Lightning performance study for photovoltaic systems

Photovoltaic (PV) systems, due to their installation position, are exposed to lightning discharges, which can damage their equipment (PV modules, inverters, etc.), resulting malfunctions on the entire system, high repair costs and financial losses. The severity of the lightning consequences depends on the characteristics of the lightning current waveform, the geometry of the installation, the selection of the lightning protection system and the hit position. The steepness of the lightning current and the dimensions of the formed loop (i.e. line routing, length of circuit, distance between protective earth conductors and active wires) determine the level of the induced overvoltage. For this reason, large surface loops must be avoided, by designing appropriately the configuration of the…