Prevention of direct lightning strike on photovoltaic panels

How to protect PV panels during lightning strikes?

Therefore, an adequate lightning protection system (LPS) must be installed to protect the PV panels. In addition, the transient performance of PV panels during lightning strikes must be analyzed well. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the superior modeling methods of PV systems during lightning strikes.

Does a lightning protection system work on a grid-connected photovoltaic park?

In this paper, the performance of a lightning protection system (LPS) on a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) park is studied by simulating different scenarios with the use of an appropriate software tool.

Are photovoltaic systems exposed to lightning?

1. Introduction Photovoltaic systems are inherently exposed to direct and indirect lightning effecfs. For high- capacity systems, the deployment of solar cell arrays requires a large area with commensurate exposure to direct lightning strikes at the local annual rate of ground strikes per unit area.

Do PV systems need lightning protection?

With all the barriers discussed in Section 3.3, the need for lightning protection on PV systems must be evaluated on the basis of the risk analysis and protection costs. Table 10 presents the recommended standards related to PV systems including PV installations, lightning protection systems and electrical installations. Table 10.

Are PV systems vulnerable to lightning?

Similar to other power systems [ , , , , ], PV systems are vulnerable to lightning because they are always installed in unsheltered open areas. Recent studies on lightning protection of PV systems have drawn much attentions [ 9 ].

How to protect PV system in case of indirect lightning?

A proposed design of SPD to protect the PV system in case of indirect lightning was explained [ 40 ], where the designed hardware was type 2 SPD. This type consists of varistor, Zener diode, common mode choke, transient voltage suppresser (TVS), and gate discharge tube (GDT).