A Cost-Effective and Reliable Junction-Box–Integrated Rapid Shutdown System for BIPV Applications

In response to fire safety risks associated with photovoltaic (PV) systems and evolving rapid shutdown requirements, this paper proposes a cost-effective and reliable rapid shutdown solution integrated directly into the PV module junction box. The system employs analog circuitry triggered by an exte...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Joon-Young Jeon, Minkook Kim, Myungwoo Son, Ju-Hee Kim, Young-Dal Lee, Yong-Hyun Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/11/2983
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850160799836798976
author Joon-Young Jeon
Minkook Kim
Myungwoo Son
Ju-Hee Kim
Young-Dal Lee
Yong-Hyun Kim
author_facet Joon-Young Jeon
Minkook Kim
Myungwoo Son
Ju-Hee Kim
Young-Dal Lee
Yong-Hyun Kim
author_sort Joon-Young Jeon
collection DOAJ
description In response to fire safety risks associated with photovoltaic (PV) systems and evolving rapid shutdown requirements, this paper proposes a cost-effective and reliable rapid shutdown solution integrated directly into the PV module junction box. The system employs analog circuitry triggered by an external pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal, with optocoupler isolation and a controlled short-circuit method to rapidly reduce the module output voltage. Simulation and experimental results confirm that the output voltage is reduced to approximately 2 V within 280 ms, satisfying the U.S. National Electrical Code (NEC) 690.12 requirements. This junction-box–integrated approach eliminates the complexity of conventional module-level power electronics (MLPE) systems and offers a highly practical alternative for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications where partial shading is minimal.
format Article
id doaj-art-4817e08fb2dc4a40bb85e8cc14cd4512
institution OA Journals
issn 1996-1073
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Energies
spelling doaj-art-4817e08fb2dc4a40bb85e8cc14cd45122025-08-20T02:23:04ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-06-011811298310.3390/en18112983A Cost-Effective and Reliable Junction-Box–Integrated Rapid Shutdown System for BIPV ApplicationsJoon-Young Jeon0Minkook Kim1Myungwoo Son2Ju-Hee Kim3Young-Dal Lee4Yong-Hyun Kim5Artificial Intelligence Energy Research Center, Korea Photonics Technology Institute, 9, Cheomdanventure-ro 108beon-gil, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61007, Republic of KoreaArtificial Intelligence Energy Research Center, Korea Photonics Technology Institute, 9, Cheomdanventure-ro 108beon-gil, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61007, Republic of KoreaArtificial Intelligence Energy Research Center, Korea Photonics Technology Institute, 9, Cheomdanventure-ro 108beon-gil, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61007, Republic of KoreaArtificial Intelligence Energy Research Center, Korea Photonics Technology Institute, 9, Cheomdanventure-ro 108beon-gil, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61007, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Future Mobility, College of AI, Chonnam National University 77, Yongbong-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61186, Republic of KoreaArtificial Intelligence Energy Research Center, Korea Photonics Technology Institute, 9, Cheomdanventure-ro 108beon-gil, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61007, Republic of KoreaIn response to fire safety risks associated with photovoltaic (PV) systems and evolving rapid shutdown requirements, this paper proposes a cost-effective and reliable rapid shutdown solution integrated directly into the PV module junction box. The system employs analog circuitry triggered by an external pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal, with optocoupler isolation and a controlled short-circuit method to rapidly reduce the module output voltage. Simulation and experimental results confirm that the output voltage is reduced to approximately 2 V within 280 ms, satisfying the U.S. National Electrical Code (NEC) 690.12 requirements. This junction-box–integrated approach eliminates the complexity of conventional module-level power electronics (MLPE) systems and offers a highly practical alternative for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications where partial shading is minimal.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/11/2983photovoltaicBIPVrapid shutdownjunction boxNEC 690.12
spellingShingle Joon-Young Jeon
Minkook Kim
Myungwoo Son
Ju-Hee Kim
Young-Dal Lee
Yong-Hyun Kim
A Cost-Effective and Reliable Junction-Box–Integrated Rapid Shutdown System for BIPV Applications
Energies
photovoltaic
BIPV
rapid shutdown
junction box
NEC 690.12
title A Cost-Effective and Reliable Junction-Box–Integrated Rapid Shutdown System for BIPV Applications
title_full A Cost-Effective and Reliable Junction-Box–Integrated Rapid Shutdown System for BIPV Applications
title_fullStr A Cost-Effective and Reliable Junction-Box–Integrated Rapid Shutdown System for BIPV Applications
title_full_unstemmed A Cost-Effective and Reliable Junction-Box–Integrated Rapid Shutdown System for BIPV Applications
title_short A Cost-Effective and Reliable Junction-Box–Integrated Rapid Shutdown System for BIPV Applications
title_sort cost effective and reliable junction box integrated rapid shutdown system for bipv applications
topic photovoltaic
BIPV
rapid shutdown
junction box
NEC 690.12
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/11/2983
work_keys_str_mv AT joonyoungjeon acosteffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications
AT minkookkim acosteffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications
AT myungwooson acosteffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications
AT juheekim acosteffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications
AT youngdallee acosteffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications
AT yonghyunkim acosteffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications
AT joonyoungjeon costeffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications
AT minkookkim costeffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications
AT myungwooson costeffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications
AT juheekim costeffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications
AT youngdallee costeffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications
AT yonghyunkim costeffectiveandreliablejunctionboxintegratedrapidshutdownsystemforbipvapplications