PV (Photovoltaic) Surge Protection
When talking about PV surge protection it is important to
understand that protection against lightning and surge protection are two sides
of the same coin. If you are the
residential person who utilizes a photovoltaic system on your roof to generate
power, or if you are an industrial operator who produces energy for mass
consumption using PV systems, the weather-related damage that happens to the
exposed areas of your power generation equipment is ultimately not the only
damage that will be seen with that system.
Wind and rain as well as environmental issues are going to cause the
ongoing degradation of the exposed solar panels, resulting in the need for them
to be repaired or replaced over time.
Because of the physical makeup of PV systems as well as their need to be
relatively isolated from taller structures in order to function appropriately,
it must be expected that there will be a certain amount of damage as a result
of weather, including lightning strikes.
While the acute damage that happens when lightning strikes a panel is
going to be difficult to avoid, the damage that happens as a result of the
subsequent surge in power can be. When
lightning strikes either the panels themselves or their region or around them,
electricity can enter connectivity lines and ultimately travel along them to
the control equipment. This equipment is
sensitive and can be damaged on the circuitry level by power surges that are
outside of the safe operational range. Therefore
the power surge itself must be avoided or re-routed and drawn down in order to
extend the operational life of the remaining equipment in the system. This can be accomplished through proper
grounding techniques, the installation of lightning rods or other methods of drawing lightning strikes
away from the system, and the integration of technologically advanced surge
protection devices within the system itself.
Surge protection devices are not all equal, and the more robust and
technologically advanced that the surge protection devices themselves are, the
higher level of protection success will be achieved. The overall goal of the surge protection
system is to avoid equipment damage, and as a result the surge protective devices
which are integrated into these systems are directly connected to the level of
damage which can be expected as a result of the strike and surge. Raycap Strikesorb surge protection devices are
the industry leaders in the protection of photovoltaic power systems, utilizing
metal oxide varistors (MOV) as well as superior components and robust
housings. They additionally feature the
technological advantage of not needing to be reset or replaced after a lightning
surge instance, thus providing
protection from a multiple strike scenarios where typical surge protection
systems would fail. The overall costs of
operation of the photovoltaic energy production systems are determined by the
amount of ongoing maintenance, repair and replacement to the components. Through the reduction of these costs using
enhanced surge protection equipment, solar power emerges as not only a viable
but a superior technology.
