- PV Modules:-Standard Modules:-

Modules must comply with the international standards: IEC 61215 in the case of
crystalline types, or IEC 61646 in the case of thin film types.
Modules must also carry a CE mark.
The use of Class II modules is generally recommended, and strongly recommended for array open-circuit
voltages of greater than 120 V.

Building integrated products/modules

These products should comply with IEC module requirements as above. If no specific ‘IEC
Certificate’ is available (eg for a one-off, bespoke product) a statement and evidence from the
manufacturer is required to prove general compliance.
In addition, for ‘integrated products’ where the PV forms part of the building envelope (eg PV roof
tiles), proof of compliance with relevant Building Regulations may be required by the local Building
Control Inspector, eg compliance with:
● Fire resistance standards (eg BS 476- part 3)
● Relevant wind uplift and weatherproofing standards (eg BS 6399, BS 5534, BRE Digest 489).
In future it is expected that all PV products will increasingly be covered by International standard
IEC61730: 2004 ‘Photovoltaic (PV) module safety qualification’.
Note: IEC61730 Part 2 – ‘Requirements for testing’ describes the testing requirements for
photovoltaic modules in order to provide safe electrical and mechanical operation during their
expected lifetime. It addresses the prevention of electrical shock, fire hazards, and personal injury
due to mechanical and environmental stresses. It outlines the requirements of testing and is to be used
in conjunction with IEC 61215 or IEC 61646.
D.C. System – minimum voltage and current ratings
All d.c. component ratings (cables, isolators/disconnectors, switches, connectors, etc) of the system
must be derived from the maximum voltage and current of the PV array. This must take into account
system voltage/currents of the series/parallel connected modules making up the array. It must also
take into account the maximum output of the individual modules:
Mono- and multi-crystalline silicon modules :
All d.c. components must be rated, as a minimum, at:
Voltage: Voc(stc), Isc(stc) I x 1.15
Current: I sc(stc) x 1.25
Note: When considering the voltage and current requirements of the d.c. system, the maximum values
that could occur need to be assessed. The maximum values originate from two PV module ratings –
the open-circuit voltage (Voc) and the short-circuit current (Isc) which are obtained from the module
manufacturer. The values of Voc and Isc provided by the module manufacturer are those at standard
test conditions (stc) – irradiance of 1000 W/m2, air mass 1.5 and cell temperature of 25°C. Operation
of a module outside of standard test conditions can considerably affect the values of Voc(stc), Isc(stc).
In the field, irradiance and particularly temperature can vary considerably from stc values. The
above multiplication factors allow for the maximum values that may be experienced under UK
conditions.

All other module types

All d.c. components must be rated, as a minimum, from:
a. Specific calculations of worst case Voc and Isc, calculated from manufacturer’s data
for a temperature range of -15°C to 80°C and irradiance up to 1250 W/m2
b. A calculation of any increase in Voc or Isc over the initial period of operation. This
increase is to be applied in addition to that calculated above.
Note: Some types of PV modules have temperature coefficients considerably different to those of
standard mono- and multi-crystalline modules. The effects of increased irradiance may also be more
pronounced. In such cases the multiplication factors used for crystalline silicon modules may not
cover the possible increase in voltage/current.
In addition, some modules have an electrical output that is considerably higher during the first weeks
of operation. This increase is on top of that produced by temperature/irradiance variation. Typically,
operation during this period will take Voc, Isc (and nominal power output) well above any value
calculated using a standard multiplication factor. To avoid oversizing for this eventuality the array
could be left disconnected for that initial period.
- Cable sizing
Cables must be rated, as a minimum, to the voltage and current ratings derived
using the multiplication factors.
Standard de-rating factors must also be applied (BS 7671).

