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The Solar ABCs is a collaborative effort among experts to formally gather and prioritize input from the broad spectrum of photovoltaic stakeholders resulting in coordinated recommendations to codes and standards making bodies for existing and new solar technologies.

The Solar ABCs is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Award Number DE-FC36-07GO17034
Solar ABCs Newsletter
September 2012
In This Issue
UL 1703 - Proposal for New Fire Classification Test
Changes to the 2014 National Electrical Code
Updated Report: Expedited Permit Process
Proposal Deadline for 2015 IFC & IRC
Webinar: Grounding PV Modules
Report from Solar ABCs Stakeholder Meeting
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Greetings!

Greetings!

 

Welcome to the September newsletter for the Solar America Board for Codes and Standards (Solar ABCs).   Each Solar ABCs newsletter provides the latest news and information about solar codes and standard achievements, announcements, and events. Please contact me if you have any questions or comments.

 

Sincerely,

 

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Larry Sherwood
Project Administrator
Solar America Board for Codes and Standards  
UL 1703 - Proposal for New Fire Classification Test  

 

In 2010, Solar ABCs published an Interim Report, Flammability Testing of Standard Roofing Products in the Presence of Stand-off Mounted PV Modules. That report concluded that further investigation was required to refine the fire classification test for systems that include roofing materials as well as the PV array.

 

Since that recommendation, UL has conducted extensive research on this subject and published the research results in six research reports available on the Solar ABCs website.

 

Solar ABCs has also convened several stakeholder meetings to discuss fire and flammability research results. At a meeting on August 28, stakeholders discussed specifics of the new fire classification test proposed for UL Standard 1703. Based on comments at that meeting, a revised proposal is being drafted and will soon be submitted for public comment in the UL Standard Technical Panel process. Send an e-mail to Larry Sherwood if you would like a notification when the draft proposal is submitted for public comment.
Changes to the 2014 National Electrical Code - Comment Period

 

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is currently making code changes that will be published as the 2014 edition of the National Electrical Code (NEC). The Code Making Panels have reviewed the submitted proposals and the NFPA has published the results of their deliberations in its Report on Proposals. The Report on Proposals is essentially a draft of the proposed changes to the NEC and is now available for public review and comment. Comments are due on October 17, 2012.

 

Some of the PV related changes include:

1.       690.12 for module-level shutdown for systems on buildings

2.       Arc fault detection for all systems (parallel and series)

3.       Low voltage redefined as 1000V

4.       PV arrays ungrounded above 300V

5.       705.12(D) expanded to include several new options.

 

On August 27, Solar ABCs convened a meeting of stakeholders who recommended 14 changes to the proposed 2014 code. Those changes are now being compiled and will be available for comments before submission to NFPA in October.  The draft comments will be posted on the Solar ABCs website in about a week.
Updated Solar ABCs Report: Expedited Permit Process - Revision 2 

 

The Solar ABCs revised report entitled, Expedited Permit Process for PV Systems - A Standardized Process for the Review of Small-Scale PV Systems, includes new information for micro-inverters and AC modules as well as several new diagrams and calculations. The report also includes new fillable forms to use with the Expedited Permit Process for the four PV systems covered in the report. The forms can be used in jurisdictions that have adopted the Expedited Permit Process for PV Systems, and can be filled out electronically and submitted in either printed form and via email. The forms are also supplied so that the supplied information is standardized and legible for the local jurisdiction.

Proposal Deadline for 2015 IFC and IRC 
 

Change proposals for the International Fire Code (IFC) and the International Residential Code (IRC) are due January 3, 2013. Learn more about the code development schedule.

Solar ABCs Webinar: Grounding Photovoltaic Modules 

 

The Solar ABCs held a stakeholder webinar on July 17, 2012 to provide an overview of a final Solar ABCs report that covers the issues facing electrical grounding of PV modules.  The final report discussed during this webinar, Grounding Photovoltaic Modules:  Issues and Recommendations, draws on feedback from industry experts as well as ongoing research at Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) and presents the issues with recommendations for changes to existing standards.  Download and read the webinar materials.

Solar ABCs Stakeholder Meeting 
 

The Solar ABCs held its 6th annual Stakeholder Meeting in Orlando, Florida on September 14, 2012 and provided PV stakeholders with an updated review of Solar ABCs projects plus current activities of other organizations developing PV codes and standards. Download the stakeholder meeting materials.