30mm

20mm

15mm

10mm

17mm

IEC TS 62446-3:2017

Gulf StandardGSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021

GSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021Gulf Standard

GSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021

IEC TS 62446-3:2017

مواصفة قياسية خليجية

الأنظمة الكهروضوئية - متطلبات الاختبار والتوثيق والصيانة - الجزء 3: اللوحات والمحطات الكهروضوئية - التصوير الحراري بالأشعة تحت الحمراء في الخارج

Gulf Standard

Photovoltaic (PV) systems - Requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance - Part 3: Photovoltaic modules and plants - Outdoor infrared thermography

ICS:

27.160

English Language – اللغةالإنجليزيةEdition 1 – 01/07/2021 – 1 الطبعة

هذه الوثيقة محمية بالقانون

COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT

ما لم ينص على خلاف ذلك، لا يجوز إعادة إنتاج أي جزء من هذا المنشور أو استخدامه بأي شكل آخر أو بأي وسيلة، إلكترونية أو ميكانيكية، بما في ذلك التصوير، أو النشر على الإنترنت أو الإنترانت، دون إذن كتابي مسبق من هيئة التقييس لدول مجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربية على العنوان أدناه أو الدول الأعضاء في الهيئة داخل بلدانهم.

All rights reserved to GCC Standardization Organization (GSO). Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either GSO at the address below or GSO's member body in the country of the requester.

Outreach Dept, Knowledge Management Section

GCC Standardization Organization (GSO)

P.O.Box: 85245 Riyadh 12511

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

إدارة التواصل، قسم إدارة المعرفة

هيئة التقييس لدول مجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربية (GSO)

ص. ب: 85245 الرياض 12511

المملكة العربية السعودية

Tel:

+966115208000

:هاتف

Fax:

+966115208010

:فاكس

E-Mail:

csc@gso.org.sa

:بريد إلكتروني

Website:

www.gso.org.sa

:موقع ويب

30mm

20mm

15mm

10mm

17mm

IEC TS 62446-3:2017

Gulf StandardGSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021

GSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021Gulf Standard

Gulf Foreword

GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) is a regional organization which consists of the national standardization bodies of GCC member states. One of GSO main functions is to issue gulf standards and technical regulations through specialized technical committees.

GSO Ministerial Committee in its meeting number (2) held on 21/11/1442 H, which corresponds to 01/07/2021, has approved Gulf Standard GSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021 titled "Photovoltaic (PV) systems - Requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance - Part 3: Photovoltaic modules and plants - Outdoor infrared thermography " in English language which was studied and adopted from International Electrotechnical Commission Standard IEC TS 62446-3:2017 without any technical modifications through the technical program of GSO Technical Committee for Renewable energy and its storage technologies (TC13) in SAUDI ARABIA schedule .

تقديم خليجي

هيئة التقييس لدول مجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربية هيئة إقليمية تضم في عضويتها أجهزة التقييس الوطنية في الدول الأعضاء ، ومن مهام الهيئة إعداد المواصفات القياسية واللوائح الفنية الخليجية بواسطة لجان فنية متخصصة.

قررت اللجنة الوزارية لهيئة التقييس لدول مجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربية في الاجتماع الـ (2) بتاريخ 1442/11/21 هـ ،الموافق 2021/07/01م اعتماد المواصفة القياسية الخليجية رقم GSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021 وعنوانها "الأنظمة الكهروضوئية - متطلبات الاختبار والتوثيق والصيانة - الجزء 3: اللوحات والمحطات الكهروضوئية - التصوير الحراري بالأشعة تحت الحمراء في الخارج" باللغة الانجليزية التي تم دراستها وتبنيها عن اللجنة الدولية الكهروتقنية رقم IEC TS 62446-3:2017 بدون إدخال تعديلات فنية عليها ضمن برنامج عمل اللجنة الفنية الخليجية لمواصفات الطاقة المتجددة وتقنيات تخزينها (TC13) المدرجة في خطة المملكة العربية السعودية .