Cables should be sized such that overall voltage drop at stc between the array and the
inverter is <3%.
- Design Part 2 – Earthing and Lightning Protection
Connection of parts of a PV system to earth affects:
● The electric shock risk to people in the vicinity of the installation
● The risk of fire under fault conditions
● Transmission of lightning induced surges
● Electromagnetic interference
Two types of connection to earth need consideration:
a) Earthing of exposed conductive parts (eg. the array frame)
b) System earths – where an array output cable is connected to earth
The earthing arrangements recommended in this guide are based upon those given in BS 7430, BS
6651 and BS 7671.
- Applicable Standards
Prior to the connection to the grid, the Developer/ Applicant is responsible to ensure that all solar
plant components (separately and in combination) are compliance with this grid code, as per relevant
international standards in Annex-II. The installation and performance of the power plant key
components and functions shall be tested and verified, as required in the connection agreement.
The initial testing results shall be presented with verification of reputable independent engineering
companies, demonstrating the compliance of the solar plant with internationally recognized standards
as following:
For PV:
a) IEC 62446: Grid connected photovoltaic systems - Minimum requirements for system
documentation, commissioning tests and inspection.
b) IEC 61724: Photovoltaic system performance monitoring – Guidelines for measurement, data
exchange and analysis
c) IEC 62305-3: Protection against lightning, part 3 physical damage and life hazards in structures.
For CSP:
a) EN 12975: Thermal solar systems and components – Solar collectors - Part 2: Test methods
b) NREL/SR-5500-48895: Utility-Scale Parabolic Trough Solar Systems: Performance Acceptance
Test Guidelines
c) NREL/SR-5500-57272: Utility-Scale Power Tower Solar Systems: Performance Acceptance Test
Guidelines.
d) UNE 206010: Tests for verifying the performance of solar thermal power plants with cylindrical
parabolic trough collector technology.
e) ASTM E905: Standard Test Method for Determining Thermal Performance of Tracking
Concentrating Solar Collectors. - Latest version of applicable standard for any other technology used
(Dish, Compact linear Fresnel reflector,…) to be applied. - All the other tests for such turbines are
already covered in the Grid Code
- List of Minimum Initial Tests
The initial tests shall include but not limited to the followings:
a) Inverter testing according to IEC 61683, IEC 62109-1/2, IEC 62116
b) Switch gear and circuit breaker testing according to IEC 62271
c) Earthing arrangements according to IEC 60364-5-54
d) Open-Circuit Voltage (Voc) Test;
e) Short Circuit current (Isc) Test;
f) Communication testing (as per selected communication for within the solar plant and via
simulation to remote interfaces).
g) In the case of LSSP: monitoring and control system functional testing and for MSSP (when
applicable).
h) Performance verifications, according to best practice standards and guidelines (as mentioned
above for PV and CSP).
IEEE Society
IEEE, an organization dedicated to advancing innovation and technological excellence for the
benefit of humanity, is the world's largest technical professional society. It is designed to serve
professionals involved in all aspects of the electrical, electronic, and computing fields and related
areas of science and technology that underlie modern civilization.

IEEE's roots go back to 1884 when electricity began to become a major influence in society.
There was one major established electrical industry, the telegraph, which since the 1840s had
come to connect the world with a data communications system faster than the speed of
transportation. The telephone and electric power and light industries had just gotten underway.

Meaning of I-E-E-E

IEEE, pronounced "Eye-triple-E," stands for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
The organization is chartered under this name and it is the full legal name.

However, as the world's largest technical professional organization, IEEE's membership has long
been composed of engineers, scientists, and allied professionals. These include computer
scientists, software developers, information technology professionals, physicists, medical doctors,
and many others in addition to IEEE's electrical and electronics engineering core. For this reason
the organization no longer goes by the full name, except on legal business documents, and is
referred to simply as IEEE.

Foundation of the AIEE

In the spring of 1884, a small group of individuals in the electrical professions met in New
York, USA. They formed a new organization to support professionals in their nascent field
and to aid them in their efforts to apply innovation for the betterment of humanity—the
American Institute of Electrical Engineers, or AIEE for short. That October, the AIEE held
its first technical meeting in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Many early leaders, such as founding
President Norvin Green of Western Union, came from telegraphy.

Others, such as Thomas Edison, came from power, while Alexander Graham Bell represented
the telephone industry. Electric power spread rapidly, enhanced by innovations such as AC
induction motors, long-distance AC transmission, and larger power plants. Companies such
as AEG, General Electric, Siemens & Halske, and Westinghouse underwrote its
commercialization. The AIEE became increasingly focused on electrical power and its ability
to change people’s lives through the unprecedented products and services it could deliver.
There was a secondary focus on wired communication, both the telegraph and the telephone.
Through technical meetings, publications, and promotion of standards, the AIEE led the
growth of the electrical engineering profession, while through local sections and Student
Branches, it brought its benefits to engineers in widespread places.

Foundation of the IRE

A new industry arose, beginning with Guglielmo Marconi’s wireless telegraphy experiments
in 1895-1896. What was originally called “wireless” telegraphy became radio with the
electrical amplification possibilities inherent in the vacuum tubes that evolved from John
Fleming’s diode and Lee de Forest’s triode. With the new industry came a new society in
1912, the Institute of Radio Engineers.

The IRE was modeled on the AIEE but was devoted to radio, and then broadly to electronics.
It also furthered its profession by linking members through publications, standards, and
conferences and encouraging them to organize local sections and meetings to exchange
information and ideas.

The societies converge and merge

Through the help of leadership from the two societies, and with the applications of its
members' innovations to industry, electricity wove its way more deeply into every corner of
life, through television, radar, transistors, and computers. Increasingly, the interests of the
societies overlapped.

Membership in both societies grew, but beginning in the 1940s, the IRE grew faster and in
1957 became the larger group. On 1 January 1963, the AIEE and the IRE merged to form the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE. At its formation, IEEE had
150,000 members, 140,000 of whom resided in the United States.

