Disconnects and Breakers
Each piece of equipment in a PV system, such as inverters,
batteries, and charge controllers, must be able to be
disconnected from all sources of power (NEC® 2011, Article
690.15).
To comply with NEC® code, disconnects must satisfy
the following items:
• They can be switches or circuit breakers.
• They need to be accessible.
• They must not have any exposed live parts.
• They must plainly indicate whether they are in the
opened or closed position.
• They must be rated for the nominal system voltage and
available current (NEC® 2011, Article 690.17)(4).
Circuit breakers designed in the system for overcurrent
protection can be used as disconnects. Fuses are not
considered disconnects unless they are switched fuses.
The total number of disconnecting devices a PV system can
have must be six or fewer switches or circuit breakers to shut
off all sources of power (NEC® 2011, Article 690.14(c)(4)).
These six disconnects must be grouped together and grouped
with other disconnecting means for the system (NEC® 2011,
Article 690. 14(C)(5)). Refer to NEC® for proper labeling