PV (Photovoltaic) Surge Protection

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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.