With ongoing growth in the clean energy sector, there’s a heightened focus on the critical technologies and components that enable renewable energy projects. This blog discusses the Electrical Balance of Systems (EBOS) and wiring components for solar and battery energy storage projects. Learn what EBOS components are, how they function, and key factors to consider for maximizing your renewable energy project’s potential.
1. What is Electrical Balance of Systems (EBOS)
The Electrical Balance of Systems (EBOS) refers to all the components of a solar power system beyond the solar panels, inverters, trackers, and mounting systems. While the solar panels generate energy and the inverters convert electricity from direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC), EBOS includes everything necessary for the safe and efficient transport of electricity from the panels to the power grid or storage systems. This encompasses wiring systems, disconnect switches, combiner boxes, and other electrical protections that ensure the safe distribution of power in solar and energy storage applications. Although you may come across a variety of definitions, in essence EBOS covers all the elements required to connect and manage the flow of electricity within a power system.
2. Why is EBOS critical of any solar energy project?
EBOS is crucial for optimizing the performance, safety, and cost-effectiveness of solar energy systems. It ensures efficient transmission of generated energy, minimizes losses, and enhances reliability and safety by preventing electrical faults and reducing fire risks.
The impact of failing EBOS components can be devastating for the entire power system. A recent report from Heliovolta titled, THE SOLARGRADE PV HEALTH REPORT (August 2023), found that 74% of critical safety issues within PV systems were related to Direct Current (DC) power distribution, and more specifically, 57% of all failures were related to connectors. This is not surprising given the extensive amount of wiring and connections involved in project installations, where a common practice is to perform most of the meticulous installation work on-site, including wire termination.
Fortunately, leading EBOS solutions manufacturers like Shoals offer innovations that streamline the process with less wiring and fewer connections. In addition, Shoals solutions are manufactured in a factory, using custom-designed machines, equipment, and processes, which dramatically reduces the number of critical points of failure.
3. How do electrical balance of systems components impact the ROI of solar projects?
EBOS components play a key role in enhancing the ROI for solar projects by improving energy efficiency, reliability, and safety. High-quality EBOS components, such as efficient wiring and connectors, minimize energy losses during transmission and conversion, ensuring that the maximum amount of electricity generated is delivered for use. This increases overall system efficiency and energy yield, leading to higher revenue. Additionally, reliable EBOS components reduce system failures and downtime, ensuring continuous energy production and lowering maintenance costs over the system’s lifetime.
Prefabricated, factory tested, long-lasting EBOS components help avoid safety hazards, protecting the investment. They also are also easy to scale, allowing for future expansion with minimal additional financing. Some EBOS solutions may include monitoring and analytics capabilities, providing performance insights and enabling proactive maintenance.
4. What is the expected lifespan of EBOS components?
The lifespans of EBOS components typically align with solar panels, lasting about 30 years for high-quality parts. Reputable suppliers engineer EBOS systems for long-term reliability, using robust materials, protective enclosures, weather-resistant coatings, UV protection, and corrosion-resistant metals.
At Shoals, our industry-leading manufacturing equipment and processes guarantee that our EBOS solutions are both functional and durable, ensuring reliability and longevity even in harsh environmental conditions and diverse climates. We also go above regulatory standards to ensure our solutions are watertight, providing added assurance of their quality and performance.
5. What sustainability benefits do EBOS and wiring solutions provide?
Innovative electrical components and wiring solutions can help avoid trenching practices, optimize material use, and cut waste.
Trenching involves digging up trenches in the ground along the rows of solar panels to bury the cables. The process can disrupt the local ecosystem and hurt the soil structure, displacing native plant species and disturbing wildlife habitats. Maintenance — checking and repairing cables may require additional digging and environmental disruption. Above-ground EBOS solutions like the Shoals Big Lead Assembly (BLA) — an aboveground aluminum trunk bus system that carries currents between the low-voltage DC network and the system DC/AC inverters — avoid trenching all together, making this solution more sustainable.
Optimized, prefabricated designs and lean manufacturing practices, as well as stringent quality control can help minimize the project’s carbon footprint. For instance, Shoals BLA cuts down on wiring by avoiding redundant conductors covering the same distances between solar panels in the field. Generally, Shoals solutions’ design and high-quality standards ensure that they don’t break and serve for the project’s lifetime, minimizing waste.
