SAFETY, INSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL
AVANCIS POWERMAX
®
PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES
15
©2016 | AVANCIS GmbH | Solarstrasse 3 | 04860 Torgau | Germany | [email protected] | www.avancis.de | May 2016
Grounding of PowerMax
®
Back Rails
Even when applicable regulations, code
requirements and standards do not re-
quire safety-related grounding, AVANCIS
strongly recommends grounding of
Power Max
®
module back rails in order to
ensure voltage between back rails and
ground is zero volts under all circum -
stances. This will increase the safety of
the PV system in case of malfunctions and
protect the system from induced over-
voltage. For safety-related grounding of
the Power Max
®
module back rails, the
back rails are provided with grounding
holes (marked with grounding signs).
These holes should be used for grounding
purposes only and in accordance with the
local regulations, code requirements and
standards. If permitted, AVANCIS recom-
mends for grounding to use the ground-
ing holes (diameter 0.42 cm/0.17 inches)
in combination with a M4 screw, nut and
two lock washers (see the example).
Please note: only materials should be
used which do not cause corrosion. Make
sure that the grounding screws do not
touch any cable. Other means and meth-
ods for grounding are permissable as long
as they meet the applicable regulations,
code requirements and standards.
Mounting
• PowerMax
®
modules must be mounted
with 4 SMART clamps that can be ob-
tained from AVANCIS. The clamps are
to be mounted on the mounting lips of
the rear side of the back rails, with one
clamp holding 2 PowerMax
®
modules
(except the modules at the end of each
row). All other parts (such as screws,
bolts, …) are supplied by the customer.
The screws must be approved for the
long-lasting use in PV systems. The
SMART clamps shall be fastened with a
torque of 20 Nm.
• In order to install a second module, make
sure that the clamps are placed over the
mounting lip of the first module and
slide the second module towards the
first module. The mounting lip of the
second module will automatically lift
the clamp and the clamp will go down
after the mounting lip of this module is
also under the clamp. Finally, fasten the
clamp once the second module has
been positioned correctly.
• The glass edges of the two modules
must not touch during installation as
this can result in the glass breaking.
• The mounting structure must be paral-
lel to the short side of the module and
therefore perpendicular to the back
rails. Other orientations of the mount-
ing structure are not permitted.
• SMART clamps can be fastened to the
whole available region of each of the
four mounting lips while maintaining a
mechanical contact for the complete
length of the clamps. The optimal posi-
tion of the SMART clamps is located in
the middle of the clamping regions.
Screw
Nut
Lock washer
Back rail
Lock washer
Grounding cable
Example of module grounding
