{"id":750,"date":"2023-12-19T20:39:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T12:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.britecelectric.com\/?post_type=blog&p=750"},"modified":"2024-09-05T16:35:09","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T08:35:09","slug":"how-surge-protection-devices-protect-photovoltaic-plants","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.britecelectric.com\/it\/blog\/how-surge-protection-devices-protect-photovoltaic-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"Come i dispositivi di protezione dalle sovratensioni proteggono gli impianti fotovoltaici"},"content":{"rendered":"Negli impianti fotovoltaici gli SPD devono soddisfare requisiti specifici per garantire il funzionamento continuo e la produzione di energia.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nQuando si progetta un impianto fotovoltaico \u00e8 importante considerare l'installazione di dispositivi di protezione contro le sovratensioni (SPD). Sovratensioni e disturbi della rete possono portare a tempi di fermo, riducendo le prestazioni dell'impianto. Pertanto, qualsiasi condizione che influenzi la generazione e la distribuzione dell\u2019energia dovrebbe essere presa in considerazione durante la progettazione dell\u2019impianto elettrico.\r\n\r\nPerch\u00e9 gli SPD sono una priorit\u00e0 assoluta negli impianti fotovoltaici?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nSolar panels are installed outside to convert solar energy into electricity. This outdoor location makes them directly exposed to harsh conditions like rain, wind and dust. Among the weather conditions lightning strikes require specific attention as they can severely affect the safety and performance of a PV plant. They originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground. When the lightning strike hits the ground, it discharges energy, affecting the electrical field on the ground. For the solar PV plant this poses two risks:\r\n\r\nA direct impact which can physically destroy the solar equipment on a rooftop\r\n\r\nTransitory over voltages passing through cables by magnetic coupling, which can lead to the damage of sensitive components such as printed circuit boards (PCB).\r\n\r\nAs far as the direct impact is concerned, \u2018External Lightning Protects\u2019 (ELP) provide the required protection according to IEC 62305, which describes how to evaluate if your location needs such protection, and what should be the preferred option (meshed cages, air terminal, etc.). The concept is simple: make sure the lightning will strike a metallic rod installed on the highest point of your plant and dispel the energy directly to the ground through a copper down conductor.\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to transitory over voltages, however, SPDs are required. They are installed in parallel into the circuit protection boards to divert the energy to the ground and limit the overvoltage up to such value acceptable to the end equipment.\r\n\r\nAs soon as ELP is installed at a PV plant, it is mandatory that an SPD be installed, too. If the PV plant is not equipped with an ELP, the installation of an SPD is highly recommended to limit network perturbations (transient over voltages).\r\n\r\nCome funziona un SPD per proteggere il lato DC degli impianti solari?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nPer garantire che l'energia fluisca prima a terra per limitare le sovratensioni, il componente pi\u00f9 importante \u00e8 il varistore a ossido di metallo (MOV, \u2018Varistor\u2019 sta per VARI-able resi-STOR). Questo componente ha propriet\u00e0 tali che in condizioni normali (assenza di sovratensioni) la resistenza \u00e8 sufficientemente elevata da non consentire il passaggio di correnti nominali. A partire da un certo livello di sovratensione, la resistenza diminuir\u00e0 rapidamente, aprendo la strada verso terra e tornando una volta alla condizione normalel'energia \u00e8 stata dissipata. Questo processo consente di limitare il livello di sovratensione che raggiunge tutte le apparecchiature collegate a valle.\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nSPD di tipo 1+2 rispetto a SPD di tipo 2 standard, qual \u00e8 quello giusto?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThere are different types of SPDs available which vary in terms of resistance: Type 1, Type 2, and Type 1+2. A Type 1 SPD can cope with a direct strike which bring an energetic surge, whereas a Type 2 limits over voltages from various sources. Both characteristics can be combined into a \u201cType 1+2\u201d for complete protection.\r\n\r\nIn PV plants the challenge is to choose the appropriate surge protection to withstand pure energy 10\/350\u00b5s waveform currents (almost 10 times more powerful than type 2 8\/20 \u00b5s waveform) while at the same time taking space into consideration. In an inverter or junction box space always is top priority. Britec\u2019s BRPV series provides both Type 1+2 and Type 2 DC surge protection can protect against over voltages due to lightning strikes or network surge current.