Humm...an LED and 9V battery would serve the would-be bypasser well...

...but of course once we implement yearly inspection and certification of the PV system rapid shut down by the local FD, that will deter such tampering....

Is there an analog to our concerns vis-a-vis 690.12 in Europe or Japan?

On 2/5/2015 10:29 PM, b...@midnitesolar.com wrote:

>>>but the first time there is a system out there that does not work some guy may just go and bypass it, hell its a cheap fix. now who thinks they are protected and they are not, bad deal.<<<

Sounds like a good reason for the system to have proper feedback to
let the firefighters know that the PV really was disconnected.

boB


On 2/5/2015 8:37 PM, Jerry Shafer wrote:
Mark and the wrenches group
You do have a point, in the many years of my PV life, we have had three building fires not at all related to the PV, on the first, all of the insulation on the wires inside the metal conduit was gone, the at the time required AC disconnect was turned off, and after all was over we were called in to remove our system for the re-construction at which time I found a glove print on the conduit in the attic, it was wet, smoky and had live wires inside shorted and all that was required was a solid ground which it had and worked perfect. The second fire was the result of someone else and started under the home, right next to our EMT conduit, here they were able to turn off DC disconnect at the array which was on the ground away from the home and the conduit was properly grounded. again this protected the firefighters which I support. The third fire was to far back recall to much but again it was not PV related. I hesitate to say this but all the wigets and waldos will not protect against bad installs and some non NEC following related repairs, sure shutting down the array on the roof may help, but the first time there is a system out there that does not work some guy may just go and bypass it, hell its a cheap fix. now who thinks they are protected and they are not, bad deal. We all need to remember these systems requires power and we are in the industry of reducing power demands not increasing them. home owners may in time disconnect it them selves for this same reason.
We need more KIS-S
Jerry

On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 5:32 PM, Dave Click <davecl...@fsec.ucf.edu <mailto:davecl...@fsec.ucf.edu>> wrote:

    Mark-

    690.56(C) provides the placard you're looking for and 690.56(B)
    tells the first responder where that 690.12 switch is, right?

    For 2017 there are a couple of proposals out there. One is trying
    to better educate that first responder (quickly!) as to what
    hazards exist. Another is clarifying some of the language for
    690.12 such that we continue to have [better] array-level
    shutdown. Another is changing 690.12 to [basically] module-level
    shutdown, which has been signed onto by the IAFF, insurance
    companies, and... some module-level electronics vendors.

    We've installed many, many rooftop systems but we're only about
    0.1% done with them. Regardless of how 690.12 changes, I think
    that in the next few years we'll all be revisiting every system
    we've ever worked on to make sure there's enough labeling to
    inform firefighters about the hazards. I'm curious how we're
    going to do that so that a 2027 firefighter can quickly
    distinguish between 2014's Rapid Shutdown, 2017's Even Rapider
    Shutdown, 2020's BlockOutTheSun Shutdown, 2014's Rapid Shutdown
    That Actually Still Works, 2011's System That Will Only Shock You
    If You Cut Through a Module, and 2005's Never-Code-Compliant
    system that incorrectly has a "Rapid Shutdown" label on it
    because the homeowner noticed that their neighbor had one.
    Somehow we need to make sure firefighters know exactly what
    they're up against.

    Non-farcically,
    DKC



    On 2015/2/5 20:08, Mark Frye wrote:

        ...without a mandatory "Stop" switch co-located with the
        service meter
        or main breaker?

        How many roof top systems have been installed to date? Many,
        many, many,
        many.

        OK ,now I am a first responder showing up at a home that is
        on fire. How
        do I know whether or not the DC has been installed such that
        it provided
        the protections afforded by 690.12? I don't. Because it is
        not require
        for systems conforming to 690.12 to look any different to me
        than those
        that do not.

        So does the "stop" switch become the new "fire fighters club"
        logo? If
        you have the switch the FD will save your home, if you don't
        they will
        let it burn down, even if you have a 690.12 compliant system
        that does
        not include an "initiator switch"?

        Mark Frye






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