IEC 62894:2014

IEC 62894 ®
Edition 1.1 2016-11
CONSOLIDATED VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Photovoltaic inverters – Data sheet and name plate

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IEC 62894 ®
Edition 1.1 2016-11
CONSOLIDATED VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Photovoltaic inverters – Data sheet and name plate

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 27.160 ISBN 978-2-8322-3642-0

IEC 62894 ®
Edition 1.1 2016-11
CONSOLIDATED VERSION
REDLINE VERSION
colour
inside
Photovoltaic inverters – Data sheet and name plate

– 2 – IEC 62894:2014+AMD1:2016 CSV
© IEC 2016
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
3.1 Input side (PV generator) . 5
3.2 Output side (grid connection) . 6
4 Data sheet information . 8
4.1 General . 8
4.2 Short description . 8
4.3 Conformity . 8
4.4 Electrical parameters . 9
4.4.1 General . 9
4.5 Characterisation of the operating performance . 9
4.6 Safety . 11
4.7 Operating conditions . 11
4.8 Fitting and construction . 11
4.8.1 Physical characteristics . 11
4.8.2 Other characteristics . 12
5 Details on the name plate . 12
Bibliography . 14

Figure 1 – Representation of the inverter efficiency . 10
Figure 2 – Power reduction with increased ambient temperatures . 11
Figure 3 – Example of a name plate . 13

© IEC 2016
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
PHOTOVOLTAIC INVERTERS –
DATA SHEET AND NAME PLATE
FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This consolidated version of the official IEC Standard and its amendment has been prepared
for user convenience.
IEC 62894 edition 1.1 contains the first edition (2014-12) [documents 82/887/FDIS and 82/917/
RVD] and its amendment 1 (2016-11) [documents 82/1175/FDIS and 82/1205/RVD].
In this Redline version, a vertical line in the margin shows where the technical content
is modified by amendment 1. Additions are in green text, deletions are in strikethrough
red text. A separate Final version with all changes accepted is available in
this publication.
– 4 – IEC 62894:2014+AMD1:2016 CSV
© IEC 2016
International Standard IEC 62894 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 82: Solar
photovoltaic energy systems.
This standard has been derived from EN 50524.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The committee has decided that the contents of the base publication and its amendment will
remain unchanged until the stability date indicated on the IEC web site under
"http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data related to the specific publication. At this date, the
publication will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

IMPORTANT – The 'colour inside' logo on the cover page of this publication indicates
that it contains colours which are considered to be useful for the correct
understanding of its contents. Users should therefore print this document using a
colour printer.
© IEC 2016
PHOTOVOLTAIC INVERTERS –
DATA SHEET AND NAME PLATE
1 Scope
This International Standard describes data sheet and name plate information for photovoltaic
inverters in grid parallel operation.
The object of this standard is to provide minimum information required to configure a safe and
optimal system with photovoltaic inverters.
In this context, data sheet information is a technical description separate from the
photovoltaic inverter. The name plate is a sign of durable construction on or in the
photovoltaic inverter. The name plate may be inside the photovoltaic inverter only if the name
plate is visible once a door is opened in normal use.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and
are indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any
amendments) applies.
IEC 60529, Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code)
IEC 60664-1, Insulation coordination for equipment within low-voltage systems – Part 1:
Principles, requirements and tests
IEC 60721-2-1, Classification of environmental conditions – Part 2-1: Environmental
conditions appearing in nature – Temperature and humidity
IEC 61683, Photovoltaic systems – Power conditioners – Procedure for measuring efficiency
IEC 62109-1, Safety of power converters for use in photovoltaic power systems – Part 1:
General requirements
ISO 216, Writing paper and certain classes of printed matter – Trimmed sizes – A and B
series, and indication of machine direction
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1 Input side (PV generator)
3.1.1
maximum input voltage
V
dcmax
allowed maximum voltage at the inverter input

– 6 – IEC 62894:2014+AMD1:2016 CSV
© IEC 2016
3.1.2
minimum input voltage
V
dcmin
minimum input voltage for the inverter to energize the utility grid, independent of mode of
operation
3.1.3
start-up input voltage
V
dcstart
input voltage at which the inverter starts energizing the utility grid
3.1.4
rated input voltage
V
dc,r
input voltage specified by the manufacturer, to which other data sheet information refers
3.1.5
maximum MPP voltage
V
mppmax
maximum voltage at which the inverter can deliver its rated power
3.1.6
minimum MPP voltage
V
mppmin
minimum voltage at which the inverter can deliver its rated power
3.1.7
maximum input current
I
dcmax
maximum current at which the inverter can operate. If the inverter has multiple MPP inputs,
I is related to each single input
dcmax
3.1.8
maximum short-circuit DC input current
I
scmax
absolute maximum total PV array short circuit current (DC) that the inverter is rated to have
connected to its input terminals, under worst-case conditions of ambient temperature,
irradiance, etc.
Note 1 to entry: This term is based on the term I in IEC 62109-1. It refers to the absolute maximum current
sc, PV
the DC input to the inverter is designed for under conditions of expected use. This differs from the simple sum of
the marked I ratings of the connected PV modules, since those markings are based on short-circuit conditions
sc
under standard test conditions, and may be exceeded in temperatures or irradiance levels different from the
standard levels.
3.1.9
rated input power
P
dc,r
input power (DC) at rated input voltage and rated power (AC)
3.2 Output side (grid connection)
3.2.1
maximum grid voltage
V
acmax
maximum voltage at which the inverter can energize the grid

