Firefighter Safety for PV Systems: A Solution for the Protection of Emergency Responders from Hazardous dc Voltage

An important and highly discussed safety issue for photovoltaic (PV) systems is that as long as the PV panels are illuminated, a high voltage is present at the PV string terminals and cables between the string and inverters that is independent of the state of the inverter's dc disconnection switch. The presence of these energized conductors on the dc side of the PV system can pose a danger to anyone performing maintenance or firefighting.