Standards

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International Standards[edit | edit source]

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Before going into details of the norms applicable to Solar, a quick reminder about the different types of electrical standards in the world and their applicable regions:

Acronym Title Comment Application
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission International Electrical Standards European based
ANSI American National Standard Institude All American Standards US based
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers American Electrical Standards Worldwide use
NEC National Electricity code American Electrical Standards US applicable

Local norms and standards are always applicable in priority. However, when specific in a country, they are most of the time strongly inspired by the IEC or ANSI standard.


19.pngIEC with or without national rule

30.pngANSI/IEEE NEC

31.png ANSI/IEEE NEC with or without national rule




Standards applicable to Solar projects[edit | edit source]

The main electrical standard applicable for Solar Installation are classified below by order of importance :

Reference Object Comment
IEC 62 548

2016 version

PV array design requirements Main worldwide standard for any grid connected PV installation
IEC 62 738

2018 version

Design Guideline for PV power plant This is a transposition of the IEC 62 548 specifically for Large Scale solar farms. It allows more flexibility in the design in order not to oversize equipment, as it might have a much bigger impact than it would in small installations.
IEC 61 427-1 Offgrid Storage for renewable Main IEC norm for any PV + Storage installation not connected to the grid
IEC 61 427-2 Grid Connected Storage for renewable Main IEC norm for any PV + Storage installation connected to the grid
IEC 60 364 - 7-712 Electrical requirements for Low voltage PV installation Chapter of the IEC 60 364 focusing on PV installation. It is close to the IEC 62 548 (which remain the main PV norm), but is more focused on LV electrical design
IEC 60 364 Low Voltage electrical requirements This is the main norm for any type of low voltage installation. The scope is very large, that’s why this norm is split in a lot of chapters, where some are applicable to solar installations (see below)
IEC 64 364 - 5-52 LV electrical - Cable selection Selection and sizing of low voltage electrical cables
IEC 62 930

2017 version

Electric cables for photovoltaic systems with a voltage rating of 1,5 kV DC Describe how a DC PV cable should be built ® Buy PV cables that comply with this norm
IEC 60 502 -2 Medium and High voltage Cables Describe how an AC High Voltage cable should be built ® Buy HV cables that comply with this norm
IEC 60 269 - 6 LV Fuse for PV The IEC 60 269 is the general norm for any type of low voltage fuse

The chapter 6 of this norm is the specifications for fuses in PV installation ® Buy fuses compliant with this norm