[RE-wrenches] NEC 2014 690.12 Rapid Shutdown

Wed Jan 22 12:16:18 PST 2014

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>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.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>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

At 05:11 PM 1/21/2014, you wrote:
>Drake,
>
>The language in 690.12 is the compromise 
>solution that was reached to ensure continued 
>industry stability. The alternative to the 
>combiner-level shutdown was module-level 
>shutdown. It took a consolidated industry effort 
>to push the module-level requirements out one 
>more Code cycle—for the exact reasons that you touch on below.
>
>Not sure if this link has been published on the 
>Wrenches list or not, but it provides some background on the topic:
>
><http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUXShMZJorQ>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUXShMZJorQ
>
>David Brearley
>Senior Technical Editor, SolarPro magazine
>NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
><mailto:david.brearley at solarprofessional.com>david.brearley at solarprofessional.com
>Direct: 541.261.6545
>
>
>
>
>
>On Jan 21, 2014, at 1:12 PM, 
><mailto:re-wrenches-request at lists.re-wrenches.org>re-wrenches-request at lists.re-wrenches.org 
>wrote:
>
>>From: Drake 
>><<mailto:drake.chamberlin at redwoodalliance.org>drake.chamberlin at redwoodalliance.org>
>>Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] NEC 2014 690.12 Rapid Shutdown
>>Date: January 21, 2014 11:36:15 AM CST
>>To: RE-wrenches 
>><<mailto:re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>>Reply-To: RE-wrenches 
>><<mailto:re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>>
>>
>>
>>Bill,
>>
>>It is good to see that energized conductors are 
>>going to be disconnected near the arrays. I've 
>>been an advocate of disconnecting these 
>>conductors by ground fault sensing equipment 
>>since ground fault detection was first 
>>implemented in the code. If contactors are to 
>>be installed on roofs, it likely won't be long 
>>before both ground faults and arc faults are automatically cleared.
>>
>>When the requirement for AC arc fault branch 
>>circuit protection was first put in the NEC, it 
>>was postdated to allow time for the electrical 
>>industry to adapt. This new remote 
>>disconnecting requirement does not provide any lead time.
>>
>>As the 2014 NEC is adopted in various 
>>jurisdictions, inspectors may feel that it is 
>>necessary to disallow systems without the newly 
>>required disconnect feature. This may result in 
>>serious problems for solar companies and customers, as well as manufacturers.
>>
>>The protection of firefighters is essential. 
>>The implementation of renewables is essential 
>>also. Insurance claims for weather related, 
>>global warming-triggered climatic disasters are 
>>rising exponentially. Extreme weather related 
>>events result in major loss of life and 
>>billions of dollars in property damage. 
>>Atmospheric CO2 levels continue to climb from 
>>the burning of fossil fuels. This is a crisis of global proportions.
>>
>>My request for code writers is to please take 
>>into account the effect that inserting new 
>>rules into the NEC may have on the stability of 
>>renewable energy, and implement new 
>>requirements in a way that will allow for a smooth interface.
>>
>>Thank you,
>>
>>Drake
>>
>>Drake Chamberlin
>>Athens Electric LLC
>>OH License 44810
>>CO License 3773
>>NABCEP Certified Solar PV
>>740-448-7328
>><http://athens-electric.com/>http://athens-electric.com/
>
>_______________________________________________
>List sponsored by Home Power magazine
>
>List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
>
>Change email address & settings:
>http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
>List-Archive: 
>http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
>List rules & etiquette:
>www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>
>Check out participant bios:
>www.members.re-wrenches.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20140122/42b4496d/attachment-0004.html>