Proximity of Solar Modules and Lightning protection

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PaulHartley

Member
Location
United States
We are installing a PV array on a flat roof that has an extensive lighting protection system. Are there NEC requirements that govern how close a module can be located to a lightning protection system electrode (lightning rod) or conductor?

thank you
 
ron

ron

Senior Member
Location
New York, 40.7514,-73.9925
You would need to review NFPA 780 if the panels are in proximity to the air terminals. You might want to review the plan with the Master Label applicant, if the installation has such a certification.
 
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PaulHartley

Member
Location
United States
Master Label Certification (?)

Master Label Certification (?)

ron said:
You would need to review NFPA 780 if the panels are in proximity to the air terminals. You might want to review the plan with the Master Label applicant, if the installation has such a certification.
Click to expand...

Thank you Ben and Ron. Can you tell me what is a "Master Label Certification?" Thank you...
 
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69gp

Senior Member
Location
MA
The following pictures are of a job I was on about a year ago. Please do not install the system the way these Bozos did.
2013-10-22_10-35-11_340.jpg

Dont think this rod is going to work. This is on a school that is only a few years old.

2013-10-22_10-27-35_375.jpg


Same project. Multiple locations where 120 pounds of ballast weight is concentrated on top of the aluminum lighting protection cable. Wonder how long that rubber membrane is going to last?

There is a lot of hacks out there installing crap work. We need to stop them before someone is seriously injured or killed.
 
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PaulHartley

Member
Location
United States
Air Terminals under the array

Air Terminals under the array

69gp said:
The following pictures are of a job I was on about a year ago. Please do not install the system the way these Bozos did.
2013-10-22_10-35-11_340.jpg
fsffsdfsfffdfjj
Dont think this rod is going to work. This is on a school that is only a few years old.

2013-10-22_10-27-35_375.jpg


Same project. Multiple locations where 120 pounds of ballast weight is concentrated on top of the aluminum lighting protection cable. Wonder how long that rubber membrane is going to last?

There is a lot of hacks out there installing crap work. We need to stop them before someone is seriously injured or killed.
Click to expand...



Good photos of some bad work. Thank you! We'll do much better than than.

Interesting situation: By placing a "plane" of modules on a roof, adjacent to existing Lighting Protection Air terminals, we essentially reduce the height of those terminals above the "plane" of the roof. The rods still extend above the modules, but not with the height that they formally extended above the roof. I believe the terminals might need to be raised.
 
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SolarPro

Senior Member
Location
Austin, TX
Couple different issues here. On the one hand, ballasted anchoring isn't an ideal way to install a PV array over a mechanically attached roofing membrane in general. The billowing that occurs in the membrane will stretch the membrane and compromise its integrity over time. And you certainly don't want to install ballast pans on top of a lightning bonding cable or similar on top of a roofing membrane.

On the other hand, it's usually very easy to modify an existing or install a new lightning protection system that accommodates a building with a roof-mounted PV system?provided the solar contractor coordinates with the lightning protection contractor.
 
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