30mm

20mm

15mm

10mm

17mm

IEC TS 62446-3:2017 ED1 © IEC 2017

– –

IEC TS 62446-3:2017 ED1 © IEC 2017

Gulf StandardGSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021

GSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021Gulf Standard

IEC TS 62446-3

	TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION	Edition 1.0 2017-06


	Photovoltaic (PV) systems – Requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance – Part 3: Photovoltaic modules and plants – Outdoor infrared thermography

IEC TS 62446-3:2017 ED1

30mm

20mm

15mm

10mm

17mm

Gulf StandardGSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021

GSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021Gulf Standard

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester. If you have any questions about IEC copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication, please contact the address below or your local IEC member National Committee for further information.

IEC Secretariat3, rue de VarembéCH-1211 Geneva 20Switzerland

Tel.: +41 22 919 02 11 info@iec.ch www.iec.ch

About the IEC The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. About IEC publications The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the latest edition, a corrigendum or an amendment might have been published.

IEC publications search - webstore.iec.ch/advsearchform The advanced search enables to find IEC publications by a variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical committee, ...). It also gives information on projects, replaced and withdrawn publications. IEC Just Published - webstore.iec.ch/justpublished Stay up to date on all new IEC publications. Just Published details all new publications released. Available online and once a month by email. IEC Customer Service Centre - webstore.iec.ch/csc If you wish to give us your feedback on this publication or need further assistance, please contact the Customer Service Centre: sales@iec.ch .

IEC Products & Services Portal - products.iec.ch Discover our powerful search engine and read freely all the publications previews. With a subscription you will always have access to up to date content tailored to your needs. Electropedia - www.electropedia.org The world's leading online dictionary on electrotechnology, containing more than 22 300 terminological entries in English and French, with equivalent terms in 19 additional languages. Also known as the International Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV) online.

30mm

20mm

15mm

10mm

17mm

IEC TS 62446-3:2017 ED1 © IEC 2017

– –

IEC TS 62446-3:2017 ED1 © IEC 2017

Gulf StandardGSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021

GSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021Gulf Standard

IEC TS 62446-3

	TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION	Edition 1.0 2017-06


	Photovoltaic (PV) systems – Requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance – Part 3: Photovoltaic modules and plants – Outdoor infrared thermography

INTERNATIONAL

ELECTROTECHNCIAL

COMMISSION

ICS 27.160ISBN 9782832242902Warning! Make sure that you obtained this publication from an authorized distributor.© Registered trademark of the International Electrotechnical Commission

30mm

20mm

15mm

10mm

17mm

IEC TS 62446-3:2017 ED1 © IEC 2017

– –

IEC TS 62446-3:2017 ED1 © IEC 2017

Gulf StandardGSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021

GSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021Gulf Standard

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

1 Scope

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Requirements of inspection equipment

4.1 General

4.2 Minimum requirements for IR-cameras used for inspecting PV plants

4.3 Requirements for photo cameras for documentation of the findings

4.4 Requirements for equipment to record the ambient conditions

5 Inspection procedure

5.1 General

5.2 Visual inspection

5.3 Environmental conditions

5.4 Imaging procedure

5.4.1 General

5.4.2 Using fast carriers for IR-camera, e.g. aerial drones

5.4.3 Emissivity

6 Software for evaluation

7 Evaluation

7.1 General

7.2 Evaluation of IR images

7.3 Thermal abnormalities

7.3.1 General

7.3.2 Classes of abnormalities (CoA)

7.3.3 Abnormalities of PV modules

7.3.4 Abnormalities of other BOS components

7.4 Projection of temperature differences to nominal irradiance

7.4.1 General

7.4.2 Modules

7.4.3 Other BOS components

8 Inspection report

Annex A Inspection procedure explanations

Annex B Qualification of personnel

Annex C Matrix for thermal abnormalities of PV modules

Annex D Polygon measurement as a method of evaluation

Annex E Beaufort scale

Bibliography

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

Technical SpecificationIEC TS 62446-3:2017 ED1

Photovoltaic (PV) systems - Requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance - Part 3: Photovoltaic modules and plants - Outdoor infrared thermography

FOREWORD

1)

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications, Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the two organizations.

