[RE-wrenches] NEC 2014 690.12 Rapid Shutdown

Fri Jan 24 11:11:35 PST 2014

Wrenches, 

Matt Paiss is wanted to chime in here. He's a member of the Code-Making Panel No. 4 Firefighter Safety Task Group, as well as SEIA's PV Industry Forum. 

Since he can't post to the list, I am sharing his comments with the group:

> Drake,
> 
> After reading your initial comments, I think you have nailed both the intent of this code section as well as the benefits.  But in reading your second posting, I felt it important to write you.  As one of the representatives from the Fire Service that drafted 690.12, I can tell you that while there is always room for improvement in language, the goal is to have PV that can not start a fire.  As I am not a "wrench" I can not post to the list (feel free to share any of my comments here if you wish), but I would like to chime in on this conversation.
> 
> Your assertion that ALECs are targeting the PV industry is not taking place in this process.   There are many hard-working individuals from the PV industry, electrical inspectors, and the fire service working together to keep PV safe and secure for many years to come.  I for one have both PV and thermal on my home.
> 
> While you are correct that no fire fighter fatalities have resulted from a PV system shock, the goal is to prevent the first. One problem is that the PV industry has not adequately addressed the arc and ground fault problems in the US.  Simply put, many rooftop systems are not NEC compliant; they can not detect and interrupt all faults.  This has unfortunately resulted in far too many fires.  The many additions & changes to sec 690 in the 2014 cycle will go far in achieving a much safer system.  
> 
> The fire service is becoming increasingly aware, educated, and involved in the code process for PV safety.  It should be clear that the goal for all parties is a safe electrical product.  There is no secret agenda to pull the rug out from under solar. To those that are concerned with the imbedded cost increases, please take a longer view than your current FY.  The systems that fire fighters respond to may be many years old, but in reality most of the fires have occurred on new systems.  We will respond to older systems over time, and some buildings will be lost due to concern over the inability to isolate power down to a safe level.  As I teach firefighters about electrical safety, many express both an interest in PV as well as concern that it should be possible to shut a system down in the event of an emergency either manually, or as a result of a fault.
> 
> Thank you,
> Matt
> 
> CA Matthew Paiss, E19B
> Bureau of Field Operations
> San Jose Fire Department
> 1661 Senter Rd
> San Jose, CA 95113
> (831) 566-3057 c

BTW: the stakeholders who developed the consensus language in 690.12 are listed in the NEC 2014 Report on Comments:

This comment is the result of a consensus process established among three groups of stakeholders: 1) CMP4 Firefighter SafetyTask Group; 2) SEIA Codes and Standards Working Group; and 3) PV Industry Forum. Participants in these groups included the following individuals:

CMP4 Firefighter Safety Task Group
1. Ward Bower, CMP4 representing SEIA
2. Bill Brooks, CMP4 representing SEIA and Chair of Task Group
3. Bob Davidson, Davidson Code Concepts
4. Mark Earley, Secretary, NFPA
5. Bob James, UL
6. Matt Paiss, City of San Jose Fire Department
7. Jim Rogers, CMP4 representing IAEI
8. Todd Stafford, CMP4 representing IBEW
9. Ronnie Toomer, Chair of CMP4
10. Peter Willse, Global Asset Protection Services

SEIA Codes and Standards Working Group
1. Mark Albers, SunPower
2. Mark Baldassari, Enphase Energy
3. Ward Bower, SEIA
4. Bill Brooks, Brooks Engineering/SEIA
5. Joe Cain, Chair of SEIA Codes and Standards Working Group
6. Keith Davidson, SunTech
7. Darrel Higgs, Dow Solar
8. Lee Kraemer, First Solar
9. Carl Lenox, SunPower
10. Charles Luebke, Eaton
11. Martin Mesmer, E.ON
12. Steve Pisklak, Dow Solar13. Robert Rynar, First Solar
14. Michael Schenck, First Solar
15. John Smirnow, SEIA
16. Kris VanDerzee, First Solar
17. Leo Wu, SolarCity
18. Tilak Gopalarathnam, REFUsol Incorporated

PV Industry Forum
1. Mark Albers, SunPower
2. Greg Ball, DNV
3. Bill Brooks, Brooks Engineering, lead for 690.12
4. Mark Baldassari, Enphase Energy
5. Ward Bower, SEIA
6. Michael Coddington, NREL
7. Marv Dargatz, SolarEdge
8. Chris Flueckiger. UL
9. Joerg Grosshennig, SMA
10. Darrel Higgs, Dow Solar
11. Dan Lepinski, Exeltech
12. Carl Lenox, SunPower
13. Charles Luebke, Eaton
14. Matt Paiss, City of San Jose Fire Department
15. Steve Pisklak, Dow Solar
16. Jim Rogers, Town of Oak Bluffs
17. Jon Sharp, Ampt
18. Bhima Sheridan, SolarCity
19. John Smirnow, SEIA
20. Holly Thomas, U.S. Dept. of Energy
21. Phil Undercuffler, Outback Power
22. John Wiles, NMSU, Secretary of PV Industry Forum
23. Leo Wu, SolarCity
24. Tim Zgonena, UL

On Jan 24, 2014, at 1:00 PM, re-wrenches-request at lists.re-wrenches.org wrote:

> From: Drake <drake.chamberlin at redwoodalliance.org>
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] NEC 2014 690.12 Rapid Shutdown
> Date: January 22, 2014 2:16:18 PM CST
> To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> Reply-To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> 
> 
> David,
>  
> My sincere thanks to all of you who worked to keep the module level disconnect requirement out of the 2014 code cycle. That ruling would have amounted to a knockout punch for string and central inverters on buildings. 
>  
> What was the driving force behind this push for immediate module level disconnection? There has clearly not been a rash of firefighter deaths due to PV systems. Although PV needs to continue evolving safety standards that take into account the concerns of firefighters, there is no crisis that would justify thwarting one of the few growing sectors of our economy.  
>  
> The PV track record has been amazingly good. So far, I've found no accounts of solar related firefighter deaths or injuries. The NFPA statistics show that the highest cause of firefighter death is heart attack. http://www.nfpa.org/newsandpublications/nfpa-journal/2013/july-august-2013/features/firefighter-fatalities-in-the-united-states-2012 
>  
> This push for crippling regulation bears the earmark of ALEC’s extensive and effective war on solar. As you can read in the following links, the massively funded, Koch brothers-linked ALEC is lobbying heavily, on every level, to derail solar. All who are associated with the solar industry need to be aware of this powerful lobbying campaign. 
>  
> http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/alec-freerider-homeowners-assault-clean-energy 
>  
> http://www.salon.com/2013/12/05/alec_freeriders_with_solar_panels_must_pay_for_robbing_the_system/ 
>  
> http://beforeitsnews.com/environment/2014/01/alec-gain-an-inside-track-on-colorado-solar-2490132.html 
>  
> Is there any way that the solar community can be alerted when threats to our industry are being put before the NEC? Although few contractors have the time or money to walk away from their businesses and attend code writing committees, a substantial number might have the time to make phone calls and send letters or emails to code writers. 
>  
> The solar industry needs a strong lobby of its own. 
>  
> Drake 
> 
>  

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