BS IEC 61643-32:2017

Low-voltage surge protective devices. Surge protective devices connected to the d.c. side of photovoltaic installations. Selection and application principles | Status: Current

1 Scope This part of IEC 61643 describes the principles for selection, installation and coordination of SPDs intended for use in Photovoltaic (PV) systems up to 1 500 V DC and for the AC side of the PV system rated up to 1 000 V rms 50/60 Hz. The photovoltaic installation extends from a PV array or a set of interconnected PV-modules to include the associated cabling and protective devices and the inverter up to the connection point in the distribution board or the utility supply point. This part of IEC 61643 considers SPDs used in different locations and in different kinds of PV systems:

• – PV systems located on the top of a building.
• – PV systems located on the ground like free field power plants characterized by multiple earthing and a meshed earthing system.

The term PV installation is used to refer to both kinds of PV systems. The term PV power plant is only used for extended free-field multi-earthed power systems located on the ground. For PV installations including batteries additional requirements may be necessary.

NOTE 1 IEC 60364 series, IEC 62305 series and IEC 61643‑12 also apply.

NOTE 2 This standard deals only with SPDs and not with surge protective components integrated inside equipment (e.g. inverters, (PCE) power conversion equipment).