As South Africa's "blackout" continues,is photovoltaic the best solution?

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his annual State of the Nation address in Cape Town on the evening of February 9, local time, and declared a state of national disaster to deal with the power crisis and its effects. The South African government has issued a state of disaster declaration effective immediately.

As we all know, South Africa has the largest electricity generation in Africa, accounting for two-thirds of the entire African electricity generation, 92% of which is thermal power generation (South Africa's coal reserves are extremely rich, accounting for 70% of Africa's electricity), providing two-thirds of Africa's electricity. But since 2022 there has been a serious power supply crisis. Power shortages have worsened recently, with blackouts for more than eight hours a day at their worst, and South Africa's national electricity company has been approved to raise electricity prices by around 18.5%. "This has led to people flocking to solar as an alternative, looking for renewables that can keep the lights on in order to maintain their current lifestyle," said Trevor, a solar PV installation consultant in South Africa. According to the reference materials, the average annual sunshine time in most parts of South Africa exceeds 2500 hours, and the average daily solar radiation level is nearly 40% more than that in Europe. It is also called "the country of the Sun". Depending on such superior lighting conditions, it also means that the photovoltaic industry in South Africa has a huge market. The South African government also expressed confidence that it would solve the problem by encouraging the development of renewable energy and other means to ease the shortage of power supply. Measures will also be taken to help South Africa's national power company, which is in deep debt, get out of trouble.

However, as the renewable energy market is emerging, the difficulties and challenges faced by the installation of so many solar equipment are also emerging. The biggest problem is the shortage of photovoltaic equipment resources. Therefore, as one of the largest trading partners of Africa, the South African government has called on Chinese photovoltaic enterprises to participate in the bidding of photovoltaic equipment.

When it comes to photovoltaic power generation equipment, the most familiar products are solar panels, photovoltaic batteries, controllers, inverters, fuses and other products. However, recently, a relatively unpopular product has received hot inquiries from many traders in South Africa, that is, HR17- fusing isolator switch. Although it is displayed in our high and low voltage fuses catalogue, But that doesn't mean it can't be used in photovoltaic equipment. So today, let's introduce the working principle of this isolation switch on photovoltaic power generation equipment and how to operate it?

    HR17-160/3 fuse type isolating switch 

      https://www.galaxyfuse.com/low-voltage-hrc-fuse-switch-disconnector 

Galaxy Fuse HR17 series Fuse type disconnector with insulation voltage of 800V, rated working voltage of 690V, rated working current of 630A, rated frequency of 50Hz, used as power switch, disconnector, emergency switch and circuit protection in distribution and motor with high short circuit current. But generally not used as a direct opening and closing of a single motor.

1. Advantages of HR17-160/3 isolation switch.

1) High isolation function;

2) High durability;

3) Allow the transparent cover to check the state of the fuse, can achieve timely replacement of the fuse to ensure the safety of the circuit;

4) 3 pole version, but can also do 2 pole use;

2.Where is HR17-160/3isolation switch used in photovoltaic power generation devices?

                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                 This image is from Google

3.In photovoltaic DC power generation system, which type of fuse link is the HR17-160/3Fuse type disconnector paired with?  Which size do most of people choose? what is the role of the DC system?

Galaxy Fuse fuse type switch disconnector has A total of 4 models, respectively HR17-160/3,HR17-250/3,HR17-400/A,HR17-630/3,and their matching cores are NT00,NT1,NT2,NT3,NT3,NT3,NT3,HR17-160/3,HR17-400/A,and NT3,respectively.Most customers will choose their own specifications based on the size of their equipment and the current and voltage in circulation.In fact, compared with the isolation switch, the fuses in the photovoltaic system is far more important than the isolation switch, in the photovoltaic device, the fuses are mainly used to protect the system wiring from overheating and fire. They are also used to protect modules from fire or more serious damage in the event of a short circuit.   Isolation switch is equivalent to a base with a shell used to carry the fuse, most of the protection function is still completed by the fuse, if you do not know how to select the type, please feel free to send us inquiries, our staff will immediately reply to you to help you choose their own isolation switch and fuse.

 

           NT00 HRC FUSE 690VAC 160A 

                   https://www.galaxyfuse.com/690vac-160a-nt00-hrc-fuse.html

Although coal power has always been the main source of electricity generation in South Africa, which can not only meet the electricity demand brought by economic growth and reduce the impact of energy production on the environment, the South African government still hopes to develop renewable energy represented by photovoltaic to meet part of the electricity demand.  However, due to the lack of maturity of the industry, relying on the public tender held by the government has become a necessary choice for the development of the photovoltaic market in South Africa.  Galaxy Fuse, a private technology company in China, develops and manufactures a variety of photovoltaic fuses to ensure the safety of photovoltaic power generation.  We hope to use our technological strength to contribute to the development of new energy in South Africa and Africa.