© IEC 2016
3.2.2
minimum grid voltage
V
acmin
minimum voltage at which the inverter can energize the grid
3.2.3
rated grid voltage
V
ac,r
utility grid voltage to which other data sheet information refers
3.2.4
maximum output current
I
acmax
maximum output current that the inverter can deliver
3.2.5
rated power
P
ac,r
active power the inverter can deliver in continuous operation
3.2.6
rated frequency
f
r
utility grid frequency at which the inverter performs as specified
3.2.7
maximum frequency
f
max
maximum frequency at which the inverter can energize the grid
3.2.8
minimum frequency
f
min
minimum frequency at which the inverter can energize the grid
3.2.9
night-time power loss
power loss of the inverter, which is supplied from the public grid, when no solar generator
power is present
3.2.10
cosphi
ac,r
minimum power factor for which the inverter can output the rated active power
3.2.11
nominal operation power factor
power factor operating at nominal power
3.2.12
power factor of operation range
range of power factor for the range operation of the inverter
3.3 Other optional parameters
3.3.1
time to start-up
t
start
default start-up delay time of the inverter under normal conditions

– 8 – IEC 62894:2014+AMD1:2016 CSV
© IEC 2016
3.3.2
rated AC current
I
ac,r
rated AC current at rated power (P ), and rated grid voltage (V )
ac,r ac,r
3.3.3
maximum AC output power
P
acmax
maximum continuous active power the inverter can deliver under specified voltage or
temperature conditions within the inverter’s rated range of operation
Note 1 to entry: The maximum AC output power (P ) may differ from rated power (P ) if the inverter is
acmax ac,r
capable of delivering additional power under specific conditions, for example at temperatures below the inverter’s
maximum ambient temperature rating, or within specified DC voltage ranges.
3.3.4
total harmonic distortion
THD
total harmonic distortion measured in the output current at rated power (P ),
ac,r
divided by the full rated fundamental current
Note 1 to entry: This definition of "total harmonic distortion" applies to this document only.
3.3.5
maximum efficiency
η
max
maximum measured DC to AC efficiency recorded, tested in accordance with IEC 61683
4 Data sheet information
4.1 General
Technical products are usually brought into the market with a documentation providing
information to the user regarding the operating conditions and its intended purpose. A data
sheet specifies a product to the extent that the contained data could be consulted for planning
or dimensioning. The size and organization of the data sheet are left to the manufacturer. It is
however recommendable to be limited to a double-side printed on A4 sheet, according to
ISO 216, whereby a topic-specific separation is favourable.
The following subclauses define the minimum required information, which should be included
on the datasheet for a photovoltaic inverter. Additional information can however be supplied
by the manufacturer.
4.2 Short description
In short the characteristics of the inverter are to be described. Special characteristics of the
inverters can be mentioned. For better identification of the equipment, its photo or its true
design drawing should be included on the data sheet. The internal design of the inverter
should be represented in a clear way (e.g. by means of a block diagram). The topology type
should be indicated too.
4.3 Conformity
The conformity to relevant norms and standards shall be shown in the data sheet.

© IEC 2016
4.4 Electrical parameters
4.4.1 General
The electrical parameters from 4.4.2 to 4.4.3 are to be regarded as minimum requirement for
a professional system integration of an inverter.
4.4.2 The following parameters of the input side shall be indicated:
1)
V V V , V V V I number of independent MPP inputs

