Renewable Energy Installer February 2015 | Page 11

the inverter and other electrical equipment, including premature
degradation of the heater element. Such harmonic interference is also
conducted through the cabling, resulting in possible overheating, and
can affect neighbouring properties as well as being transmitted back to
the grid.
Devices which use phase angle as their power control method will
exceed the levels for harmonic emissions and will not comply with the
EN 61000-3-2 standard. As such, these devices cannot be CE marked
and freely sold throughout the UK and Europe.
As a result, 80 percent of the microgen power diverters currently
available to purchase in the UK are not legally compliant – an
incredibly worrying statistic.
Compliance testing – no hiding place
Although the importance of appliance safety should be prioritised in
all new product development and production, compliance policing is
not always effectively implemented across the UK. As the burden of
CE testing falls on manufacturers themselves, many choose to self-test
their products in-house rather than via an authorised body. Third party
testing is more expensive but ensures the manufacturer can back up
their claims relating to product compliance.
Electrical and electronic apparatus has to be designed so as to
pass the relevant EMC and safety standards. This cannot just be an
afterthought.
Third-party testing by a notified body is not compulsory.
Irrespective of the chosen route (in-house or authorised), the
manufacturer has full control of how their product is tested, in order
to attain the required standard. This can lead to the manipulation
of testing parameters, so as to corrupt the validity of the result.
For example, the product may not have been tested in a state
representative of its normal use, or that most likely to cause maximum
disturbance.
Trading Standards is the Market Surveillance Authority in the UK
for EMC. One must ask themselves, is there likely to be the specific
knowledge of EMC, together with sufficient manpower to effectively
police compliance?
Consumers need to be safe in the
understanding that each and every product
that they purchase is safe for use
Levelling the playing field
Consumers need to be safe in the understanding that each and every
product that they purchase is safe for use and free from dangerous side
effects – something which the renewables industry is currently not
achieving. There is undoubtedly a great deal of government support for
renewable technology, but there does not seem to be the same interest
in the effective monitoring of compliance.
Maybe then, the responsibility lies with the wider industry itself?
Certainly the MCS operators have a vested interest in the compliance
of these devices, as all inverters have to pass the very same harmonic
emissions tests that these products are failing. Unless we can
effectively address this situation, then non-compliant products will
continue to be installed into homes and businesses across the UK
and Europe.
Rule breakers: Jodi Huggett, director of 4eco – manufacturers of the immerSUN, has hit out at the lack of enforcement of European product safety standards
www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk | 11