Electric Breaker

Electric Breakers

When installing a solar panel system, you have to be familiar with the electric breakers and how it works with a solar PV system to avoid future electric problems. The electric breaker is one of the main components of a solar power system that provides safety mechanisms. If ever the electrical wiring of your system has too much current flowing through it, these breakers can easily cut the power until your solar installer can fix the system’s problem. 

For today’s article, we will discuss electric breakers and their function in solar photovoltaic systems.

What is an Electric Breaker?

An electric or circuit breaker is an electrical switch designed to protect electrical circuits from damage caused by overloading of current or a short circuit. The basic function of an electric breaker is to prevent the current flow once protective relays detect a fault in the system. 

Although it is frequently interchanged with a fuse, which is the simplest Over Current Protection device (OCPD) in electrical circuits, a circuit breaker, is a much-evolved type of device that interrupts the current flow. The main difference between the two is electric breaker is resettable and the fuse is not. The fuse sacrifices itself while protecting the system to overheat, while the circuit breaker can withstand hundreds and thousands of operations. Another difference is that electric breakers are used with relatively higher currents. 

Components of Circuit Breaker

A circuit breaker system is composed of three parts. These three components are the sensing system, relay, and the combination of contacts and the contact actuator. A sensing system is responsible for detecting an overload situation, while a relay is responsible for transferring the information to the switching arrangement, and the combination of contacts and the contact actuator. This electric arrangement is usually observed in power transmission and distribution networks dealing with very high currents, voltages, and powers. 

Circuit Breakers Calculation in Solar Panel Systems

When connecting circuit breakers to the PV system, you have to follow the recommended calculations to avoid future problems and damage to the entire system. The recommendations for using overcurrent protection devices including circuit breakers in solar modules against overloading conditions are given in IEC 60269-6 (volume 6 of IEC 60269-6) and also UL 248-19. 

For circuit breakers, IEC recommends a 20% and 25% margin in voltage and overload current. Most of the time, the ratings are specified by the solar manufacturers at given ambient conditions. If the temperatures exceed this given value, derating must be applied according to the manufacturer’s specifications. 

When it comes to breaker sizes for solar panels, NEC requires the breakers to be sized at 125% of the inverter’s rated output. So a 7680W inverter that outputs 240V, outputs 32A (7680W ÷ 240V = 32A). That requires a 40A breaker (32A x 125% = 40A).

Final Thoughts

If you owned a solar panel system at home,  you have to understand how circuit breakers work to prevent catching fires at home. These devices are one of the major components of the PV solar system as they protect the system wiring from getting too hot and accidentally catch fire if short circuits occurred. Thus, understanding the breaker itself and its proper calculations in the PV system should be done.

OEM

Custom Made Solar Products OEM

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer which is commonly referred to as a company that manufactures and offers parts and accessories of items that are used as components of a product from another company. To sum it up, OEM commonly manufactures specific items on behalf of brands. Though OEM typically operates in the computer and technology industries, it also works in the solar industry.

Factories for White Label Solar Products

In the case of the solar industry, most solar companies work with solar OEMs to build and design their own solar products such as solar panels, cells, modules, etc. OEM becomes their outsourcing partner that helps them in assembling and reproducing their solar products.

Nowadays, a huge number of solar companies, particularly those large solar manufacturing companies, are partnering with outstanding solar OEMs to deliver the best quality solar products to their solar customers. Mainly, the reason is, these solar OEMs help solar manufacturers cut down their production costs since they no longer have to operate their own factories, purchase needed materials and hire labour to produce their solar products.

As a solar manufacturing company, the first thing you need to consider is to find the most reliable solar OEM in the market. One of the biggest perks of the internet these days is you can now easily find these OEMs even in the comfort of your home. With the help of a solar outsourcing marketplace such as SolarFeeds.com, you can easily find the most reliable and right OEM partner for your solar company. Solar outsourcing marketplace helps solar industry professionals gather accurate and timely information about solar including the list of most trusted Solar Original Equipment Manufacturers.

Fiji

Fiji’s solar market status

Most Pacific Island countries spend vast chunks of their annual GDPs on fuel imports. This is illogical considering that there is no shortage of renewable sources of energy in the Pacific region. Is Fiji different from other Pacific states that are dependent on costly fossil fuels for their daily needs?

The most recent statistics concerning Fiji’s solar market reveal that the country has an installed solar capacity of 4 Megawatts. This meager solar capacity is a course for concern primarily because its solar potential is approximately 170 Gigawatt-hours annually. However, the government’s newfound desire to exploit the nation’s renewable energy potential offers something to smile about.

Fijian authorities are currently working on what could be the largest solar energy project in the pacific region. They plan to install at least 15 Megawatts of solar generation capacity with financial support from the International Financial Corporation. The success of this project is most likely to open up new opportunities for solar installers and professionals in the Fijian solar market.  

Fijian solar market equipment supply capacity

Even though Fiji is an emerging solar market, it enjoys a good presence of solar equipment suppliers. Some readily available equipment in Fiji includes solar panels, batteries, inverters, and charge controllers. Nevertheless, these suppliers serve a small market and may not have the capacity to supply mega-project equipment. In such a scenario, the best course of action is importing equipment from leading brands in established solar markets.

Fiji’s Suva and Lautoka ports make it easy to import solar equipment from any leading solar equipment brands on Solarfeeds. We are the source of the most competitive equipment quotes in the global solar sector. The only thing you need to do is visit our inquiry page and send us a request.