DC Electric Arc-Flash Hazard-Risk Evaluations for Photovoltaic Systems

Electric arc flashes are power system hazards that can compromise the safety of human operators-by inducing thermal burns-and the system's performance or functionality. This paper uses circuit theory and device modeling to demonstrate how existing calculation models can be repurposed to analyze electric arc flashes in the dc network of photovoltaic systems. A hazard-risk category evaluation method is introduced based on these adjusted models for typical system architectures. The proposed method can be used to identify at-risk components and estimate the thermal energy that could be released if arc hazards were to occur during system operation.