By Hanno Labuschagne
A major South African electrical product distributor’s chief executive has warned against introducing mandatory external protective devices into local solar power regulations.
Speaking at a recent EE Business Intelligence webinar, Heine Herholdt, CEO of Herholdt’s Group, said that a properly installed solar power system is generally safe.
Herholdt’s Group’s products include solar PV modules, inverters, batteries, and battery energy storage components and systems for the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.
Herholdt believes there is a widespread misconception in the industry that additional external protective devices are always necessary.
Installing these devices sometimes requires installers to cut cables, introducing new potential points of failure.
Regulations that make such devices mandatory typically also specify protection requirements, but not the quality or standard of the products being used.
Due to the price-competitive nature of the industry, solar power installers often opt for the cheapest products.
“In many cases, this leads to the poor installation of low-quality or incorrectly specified equipment, which does more harm than good,” Herholdt said.
“Poor-quality equipment may fail catastrophically under surge conditions, potentially increasing the risk of fire rather than reducing it.”
Herholdt said that modern solar power equipment technologies not only keep fire risk low but also actively mitigate it at multiple levels within the system.
“Modern-day inverters are equipped with high-quality built-in protection that has been rigorously tested and designed to provide effective protection under real-world conditions,” Herholdt said.
Herholdt highlighted how research from Australia showed that only 1% to 9% of residential lithium-ion battery fires were caused by integrated backup systems.
In most cases, these fires are caused by consumer electronics, including power tools, mobile devices, and e-bikes.
In the vast majority of cases where the solar system caused the fire, it was due to incorrect installation or neglected maintenance.
Technical analysis and industry reports highlighted the main issues being:
- Incorrect or loose connections
- Direct current arc faults due to poor wiring
- Substandard components or system design
- Inadequate protection systems, battery management, or ventilation
Herholdt said that Australia had removed a previous requirement for DC isolators in household systems as an extraordinary measure.
