Traditional residential electric lines have helped us learn that homes need excellent power surge protection for heavy-consumption devices. These include air-conditioning units, air fryers, microwave ovens, and others. A sudden spike in electricity can damage these units despite a circuit breaker's efficient response. Solar panels, which collect energy from the sun, isn't a re-deployable installation process. Instead, it remains above your roof, consistently collecting solar energy where needed.
Unfortunately, this position exposes them to lightning strikes. Solar panels are prime targets for lightning because they have expansive floor coverage and have metal components.
High-quality solar panels do not receive physical or circuit damage from lightning. However, its control and regulation panels suffer the most during lighting strike incidents. Power surge damage can render circuit controls and energy storage devices unusable, making your energy-saving efforts fruitless.
Fortunately, your experienced solar panel installation teams in Littleton, CO, can provide you with the best solar panel surge protection available in the market. Plus, they can install these components for you inclusive of your product installation package. Manufacturers have extended product warranties for solar panel power surge protectors, which ensure that your entire system has protection from any sudden power surges.
Solar Builder Magazine has a great post about surge protection. Read more about it below.
Surge protection is a small part of an overall PV installation, but it’s a part that can’t be ignored. Surge protection devices (SPDs) protect sensitive electrical equipment within the PV system from overvoltages that can lead to reduced life expectancy and sometimes failure. As solar farms continue to get larger, the risk of lightning and overvoltage situations expands.
Didier Mignardot, surge protection marketing manager at Schneider Electric, gave Solar Builder the lowdown on why SPDs are a necessary addition to solar energy systems.
SPDs are divided into two main categories.
The first is a lightning arrester, protecting electrical installations against the effects of direct lightning strikes. Lightning rods atop buildings are good examples of this. The second category is a surge arrester/surge protector, which is used to protect electrical equipment against indirect lightning effects. These protect equipment from overvoltage driven by the conductors of the electrical distribution network.
Overvoltages can hit a PV system in several different ways:
• from the grid if lightning strikes on medium or low voltage conductors
• from the earth if lightning strikes close to the inverter
• from the DC side if lightning strikes the PV modules
SPDs are thus necessary to protect inverters and other sensitive equipment.
How many spds are needed?
The number of SPDs for a PV system depends on the distance between the generator (solar panels) and the conversion (inverter). If the length of cable between the panels and inverter is less than 10 m (33 ft), only one SPD is needed. If it is greater than 10 m, additional SPDs are needed.
The first SPD is installed near the inverter. A second SPD is connected closer to the panels. (Continued)
If you have yet to find a reliable solar panel installation team, you can always count on us at Roper Roofing & Solar. Contact us today to learn more about everything that we can do for you.
