Patent attributes
Arc flash mitigation devices are employed to protect personnel during maintenance of photovoltaic inverters. During normal operation, an alternating current (AC) output of a photovoltaic inverter is coupled to a low voltage winding of a step up transformer through a bus-bar (e.g., an electrically conductive interconnect), which has higher current rating than a fuse. During maintenance, the bus-bar is replaced with the fuse. The fuse may be employed in conjunction with a switch. The switch may be a disconnect switch that places the bus-bar in parallel with the fuse during normal operation, and decouples the bus-bar from the fuse during maintenance. The switch may also be a transfer switch that places either the bus-bar or the fuse in series with the AC output of the photovoltaic inverter and the low voltage winding of the step up transformer.
