(Frankfurt a. M., 07.05.2024) The VDE has now published a second draft of the world's first product standard for balcony power plants. All interested parties and private individuals now have another opportunity to actively help shape the product standard and submit their comments within the next two months.
The second draft provides for the maximum feed-in power to be increased from 600 VA to 800 VA. The responsible standardization committee also agreed on several protective measures to enable mini-PV-systems to be connected to a conventional household plug. To this end, basic protection and electrical safety must be guaranteed either mechanically or electromechanically. On the one hand, the plug head can have a mechanical separation to ensure that people cannot touch an active conductor. On the other hand, basic protection can also be realized via galvanic isolation in the inverter. The inverter must meet additional requirements for this.
Harmonizing safety and protection as well as consumer interests
"Public interest is enormous. The topic of the permissible plug connection and the power limit is being discussed particularly intensively. Of course, we want to make things easy for users, but the technical expertise of electrical safety experts must also be taken seriously," says Alexander Nollau, Head of the Energy Department at DKE, the standardization organization of the VDE.
Everyone involved agrees on the great importance of basic protection, contact protection and electrical safety for balcony power plants. The first draft of the product standard was publicly discussed in December 2023. The standardization committee had to review and evaluate over 750 comments. As no final consensus could be reached on the key issues – increasing the maximum power limit and the simplified grid connection – the second draft, which has now been published, was necessary.
The new draft can be commented in the DKE draft standards portal at VDE Verlag. The objection period ends on 03.07.2024.
