PV power plants present a high risk of direct lightning impact and surges due to the large exposed area and the long lengths of the electric conductors.In order to avoid problems leading to costly damage and downtime, it is compulsory to install surge protectors at key points in the PV system
If the PV field is equipped with lightning rod systems (rods, open air wiring…) Type 1 surge protectors are compulsory at the AC input.
On the DC side, Type 1 surge protectors are compulsory at the inverters DC output as defined by CLC/TS 50539-12. Due to the long lengths of cabling required to connect numerous strings running throughout the PV farm, additional surge protectors are required at the input of the PV modules as well.
Surge protectors for PV power plants installations