Safety first !

Here, we would address the question about which various safety components every solar pv plant should have. With so many solar solutions in the market, its very easy to get confused deciding which one to opt for.

Lets first see, why are the safety components required on a Solar PV Plant.

There are basically two connections to an inverter: A input side, which comes directly from the solar panels and it's type is direct current (DC). Another is an output side, which is the energy given out by the inverter to the connected load and the grid and is alternating current (AC) in type.

The output side of the inverter is also connected directly to the grid, for taking a reference voltage from it to get synchronised. But this also means, any fault in the grid line will directly be passed on the inverter. To prevent this, we actively need a set of safety devices to isolate the inverter from the grid if this happens.

There are two devices used to protect your Solar PV Plant: ACDB and DCDB.

Alternating Current Distribution Box (ACDB):

This box is connected to the output side of the inverter. It contains a MCB and surge protection devices. If ever there is a short circuit in the gird or in the solar plant, the MCB automatically detects it and shuts down the whole system, thus preventing any damage to it or to your connected appliances. The surge protection devices continuously monitors the voltage level and protects all the components in case there is a sudden surge in voltage level.

Sometimes an additional kill switch is provided to shut down the system without using the MCB.

ACDC Box

Direct Current Distribution Box (DCDB):

This box contains combination of fuses and surge protection devices. They are fitted in such a way that the inverter is protected both the cases that there is any kind of sudden surge in the voltage or current levels of the solar panels array. Here too, the components are chosen and fixed according to the requirements and the size of the Solar PV Plant.

DCDB Box

These two boxes ensures that the inverter and all the connected loads to the Solar PV Plant are protected in every aspect and in case there is any issue, these boxes immediately turns off the system automatically.