TY - GEN
T1 - Lightning Risk Assessment of Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems
T2 - 2018 IEEE Power and Energy Society and Industrial Applications Society PowerAfrica, PowerAfrica 2018
AU - Holland, I.
AU - Doorsamy, W.
AU - Nixon, K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 IEEE.
PY - 2018/11/2
Y1 - 2018/11/2
N2 - The growth of photovoltaic (PV) technology in a global context is evident due to a drop in costs. In Africa, there is potential for expansive growth of solar PV due to favourable climatological conditions. PV systems, due to their inherent exposure to the elements, are prone to damage caused by lightning. For small- to medium-scale rooftop PV systems in particular, there is currently no well-defined methodology for assessing risk of lightning damage and determining protection requirements. In this paper, a framework for risk assessment of rooftop PV systems is proposed. The framework is applied to two practical case studies. It is found that the larger a rooftop PV system is, the higher the contribution of the PV system to the overall risk of lightning damage to the structure. These findings will lead to the further development of PV standards where in both the African and global context, continuous knowledge production in this regard is necessary.
AB - The growth of photovoltaic (PV) technology in a global context is evident due to a drop in costs. In Africa, there is potential for expansive growth of solar PV due to favourable climatological conditions. PV systems, due to their inherent exposure to the elements, are prone to damage caused by lightning. For small- to medium-scale rooftop PV systems in particular, there is currently no well-defined methodology for assessing risk of lightning damage and determining protection requirements. In this paper, a framework for risk assessment of rooftop PV systems is proposed. The framework is applied to two practical case studies. It is found that the larger a rooftop PV system is, the higher the contribution of the PV system to the overall risk of lightning damage to the structure. These findings will lead to the further development of PV standards where in both the African and global context, continuous knowledge production in this regard is necessary.
KW - Lightning protection
KW - Photovoltaic systems
KW - Risk assessment framework
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85057884987&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/PowerAfrica.2018.8521030
DO - 10.1109/PowerAfrica.2018.8521030
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85057884987
T3 - 2018 IEEE PES/IAS PowerAfrica, PowerAfrica 2018
SP - 402
EP - 407
BT - 2018 IEEE PES/IAS PowerAfrica, PowerAfrica 2018
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Y2 - 26 June 2018 through 29 June 2018
ER -
