Test facilities and safety regulations for rooftop mounted and grid-connected PV systems

In order to reach large scale implementation, a PV roof has to comply with building and electrical codes. In the Netherlands, two R&D activities are running in this field: a test facility for PV roofs and the development of protection and safety regulations for building integrated PV systems. In the test facility for PV roofs, the following aspects are considered: safety, durability, fire resistance, energy efficiency and building physics. Two PV roof integration systems have been tested, results indicating that the PV building quality of these systems can be guaranteed for more than 5 years. Concerning the electrical safety, a dedicated test installation has been realized by KEMA. In this test facility for electrical safety and protection, faults can be applied to examine the electrical system behaviour. The results of these measurements will lead to guidelines on how to design and protect a safe low-cost grid connected PV system.