On September 30, 2021, Australia's ESV stated that Australia's SAA Approvals has suspended the certification of DC isolator out of stricter consideration for the safety of photovoltaic systems. From January 1, 2022, all isolator sold in the Australian market must be certified by TUV Rheinland Australia. Following this strong policy, new news came from the Australian market: in May 2022, Australia will cancel the previously mandatory installation policy of external DC isolator.

According to people familiar with the matter, Australia's safety policy has been changed repeatedly because the quality of the current external DC isolator products is uneven, and many unqualified external DC isolators directly or indirectly lead to more and more photovoltaic power station fires. 

Because the external DC isolator is directly exposed to the outdoors, it is exposed to direct sunlight, rain and snow for a long time, and there are many potential safety hazards: if the outer casing is made of ordinary materials, the UV protection and fire protection level is not enough, and the outer casing is easily corroded and aged due to long-term sunlight exposure, that is, Loss of protection, causing fire; if the casing is not well sealed, the waterproof level is low, and water is easy to enter in rainy and snowy weather, resulting in a short circuit.

The built-in DC isolator, except for the switch knob, is sealed in the inverter housing. Since it is not directly exposed, it is less affected by the external environment and has higher safety and it is integrated with the inverter as standard, making the installation more convenient. Save the cost of the external waterproof box and the connector, and have a higher cost performance.

It is foreseeable that with the further clarification of the policy, more and more users will choose inverters with built-in DC isolator as standard; however, it is still in the transitional stage, the demand for external DC isolator is still huge.

The DC isolator market is mixed, and even many so-called photovoltaic DC isolation switches on the market are mostly AC switches or their improved products, not the exact DC isolator with safe arc extinguishing and high power cutoff that are really used in photovoltaic systems. The arc extinguishing capability and rated load cut-off power of these AC switches are far from enough. If you unfortunately choose these products of substandard quality, it may lead to the following problems:

1. The high impedance of the contacts can cause overheating and even fire

2. The isolator cannot be turned off normally, and the isolator handle remains in the 'OFF' state

3. Incomplete cut off, causing sparks

4. Because the allowable working current is too small, it is easy to cause overheating, which will damage the switch arc extinguishing chamber or even deform its shape

5. In severe cases, it can burn down the entire photovoltaic power station

At least 70 fires have been caused by a Queensland company's DC switches that have been found to be a safety hazard, and tens of thousands of homeowners at risk of electrical fires are concerned.

Therefore, when choosing a DC isolating switch, you must choose an internationally certified product from a well-known large company.

Projoy has been involved in the field of DC isolation switches since its establishment. After 10 years of iteration and accumulation, it has become a widely used isolation switch brand in the Asia-Pacific region and the designated supplier of photovoltaic isolation switches for many mainstream inverter manufacturers in the world, which can provide users with isolating switch products of full power segment.

Projoy DC isolator's DC insulation voltage can reach 1500V, rated current range of 16~55A, suitable for 1kW~320kW full series of string inverters, and has the following advantages:

●Modular design, compact structure, good sealing, installation can make the whole machine reach IP66 level

●Contact electric self-cleaning design can reduce resistance and energy consumption and prolong life

●High-speed "on-off" switching mechanism, using energy storage spring, to achieve rapid cut-off, the maximum on-off cut-off time is less than 5ms

●The positive and negative contacts are optional to meet various types of installation methods, and the modular design gives the product installation flexibility

●Number of series: 2~10 poles optional

●Using imported UL94V-0 flame retardant material, it can work with full load in the harsh application environment of -40℃~70℃

●Certified by various international standards: IEC, UL, TUV, CE, CB, TUV-AU, CCC, etc

It is worth mentioning that the high-standard requirements for conform to the Australian market, Projoy specially developed for Australian market external DC Isolator products, waterproof outer box of strictly selected a high standard of flame retardant/UV resistant materials, fire prevention, high temperature resistant, UV protection, IP66 shell design, configuration of waterproof cable joint or MC4 connectors, waterproof level is high, It avoids a series of factors that the external isolator may become a potential safety hazard.

PROJOY has always focused on the safety requirements of the Australian market. The whole series of built-in and external DC isolator have passed the TUV Australia, that is: whether customers need built-in or external DC isolator, Projoy products can meet all customer needs. In the future, Projoy will also test the inverter and actively cooperate with inverter manufacturers to do official listing, so as to make customers feel at ease to use and escort the safety of Australian PHOTOVOLTAIC power stations.

With the transformation of energy structure around the world and the introduction of government photovoltaic policies, the number of newly installed photovoltaic power stations is increasing year by year, especially with the start of the current distributed photovoltaic system, the installation of household rooftop photovoltaic system will be more and more popular. Photovoltaic DC isolator will be the most important part of the security of these systems, the reliability and stability of the DC isolator is directly related to the stable power generation and income of the photovoltaic system, directly affects the safe and reliable operation of the photovoltaic system, so the selection of qualified DC isolator will be very important.