Hi Brian;
Invoking 90.4 is a decent idea; the only problem is those smarty pants
over at Midnite have been working on their Birdhouse disconnect system
for several years already in anticipation of this requirement. I'm not
up on all of this (still waiting for my copy of the 2014 Handbook) but
I believe their birdhouse and combiner box system meets all the new
requirements.
R.Ray Walters
CTO, Solarray, Inc
Nabcep Certified PV Installer,
Licensed Master Electrician
Solar Design Engineer
303 505-8760
On 1/21/2014 3:36 PM, Brian Mehalic wrote:
It was suggested to me that since 690.12(5) requires the equipment to
be listed and identified, and there is no standard for rapid shutdown
equipment to be listed to then 90.3 (.4?...oh why isn't the NEC on my
iPad...)says 'revert to the previous version of the NEC' and presto,
no need to install rapid shutdown. I don't like this but the the
person suggesting it certainly has an audience and this will appeal to
installers looking to save on cost wherever possible.
Sent from my iPad
On Jan 21, 2014, at 5:11 PM, David Brearley
<david.brear...@solarprofessional.com
<mailto:david.brear...@solarprofessional.com>> 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 cycle---for 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
David Brearley
Senior Technical Editor,/SolarPro/magazine
NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
david.brear...@solarprofessional.com
<mailto:david.brear...@solarprofessional.com>
Direct: 541.261.6545
On Jan 21, 2014, at 1:12 PM,
re-wrenches-requ...@lists.re-wrenches.org
<mailto:re-wrenches-requ...@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
*From:*Drake <drake.chamber...@redwoodalliance.org
<mailto: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 <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
<mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>>
*Reply-To:*RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
<mailto: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/
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