Q+A

Fonroche recommends system and equipment grounding, however, "Authorities Having Jurisdiction" (AHJs) have the final say. If the wiring inspector says it's okay to skip the grounding, then it's okay.

System Ground: Battery negative connected to earth

Equipment Ground: All dead-metal that could accidentally become energized connected to earth.

System Grounding: NEC 690 covers all photovoltaic systems and overrides other articles that conflict with the requirements outlined in 690. You can see 690.41 System Grounding, has the same requirement for systems with PV voltages over 50V. Note that the 50V limit mentioned in 690 is in fact the PV voltage not the battery voltage.

The real issue is 690.43, Equipment Grounding. All exposed non-current carrying metal parts of module frames, equipment and conductor enclosures shall be grounded regardless of voltage. According to this article you need a ground-rod or embedded ground-wire so metal parts can be grounded. A grounding lug is provided inside the pole for this purpose.

Solar streetlights are self-sufficient. Unlike traditional street lights, they don't require any connections to utility power at all. Also called photovoltaic or PV streetlights, they’re quick and easy to install, with no earthwork or trenches needed, so the range of possible applications is virtually limitless.

Since they do not rely on centralized utilities and create no emissions, they are the perfect next step toward energy transition.

Advantages of Solar Street Lights include:

• Reduced installation and trenching costs
• Reduced or no soil remediation costs
• Smaller carbon-foot print
• Low Maintenance
• Lighting availability during power outages
• Flood tolerance

Our solar lighting profiles are controlled by the Power 365 controller. The lights will activate in the evening and shut off in the morning based on the energy created by the panel. This means that schedules are maintenance-free and you never need to adjust for events like daylight savings time.

If you have specific time of day scheduling requirements, we recommend using the controller's embedded LoRa module to communicate your preferences through a wireless network. Fonroche Connect allows control of your project and provides feedback on energy performance.