Evaluating the Incident Energy of Arcs in Photovoltaic DC Systems: Comparison Between Calculated and Experimental Data

Journal Article · Thu Mar 12 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/tia.2020.2980217· OSTI ID:1605708

Sekulic, William R. ^[1]; McNutt, Peter ^[1]

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1. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems have permeated the energy generation world at a very high rate, some of the safety codes and standards are still lagging in accurately assessing the hazards and risks associated with PV array arcing energies. Safety professionals and maintenance workers using NFPA 70E have utilized the Doan, Stokes & Oppenlander or Enrique models, meant to determine arc energies in DC power systems using the maximum power method. These methods may lead to an overestimate of energy available in PV systems during a fault. Since PV modules/arrays are non-linear, current limited DC devices, some of these calculation methods may not accurately predict fault energy. This paper will validate current arc energy models for PV systems by comparing experimental and calculated data. Additionally, this data will help modify the current NFPA 70E models related to smaller solar arrays. Understanding where the real safety threshold for DC arc flash in PV systems exists will help maintenance and safety professionals better prepare for a variety of work related activities. This paper will analyze real arc data taken for PV systems <1000VDC and <60amps and compare this to the calculated incident energy models, to include 70E. Thus, using these comparisons, it may be possible to reduce the safety hazard severity and thus relax the PPE requirements for installation and maintenance crews.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office
• Grant/Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1605708
• Report Number(s): NREL/JA--5K00-72424; MainId:21133; UUID:b85d5804-c4ba-e811-9c16-ac162d87dfe5; MainAdminID:9609
• Journal Information: IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 56; ISSN 0093-9994
• Publisher: IEEE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
DC arc energy
IV curve
incident energy
photovoltaic incident energy