SUN - UL 1699B, Photovoltaic (PV) DC Arc-Fault Circuit Protection
Effective September 5, 2016
Standard Information
Standard Number:
UL 1699B
Standard Name:
Photovoltaic (PV) DC Arc-Fault Circuit Protection
Standard Edition and Issue Date:
2nd Outline Edition Dated January 14, 2013
Date of Previous Revisions to Standard:
1st Outline Edition Dated April 29, 2011
Effective Date of New/Revised Requirements
Effective Date: September 5, 2016
Impact, Overview, Fees and Action Required
Impact Statement: A review of all Listing Reports is necessary to determine which products comply with new/revised requirements and which products will require re-evaluation. NOTE: Effective immediately, this revised standard will be exclusively used for evaluation of new products unless the Applicant requests in writing that current requirements be used along with their understanding that their listings will be withdrawn on Effective Date noted above, unless the product is found to comply with new/revised requirements.
Overview of Changes: UL 1699B 2nd outline was issued to incorporate new construction requirements to Part 1 – All Devices, new construction and performance to Part 2 - PV AFCI, PV AFD, and PV ID Devices, and new construction and performance to Part 3 – Inverters, Converters, and Charge Controllers with Integral Photovoltaic DC Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter Protection. Specific details of new/revised requirements are found in table below.
Client Action Required:
Information – To assist our Engineer with review of your Listing Reports, please submit technical information in response to the new/revised paragraphs noted in the attached or explain why these new/revised requirements do not apply to your product (s).
Current Listings Not Active? – Please immediately identify any current Listing Reports or products that are no longer active and should be removed from our records. We will do this at no charge as long as Intertek is notified in writing prior to the review of your reports.
Description of New/Revised Technical Requirements
| Clause | Verdict | Comment | NC# |
|---|---|---|---|
| -- | Info | PART 1 - ALL DEVICES | |
| -- | Info | CONSTRUCTION | |
| 6 | New section added; General | ||
| 6.1 | All devices shall comply with the construction requirements in Sections 6 - 14 of this Outline. | ||
| 7 | New section added; Corrosion Protection | ||
| 7.1 | Parts, in addition to enclosures, shall be protected against corrosion if failure of such parts would be likely to result in a hazardous condition such as the inability of the device to perform its intended function. Compliance is determined by the Corrosion Test of Section 35 | ||
| 8 | New section added; Internal Wiring | ||
| 8.1 | The gauge and insulation of wires shall withstand the mechanical and electrical stresses of service. Wires smaller than 24 AWG (0.21 mm2) shall be investigated for the application. | ||
| 9 | New section added; Insulation | ||
| 9.1 | A device shall have at least functional insulation throughout. Materials shall be suitable for the temperature, voltage and conditions of service. | ||
| 12 | New section added; Operating Mechanism | ||
| 12.1 | Compliance with the provisions of arcing fault interruption shall not be prevented by manipulation or restraint of accessible levers, knobs, and the like of a device. | ||
| 12.2 | A device that has tripped in accordance with the provisions of arcing fault interruption shall not be capable of automatic reclosure. | ||
| 13 | New section added; Programmable Circuit Components | ||
| 13.1 | If a device employs a programmable circuit component such as a microprocessor in its arc fault detection or interruption system, or in its test circuit, that portion of the device shall be investigated in accordance with the Standard for Software in Programmable Components, UL 1998, as defined in 13.2 - 13.9. | ||
| 13.2 | All of the requirements of the Standard for Software in Programmable Components, UL 1998, apply to microprocessors employed in a device as mentioned in 13.1, except as modified by 13.3 - 13.9. | ||
| 13.3 | The risks to be considered for the Risk Analysis portion of UL 1998 include the following scenarios: a) Unwanted tripping; b) Failure to trip under conditions where tripping should occur; and c) Failure of test circuit to complete evaluation. | ||
| 13.4 | The Tool Qualification requirements from UL 1998 are modified in 13.5 and 13.6. | ||
| 13.5 | All tools used in the design, implementation, and verification of software shall be documented. The documentation shall include: a) The name of the tool supplier or developer; b) The model, application, or trade name of the tool; c) The tool version identification; d) A description of the purpose for which the tool is used; and e) A list of known errors, faults or failures of the tool performance, such as a "bug list". | ||
| 13.6 | Software tools are defined as software or hardware used in the development, testing, analysis, or maintenance of a program or its documentation. Examples include compilers, assemblers, timing analyzers, logic analyzers, test case generators, simulators, emulators, and similar tools. | ||
| 13.7 | Means shall be employed to address all microelectronic hardware failure modes identified in the Risk Analysis of 13.3. The analysis shall consider all possible combinations of microelectronic hardware failures, software faults, and other events that are capable of resulting in a risk. This includes, for example, microelectronic hardware failures that cause software faults that are capable of resulting in a risk. Detection of failure modes shall be at a frequency and adequacy suitable for the application. | ||
| 13.8 | One approach to comply with 13.7 is for the manufacturer to: a) Identify failure modes; b) Determine safety impact of failure modes; c) Design and provide means to detect the failure modes that have an impact on safety; d) Demonstrate that coverage provided by detection means is at a frequency and effective level suitable for the application; and e) Provide evidence that the failure rate of microelectronic components is suitable for the application. | ||