6. What are the regulatory requirements for EBOS in different regions?
The regulatory requirements for EBOS vary across regions, reflecting diverse local standards and safety protocols. In the U.S., EBOS must comply with the National Electrical Code (NEC) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standards, while adherence to IEC standards is mandatory in the EU. Additionally, each region may have specific grid interconnection standards. Consult with your EBOS supplier early in your project design to navigate these regulations.
7. How can EBOS help reduce project costs and accelerate project timeline?
Innovative EBOS solutions can significantly reduce installation and maintenance costs and accelerate project timeline. Designed to use fewer materials like wiring, our EBOS solutions at Shoals undergo strict quality control in factories. This ensures ease of installation and maintenance, reducing the need for skilled labor on-site. The outcome is lower project costs and faster completion timelines.
8. How can EBOS systems help enhance solar installations’ safety and reduce the associated risk?
One way to minimize renewable energy project risk is by adopting electrical and wiring components with stringent in-factory quality standards that eliminate in-field installation errors, reduce risk of failure, and ensure longevity and reliability of installations.
9. Which EBOS solutions are right for my solar project?
When planning your solar project, it’s crucial to choose your EBOS solutions at the very beginning of the design process, alongside selecting your solar panels and inverters. Here are the key factors you should consider when selecting electrical and wiring components:
- The type and scale of the project—whether it’s commercial, industrial, community, or utility-scale—will dictate the complexity and robustness of the EBOS needed.
- The environmental conditions of your installation site are crucial. For instance, components should be resistant to local high temperatures or corrosive conditions if near the coast.
- If the land is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), there may be additional requirements around land disruption. For more information on regulations and permit applications, reach out to BLM.
- Compliance with both local and international regulations is also essential to ensure safety and grid compatibility.
- It is important to choose EBOS that is compatible with the specific technology of your solar panels and inverters, as well as your wiring architecture.
- Investing in higher-quality components can lead to greater long-term savings and better performance.
- Lastly, if future expansion of the project is anticipated, opt for scalable systems.
10. At which point should solar developers or project owners incorporate EBOS into their project design?
To get the right EBOS for your project, reach out to our seasoned experts at Shoals who can provide a tailored assessment based on these factors. We can discuss your drawings and help you navigate the vast array of products and technologies to find solutions that fit your project’s unique requirements and goals.
11. How can EBOS design impact the overall performance and scalability of a solar project?
A great example is a solar trunk bus. Its design is essential for optimizing the configuration of solar panel arrays and their connection to inverters and the grid. An effectively designed trunk bus system like Shoals BLA can significantly reduce power loss, improve voltage stability, and decrease the total length of cabling required. This not only impacts performance by ensuring more efficient transmission of electricity but also enhances scalability by making it easier to add additional panels or inverters as the project expands. Shoals BLA, for example, enables optimization never seen before in the renewable energy technology industry. It allows for less labor, lower O&M costs, and fewer materials compared to traditional EBOS products.
12. What criteria should be used to select EBOS supplier?
When selecting an EBOS supplier, several key criteria should be considered to ensure you choose a reliable and high-quality provider.
- Look for a supplier with a proven track record and extensive experience in the renewable energy industry but also specifically in EBOS solutions.
- Check if the company is investing in innovation since the industry is rapidly changing and EBOS solutions and standards advance as well.
- Assess their product range to ensure they offer comprehensive plug-and-play solutions that meet your specific project requirements.
- Confirm that they can partner with your organization early on to help with your project design and customize solutions for your project if necessary.
When evaluating the quality and reliability of EBOS solutions, consider factors such as the durability of materials, the robustness of the design, and the performance under various environmental conditions. Ensure the supplier provides detailed product specifications and test results to back up their claims. Additionally, examine the availability of long-term after-sales care for ongoing maintenance and troubleshooting. Finally, investigate the warranty offered by the supplier to ensure you have adequate coverage for any potential issues that may arise.
Learn more about optimizing your renewable energy project by leveraging our industry-leading renewable energy expertise and cutting-edge EBOS solutions.