Solar Lightning Protection is important as Lightning strikes and related electric discharge is one of the top reasons for sudden, unexpected failures of Solar systems. Lighting can seriously harm your PV system Lightning strikes and
If a photovoltaic system is subsequently placed on a roof area where a lightning protection system is already installed, there are several aspects that need to be considered. It is important to
After how many years could be a lightning protection system installation be completely removed and a new one be put in place. Lightning protection systems are almost always external and exposed to the elements. A reasonable
At the design stage of a PV system, it is evident whether a lightning protection system is installed on a building. Some countries'' building regulations require that public build-ings (e.g. places of
Before starting the design, let''s recall the parameters of a solar panel essential for protection. They are:-Voc- open circuit voltage – Isc – short circuit current of the solar panel.
Upon considering these aims, earthing systems, surge protection devices and air termination networks play a crucial role in providing lightning protection for solar power systems in line with the industry standards IEC 62305, IEC TR 63227 and IEC 61643-32, to protect against the negative impacts caused from lightning. Earthing System
If the PV system is installed on a building with an existing lightning protection system, the PV system must also be properly included in the lightning protection system. The inverters are classified as having Type III (class D) protection (limited protection).
The metal components of the PV mounting system must be connected to the external lightning protection system in such a way that they can carry lightning currents (cop-per conductor with a cross-section of at least 16 mm2 or equivalent).
This guideline also requires that LPL III and thus a lightning protection system accord-ing to class of LPS III be installed for rooftop PV systems (> 10 kWp) and that surge protection measures be taken. As a general rule, rooftop photovoltaic systems must not interfere with the existing lightning pro-tection measures.
This is by far the most common case where a building has no external LPS and so the risk of a direct lightning strike is not considered. This is the configuration that applies to 95% of residential solar PV installations in Australia. Figure 3 shows a building with roof mounted solar array and inverter mounted near the main switchboard.
Lightning’s perfect storm for destruction is on the solar field. Solar panels’ large—and often exposed and isolated—location make surge protection critical for it to last its lifespan. Lightning is an electrical discharge in the atmosphere. When lightning strikes, fires are prone to happen due to the release of energy.
