David,
My sincere thanks to all of you who worked to
keep the module level disconnect requirement out
of the 2014 code cycle. That ruling would have
amounted to a knockout punch for string and central inverters on buildings.
What was the driving force behind this push for
immediate module level disconnection? There has
clearly not been a rash of firefighter deaths due
to PV systems. Although PV needs to continue
evolving safety standards that take into account
the concerns of firefighters, there is no crisis
that would justify thwarting one of the few growing sectors of our economy.
The PV track record has been amazingly good. So
far, I've found no accounts of solar related
firefighter deaths or injuries. The NFPA
statistics show that the highest cause of
firefighter death is heart attack.
<http://www.nfpa.org/newsandpublications/nfpa-journal/2013/july-august-2013/features/firefighter-fatalities-in-the-united-states-2012>http://www.nfpa.org/newsandpublications/nfpa-journal/2013/july-august-2013/features/firefighter-fatalities-in-the-united-states-2012
This push for crippling regulation bears the
earmark of ALECs extensive and effective war on
solar. As you can read in the following links,
the massively funded, Koch brothers-linked ALEC
is lobbying heavily, on every level, to derail
solar. All who are associated with the solar
industry need to be aware of this powerful lobbying campaign.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/alec-freerider-homeowners-assault-clean-energy>http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/alec-freerider-homeowners-assault-clean-energy
http://www.salon.com/2013/12/05/alec_freeriders_with_solar_panels_must_pay_for_robbing_the_system/
<http://beforeitsnews.com/environment/2014/01/alec-gain-an-inside-track-on-colorado-solar-2490132.html>http://beforeitsnews.com/environment/2014/01/alec-gain-an-inside-track-on-colorado-solar-2490132.html
Is there any way that the solar community can be
alerted when threats to our industry are being
put before the NEC? Although few contractors have
the time or money to walk away from their
businesses and attend code writing committees, a
substantial number might have the time to make
phone calls and send letters or emails to code writers.
The solar industry needs a strong lobby of its own.
Drake
At 05:11 PM 1/21/2014, you wrote:
Drake,
The language in 690.12 is the compromise
solution that was reached to ensure continued
industry stability. The alternative to the
combiner-level shutdown was module-level
shutdown. It took a consolidated industry effort
to push the module-level requirements out one
more Code cyclefor the exact reasons that you touch on below.
Not sure if this link has been published on the
Wrenches list or not, but it provides some background on the topic:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUXShMZJorQ>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUXShMZJorQ
David Brearley
Senior Technical Editor, SolarPro magazine
NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
<mailto:david.brear...@solarprofessional.com>david.brear...@solarprofessional.com
Direct: 541.261.6545
On Jan 21, 2014, at 1:12 PM,
<mailto:re-wrenches-requ...@lists.re-wrenches.org>re-wrenches-requ...@lists.re-wrenches.org
wrote:
From: Drake
<<mailto:drake.chamber...@redwoodalliance.org>drake.chamber...@redwoodalliance.org>
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] NEC 2014 690.12 Rapid Shutdown
Date: January 21, 2014 11:36:15 AM CST
To: RE-wrenches
<<mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>
Reply-To: RE-wrenches
<<mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>
Bill,
It is good to see that energized conductors are
going to be disconnected near the arrays. I've
been an advocate of disconnecting these
conductors by ground fault sensing equipment
since ground fault detection was first
implemented in the code. If contactors are to
be installed on roofs, it likely won't be long
before both ground faults and arc faults are automatically cleared.
When the requirement for AC arc fault branch
circuit protection was first put in the NEC, it
was postdated to allow time for the electrical
industry to adapt. This new remote
disconnecting requirement does not provide any lead time.
As the 2014 NEC is adopted in various
jurisdictions, inspectors may feel that it is
necessary to disallow systems without the newly
required disconnect feature. This may result in
serious problems for solar companies and customers, as well as manufacturers.
The protection of firefighters is essential.
The implementation of renewables is essential
also. Insurance claims for weather related,
global warming-triggered climatic disasters are
rising exponentially. Extreme weather related
events result in major loss of life and
billions of dollars in property damage.
Atmospheric CO2 levels continue to climb from
the burning of fossil fuels. This is a crisis of global proportions.
My request for code writers is to please take
into account the effect that inserting new
rules into the NEC may have on the stability of
renewable energy, and implement new
requirements in a way that will allow for a smooth interface.
Thank you,
Drake
Drake Chamberlin
Athens Electric LLC
OH License 44810
CO License 3773
NABCEP Certified Solar PV
740-448-7328
<http://athens-electric.com/>http://athens-electric.com/
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