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SECTION 9 - GROUNDING SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM
There are a number of issues which should be considered when evaluating the grounding system for a photovoltaic (PV) installation. Unfortunately, there is often confusion on the part of installers due to the fact that there are sometimes conflicts between the installation instructions, industry practices and the Canadian Electrical Code. Compounding this problem is the fact that many PV products are designed to European specifications which do not necessarily equate with their associated standards in Canada. This shows up in the area of photovoltaic equipment grounding where the Europeans seem to see little need and the Canadian photovoltaic establishment has seen little in the way of consistent interpretation and enforcement.
There is a long-standing practice in the electrical trade, reinforced several places in the Canadian Electrical Code, which dictates that the equipment grounding conductor be the first conductor to be terminated on or make contact with an electrical device when connecting a circuit. The principal of “first-make, last break” for the grounding conductor is sacrosanct in the rest of the electrical world, but unfortunately the PV end of the industry has not often seen fit to observe and reinforce this time-honoured tradition. As a rule the established connection procedure for conductors is to first connect the grounding conductor, then the grounded circuit conductor, and finally the ungrounded circuit conductors.
Section 50 of the Canadian Electrical Code should be rigorously followed.
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