Technical White Paper on the

Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array

Smart String-Level Disconnect

(SSLD)

Jointly issued by National Energy Key Laboratory for Wind

and Solar Simulation, Testing and Certification, China General
Certification Center and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
June 3, 2021
Introduction
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huawei") has developed
the SSLD technology and prototypes. China General Certification Center (hereinafter
referred to as "CGC") is entrusted by Huawei to validate and review the SSLD
technology in accordance with CGC/GF 192:2021 Technical Specification for evaluation
of Smart string-level Disconnect to determine the technical advancement, feasibility and
maturity. As a result, CGC and Huawei jointly issued the "Technical White Paper on the
Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array - Smart String-Level Disconnect (SSLD)"
to elaborate the SSLD technology to the industry, with the aim of:

»» providing references for exact understanding and using the SSLD technology by
enterprises that engaged in power plant development and other related parties;

»» providing references for equipment selection in the subsequent design of power

plants based on the current status and ever-changing application needs.
CONTENTS

1 Technical Development Background �������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1

2 Technical Description�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5
2.1 SSLD protection scope and modes������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 6

2.1.1 Reverse connection protection for strings ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6

2.1.2 String current backflow protection ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������7

2.1.3 DC busbar short protection �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������7

2.2 Compliance with existing standards �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 8

2.3 Protection threshold and accuracy������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 8

3 Technical Validation and Assessment Results of DC Disconnection System ���� 9

3.1 Technical assessment �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������10

3.2 Performance validation��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������10

3.3 Comprehensive assessment������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������10

Technical White Paper on the Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array

Smart String-Level Disconnect (SSLD)

01
Technical Development
Background

It is essential to adhere to the principle of "efficiency, safety and reliability" of PV generation. Safety is the foundation.

Safety risks involving PV generation are defined as the "conditions that cause or may cause physical injury or property loss". In a
macroscopic view, they can be divided into the following types.

»» Site safety. The priority is to prevent property loss and physical damage caused by geological and meteorological disasters and
safety accidents around the sites.

»» Infrastructure and architecture safety. The priority is to prevent property loss and physical damage caused by accidents such as
structural collapse, detachment, crack and deformation due to unreasonable design or other reasons.

»» Electrical safety. The priority is to prevent property loss and physical damage caused by electrical accidents, especially electrical fires.

Electrical safety, having diverse, extensive and complicated risk sources (points), tops the prevention and control of safety risks in
PV generation. Earthing, arc discharge, short are common electrical faults occurred in PV generation. Legends of fault points and
types of earthing, arc discharge and short in the DC system are given in Figures 1-1, 1-2 and 1-3 respectively.

Sub-array
PV PV PV

String
PV PV PV

PV PV PV

PV PV PV

Combiner
box
Modules
MPPT

PV PV PV

DC/AC
Point(s)
between Point(s) between
strings
PV PV PV

Point(s) between combiner boxes

PV PV PV
strings and and inverters
combiner boxes
PV PV PV

PV section #2

Figure 1-1. Possible DC Earthing Points (Centralized Inverter)

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 Technical White Paper on the Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array

Smart String-Level Disconnect (SSLD)

Series arc
PV PV

Arc to earth PV PV

PV PV Parallel arc

Figure 1-2. Possible DC Arc Discharge Types and Points (String Inverter)

Sub-array
PV PV PV

String
PV PV PV

PV PV PV
Point(s) between "+"
and "-" of inverters
PV PV PV

Combiner
box
Modules MPPT

+
PV PV PV

Point(s)
between DC/AC
Point(s) inside combiner boxes,
or inside or between "+" and "-" from combiner
modules
- boxes to inverters
PV PV PV

PV PV PV

PV PV PV

PV section #2

Point(s) between "+"

and "-" of strings

Figure 1-3. Possible DC Short Points (Centralized Inverter)

02
Technical White Paper on the Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array

Smart String-Level Disconnect (SSLD)

In recent years, there have been many major fires caused by electrical faults in China. The followings are two typical cases below
listing intermingled and consecutive phenomena of earthing, short and arcing, which further result in fires.