| 13.9 | The requirements in UL 1998 addressing user interfaces do not apply. | ||
| -- | Info | PART 2 - PV AFCI, PV AFD, and PV ID DEVICES | |
| Info | CONSTRUCTION | ||
| 16 | New section added; Accessibility of Energized Parts | ||
| 16.1 | Parts of a PV AFCI, PV AFD, or PV ID shall not be accessible when they are installed as intended and energized. | ||
| 16.2 | Parts are considered to be accessible if they can be touched using the articulated probe. See Figure16.1. | ||
| 16.3 | Access to the trip mechanism shall not be attainable with ordinary tools. | ||
| 17 | New section added; Current Carrying Parts | ||
| 17.1 | Current-carrying parts shall be of silver, a silver alloy, copper, a copper alloy or other metal acceptable for the application. Screws, nuts, or wire binding screws made of iron or steel and corrosion protected, shall be permitted to be used to secure live parts, but shall not be depended upon to carry current. | ||
| -- | Info | PERFORMANCE | |
| 25 | New section added; Voltage Surge Test | ||
| 25.1 | Devices deriving their power from a commercial light or power source shall be subjected to the Voltage Surge Test, Section 38 of the Standard for Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupters, UL 1699. The surges shall be applied to the AC input of the device. | ||
| 25.2 | In addition to the test of 25.1, devices deriving their power from a commercial light or power source shall also be subjected to the test of Section 25.3 of this Outline with the surges applied to the PV DC input of the device. | ||
| 25.3 | Except as indicated in 25.4 - 25.9, devices deriving their power from a photovoltaic DC source shall be subjected to the Voltage Surge Test, Section 38 of the Standard for Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupters, UL 1699. | ||
| 25.4 | All surges shall be applied to the PV DC input of the device, with no PV DC power applied. | ||
| 25.5 | If the device employs a contactor or other air gap device in its DC supply circuitry, it shall be placed in the "on" position or bypassed prior to the application of the surges. | ||
| 25.6 | For the Ring Wave Test of Section 38.2 of UL 1699, three random applications of the 3 KV surge are to be applied at 60 Second Intervals. | ||
| 25.7 | Following the application of the Ring Wave surges, functionality of the device shall be verified by connecting it to an appropriate power source and actuating the supervisory circuit. | ||
| 25.8 | For the Surge Immunity (Combination Wave) test of Section 38.3 of UL 1699, five impulses shall be applied in the positive direction and five impulses shall be applied in the negative direction for a total of 10 impulses at each application point. | ||
| 25.9 | Following the application of the Surge Immunity (Combination Wave) surges, functionality of the device shall be verified by connecting it to an appropriate power source and actuating the supervisory circuit. | ||
| -- | Info | PART 3 – INVERTERS, CONVERTERS, AND CHARGE CONTROLLERS WITH INTEGRAL PHOTOVOLTAIC DC ARC-FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER PROTECTION | |
| -- | Info | CONSTRUCTION | |
| 40 | New section added; General | ||
| 40.1 | Inverters, converters, and charge controllers with integral photovoltaic dc arc-fault circuit interrupter protection shall comply with the construction requirements of the Standard for Inverters, Converters, Controllers and Interconnection System Equipment for Use With Distributed Energy Resources, UL 1741. In addition, they shall also comply with Sections 6 – 14 of Part 1 and Sections 41 – 43 of this Outline. | ||
| 41 | New section added; Alternate Spacings – Clearances and Creepage Distances | ||
| 41.1 | When applying the requirements of Section 25 of the Standard for Inverters, Converters, Controllers and Interconnection System Equipment for Use With Distributed Energy Resources, UL 1741, pollution degree 2 also applies to a printed wiring board assembly when the printed wiring board is contained in a sealed housing that complies with the Dust Test, Section 57 of the Standard for Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupters, UL 1699. | ||
| -- | Info | PERFORMANCE | |
| 44 | New section added; General | ||
| 44.1 | Inverters, converters, and charge controllers with integral photovoltaic dc arc-fault circuit interrupter protection shall comply with the performance requirements of the Standard for Inverters, Converters, Controllers and Interconnection System Equipment for Use With Distributed Energy Resources, UL 1741. | ||
| 44.2 | Inverters, converters and charge controllers with integral photovoltaic dc arc-fault circuit interrupter protection also shall comply with the applicable performance requirements of Part 2 of this Outline as modified or supplemented by the requirements of Sections 44 - 49. See Table 44.1. | ||
| 44.3 | When conducting tests in accordance with this Part, tests applicable to each intended power supply type as mentioned in 11.1 shall be conducted. | ||
| 46 | New section added; Voltage Surge Test | ||
| 46.1 | Devices deriving their power from a photovoltaic DC source and intended for use in stand-alone (not grid-connected) power systems shall be subjected to the test of Section 25.3 of this Outline with the surges applied to the PV DC input of the device. | ||
| 46.2 | Devices deriving their power from a commercial light or power source and utility-interactive equipment shall be subjected to the surge tests described in the Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources With Electric Power Systems, IEEE 1547. The surges shall be applied to the AC input of the device. | ||
| 46.3 | In addition to the test of 46.2, devices deriving their power from a commercial light or power source and utility-interactive equipment shall also be subjected to the test of Section 25.3 of this Outline with the surges applied to the PV DC input of the device. |
CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: This Table and column "Verdict" can be used in determining how your current or future production is or will be in compliance with new/revised requirements.