Solar Energy

DEHN - Expertise in Solar/Photovoltaic Protection Solutions Worldwide

The generating capacity of a Photovoltaic system is directly related to its exposed surface area, so understandably very large PV generating systems have a very high exposure to the effects of lightning. Aside from the consequences of direct lightning strikes to the arrays, the interconnecting power cables are very susceptible to having electromagnetically induced upon them electrical transient caused by nearby cloud to ground or cloud to cloud lightning strikes. The consequences are catastrophic equipment damaged, mis-operation of measurement and control equipment, shortened life of PV panels, inverters and other electronic equipment and loss on generation revenue.

As PV generation has become more popular and commonly used around the world DEHN has devoted resources, to understanding the unique issues associated with this new form of generation, and developing lightning and surge protection specifically for PV applications. For more than 15 years, DEHN has been engaged in developing lightning and surge protection concepts and solutions for photovoltaic and solar energy systems around the world. DEHN offers engineering and test services in our custom laboratories in order to optimize customer specific solutions for photovoltaic and solar systems and installations. Renowned manufacturers of PV systems and inverters trust the protection concepts of DEHN.

A recently developed and innovative product has resulted from DEHN’s commitment to R&D for SPD applications for this industry. Until this development, surge protectors designed for AC applications were used for PV DC applications. However the characteristics of PV generators pose issues that are not easily managed by AC surge protectors. The development of DEHNguard M YPV-SCI technology has overcome those issues, and is now the surge protector of choice for PV applications, with UL certification to 1449 3rd edition specifically for Photovoltaic DC applications

Here are some of the features of this new SPD:

Prewired modular complete unit for use in photovoltaic systems consisting of a base part and plug-in protection modules
Combined disconnection and short-circuiting device with safe electrical isolation in the protection module prevents fire damage due to d.c. arcs
Tried and tested fault-resistant Y circuit prevents damage to the surge protective devices in case of insulation faults in the generator circuit
Safe replacement of protection modules without arc formation due to integrated D.C. fuse

Data Sheets (PDF)

DEHNguard M YPV SCI for Solar Applications

Brochure (PDF)

Solar Energy