Fronius USA has recently initiated a working group to define an open industry standard for NEC 2017 Rapid Shutdown communication. The standard is now established together with several industry leaders and the SunSpec Alliance.
Fronius believes that the best module-level rapid shutdown solutions are not single vendor solutions. Therefore, the string inverter manufacturer is driving industry standards and supporting industry innovation to drive down cost and allow customer choice. Fronius has been actively working with industry groups, many leading technology providers and module manufacturers so that customers have access to a variety of cost-effective, simple-to-install and holistic options.
The initiative by Fronius led to the SunSpec Communication Signal for Rapid Shutdown Workgroup. “As a founding member of the SunSpec Alliance, we are excited to play an active role in driving industry standards and would like to thank the SunSpec Alliance for taking over the initiative for an open Rapid Shutdown standard that will benefit customers and the whole solar industry,” explains Tristan Kreager, director of solar energy at Fronius USA.
The mission of this working group is to “define a simple, multi-vendor, multi-device (e.g. inverter, module, string combiner, etc.) communication interoperability specification to support both NEC 2014 and NEC 2017, and also UL 1741 module-level rapid shutdown requirements.” Fronius is convinced that this approach, based on industry standards and working with leading technology partners and module manufacturers, will provide customers with access to best in-class technology, aggressive price points and freedom of choice while driving innovation.
The specification of the standard is expected to be published in 2017.
News item from Fronius.