It replaces the previous edition of 2006. The core aspect of the standard is the requirement of an insulation monitoring device (IMD), especially for protection against fire, which must be installed in order to test or rather monitor the insulation condition on the DC side continuously during the entire service life of the PV generator field. In large-scale plants (> 100 kWp), an additional insulation fault location system (IFLS) is recommended in order to locate an insulation fault within the area of a PV system in a faster and more precise way.
The insulation monitoring devices (IMD) must comply with DIN EN 61557-8:2015-12 Annex C and D and must meet the specific requirements of the IMD measurement technology in the PV area are taken into account.
Furthermore a distinction is made in this standard between
- Insulation monitoring devices for photovoltaic power supply systems (PV-IMD)
- Insulation monitoring function for photovoltaic inverters (PV-IMF) or for charge controllers
The Bender product range of the insulation monitoring devices of the type isoPVxxx has met the requirements of DIN EN 61557-8:2015-12 for a long time. As a consequence, precise measurement of the insulation resistance is ensured at any time and false tripping is avoided, which could cause system downtime, unnecessary service visits and ultimately lower revenue.