On April 16-18, Fronius USA opened its US headquarters’ solar panel roof and solar inverter lab to local fire department officials of the City of Portage’s Fire Department for fire safety training on solar power equipment. The Solar Solutions Management team at Fronius USA provided technical training on PV systems, which consisted of rapid shutdown procedures and safety features for solar systems, as well as energy storage and electronic vehicle chargers.

“We are very committed to the community and are pleased to have hosted the honorable Portage firefighters at our 400,000-ft² facility to provide fire safety instruction with the Fronius string inverters and our commercial rooftop and solar tracker systems,” said Klaus Strassmair, managing director at Fronius USA. “We also welcome them to return for future trainings with our dedicated in-house solar staff.”

With solar inverters as the heart of the photovoltaic system that convert DC electricity from solar panels to AC electricity to power homes and businesses, there’s a high importance to educate firefighters on how rapid shutdown can be properly used to cut off the energy produced at the solar module so that they can safely perform their duties on or around solar energy equipment. Fronius Arc Guard technology is also a safety element that is triggered to automatically detect arcs in the DC circuit with algorithm technology, as the system will accurately interrupt the fault and stop the arc to provide photovoltaic system protection.

News item from Fronius