It wouldn’t be difficult to understand that protection devices become absolutely necessary whenever generation, transmission and use of electricity is involved.
Using various protection devices in AC Distribution Boards (ACDB) and DC Distribution Boards (DCDB) in Solar PV Systems is common as well as crucial in India and across the world alike.
Interestingly, still there is a certain category of solar system developers that is willing to compromise on quality and safety of their systems in the greed of making more money. But sadly, this blunder goes unnoticed as in most cases, customers are unaware of the danger they are putting themselves into.
As we started meeting a lot of people, we became more and more aware of this disparity. And that is how we decided to write on this sensitive, yet at times, overlooked topic.
As a common practice in engineering field across the globe, in power distribution MCBs and Fuses are used to protect against over-current or overload in circuits. The same goes for Solar PV Systems.
If your solar system developers are technically qualified and follow engineering practices religiously, they will add the following devices in ACDB and DCDB while installing a solar PV system for sure:
AC MCBs
AC SPDs
DC MCBs
DC Fuses
DC SPDs
However, it is important to note that the number of such protection devices can change from case to case. The devices listed above are the ones generally used, but it is not limited to only these, if your project site has special requirements.
Grid connected solar PV systems are installed in outdoor locations with high possibilities of lightning surges and random contributions of voltage spikes from power grids. This is where Surge Protection Devices or SPD become your superheroes. Even if your system developer has used MCBs and Fuses, these may not be able to provide a complete protection to your electrical appliances.
Clearly, as the name suggests, SPDs are those electrical devices that are designed to offer protection from voltage surges and spikes. This is what they mainly do. They limit the supply voltage by either shorting a sudden surge of electric current to the ground or by blocking it completely. Hence, any voltage spike or surge above a safe threshold point will be blocked or shorted to ground by SPDs.
For better understanding, let’s scroll through a single-line diagram of ACDB and DCDB with SPD connection.
ACDB Single Line Diagram
DCDB Single Line Diagram
Note: The diagrams shown above are for illustrative purpose only. Ratings of devices may differ based on the system size and selection of equipment.
It is often seen that customers who opt for installation of solar PV systems think only whether or not solar panels match the aesthetics of their property. A handful of customers may show some interest in knowing how inverters operate, what brands or quality of inverters or panels are getting installed. Only those customers with an engineering background think of protection and necessary safeguard of their solar system and hence their appliances or property. But such cases are rare.
This is where system developers ignore safety and get a grey area to play with and take better profit margins.
As engineers, we at Hypotenuse Energy highly recommend consumers to invest some time and energy in knowing various components of a solar PV system.
Today when on one hand prices of components of a solar system are getting higher and on the other, overall system costs are reducing dramatically, profit margins are getting slimmer. So, there are very high chances that system developers use poor quality materials or chose to not use some materials at all!
We would always recommend using SPDs in both ACDBs and DCDBs so that you can protect your appliances.
Remember, investing a small amount in safety devices is much better than losing your solar PV system as well as appliances in the future.
Precaution is always better than cure !
Do tell us your views on this blog and keep checking this space for some more informative and interesting blogposts relating to solar PV systems.
