Inmetro now requires certification of safety devices for the production and sale of solar panels.

The partnership signed with the National Fire Fighting Committee (Conaci) aims to protect firefighters and users of the country’s solar energy system.

The Brazilian Institute of Metrology, Quality, and Technology (Inmetro) established a collaboration with Fire Departments across the country, through the National Fire Fighting Committee (Conaci), aiming to regulate the safety devices used in the manufacture and commercialization of photovoltaic panels for solar energy.

Following the promulgation of Inmetro Ordinance No. 515, of November 10, 2023, aimed at reinforcing safety in photovoltaic systems and preventing fires, consumers who purchase sets of solar panels must check for Inmetro certification. This ensures that products meet user security and protection standards.

In a gesture of reaffirming this partnership with the Fire Department, the president of Inmetro, Márcio André Brito, received this Thursday (8), at the Institute’s headquarters in Brasilia, the president of the National Fire Fighting Committee (Conaci), Colonel BM Reinaldo Acris Menezes. He was accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel QOBM Erenildo dos Santos, a member of Conaci, and the government relations team from the National Institute of Clean Energy (Inel), represented by Renata Reges. Adriano Mendonça, Inmetro’s General Coordinator of Institutional Coordination, also participated in the meeting.

The photovoltaic solar power plate, also known as a photovoltaic solar panel or photovoltaic module, plays a crucial role in a solar power system by capturing sunlight and converting it into electrical energy.

“For some time now, there has been a request to regulate the manufacturing and commercialization of photovoltaic solar energy panels. Therefore, this is work carried out by Inmetro’s technical area, with information about the day-to-day activities of this activity, where the firefighters demonstrated the risk due to the absence of this regulation”, said Márcio André Brito.

Brito recalled that, in November 2023, Inmetro published Ordinance No. 515 defining the rules for the sale of this equipment.

REGULATION

The aforementioned ordinance promulgated the technical quality regulation and the requirements for evaluating the conformity of devices intended for the generation, conditioning, and storage of electrical energy in photovoltaic systems.

Inmetro’s decision was based on the conclusions reached during the technical meeting entitled “Risks and protection measures against fires in photovoltaic equipment and systems”, held by the Institute on July 1, 2022.

Furthermore, the outcome of the public hearing “Risks of fire in photovoltaic generation facilities”, conducted by the Mines and Energy Committee of the Chamber of Deputies on July 6, 2022, was taken into account.

Such events have raised the need for more stringent regulations regarding protection against electric arcs in photovoltaic systems.

FIRE PROTECTION

In addition, the publication of Ordinance No. 515 took into account the need to incorporate new protection criteria against electric arcs for inverters, promoting harmonization with international safety standards against electric arcs and reinforcing fire prevention in photovoltaic systems.

Inmetro also identified the urgency of reviewing the tolerance requirements for voltage fluctuations for inverters connected to the grid, aiming to correct oversized parameters that could lead to complications in the electrical system, after analysis together with the National Electrical System Operator (ONS).

Finally, the ordinance met the demand of the Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (Absolar), which requested adjustments to the technical criteria for harmonic distortion and motor starting overload for autonomous inverters, in addition to changes in testing procedures related to the simulation of electric motors and inductive, capacitive and non-linear loads, resulting in reduced regulatory requirements and costs.

Certification

According to the president of Inmetro, Márcio Brito, from now on, photovoltaic panels need to carry Inmetro certification, meaning that the product has undergone quality tests, and laboratory tests and does not pose a potential risk to the lives and health of the population.

When thanking the demand for meeting the demand and the partnership with the Fire Department, the president of the National Fire Fighting Committee (Conaci), Colonel Reinaldo Menezes, highlighted his concern for his fighters, who work daily on the front line dealing with risks. “Therefore, Ordinance No. 515/2023 comes to help us. At this meeting, there was a commitment from both entities to create more regulations that could improve the condition of firefighters when fighting fires”, emphasized Menezes.

President Márcio Brito, Adriano Mendonça, General Coordinator of Institutional Coordination at Inmetro, and representatives of the Fire Department

On the other hand, the former president of Conaci, lieutenant-colonel Erenildo dos Santos Costa, reiterated that this prevention work, resulting from the new Inmetro regulations, began in 2022 with the concern of providing safety to the Fire Department fighter, as well as safety to the user. “This partnership will work”, he concluded.