2)

The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all interested IEC National Committees.

3)

IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any misinterpretation by any end user.

4)

In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in the latter.

5)

IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any services carried out by independent certification bodies.

6)

All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.

7)

No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC Publications.

8)

Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is indispensable for the correct application of this publication.

9)

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

The main task of IEC technical committees is to prepare International Standards. In exceptional circumstances, a technical committee may propose the publication of a technical specification when

•

the required support cannot be obtained for the publication of an International Standard, despite repeated efforts, or

•

the subject is still under technical development or where, for any other reason, there is the future but no immediate possibility of an agreement on an International Standard.

Technical specifications are subject to review within three years of publication to decide whether they can be transformed into International Standards.

IEC TS 62446‑3, which is a technical specification, has been prepared by IEC technical committee 82: Solar photovoltaic energy systems.

The text of this technical specification is based on the following documents:

Enquiry draft	Report on voting
82/1188/DTS	82/1242A/RVDTS

Full information on the voting for the approval of this technical specification can be found in the report on voting indicated in the above table.

This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

A list of all parts in the IEC 62446 series, published under the general title Photovoltaic (PV) systems – Requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance, can be found on the IEC website.

The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until the stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be

•

transformed into an International standard,

•

reconfirmed,

•

withdrawn,

•

replaced by a revised edition, or

•

amended.

A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

IMPORTANTThe 'colour inside' logo on the cover page of this publication indicates that it contains colours which are considered to be useful for the correct understanding of its contents. Users should therefore print this document using a colour printer.

30mm

20mm

15mm

10mm

17mm

IEC TS 62446-3:2017 ED1 © IEC 2017

– –

IEC TS 62446-3:2017 ED1 © IEC 2017

Gulf StandardGSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021

GSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021Gulf Standard

Technical SpecificationIEC TS 62446-3:2017 ED1

Photovoltaic (PV) systems - Requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance - Part 3: Photovoltaic modules and plants - Outdoor infrared thermography

1Scope

This part of IEC 62446 defines outdoor thermographic (infrared) inspection of PV modules and plants in operation. The inspection can include cables, contacts, fuses, switches, inverters, and batteries. This inspection supports the preventive maintenance for fire protection, the availability of the system for power production, and the inspection of the quality of the PV modules. Included in this document are the requirements for the measurement equipment, ambient conditions, inspection procedure, inspection report, personnel qualification and a matrix for thermal abnormalities as a guideline for the inspection.

This document defines outdoor thermography on photovoltaic (PV) modules and Balance-of-system (BOS) components of PV power plants in operation, using passive techniques (standard system operating conditions under natural sunlight, without any external power or irradiation sources). IEC 60904‑12‑1 covers general methods for laboratory or production-line PV module thermographic imaging but not the specific details that are most relevant to outdoor imaging of operational power plants including BOS components.

Two different levels of inspections are currently used:

a)

A simplified thermographic inspection. This is a limited inspection to verify that the PV modules and BOS components are functioning, with reduced requirements for the qualification of personnel. For example, during a basic commissioning of a PV plant. Authoritative conclusions regarding module quality are not possible with this inspection, and examples of abnormalities are provided to aid the inspector.

b)

A detailed thermographic inspection and analysis. This may include thermal signatures which differ from the examples provided, and therefore requires a deeper understanding of the thermal abnormalities. For example, it may be used for periodic inspections according to the IEC 62446 series and for trouble-shooting the cause of underperforming systems. Absolute temperature measurements may be made. An authorized expert in PV plants, together with thermography experts can perform the inspection.