绝缘电阻
测试位置
正极 MΩ 负级 MΩ

AXXXXX1 0.2 0

AXXXXXX5 2.5 1.1

Insulation damage and Leakage, short circuit, Fries, caused by arc Insulation failure of/to Burning, arc discharge, Outbreak of fires around
performance deterioration melting discharge between cables earth and voltage loss to firing of cables/electrical the sites
or to earth earth connection, caused by
harmful overcurrent

Case 1 Case 2

There are still blind spots and deficiencies in respect of standards, electrical safety design and selection of safety protection devices
at the DC side of PV generation. See examples below.

»» In terms of DC arc discharge, existing international standards only define the technical requirements of detection and
disconnection response concerning series arc for specific applications. Detection and control response concerning parallel arc
and arc to earth still remain in technical development phase and have no formalized standards.

»» The PV DC overcurrent protection system took IEC62548 Photovoltaic (PV) Arrays - Design Requirements as the main basis,
but there is still lack of standards. And there are problems with design, selection of overcurrent protection devices and quality
control of fuse links and circuit breakers in engineering applications. Accidents or faults caused by problems concerning design
and quality control are described in Cases 3, 4 and 5.

Overheation,
caused by
local fusing
loss of fuse
links

Timely response and

effective protection
Fail to
response in
time and Local arc discharge, caused by
protect fusing misalignment of fuse links

Case 3 Case 4

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 Technical White Paper on the Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array

Smart String-Level Disconnect (SSLD)

Case 5

The parameters on the nameplate in Case 3 comply with design requirements of existing standards. Some branches are effectively
disconnected and protected, while some branches fail and get a local burning due to overcurrent. Such phenomena indicate that
there are problems with response consistency and accuracy of circuit breakers.

In Case 4, there is one part with arc discharge caused by local fusing of fuse links, and one other part with overheating caused by
locally fusing of fuse links, which indicates that there are problems in the consistency in the performance of fuse links, and even
further cause new potential safety hazards.

In case 5, an internal fault occurs within the power conversion equipment and DC current is not cutoff in time, resulting in
continuous DC current injection, causing the internal and external electrical connection parts burn out.

In conclusion, safety ensures the long-

term and reliable operation of power
plants, and the electrical safety tops
the safety prevention and control of
power plants. There are some blind
spots and deficiencies in electrical safety
prevention and control. It is imperative
to improve the active safety ability and
essential safety level and form electrical
safety protection screening supported by
technology advancement, and especially
intelligent tools.

04
Technical White Paper on the Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array

Smart String-Level Disconnect (SSLD)

02
Technical Description

The SSLD system is consisted of 3

Manual knob
parts, inverter detection and logical Reset button
judgment, tripping control and DC
tripping switch. See Figure 2-1. A DC Energy
tripping switch is equivalent to add storage DC tripping
module switch
energy storage module, control order
Tripping module
interface, status feedback interface and
reset button to a traditional switch.

Inverters get electrical parameters Switch body Status feedback

Control order
interface
related to strings and busbars through interface

current and voltage detection in the

disconnection system. With certain
DC/DC DC/AC
conditions of fault disconnection, DSP
generates a high electrical level lasting PV Grid
for a certain period. Then the reset
Tripping
mechanism is powered on. The reset gear
coil demagnetizes the permanent DC
magnet of the reset button, and then tripping Busbar
switch voltage
the reset button drives the operating detection
rod to release. The switch is separated
from the motion mechanism and
tripping order
open, in which case the DC switch is Branch current
and voltage Controller
fed to be off.
detection

Figure 2-1. Flow Diagram of the SSLD System

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 Technical White Paper on the Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array

Smart String-Level Disconnect (SSLD)

2.1 SSLD protection scope and modes

SSLD can provide effective protection against faults such as reverse connection of strings, current backflow and busbar short.