Growth and globalization

Over the decades that followed, the social roles of the technologies under IEEE’s aegis continued
to spread across the world and reach into more and more areas of people's lives. The professional
groups and technical boards of the predecessor institutions evolved into IEEE Societies. By the
early 21st century, IEEE served its members and their interests with 39 Societies; 130 journals,
transactions, and magazines; more than 300 conferences annually; and 900 active standards.

Since that time, computers evolved from massive mainframes to desktop appliances to portable
devices, linked to global networks connected by copper wire, microwaves, satellites, or fiber
optics. IEEE’s fields of interest expanded well beyond electrical and electronics engineering and
computing into areas such as micro- and nanotechnologies, ultrasonics, bioengineering, robotics,
electronic materials, and many others. Electronics became ubiquitous, integrated in everything
from jet cockpits to industrial robots to medical imaging.

As technologies and the industries that developed them increasingly transcended national
boundaries, IEEE has kept pace. It is now a global institution that uses the innovations of the
practitioners it represents to enhance IEEE’s excellence in delivering products and services to
members, industries, and the public at large. Publications and educational programs are delivered
online, as are member services such as renewal and elections. By 2020, IEEE comprised over
395,000 members in 160 countries. Through its global network of geographical units,
publications, web services, and conferences, IEEE remains the world's largest technical
professional organization.
Reference:-
● Technical Requirements for Connecting Small Scale PV (ssPV) Systems to Low Voltage
Distribution Networks, Jan 2014 – EgyptERA.
● IEEE Std 519-2014. IEEE Recommended Practices and Requirements for Harmonic Control in
Electrical Power Systems.
● IEC/TR 61000-3-7 ed2.0. Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) - Part 3-7: Limits - Assessment of
emission limits for the connection of fluctuating installations to MV, HV and EHV power systems.
● Egyptian Transmission Grid Code (Final sections 1 to 10).
● Photovoltaic in Buildings Guide to the installation of PV systems
● BS 7671: 2001 ‘Requirements for Electrical Installations, IEE Wiring Regulations’, Sixteenth
Edition (incorporating Amendments), ISBN: 0 86341 373 0, www.iee.org/publish/books/WireAssoc
● IEE Guidance Note 7 - Special Locations, (2nd Edition), ISBN 0 85296 995 3,
www.iee.org/publish/books/WireAssoc
Note: IEE Guidance Note 7 - Special Locations, Chapter 12 covers ‘Solar photovoltaic (PV) power
supply systems’ as a ‘special location’ as defined in IEE Regs. The guidance is based on IEC 60364-
7-712: ‘Requirements for special installations or locations – Solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems’.
● Part P (Electrical safety) - Building Regulations, www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1130906 Note:
From 1st January 2005, people undertaking electrical work in homes and gardens in England and
Wales have had to follow new rules in Building Regulations. Virtually all domestic PV installations
will fall under the scope of Part P. There are two routes to comply with the requirements of Part P:
• Notify the relevant Building Control department before starting the work • The contractor registers
under a Competent Person Scheme (as approved by the office of the deputy prime minister)
Note: An electronic version of the form is available at the Local Authority Building Control (LABC)
website www.link2content.co.uk/uploads/buildingnotice%202005%20unprotected (1).doc, and it can
be submitted using their ‘Submit-a-Plan’ scheme www.labc-services.co.uk/buildingregs/default.asp.
● Engineering Recommendation G83/1: Sept 2003, ‘Recommendations for the connection of Small-
scale Embedded Generators (up to 16A per phase) in parallel with Public Low-Voltage Distribution
Networks’, (Energy Networks Association, 2003), www.energynetworks.org/dg01.asp
Note: This simplified connection route applies to ‘type tested’ inverters for systems up to about 5kVA
per phase (see sect 2.4.1). Prior-notification of the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) is not
required for ‘single’ installations, but is required for ‘multiple’ single phase installations. It refers to
the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations (ESQCR), 2002. Draft prEN 50438
‘Requirements for the connection of micro-cogenerators in parallel with public low-voltage
distribution networks’ is a European version, which once issued, will also cover systems up to 16A..
● Engineering Recommendation G59/1, ‘Recommendations for the connection of Embedded
Generating Plant to the Regional Electricity Companies’ Distribution Systems’, (Electricity
Association, 1991), www.energynetworks.org/dg01.asp
Note: This is the Electricity Industry Recommendation for connection of generators. It is applicable if
the inverter is not covered under G83/1.
● IEC 61215 Building Control Approval ‘Crystalline silicon terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules –
Design qualification and type approval’, www.iec.ch
Note: This is the International standard for crystalline PV. It specifies requirements for the design
qualification and type approval of terrestrial photovoltaic modules suitable for long-term operation in
general open-air climates, as defined in IEC 60721-2-1. It