GARD – Installation, Operation and Maintenance Manual
A l e n c o n S y s t e m s L L C - P a g e
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Table of Contents
1
General Information ................................................................................................................ 4
1.1
Purpose .......................................................................................................................... 4
1.2
Glossary .......................................................................................................................... 4
1.3
Product Warranty ............................................................................................................ 5
1.4
Technical Support and Assistance .................................................................................. 6
1.5
Warnings, Cautions and Notes ....................................................................................... 6
1.6
Packing List .................................................................................................................... 7
1.7
Ordering Information ....................................................................................................... 7
2
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS ................................................................................ 8
3
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 10
3.1
PV Safety ...................................................................................................................... 10
3.2
Grounding ..................................................................................................................... 10
3.3
Arc Faults ...................................................................................................................... 11
3.4
Serial arcing .................................................................................................................. 11
3.5
Parallel arcing ............................................................................................................... 11
4
Detect and Isolate Ground and Arc Faults in Your PV Array ................................................ 12
4.1
The Ground & Arc Rapid Disconnect Unit (GARD) ....................................................... 12
4.2
Unique Features & Benefits of the Alencon GARD ....................................................... 12
4.3
GARD Specifications .................................................................................................... 13
4.4
GARD Functionality and Operation ............................................................................... 14
Functionality .............................................................................................................. 14
Instructions when Ground Fault is Detected .............................................................. 14
Instructions when ARC Fault is Detected .................................................................. 15
Principle of Operation ................................................................................................ 15
4.5
GARD Hardware ........................................................................................................... 18
5
Firmware............................................................................................................................... 19
5.1
GARD State Machine.................................................................................................... 19
6
Communication ..................................................................................................................... 21
7
GARD Installation ................................................................................................................. 21
7.1
Understanding GARD Hardware ................................................................................... 21
7.2
Communication Ports.................................................................................................... 22
7.3
GARD Mounting ............................................................................................................ 23
7.4
Cable Terminations ....................................................................................................... 24
GARD + SPOT .......................................................................................................... 25
External Fusing and Disconnects .............................................................................. 26
8
Interfacing with the GARD .................................................................................................... 27
8.1
Unit Power .................................................................................................................... 27
8.2
Control System ............................................................................................................. 27
9
Further information ............................................................................................................... 27