2.1.1 Reverse connection protection for strings

PV strings are required to have a polarity detection before connecting with inverters in accordance with IEC62446-1 Photovoltaic
(PV) Systems - Requirements for Testing, Documentation and Maintenance - Part 1: Grid Connected Systems - Documentation,
Commissioning Tests and Inspection, CNCA/CTS 0004 Basic Acceptance Requirements for Grid-connected PV Systems and other
relevant documents. Reverse polarity connection, subject to various reasons in actual practice, occurs in individual cases. Such fault
is included into the SSLD protection scope as it does great harm to the system.

DC tripping Backward diode

PV1 switch
DC/DC DC/AC

PV2

PV3
Busbar
voltage
detection
PV4

PV5

Tripping
Reverse current gear
Reverse connection
of PV 5 strings Tripping order
Branch current and Controller
voltage detection

Figure 2-2. Reverse Connection Protection Mode

Figure 2-2 is the protection logic diagram against reverse connection of strings. If the reverse connection of strings occurs,

»» IGBT with antiparallel diodes, after the switch is closed, can be conducted inside the inverters of MPPT branch generally with the
PV input voltage close to 0 and reverse PV input current equal to Isc of strings under the current irradiation condition.

»» Inverters send disconnection orders once the logical judgment of reverse connection of strings is made by electrical parameters.
Then switches of fault branches are disconnected, and the reverse current is turned off.

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Technical White Paper on the Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array

Smart String-Level Disconnect (SSLD)

2.1.2 String current backflow protection

In accordance with existing standards, the open-circuit voltage
I
deviation of parallel PV string in an array is limited to 5% to
avoid the generation of circulating current inside the PV array.
V
Under such circumstance, current backflow will occur due to
various reasons when some branches have problems shown
in Figure 2-3.

If the string backflow occurs in a system without anti-reverse

connection of diodes,

»» MPPT parallel branch voltage equals to Voc of paralleled

working voltage Voc1
string before the grid connection of inverters. MPPT V
Voc2
parallel branch voltage equals to MPPT tracking voltage/ backflow current
power-limited operating voltage of paralleled strings after
the grid connection of inverters. The current will flow back
when MPPT branch voltage exceeds the Voc of strings Figure 2-3. Schematic Diagram of String Current Backflow
with reverse branch current.

»» Inverters send disconnection orders once the logical judgment

of current backflow is made by electrical parameters, and
then switches of fault branches are disconnected.

2.1.3 DC busbar short protection

Figure 2-4 is the protection logic diagram against DC busbar short. If a short occurs,
»» The DC busbar/half-busbar voltage will reduce from the normal value to the threshold rapidly.
»» Inverters, when detecting busbar short, send disconnection orders to disconnect all DC branch switches and currents.

DC/DC DC/AC

+
PV Grid
-

Tripping
gear
Busbar
DC tripping voltage
switch detection

tripping order
Branch current
detection Controller

Figure 2-4. DC Busbar Fault Protection Mode

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 Technical White Paper on the Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array

Smart String-Level Disconnect (SSLD)

2.2 Compliance with existing standards

IEC 62548 standard, as the main reference to design the PV array, allows protecting the PV array against overcurrent with circuit
breakers. According to requirements specified by the standard, protection devices should

»» conform to the standard IEC 60898-2 or IEC 60947-2.

»» be insensitive to polarity (allowing reverse fault current in PV array).

»» can turn off the full-load and prospective fault currents that come from the PV array or other power supplies connected, if any,
such as batteries, electric generators and grids.

Inverters can detect reverse current of each string with the function of bidirectional current detection. If the current involving
reverse connection or backflow is detected to exceed the protection threshold, DSP will send an order to SSLD to turn off the fault
current. Thus, components can be protected against reverse connection/backflow.