2Normative references

The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

IEC 60050‑131, International Electrotechnical Vocabulary – Part 131: Circuit theory

IEC 60216‑2, Electrical insulating materials – Thermal endurance properties – Part 2: Determination of thermal endurance properties of electrical insulating materials – Choice of test criteria

IEC 60216‑5, Electrical insulating materials – Thermal endurance properties – Part 5: Determination of relative thermal endurance index (RTE) of an insulating material

IEC 60269‑1, Low-voltage fuses – Part 1: General requirements

IEC 61095, Electromechanical contactors for household and similar purposes

IEC 61215‑1, Terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules – Design qualification and type approval – Part 1: Test requirements

IEC 61439‑1, Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear assemblies – Part 1: General rules

IEC 61724‑1, Photovoltaic system performance – Part 1: Monitoring

IEC 61730‑1, Photovoltaic (PV) module safety qualification –Part 1: Requirements for construction

IEC 61730‑2, Photovoltaic (PV) module safety qualification –Part 1: Requirements for testing

IEC TS 61836, Solar photovoltaic energy systems – Terms, definitions and symbols

IEC 62109‑1, Safety of power converters for use in photovoltaic power systems – Part 1: General requirements

IEC 62446‑1, Photovoltaic (PV) systems – Requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance – Part 1: Grid connected systems – Documentation, commissioning tests and inspection

IEC 62446‑2:–, Photovoltaic (PV) systems – Requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance – Part 2: Grid connected photovoltaic (PV) systems – Maintenance of PV systems1

IEC 62930:–, Electric cables for photovoltaic systems with a voltage rating of 1,5 kV d.c.1

ISO 9488, Solar energy – Vocabulary

ISO 9712, Non-destructive testing — Qualification and certification of NDT Personnel

VATh- Directive, Electrical Infrared Inspections – Low Voltage. Planning, execution and documentation of infrared surveys on electrical systems and components ≤1kV (http://www.vath.de/docs/richtlinien/VATh-Richtlinie_Elektro_NS+PV_engl_web.pdf)

EN 16714‑3, Non-destructive testing – Thermographic testing of electric installations

EN 50110‑1, Operation of electrical installations – Part 1: General requirements

DGUV BGV/GUV-V A3 E, Accident prevention regulations, Electrical installations and equipment

3Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in IEC TS 61836, ISO 9488, IEC 60050‑131 and the following apply.

ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:

•

IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/

•

ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp

3.1

abnormal thermal behavior

thermal signature of an element that cannot be explained by its operating condition or its technical design, e.g. position of load resistors

[SOURCE: IEC 60050‑903:2013, Amendment 1:2014, 903‑01‑22

modified: adapted to thermal behavior

]

3.2

reflected temperature

Trefl

mean apparent temperature of the ambient that is reflected by the object towards the IR-camera

Note 1 to entry: Measured in Celsius (°C).

Note 2 to entry: Some manufactures of IR cameras use the term: ambient temperature.

3.3

atmospheric air temperature

defined in Celsius (°C) for the geographic installation location as measured and documented by meteorological services for this geographic location

3.4

Beaufort (scale)

Bft

quantifies wind speed by phenomenological criteria, e.g. movement of branches and trees
SEE: Annex E.

3.5

cloud coverage

for the inspection two types of clouds are to differ: Cumulus and Cirrus. The cloud coverage should be given in okta (part of eight of cloud coverage)
SEE: ISO 15469:2004[18]2

3.6

emissivity of the object

ε

ratio of the thermal radiation that is emitted by the surface of an object compared to a black body radiator both at the same temperature

3.7

Instantaneous Field of View

IFOV

field of view of one pixel of an IR-camera-lens combination

Note 1 to entry: Measured in milliradian (mrad).

3.8

Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference

NETD

smallest temperature difference detectable by an IR-camera

Note 1 to entry: Measured in millikelvin (mK).

