ArcBox Solar Fire Safety Connector Enclosure
ArcBox is a simple, low-cost measure that increases the fire safety of solar PV panel installations. Snap an ArcBox around a DC solar connector to protect it from damage and, in the event of a failure, prevent the fire spreading from the connector to its surroundings.
Fire Risks in Solar PV
Solar PV systems have an excellent safety record compared to other electrical appliances that people don’t think twice about having in their own homes.
As the number of solar systems in operation increases, so too does the frequency of solar fires. An array of solar panels is often spread over large areas, which means that if a fire does start, it can cause considerable damage – either from the fire itself or from the firefighting measures needed to bring it under control.
Solar PV is increasingly being installed in high-consequence locations
- Building with vulnerable occupants including hospitals and care homes
- Schools and nurseries
- Factories with critical productions lines
- Warehouses containing valuable materials
- Buildings containing flammable or hazardous materials
- Ground arrays in areas of high wildfire risk
As awareness of the risks grows, asset owners and insurers are increasingly demanding additional fire protection measures are applied to solar installations.
Fire Risks from Installation Errors
Simple errors in installation that could cause an arc fault to develop include:
- Incomplete insertion that doesn’t engage the connector locking mechanism
- Poorly crimped joints
- Assembling electrodes while wet or leaving connectors where water can pool
- Cross-mating connectors from different manufacturers
How ArcBox Improves Solar DC Connector Fire Safety
The ArcBox solar fire safety enclosure simply snaps around a DC connector to ensure that if an arc ever occurs, it is safely contained and doesn’t spread to combustible materials in or around the solar installation. The effectiveness of the product has been independently verified by the KIWA fire test laboratory and Loughborough University.
ArcBox also reduces solar fire risks by protecting the connector from environmental damage (rain, sun, wind), the actions of rodents and birds and by providing strain relief to the cables.
Mitigating Fire Risk in Solar PV
Electric Arcing
Electric arcing is energetic and results in incredibly high temperatures; these can reach levels far in excess of the melting point of metals. Painstaking research by our research team has resulted in new manufacturing technologies. These advanced processes can form the complex shapes required for ArcBox from materials more commonly found in crucibles and furnaces and previously available only as simple bricks or blocks.
Patented Design
With its patented design, the two hinged halves of ArcBox snap together to completely enclose the DC connector within this high-temperature material. The connector is suspended within ArcBox in free air between cable sealing grommets at each end. Ventilation and drainage ports keep connectors within their operating temperature limits while carrying their rated current and prevent the accumulation of moisture around the connector.
Compatibility with DC Solar Connectors
The ArcBox fits DC solar connectors from a wide range of makes and models and is compatible with most cables from 4mm2 to 6mm2.
- DC connector maximum length 110 mm
- DC connector maximum diameter 20 mm
- Compatible cable outside diameter 5.4 - 6.4 mm
Operating Temperature
A key feature of ArcBox is that it allows for the free exchange of air with the outside environment.
During normal use, this ventilation means that connectors remain well below their operating temperature limits without any need to derate their current carrying capacity.
An independent study by the University of Loughborough CREST PV Measurement and Calibration Laboratory tested a wide range of DC connectors with ArcBox.
The study found that in all cases, the connectors remained within the manufacturers’ recommended temperature limits.
Where to Use ArcBox
ArcBox is in use across every solar PV sector – residential, commercial and utility scale, including ground mount systems, pitched and flat roof mounted and BIPV applications. And with easy installation in seconds per solar DC connector, incorporating ArcBox into your solar installs provides maximum safety with minimal time costs.
Options for ArcBox Installation
Every DC connector covered for maximum risk reduction
Higher-risk connectors only for a balanced risk reduction
ArcBox can be applied to every single DC connection or only the higher risk connections added to extension cables. A risk assessment should take into account the combustibility of nearby materials, for example roof coverings, materials used in solar mounting system and vegetation.
Risk Assessments should also consider the consequences of any fire – the risks associated with an evacuation of a building, the contents of the building or the economic impact of the building being put out of use by a fire.
ArcBox Mounting
A range of brackets is available to efficiently mount the ArcBox in different solar systems.
For roof-integrated solar systems, a batten bracket hooks over tile battens to hold the ArcBox in the batten space behind the solar panels or solar tiles.
For other solar panel mounting systems including flat roof mounting systems, solutions for fixing above pitched roof and ground mount applications, mounting brackets are available to fix ArcBoxes to different manufacturer’s rail systems.