Huawei SSLD system conduct tests with reference to IEC 60947-2 standard, and the results shows that it is insensitive to polarity,
and can detect and disconnect the prospective forward and reverse fault currents.

2.3 Protection threshold and accuracy

According to the existing IEC 62548 standard, all PV strings should be able to detect backflow current when requiring overcurrent
protection. And the rated In values of PV strings subject to reverse overcurrent protection should meet the following requirements.

In≤ I MOD_MAX_OCPR; and

In≤ 2.4* ISC_MOD;

In>1.5* ISC_MOD;

Inverters are required to detect currents of all PV strings according to the aforesaid standard, and the reverse connection and
backflow protection thresholds should be less than IMOD_MAX_OCPR and 2.4* ISC_MOD.

Notes: IMOD_MAX_OCPR refers to the maximum overcurrent protection value of PV components and is defined as the maximum serial
fuse value by manufactures. ISC_MOD refers to the short current of PV components or strings under the standard test condition.

SSLD can protect more accurate detection and protection required by the aforesaid standard based on the real-time high accuracy
detection and logical judgment on string current and voltage and busbar voltage with inverters. Besides, the lower reverse
overcurrent protection threshold can be adjusted to meet the needs of the system as the current sensor can identify and detect the
forward and reverse current.

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Technical White Paper on the Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array

Smart String-Level Disconnect (SSLD)

03
Technical Validation and
Assessment Results of DC
Disconnection System

To fully verify the performance of SSLD technology of Huawei inverters, CGC validation group validated and assessed relevant
functions comprehensively during February to June 2021. See Figure 3-1 for the process and details.

»» Intended usage and »» Validation content: »» Compliance with the

objectives • Fault protection existing standards

»» Is the applicable fault concerning the reverse »» Consistency regarding

protection scope clear? connection, backflow expected effect, technical
and short specifications and
»» Whether do the technical
• Accuracy of fault definitions
solution, hardware and
protection
software applied meet »» Application prospects
expectations? • Consistency of fault and advancement
protection
»» Specific assessment
method: Document review »» Validation method:
+ on-site validation + Laboratory test +
physical simulation simulation

Technical Assessment Performance validation Overall Assessment

Figure 3-1. Assessment and Validation Process and Illustration

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 Technical White Paper on the Electrical Safety Design of Inverters in PV Array

Smart String-Level Disconnect (SSLD)

3.1 Technical assessment

The validation group fully reviewed the technical principles, implementation methods and system composition (including software
and hardware) of SSLD technology and the detection and validation results of prototypes. On this basis, the group came to the
conclusion below. Huawei SSLD technology, based on the principles of integrated and compatible current protection and supported
by existing devices, can provide closed loop protection for strings subject to reverse connectio/backflow of strings, DC short and
other faults by leveraging the capabilities of automatic monitoring and logical judgment of inverters and using automatic triggering
disconnection devices. The system

»» complies with existing applicable standards.

»» is more accurate in fault protection than other existing overcurrent protection solutions.

»» has produced prototypes and passed the certification, and met the requirements for industrial application.

3.2 Performance validation

The validation group has validated the protection levels against 3 faults of reverse connection of strings, current backflow and
busbar short under more than 10 working conditions with on-site witness testing. The validation results show that Huawei SSLD
technology,

»» with 100% fault disconnection, can provide effective protection against 3 faults.

»» in accordance with CGC/GF 192:2021 Technical Specification for evaluation of Smart string-level Disconnect in Table 3-1, makes
the disconnection accuracy of Level I.

Table 3-1. Grading Standards of Disconnection Accuracy

Level Level I Level II

Current Set value ±2% Set value ±5%

Time Set value ±2% Set value ±5%

3.3 Comprehensive assessment

According to the results of technical review and performance validation, Huawei SSLD technology

»» conforms to IEC 62548 standard with level I of performance in CGC/GF 192-2021 standard.

»» has more accurate fault protection than the existing overcurrent protection scheme, and meets the request of industrial application.

10
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