CITEL To Exhibit 2016-Ready SPD's At Intersolar North America 2014

MIRAMAR, Fla., June 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CITEL, the leader in photovoltaic surge protective devices, is excited to announce that their 2016-ready SPD's will be featured at Intersolar North America this July. "We are excited to show the solar community our surge protective devices at Intersolar 2014," said Patrick Coyle, VP of CITEL, "Our SPD's have been specifically engineered to meet the protection needs of PV systems and ready for the UL updates in 2016." CITEL continues to lead the way in the solar industry by developing innovative surge protection solutions specifically for photovoltaic applications now reaching up to 1500 vdc. 

By their remote nature, Photovoltaic (PV) systems are highly exposed and vulnerable to lightning induced power surges. A PV system that is not equipped with surge protection can be severely damaged or even destroyed in the case of an overvoltage such as one that would be caused by a lightning strike. Not only are the panels themselves targets for lightning, so are inverters, combiner boxes, feeder lines, structural supports, and even data lines throughout the system. The risk is so high that international standards have been written specifying the type and locations of SPD's in a PV installation. A full surge risk assessment is an important step when installing a PV system, in order to identify any safety requirements.

Surge protective devices are essential in order to achieve the ROI that fully operating PV systems are designed to provide. SPD's provide reassurance that the system will be protected in the lightning-prone environment in which it is placed, thus protecting the investment and avoiding costly downtime, repairs, and replacements. It is essential that anybody considering a PV installation also incorporates the protection of an SPD.

Some of CITEL's surge protective devices that will be displayed at Intersolar North America are:

• DS60VGPV, DS50VGPV, DS50PVS – UL Type 1 CA DC SPD's
• DS2x0S-xxDC – Type 2 DC or AC SPD's

The DS60 and DS50 family of SPD's are also 2016-ready. By 2016, all UL1449 3rd Edition SPD's will be required to test and publish a short circuit current rating (SCCR) and pass the intermediate current tests in order to comply with more stringent SPD component assembly standard. The DS60 and DS50 products also have the option to feature CITEL's patented VG Technology. VG Technology provides the key benefits of increased life expectancy, elimination of leakage current, elimination of working current, and will meet the most stringent UL standards with no conditions of acceptability.

CITEL is proud to have the opportunity to exhibit at Intersolar North America 2014 and to share about the necessity of surge protection in photovoltaic systems as well as the upcoming changes to UL. Please stop by booth 8638 to visit CITEL and learn more!

About CITEL: Since 1937, CITEL has manufactured a complete line of surge protective devices to protect sensitive equipment from the harmful effects of lightning strikes and other line disturbances. CITEL is a world leader in surge protection solutions.

SOURCE CITEL