As the global energy landscape evolves towards cleaner sources, solar energy has emerged as a fundamental element in the realm of sustainable power, effortlessly blending into the worldwide energy portfolio. YRO's module level rapid shutdown technology, recently certified under UL 3741, represents a significant achievement for Yueqing Yirui Electric Co., Ltd. This certification not only underscores the inventive characteristics of YRO's offerings but also sets a foundation for more secure and reliable solar installations.

What is the UL 3741 certification?

The UL 3741 certification, namely the Photovoltaic Hazard Control Safety Standard Certification, is an important certification standard released by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) in December 2020. This standard specifies the safety procedures and principles, used to evaluate and confirm the compliance of rapid shutdown of photovoltaic arrays. Its core purpose is to protect firefighters from the risk of electric shock, when dealing with emergencies in homes and buildings with solar cell arrays.

UL 3741 requires that photovoltaic systems can enter a controllable state in case of emergencies, ensuring that within 30 seconds after the RSD is initiated, the alternating current (AC) voltage of any circuit within the array boundary is limited to a range, not exceeding 15 volts alternating current (Vac), 8 amperes (A), and 240 volt amperes (VA).

What is the importance of the UL 3741 certification in solar products?

1. Ensuring the Safety of Personnel's Lives

During the application of solar energy systems, solar panels generate high voltages while operating. Especially in emergency situations, such as fires, these high voltages can pose a serious risk of electric shock to rescuers and others. Moreover, some older or non compliant photovoltaic systems, may not be able to cut off the high voltage on the DC side in a timely manner, which exposes firefighters to great potential risks during firefighting operations.

According to the report of the "Fire Safety and Photovoltaic Panels on Building Roofs Workshop", it is estimated that 29 fires occur per year for every 1 GW of installed photovoltaics. However, it is difficult to obtain the actual total number of fires, because many jurisdictions do not include information related to photovoltaic power generation when counting losses, and small scale accidents are not reported. It can be imagined that the actual fire data should be higher. The report also points out that the key factors for limiting losses include high quality photovoltaics, OM (operation and maintenance) routines, high quality roofing, and cooperation with the fire department. Solar products certified by UL 3741, such as YRO's module level rapid shutdown device, can quickly cut off the voltage in a crisis, reducing the probability of electric shock accidents and ensuring the safety of personnel's lives to the greatest extent.

2. Industry Standards and Market Trust

With the continuous development of the solar energy industry, governments around the world are paying more attention to, and strengthening the supervision of the safety of solar energy systems. Many countries, such as the United States, some European countries, and some Asian countries, have introduced relevant regulations, requiring that solar energy systems must have the function of module level RSD in case of emergencies. Solar products that have obtained the UL 3741 certification meet strict safety standards, which is a significant advantage for enterprises in market competition. These products are more likely to be recognized and purchased for government projects. Also, when facing numerous products, consumers can choose them with more confidence, which promotes the standardized and healthy development of the market.

3. Technological Innovation and Development

In order to meet the strict requirements of relevant standards, solar energy enterprises are constantly increasing their investment in research and development to improve the safety performance of their products. This has led to the continuous introduction of new advanced technologies and solutions within the industry. For example, in the field of module level rapid shutdown technology, enterprises are constantly optimizing the design to improve the speed and efficiency of shutdown. At the same time, they also pay attention to the collaborative work with other related equipment, to enhance the safety performance of the entire photovoltaic system.

Conclusion

YRO's module level rapid shutdown obtaining the UL 3741 certification means that it has reached the international advanced level in terms of safety performance and compliance, providing a strong guarantee for the development and promotion of the solar energy industry.