Solar Photovoltaic Industry Installation Standards

Are there any UK standards relating to a PV installation?

While many UK standards apply in general terms, at the time of writing there is still relatively little which specifically relates to a PV installation. However, there are two documents which specifically relate to the installation of these systems that are of particular relevance:

What are IEC standards in photovoltaics?

IEC standards in photovoltaics were developed by TC82 “Solar photovoltaic energy systems” . The U.S technical advisory group (USTAG) feeds the input to IEC TC82 standards time to time. Both IEC and American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) International had published numerous PV standards in which many are similar and redundant.

What are the National PV standards?

Though many countries have their own national PV standards, the majority are based on the standards developed by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) established in the year 1995 which is the world’s leading standards organization that develops and publishes the international standards for electrotechnology.

What are the requirements for a PV installation?

Virtually all domestic PV installations will fall under the scope of Part P. Part P requires the relevant Building Control department to be notified and approve the work. There are two routes to comply with the requirements of Part P: Notify the relevant Building Control department before starting the work.

What are the ASTM standards for solar energy conversion?

The PV standard developed by ASTM technical committee is E44.09 Photovoltaic electric power conversion . The ASTM standards related to PV technology is shown in Table1. Table 1. ASTM standards for PV installations. Related to solar energy conversion- addresses the solar energy conversion into other forms of energy by various means.

What are the IEC PV standards?

The IEC PV standards comprise IEC technical committee 82 solar PV Energy System (IEC TC82) which develops and adopts all Photovoltaic related standards. There are nearly 80 standards applicable to photovoltaic and five working groups in IEC TC82.