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Using the power of the

sun

Energy needs are steadily rising throughout the world. How-
ever, reserves of fossil fuels are on the wane and the oil and
gas production is becoming more and more complex. What
alternatives are there? Energy turnaround leads the way:
The future belongs to renewable energies.

In the future, wind, water, biomass and of course the sun
will ensure that the lights do not go out in industrial plants
and private households.

Photovoltaics (PV) are on the rise and a key pillar of the
globally growing electricity supply from renewable energies.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that the
share of renewable energies in power generation worldwi-
de will be between 12% and 23% in 2035. In particular
power generation in PV power plants will experience very
rapid growth.

The number of photovoltaic systems – both roof-mounted
systems and ground-mounted systems such as solar parks –
will continue to grow in the long term. This development in-
volves large-scale changes of electrical equipment. Every PV
system installed must be maintained to ensure continuous
yield. To prevent failure and increase the service life of the
inverter, reliable lightning and surge protection is required.
The selection and arrangement of lightning and surge pro-
tection measures is based on the lightning protection zones
concept according to IEC/EN 62305. This standard defines
protection zones in which different coordinated protective
devices are installed. External lightning protection systems
are installed as result of a risk analysis according to IEC/EN
62305-2 or the state building code. A lightning protection
system provides optimal protection due to the interaction of

• External lightning protection including air-termination
system, down conductor, earth-termination system and
• Internal lightning protection including lightning
equipotential bonding, surge protection and separation
distance

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