PV Systems Rely On Surge Protection
Read More: https://www.raycap.com/photovoltaic-surge-protection-explained/
Solar power generation is a fantastic technology, essentially creating electricity from nothing. This means that while other power generation methods require a fuel source that must be destroyed to make electricity, solar power systems do not. For this reason, a solar power system is technically infinite because it can keep making power as long as the sun is shining and the system is online and functioning. The way this is achieved is technologically advanced, with sunlight being collected on specialized panels and then converted into heat that expands a liquid within a sealed system. This expansion of liquid creates movement as the fluid flows through the system, eventually passing through turbines that move to create static electricity. This electricity is then captured and delivered to customers through a grid system. This generation differs from fossil fuel methods that need to take a fuel source like coal, oil, or wood and burn it to create the same heat delivery to the system, resulting in the movement of the turbines. Burning any fuel source creates pollution and damage to the atmosphere, as well as being both costly and finite. Simply put, fossil fuels may be plentiful at the current time, but they will eventually become more scarce. That scarcity will create inflation if the prices charged for a single unit of electricity are passed off to the consumer for the company to remain profitable. There has long been an understanding that renewable energy sources can create power more cleanly as well as less expensively, but the technology is still evolving to that point.
Due partly to field maintenance, solar power is not currently able to be produced at a lower cost than fossil fuel methods. The upkeep of the parts that get continually damaged in the field due to natural occurrences that happen during storms contributes to the high cost of operating solar power plants. Lightning flashes hundreds of times every second on earth, and every one of those flashes can produce a strike that is a risk to equipment. Because of the exposed positioning of solar panels in the field, they are often in the lightning’s path. When a solar panel is struck, it will need replacement, which is a relatively easy thing to do. The more difficult and expensive part of the maintenance is the damage to the connected electronics equipment caused by the resultant power surge. When this equipment is damaged at the circuit level by the overvoltage, it becomes useless and must be replaced. The only real way to avoid this damage is to integrate an elaborate system of PV surge protection devices. These products or systems are positioned to cut off the flow of electricity if it exceeds a specific range. The integration of PV surge protection devices and systems is the greatest defense against damage currently known and will be one of the reasons that solar power ultimately becomes the mainstay.
