Considerations of Photovoltaic System Structure Design for Effective Lightning Protection

Yang Zhang; Hongcai Chen; Yaping Du

doi:10.1109/TEMC.2020.2990930

Considerations of Photovoltaic System Structure Design for Effective Lightning Protection

Yang Zhang
, Hongcai Chen
, Yaping Du

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Research output: Journal article publication › Journal article › Academic research › peer-review

46 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are susceptible to lightning strikes. During a lightning strike, an induced overvoltage is generated in the PV system. This overvoltage can damage the inverters connected to the dc cables. In this article, a comprehensive study is presented to address the installation issues that will influence the induced voltage between the +dc and-dc cables in the PV system. By using the partial element equivalent circuit method, the skin effect and ferromagnetic property of the mounting structures are well modeled. The wiring in the PV module is also considered in the simulation. The influences of the mounting systems, lightning protection systems, PV frames, and dc cable arrangements are thoroughly investigated. The simulation results and discussions provide guidance for PV structure design for maximizing lightning protection performance without adding additional protective devices.

Original language	English
Article number	9095252
Pages (from-to)	1333-1341
Number of pages	9
Journal	IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility
Volume	62
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/TEMC.2020.2990930
Publication status	Published - Aug 2020

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Keywords

Lightning protection
partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC)
photovoltaic (PV) system design
solar energy
transient analysis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Condensed Matter Physics
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

More information

10.1109/TEMC.2020.2990930

Cite this

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note = "Funding Information: Manuscript received January 26, 2020; revised March 6, 2020, March 29, 2020, and April 17, 2020; accepted April 25, 2020. Date of publication May 18, 2020; date of current version August 13, 2020. This work was supported in part by grants Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation under Project 2019A1515110008, and in part by the Research Grants Council of the HKSAR under Project 15210018 and Project 15204414. (Corresponding author: Hongcai Chen.) Yang Zhang is with the Department of Building Services Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong (e-mail: [email protected]). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 1964-2012 IEEE.",

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AB - Photovoltaic (PV) systems are susceptible to lightning strikes. During a lightning strike, an induced overvoltage is generated in the PV system. This overvoltage can damage the inverters connected to the dc cables. In this article, a comprehensive study is presented to address the installation issues that will influence the induced voltage between the +dc and-dc cables in the PV system. By using the partial element equivalent circuit method, the skin effect and ferromagnetic property of the mounting structures are well modeled. The wiring in the PV module is also considered in the simulation. The influences of the mounting systems, lightning protection systems, PV frames, and dc cable arrangements are thoroughly investigated. The simulation results and discussions provide guidance for PV structure design for maximizing lightning protection performance without adding additional protective devices.

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Considerations of Photovoltaic System Structure Design for Effective Lightning Protection

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

More information

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