3.9

thermal steady state conditions

usable measurement conditions, which show stable temperatures and temperature differences

30mm

20mm

15mm

10mm

17mm

– –

Gulf StandardGSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021

GSO IEC TS 62446-3:2021Gulf Standard

Bibliography

[1]		Perch-Nielsen T., Sørensen J.C., “Guidelines to thermographic inspection of electrical installations“, Danish Technological Institute / Department of Energy Technology, Taastrup, 1994
[2]		C. Buerhop, “Quality Control of PV-Modules in the Field Using Infrared Thermography” EUPVSEC, 2011 (ISBN 3-93-6338-27-2; p. 3894)
[3]		Buerhop C., Schlegel, Nieß, Vodermayer, Weißmann, Brabec, “Reliability of IR Imaging of PV Plant under operating conditions” Solmat, Vol. 107; 2012; pp. 154-164
[4]		Weinreich B., Schauer B., Zehner M., Becker G. “Validierung der Vermessung gebrochener Zellen im Feld mittels Leistungs-PV-Thermografie“, Poster B2, 27tes PV-Symposium, Bad Staffelstein, 2012
[5]		Reich T., “Vollradiometrische PV-Thermografie aus der Luft“, Fachartikel „ep Photovoltaik“, 2013
[6]		Weinreich B., “Feldstudie zur Modul- und Generatorqualität auf Basis thermografischer Messungen über 100 MW“, Poster B4, 28tes PV-Symposium, Bad Staffelstein, 2013
[7]		Weinreich B., “Geometrische Auflösungen in der PV-Thermografie aus technischer und wirtschaftlicher Sicht“, Vortrag 8, DGZfP-Thermografie-Kolloquium 2013, Stuttgart
[8]		Weinreich B., “Cell-by-cell inspection of MW power plants“,pv magazine 02 / 2014; pp. 54-58
[9]		Buerhop C., Scheuerpflug H., “Characterization of Defects in PV-Modules by their Temperature Development using IR-Thermography”, 31th EUPVSEC, Hamburg, Germany, 2015
[10]		Kubicek B., Ebner R., Eder G. C., Sonnleitner H., Angerer A., ”Assessment of Electric and Monetary Impact of Hot Cells Using Thermography And Thermal Modelling”, 31th EUPVSEC, Hamburg, Germany, 2015
[11]		Köntges M., Kurtz S., Packard C., Jahn U., Berger K. A., Kato K., Friesen T., Liu H., Van Iseghem M., “IEA-PVPS T13 01-2014, Review of Failures of Photovoltaic Modules. External final report, March 2014, (ISBN 978-3-906042-18-3); link for download: http://iea-pvps.org/index.php?id=275&eID=dam_frontend_push&docID=2064
[12]		VATh – Richtlinie, “Electrical thermal imaging” (Part B: Low voltage and Photovoltaics); 2014 German available: “VATh- Richtlinie: Elektrothermografie”
[13]		Sunspec Alliance, “Commissioning for PV Performance” (Part Thermography)
[14]		NEPA 70B, Recommended Practice for Electrical Equipment Maintenance, NFPA National Fire Protection Association (USA), August 1998
[15]		Infrarot – Thermografie Überwachung elektrischer Anlagen, CNNP Enterprise (Frankreich), Februar 2003
[16]		Jaeckel B., Weinreich B., Buerhop C., Jahn U., “Outdoor non-destructive infrared thermography of photovoltaic modules and plants for inspection: IEC 62446‑3“,32nd EUPVSEC, Munich, Germany, 2016
[17]		IEA-PVPS Task13, “Data Collection Docs”, see http://iea-pvps.org/index.php?id=344, 150121_Documentation_of_module_condition.xlsx
[18]		ISO 15469:2004, Spatial distribution of skylight – CIE standard general sky

30mm

20mm

15mm

10mm

17mm

INTERNATIONALELECTROTECHNICALCOMMISSION3, rue de VarembéPO Box 131CH-1211 Geneva 20SwitzerlandTel: +41 22 919 02 11 info@iec.ch www.iec.ch