Eaton Enhances Safety, Improves Reliability of Large-Scale Solar Applications

13 September 2012

New Eaton Direct Current Disconnects First to Provide Control and Protection for Normal and Reverse Current Faults

 

PITTSBURGH Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation expanded its solar disconnect solutions for commercial and utility PV solar applications. With its new Eaton bi-directional disconnect switches, Eaton is the first in the industry to offer a product that can switch one circuit per pole and remove polarity limitations. The new disconnect switches incorporate the latest switching technology to enhance operator safety, extend equipment life and reduce installation costs in both grounded and ungrounded systems.

"Part of Eaton's balance of system solutions, these new safety switches incorporate the latest advances in DC switching technology and are engineered to break potentially dangerous, high-energy DC arcs regardless of current flow direction," said Brendan Foley, product line manager at Eaton.

“Part of Eaton’s balance of system solutions, these new safety switches incorporate the latest advances in DC switching technology and are engineered to break potentially dangerous, high-energy DC arcs regardless of current flow direction,” said Brendan Foley, product line manager at Eaton.

The new safety switches are available at 30, 60 and 100 amperes and have either 600 volts (V) direct current (DC) or 1000 V DC configurations, and meet Underwriters Laboratories® (UL) rigorous 98B standard.  These new switches are available for either grounded or ungrounded PV Systems, and are capable of breaking up to six circuits with one switch.  Switches for grounded systems include individual, isolated terminals for landing the grounded conductors.