\r\n\r\n\"\"\"\"\"\"","protected":false},"featured_media":779,"parent":0,"menu_order":184,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"blog_category":[8],"class_list":["post-750","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog_category-company-news"],"acf":{"des":"At PV plants, SPDs have to fulfill specific requirements to ensure continuous operation and energy generation.","txt":"At PV plants, SPDs have to fulfill specific requirements to ensure continuous operation and energy generation.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWhen designing a PV plant, it is important to consider the installation of surge protection devices (SPDs). Surges and network disturbances can lead to downtime, reducing the performance of the plant. Therefore, any conditions affecting energy generation and distribution should be taken into consideration when designing the electrical installation.\r\n\r\nWhy are SPDs a top priority in PV plants?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nSolar panels are installed outside to convert solar energy into electricity. This outdoor location makes them directly exposed to harsh conditions like rain, wind and dust. Among the weather conditions lightning strikes require specific attention as they can severely affect the safety and performance of a PV plant. They originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground. When the lightning strike hits the ground, it discharges energy, affecting the electrical field on the ground. For the solar PV plant this poses two risks:\r\n\r\nA direct impact which can physically destroy the solar equipment on a rooftop\r\n\r\nTransitory over voltages passing through cables by magnetic coupling, which can lead to the damage of sensitive components such as printed circuit boards (PCB).\r\n\r\nAs far as the direct impact is concerned, \u2018External Lightning Protects\u2019 (ELP) provide the required protection according to IEC 62305, which describes how to evaluate if your location needs such protection, and what should be the preferred option (meshed cages, air terminal, etc.). The concept is simple: make sure the lightning will strike a metallic rod installed on the highest point of your plant and dispel the energy directly to the ground through a copper down conductor.\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to transitory over voltages, however, SPDs are required. They are installed in parallel into the circuit protection boards to divert the energy to the ground and limit the overvoltage up to such value acceptable to the end equipment.\r\n\r\nAs soon as ELP is installed at a PV plant, it is mandatory that an SPD be installed, too. If the PV plant is not equipped with an ELP, the installation of an SPD is highly recommended to limit network perturbations (transient over voltages).\r\n\r\nHow does an SPD work to protect the DC side of solar plants?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nTo guarantee the energy will flow to the ground first to limit over voltages the most important component is the Metal Oxide Varistor (MOV, \u2018Varistor\u2019 stands for VARI-able resi-STOR). This component has such propriety that in normal conditions (no over voltages) the resistance is high enough to not make possible nominal currents passing through it. Starting at a certain overvoltage level, the resistance will quickly drop, opening the path to the ground and coming back to a normal condition once the energy has been dissipated. This process allows limitation of the overvoltage level reaching all equipment connected downstream.\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nType1+2 SPD versus standard Type 2 SPD, which one is the right one?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThere are different types of SPDs available which vary in terms of resistance: Type 1, Type 2, and Type 1+2. A Type 1 SPD can cope with a direct strike which bring an energetic surge, whereas a Type 2 limits over voltages from various sources. Both characteristics can be combined into a \u201cType 1+2\u201d for complete protection.\r\n\r\nIn PV plants the challenge is to choose the appropriate surge protection to withstand pure energy 10\/350\u00b5s waveform currents (almost 10 times more powerful than type 2 8\/20 \u00b5s waveform) while at the same time taking space into consideration. In an inverter or junction box space always is top priority. Britec\u2019s BRPV series provides both Type 1+2 and Type 2 DC surge protection can protect against over voltages due to lightning strikes or network surge current.\r\n\r\n\"\"\"\"\"\""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britecelectric.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britecelectric.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britecelectric.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britecelectric.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britecelectric.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blog_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britecelectric.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_category?post=750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}