There have been substantial changes in various sections of the 2020 NEC, particularly in Article 706, which deals with energy storage systems (ESS). These changes suggest that we tread carefully when applying the various Code sections to a particular energy storage system.
In recent years, products have been developed to comply with the requirements of 690.43 for grounding and bonding photovoltaic systems by using the very frames upon which the PV modules are mounted to bond the modules
This article will present an overview of some of the new PV systems that have evolving requirements in the NEC. They will include energy management systems (EMS), microgrid interface devices (MID), power control systems (PCS), DC microgrids (DCM), and energy storage systems (ESS).
The NEC-2023 CMPs discussions will be starting soon. Some changes will be to clarify existing requirements, others to remove obsolete requirements, and, most importantly, changes to incorporate new or revised requirements to account for new technologies.
Advances in Disturbance Monitoring Equipment (DME) provide utilities with an economical retrofit solution to comply with NERC PRC-002-2 requirements
When the IREC staff member asked our committee to identify the primary elements for approval of a residential PV design we identified three: structural, fire, and electrical.
PV disconnects provide a means to separate various portions of a circuit or equipment from other portions of the circuit or equipment in the same system.
Whole house surge protection devices have been available for several years. The devices are normally installed at the service entrance/service equipment location. They can be sacrificial from large surges, but can also take multiple hits from smaller surges and continue to protect the home and sensitive electronic components. There are various types and designs of surge protective devices (SPD).
Several different wiring methods may be used to route the power from the PV array to the utilization equipment.
Numerous Code requirements apply to the PV array and other equipment located in the vicinity of the array. These include conductors, DC combiners, arc-fault protection equipment, and rapid shut down equipment. This article addresses some of these requirements as they are found in the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC).