how are you guys running the PV cable on roofs etc, is it good practice to run them via conduit pipes or just tucked neatly into the rails

My roof is a flat concrete roof, I have run them inside conduit for extra protection. In theory these cables need to last as long as the panels (upto 20+ years).

So I'd rather protect them as best as possible, conduit works well for this I feel.

true but from all pics that I have seen, it seems like standard practice to leave them loose which I'm not comfortable with either

I know in SANS 10142-1-2  (below extraction)this briefly appeared and was retracted but in SANS 10142-1         ( legal regs) their is no mention of conduit or trunking for pv wires. To me common sense would be to lay the cables in some form of protection other than the cable insulation either conduit or trunking it makes for a much neater install in any case.

c) Conduits
Where conduit is used for DC cables, it shall be metal conduit. Conduit shall be bonded at all
junctions to ensure electrical continuity of the conduit. The metal conduit shall be bonded to earth at
a suitable location.

 

1 hour ago, TaliaB said:

I know in SANS 10142-1-2  (below extraction)this briefly appeared and was retracted but in SANS 10142-1         ( legal regs) their is no mention of conduit or trunking for pv wires. To me common sense would be to lay the cables in some form of protection other than the cable insulation either conduit or trunking it makes for a much neater install in any case.

c) Conduits
Where conduit is used for DC cables, it shall be metal conduit. Conduit shall be bonded at all
junctions to ensure electrical continuity of the conduit. The metal conduit shall be bonded to earth at
a suitable location.

 

Thank you