Solar Combiner Box Surge Arrester System

Solar Systems Combiner Box is one of the critical components in terms of system safety. The AC and DC Surge Arresters located inside the Combiner Box are extremely important for protecting the entire system against lightning and sudden overvoltage impulses.

Within the framework of IEC and VDE standards, the use of surge arresters in solar systems is mandatory. Surge arrester systems, which enable us to protect AC, DC and data lines, are especially critical for protecting inverter systems on the DC side. Generally, the products sold by inverter manufacturers with built-in surge protection include only overvoltage protection devices and do not provide protection against lightning strikes. In other words, they usually include Class C or Type 2 devices. However, we recommend DC Type 1+2 devices inside combiner boxes. These products, categorized as B+C class, provide protection against both lightning and grid impulses. They are connected in parallel inside the Solar Combiner Box. At a minimum, for products consisting of three poles, special attention should be paid to ensuring that the earth–neutral lines have VG technology and B+C class protection characteristics.

At this point, it is important that the product has a modular structure to allow easy installation inside the solar combiner box. The product can be integrated into the system with a minimum cable cross-section of 16 mm2. As the Lightning Protection Center, we recommend VG technology maintenance-free products that activate within 25 nanoseconds to our customers. You can contact our expert engineering team for product selection for lightning protection systems in your solar projects and request a price quotation.