Photovoltaic installationsSolutions for the safety, performance

and reliability of production

Safety of people and goods

The PV market is a fast growing market, but also an highly technical market and within a decade it has moved from an experimental stage to an industrial stage which requires

professional approach based on new standard & rules of installation of component system including of commissioning of installation.Mastery of photovoltaic technology enables

SOCOMEC to demonstrate its involvement in the search of solutions for optimizing the electrical installations contributing thus to environmental conservation.

Needs which are clearly understood...

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The specificities of these installations make it imperative to take all measures to ensure safety of the system. This objective can be attained only if the equipment and components are perfectly adapted and commissioning rules strictly followed.

However, from an electrical point of view a PV installation presents certain particularities that must be imperatively taken into account even if the feedback bases on PV installation is much lower.

Performance of installationFrom the photovoltaic module to the connection to the grid, all the components should be perfectly specified and coordinated in order to offer optimum efficency for an available area of PV cells. This performance is not restricted to the output of photovoltaic cells but it will also depend on:• choice of architecture of the installation,• sizing of the cable trucking and electrical

device,

• performances of solar inverters,• their system to find the Maximum Power

Point (MPP),• choice of voltage adaptation and transformer

separation type.

Reliability of photovoltaic installationOver and above contributing to environmental conservation, a photovoltaic installation must meet very high reliability requirements. In case of defect on one component, energy production is stopped and the system's efficency is totally inefficient.

In order to be mastered, this kind of effi-ciency necessitates relying on systems for management and monitoring, smart control of solar inverter systems and support devices for maintenance and service.

… by a real specialist of your energy …

Audits, consultancy, assistance with commissioning, etc. The experts at SOCOMEC can support you, among other things, in your method of monitoring of your photovoltaic operation. When putting these solutions into practice, the inter-connections between the various links in a photovoltaic system may bring to light technical domains which are sometimes difficult to understand. The multibusiness expertise of the Services & Technical Assistance department and the UPS expertise of the Inspection and Maintenance department of SOCOMEC guarantee optimal commissioning and operation of the proposed solutions.

CommissioningInstallation of your equipment is carried out by a specialist, and is totally compatible with and adapted to your use.

Tailor-made servicesA broad range of features tailored to respond to the particular requirements and limitations of your solar applications, and to help you deal with specific operational demands .

TrainingTailored to your needs, a training programme enables you to fully exploit the functionalities offered by our solutions. This means you can gain every advantage from your application.

Maintenance contractsEnsuring continuity of production of your operation is the main objective of our preventative and curative services tailored to your photovoltaic installation and its environment.

… who accompanies your successS

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Test laboratory Pierre SiatSince 1965, Socomec has had an integrated test laboratory at the heart of its production site. This laboratory is a member of ASEFA (French association of electrical appliance facilities) and is accredited by COFRAC (French accreditation commitee).The research and development departments of SOCOMEC have this structure to carry out their investigations and qualifications. These tests are carried out relying on a team specialised, European and international standardisations.Types of tests: dielectric, heat, mechanical endurance, system, climatic, short-circuit.

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The photovoltaic panels and solar inverter systems represent the most important part of the over all investment.Protection against reverse currents of the modules or protection of the cable trucking of the photovoltaic generator necessitate the implementation of dedicated fuses which have been specifically tested for this application. These gPV type fuses in addition to run up to a voltage of 1000 V d.c. will be able to cut off low level d.c. current with no arc, thank to the fuse technology i.e. arc containment encapsulated in the ceramic fuse body.

Depending on where it is installed, the entire photovoltaic generator can represent an important antenna that can easily generate, in case of storms, destructive surges.The implementation of the SURGYS SPD dedicated will allow considerable limitation of this risk specificity of these SPDs is to perfectly manage the flow of transient currents after discharge and at the end-of-life, the cut-off of d.c. currents.

Protection of goods with dedicated PV line of fuses 2 , fuses disconnector and Surge protector 3

In order to ensure Insulat ion dur ing maintenance, service & commissioning operation or for emergency switch off in case of risk of fire or electric shock, the implementation of dedicated switches is imperative.These devices must be installed according to the architecture of the installation and at each functional level.

In order to disconnect a direct current PV string, array generator or solar inverters, only SIRCO PV devices can:• insulate the important d.c. voltages imple-

mented in such a context.• to guarantee safety operation of switch off

on load and disconnect for thousand of operation, what so ever the level of d.c. current, according to the level of sunlight.

Safety in maintenance & service with a line of on load disconnect switches SIRCO PV 1 . A product line available in UL & IEC certified version.

