obligation here.

The examination stand at Fraunhofer ISE does not make use of solar modules, but an electronic DC source for simulation. A contact point, which can be pulled apart in a precisely defined fashion, is intended to reproducibly simulate the conditions of a defective get in touch with. The modular style is planned to allow various test scenarios for string inverters; module inverters as well as string collectors can likewise be evaluated.

According to the new criterion, an arc detector need to ensure that a shutdown time of less than 2.5 secs is preserved at an energy in between 200 and 750 joules. Automatic reconnection is permitted 4 times within 24 hours; the fifth time this should be done manually.