Carport Maximum Voltage 1500V?

[Emmanuel Dominguez]

I'm building a 700kWp solar carport in Coahuila Mexico it will grow to 912 once we split the loads and have a new service from the utility so we can balance the systems according to the new electrical architecture.
Building another 344kWp in Mazatlan beach just a few hundred feet from the sea. Strong has hell

 

[BandGap1.1eV]

The rule of thumb that has been successful recently is rapid shutdown is NOT required for carports since it's not a habitable structure. If you take a step back to understand the reason we have rapid shutdown on a building, you'll realize there will never-ever-ever-ever-ever be a need to ventilate a carport in the event of a fire.

Following this logic, 1500V is ok on a carport. Imagine a 1500V ground mount, now raise the elevation up a little bit, now a bit more, a bit more, a bit more, now all of a sudden you can park a car under it.

Add this to the fact that you are placing service technicians in danger and adding a huge amount of O&M costs since all service work is now performed from a lift.

 

[jaggedben]

There seems to be some misunderstanding (see the thread on Puerto Rico) that the purpose of rapid shutdown is to allow firefighters to ventilate buildings. The code does not actually say that (unlike, for example, fire code sections regarding setbacks), and it doesn't entirely make sense. Firefighters would not try to ventilate where solar panels are, for example. The purpose of rapid shutdown seems to be more broadly to limit dangerous voltages in a structure whenever needed in a hurry.

With that said, I agree with the general point that it does not make sense to applyrapid shutdown to carports. Your point about ground mounts is apt. There must be some kind of structures that are not buildings, and these seem to be among them. I just hope that AHJs have a reasonable approach and are not sticklers aboit code wording.

 

[jaggedben]

By the way I don't think that 'habitable' is the distinction either. A detached garage on a residence is not typically considered habitable but it is also pretty clearly a building.

 

[squelch]

You may want to read this article https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2020/01/what-solar-installers-need-to-know-rapid-shutdown/