How to extend the lifetime of a Combiner Box?

This fact sheet is focusing on photovoltaic installations on top of buildings within the European Union. One
essential part of such an installation is a combiner box. These boxes are used to combine several strings, to
protect against overvoltage and offer many more functions.

The lifetime of a photovoltaic plant today is 20 years which goes mostly in line with the FIT (feed in tariff) time
of 20 years. In order to secure the return of investment all components from the panels to inverters should
have a lifetime of 20 years. This should also apply for the Combiner Boxes.

The lifetime calculation starts with the designing and ends with the qualification

One main factor to extend the lifetime is the right selection of the enclosure size. The temperature-sensitive
components inside the Combiner Box endure heat only to a certain degree before they either wear out or
even get destroyed.

The circumstances (like environmental temperature and irradiation) of the installation location play an
important role in the heat development inside the box. Also the power performance of the installation is
impacting (mainly via the current flow) the heat inside.

Max. temperatures in three German cities 2018/2019. Source: Climatic data Deutscher Wetterdienst

Weidmüller Interface GmbH & Co. KG | Klingenbergstraße 26 |32758 Detmold, Germany | T +49 5231 14-0 | F +49 5231 14-292083 | www.weidmueller.com
 The current flow heats up components such as the circuit board, cables and fuses. Knowing this the designers
have to choose the adequate cross-section of the cables. To protect components from the heat radiated from
components next by, a certain distance needs to be maintained during design stage. For instance, components
such as fuses, should not contain the heat. Otherwise, a thermal fuse would not fulfil its purpose.

One strong benefit of the right selection of the enclosure size harmonized with each component, is to avoid
the use of fans. Thereby avoiding any negative impact on the sealing, additional power consumption and the
use of microelectronic components, which have a high risk to fail during 20 years of lifetime.

When it comes to the validation of the design at least the heating test according to EN 61439-1:2011 and the
thermal cycle test according to IEC 62093:2005 should be performed.

Conclusion: The right selection, designing and later on validation of the interaction of all components will lead
to a long lifetime of the product.

Weidmüller Interface GmbH & Co. KG | Klingenbergstraße 26 |32758 Detmold, Germany | T +49 5231 14-0 | F +49 5231 14-292083 | www.weidmueller.com
 Advantages of WEIDMUELLER products

PV NEXT Combiner Boxes are designed for a very good performance over a lifetime of up to 20 years. To
achieve this our developers and laboratory engineers are working very close together. Also, the selection of
each component is essential in the designing stage.

Thermography picture of the heat radiation of a PV Next Combiner Box

The boxes are designed for temperatures up to 50°C with a load of 15A.

WEIDMUELLER has decided to offer an optimized portfolio of PV NEXT Combiner Boxes, with the implication
that for some specific PV installation the enclosure size might appear to “large”. Nevertheless, considering the
advantages listed above, we are committed to offer the most efficient and most robust solution for a long-life
PV installation.

Weidmüller Interface GmbH & Co. KG | Klingenbergstraße 26 |32758 Detmold, Germany | T +49 5231 14-0 | F +49 5231 14-292083 | www.weidmueller.com