dcmax, dcmin, dcstart dc,r, mppmax, mppmin, dcmax,
(if applicable), I P P t
scmax, dc,r , dcmax, start
The maximum voltage of the connected solar generator should be determined in individual
cases from the planner. The maximum input voltage of the inverter should not be exceeded at
any time.
The specification of maximum and minimum MPP voltage may also be indicated as ranges.
The list of parameters does not include a maximum DC power rating and it is recommended
that such a term not be included in product data sheets. This is due to significant
inconsistencies in how the term is used, defined, and interpreted. The maximum array size
that can be connected to an inverter should be determined by the maximum short-circuit DC
input current rating and the maximum input voltage rating.
4.4.3 The following parameters of the output side shall be indicated:
V V V I P f f f cosphi I P , THD, η
acmax, acmin, ac,r, acmax, ac,r, r, min, max, ac,r, ac,r , acmax max
The power factor should be displayed over the range of power and not only at rated power.
Additionally the number of phases to be connected at the output and the number of phases
fed in have to be noted.
The specification of the maximum and minimum output voltages and frequencies may be
specified in each case as ranges. If only one value is given, the default status at delivery
should be used.
4.4.4 The following parameters are not required on the product data sheet, but may be
included if considered useful:
t , I , P , THD, η
start ac,r acmax max
If the parameters P , and η are included, the product data sheet shall specify:
acmax max
– the conditions at which the maximum AC output power can be delivered;
– the DC and AC voltage and ambient conditions at which the maximum efficiency is
reported, tested in accordance with IEC 61683.
4.5 Characterisation of the operating performance
4.5.1 The indication of the rated power (P ) refers to the respective rated values of the
ac,r
connected grid (e.g. 230 V/50 Hz). The rated power is given at the rated input voltage, rated
power and the ambient temperature of (25 ± 3) °C. This value shall be obtained after
temperature rise test.
___________
1)
The indication of the start-up input voltage is necessary only if the input voltage is used as switching on
criterion for the inverter.
– 10 – IEC 62894:2014+AMD1:2016 CSV
© IEC 2016
NOTE In addition, the ability of the inverter to supply the rated power even at higher ambient temperatures can be
stated together with the time the inverter can supply this power (e.g. 40 °C for 2 h or 35 °C unlimited).
4.5.2 Night-time power loss is to be specified, including the internal power source.
4.5.3 The operating efficiency has to be specified in tabular form at least for the three input
voltages (V , V , and V ) and eight output powers (5 %, 10 %, 20 %, 25 %, 30 %,
mppmax dc,r mppmin
50 %, 75 %, and 100 %, where these percentages indicate the ratio of P /P ). A graphical
ac ac,r
representation is optional (example: Figure 1).
350 V
500 V
585 V
0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1,0
Normalised output power P /P
ac ac,r
IEC
Figure 1 – Representation of the inverter efficiency
4.5.4 For the purpose of self-protection routines can be implemented into the inverter,
which prevent a damage (current – power – temperature derating). Any self-protection routine
that causes derating shall be described in tabular or graphical form over the entire permitted
operation range (see example in Figure 2).
Efficiency  (%)
© IEC 2016
0,8
0,6
420 V
290 V
0,4
170 V
0,2
30 40 50 60 70 80
Ambient temperature  (°C)
IEC
Figure 2 – Power reduction with increased ambient temperatures
4.6 Safety
The following data concerning the safety of inverters shall be contained in the data sheet:
– safety class system according to IEC 62109-1;
– data for galvanic separation (with or without transformer);
– kind of integrated utility interface (indication of the sets of local rules, regulations or laws);
– the method of active detection of loss of mains should be clearly indicated;
– time to reconnect after disconnection due to loss of mains should be indicated.
Additional information such as the minimum allowed time for an inverter to reconnect to the
grid after disconnection due to loss of mains, or the method of active detection of loss of
mains, may be included if useful for the particular country or market.
4.7 Operating conditions
The operating conditions for the inverters are differentiated (unprotected in the open,
protected in the open, air-conditioned in interiors, without air-condition in interiors).
The degree of severity depends on the use of the inverter and is to be specified by the
manufacturer. For inverters to be used in the outdoor the indication of the appropriate climatic
class shall be specified according to IEC 60721-2-1 by the manufacturer. Further data
concerning the operating conditions of inverters should be contained in the data sheet:
– rated range of the ambient temperature in which the inverter is to be operated may be
according to IEC 60721-2-1;
– permissible maximum value for the relative humidity (non-condensing);
– maximum noise emission, to be given if over 75 dB.
4.8 Fitting and construction
4.8.1 Physical characteristics
– Degree of protection according to IEC 60529.
Normalised output power P /P
ac ac,r
– 12 – IEC 62894:2014+AMD1:2016 CSV
© IEC 2016
– Overvoltage category according IEC 60664-1.
– Input and output side connection technology.
– Number of input DC connectors (pairs) and number of input DC connectors per MPP input.
– Physical dimensions including protruding parts (width, depth, height).
– Weight.
If applicable the type and manufacturer of the input and output connector should be given.
4.8.2 Other characteristics
– Existing disconnecting device at the input side (if any).
– Cooling principle (convection, forced cooling).
– Name and address of the manufacturer and of market importer, if applicable.
– Communication protoco
...