For an energy supply which is always reliable and available…

RM PV fuse disconnector and PV fuses

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SURGYS G50- surge protector

Depending on the panel technologies, right after the implementation of more than 3 to 8 strings, it is necessary to plan for the grouping of connections and their switching and protection units.These enclosed groups must meet with the standard IEC 61439 which governs the design and implementation of assemblies. Thanks to its expertise in this area by relying on its power testing platform Kema, SOCOMEC offers tailor-made enclosures or switchboards which guarantee proven performances (Temperature rise testing, IP rating, electrical number of operation,

Dielectric tests...) a proof of reliability of these types of sensitive installation equipment. These combiner boxes must meet IEC 61439 standard which defines test procedure & certified design of the installation.

The group of PV arrays with enclosures or tables CADRYS 4

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Switching and protection combiner box

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Load break switches SIRCO PV from 16 to 800 A

d.c. and a.c. main switchboard

RESIdEnTIAL InSTALLATIon

1 Disconnection and switching of the solar invertor

3 Surge and lighting protection

5 Solar inverter for the d.c. / a.c. current for the electrical network

6 Metering of import and export energies (production and consumption)

For an energy supply which is always reliable and available…

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1 Disconnection and switching of solar inverters

2 Protection against d.c. reverse currents and against a.c. short-circuits

3 Surge protection of solar inverter against surges of atmospheric origin

4 Main switchboard to protect & disconnect a part or the complete installation

5 d.c. / a.c. solar inverter with central management for an optimal efficiency of the installation

6 Measurement, management, analysis and control of the complete installation

Roof & bUILdIng InSTALLATIon

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… and mastered energy efficiency

Solar inverter & Main switchboard

1 Disconnection and switching of solar inverters

2 Protection against d.c. reverse currents and against a.c. short-circuits

3 Surge and lighting protection

4 Main switchboard to protect & disconnect a part or the complete installation

5 d.c. / a.c. solar inverter with central management for an optimal efficiency of the installation

6 Measurement, management, analysis and control of the complete installation

SoLAR PARCS

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SoLAR PARCSString and combiner boxes

1 Local disconnection and cut-off of the PV unit

2 Protection against reverse currents of the PV strings

3 Surge protection of PV strings against surges

6 Measurement and supervision of the units

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Solar UPS with the SUNSYS range 5

Master piece of the PV installation is the Solar Inverter which convert d.c. energy into a.c. energy in order to re inject this energy into the grid. Socomec, historic manufacture of high efficiency power systems provide a full line of solar inverter. These products line fulfill the 3 main markets :• SUNSYS HOME for residential installations

up to 6 kWc• SUNSYS PRO for roof and bui lding

installations• SUNSYS STATION for solar parcsThese equipments intergrate the last updated technologies in order to meet all architecures:• single centralised solar inverter or multi

MPPT where the strings are connected by combiner box with or without protection

• multi-solar inverter where each string are directly connected; the solar inverters are connected in parallel and then to the grid

• several solar inverter in series; PV strings are assembled into the d.c. switchboard where solar inverters will be coopled together according to the sunlight level.

Then inverters are coupled in parallel in the main switchboard supplied by one or several LV/HV transformers.

… and mastered energy efficiency

Supervision with the system DIRIS system 6

Over and above having specific energy production inputs, a complete supervision proves to be indispensable for ensuring a follow-up of events and guaranteeing the overall functional efficiency of the installation.Depending on the size of the installation, the DIRIS system will offer solutions for measurement, management or analysis of the energy.

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Solar inverters SUNSYS from 2.2 kW to MW

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Multifunction meters DIRIS A and network analysor DIRIS N

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www.socomec.com

H E A D O F F I C ESOCOMEC GROUPS.A. SOCOMEC capital 11 313 400 ER.C.S. Strasbourg B 548 500 149B.P. 60010 - 1, rue de Westhouse - F-67235 Benfeld CedexTél. 03 88 57 41 41 - Fax 03 88 57 78 78 solar@socomec.com

SOCOMEC, our manufacturer’s expertise at your service

VALID FOR FRANCE

Non contractual document. © 2010, Socomec SA. All rights reserved.

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SOCOMEC is an independent industrial group, specialising in the availability, control and safety of low voltage electrical energy for industry and the service sector. With more than 2,300 staff in 21 subsidiaries worldwide, our company has complete control over the design, manufacture and sales of its products.

SOCOMEC solutions are recognised as being the most innovative and comprehensive on the market, meeting the most demanding require-ments and applications.

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