We work in the photovoltaic industry and need to test 24 module strings, operating at 1500Vdc./10A. In order to perform the tests, we have a 1500Vdc power supply that will be connected to one string at a time and would need to switch between strings remotely.

Would it be possible to source solid-state relays/Mosfet's/IGBT's that would be able to switch the voltage and current required?

Assistance with specifying the components and PCB board design if required would be greatly appreciated.

 

STGIPQ3HD60-HZ
STGIPQ3HD60-HL
IXGH6N170
IXGT6N170
IXGT10N170A
IXBT6N170
SGF5N150UFTU
IXBH16N170A
SGS5N150UFTU
IXBT16N170A
IXGH24N170A
IXGH10N170A
IXGH16N170A
IXGT24N170A
IXGT16N170A
IXBH10N170
IXBH6N170
IXBT10N170
IXGT10N170
IXGH10N170
IXGH16N170AH1
MMIX4G20N250
IXGF20N250
IXGR32N170AH1
IXGR16N170AH1
IXGT24N170AH1
IXGT16N170AH1
SGL5N150UFTU
IXGF20N300
IXGH24N170AH1
IXGH10N300
IXBF12N300
IXGT4N250C
FII24N17AH1S
FII24N17AH1
IXGH4N250C

 

However interesting, 1500V or milivolt, otherhow 1500V*10A=15 kW=about 30 m2 of area. Just the whole house??

 

Thanks, Janis59, 1500V, this is not on a house, we maintain photovoltaic farms, many covering 100s of hectares and more.

I posted here because I know very little about electronics and would like assistance with a solution. You have listed many components, which of these will handle the 1500V and what component would be best suited for this application, switch between strings?

Which of the data sheet parameters would I need to look at when specifying the components?

Once again, any assistance would be appreciated.

Regards

 

Best place to start is here: https://www.te.com/usa-en/campaigns/corporate/products/kilovac-sg.html?

I used relays from this company to switch 2A at 15 kV. With the relays I used, you have to switch with no voltage across the contacts.

Schneider Electric and TE connectivity are huge black holes.

 

KISS, Thank you for your reply. I'll have to do a little studying. As we want to switch remotely (wirelessly) we would need some type of relay/contactor to switch the supply off prior to switching the channels.

 

I'm not saying that all of the relays work that way. Both RF (1000 W) and high voltage DC (20 kV) which is what I used, both did.
The relays I used were basically clear glass.

I found their HV relay catalog here: https://www.te.com/commerce/Documen...Nm=5-1773450-5_Section7&DocType=CS&DocLang=EN

Picking a 'random relay' hot switching reduces the lifetime:

Hot-Switching Performance
Resistive Load
1 A / 600 VDC — 1,000,000 cycles
100 A / 28 VDC — 100,000 cycles
100 A / 400 VDC — 25,000 cycles
100 A / 600 VDC — 20,000 cycles
1000 A / 28 VDC — 100 cycles
1000 A / 400 VDC — 10 cycles
1000 A / 600 VDC — 5 cycles

 

You really need to use a contactor rated for this application. Industrial contactors are made by companies like ABB, Siemens, GE, just to name a few. You can use a smaller control voltage like 24v to activate the contactor. Automation Direct should have a contactor that would work for your application.

 

operating at 1500Vdc./10A

Checking.....Don;t you need that power supply to be 4-quadrant? i.e. Able to source and sink current?

 

Datasheet basics:
V(ds) max - take a 20-30% higher than actual need.
I(ds)max - take 30-50% larger
P(max) - take at least 20% higher as thermal calculus demand
tau on+tau off + tau delay on =tau delay off= hardly smaller than 1/frequency or oi want to keep the good wave shape then 7...9 fold faster.
S (mA/V)- limiting in very rare cases.
C(gs) or Coss Ciss Cdss - rules the power need to excitate the FET
V(gs max) - limiting in rather rare cases
price - may variate for similar quality at least 10-fold
Case - sometimes some specific form factors may be avoided
Source tor search the part numbers and places to buy and cheapest prices is
Octopart.com
Sometimes may find an another mighty search engines similarly good, that are
Digikey.com
TME.com
Farnell.com
ElfaDistrelec.com

 

I've never switched 1500V @ 10 amps, but I've switched 600V @ 50 amps for a large DC motor.
It is scary.

DC does not lend itself to be interrupted. Whatever does the switching must have a lot of fail safe mechanisms.
I would not attempt to build a DC interrupter myself, and I do have a fair amount of power electronics experience.

As Robnevada mentions, it is better to use a device from one of the major power product companies. Solar farms have become ubiquitous, the problem you are describing should be fairly common, and there must be some turn-key solutions available.

Back then we used large contactors made by GE, but my understanding is that a couple of years back they sold that division to ABB.

 

I've never switched 1500V @ 10 amps, but I've switched 600V @ 50 amps for a large DC motor.
It is scary.

DC does not lend itself to be interrupted. Whatever does the switching must have a lot of fail safe mechanisms.
I would not attempt to build a DC interrupter myself, and I do have a fair amount of power electronics experience.

As Robnevada mentions, it is better to use a device from one of the major power product companies. Solar farms have become ubiquitous, the problem you are describing should be fairly common, and there must be some turn-key solutions available.

Back then we used large contactors made by GE, but my understanding is that a couple of years back they sold that division to ABB.

Agreed. Find a manufacturer that has a finished product. As schmitt trigger has said, DC does not lend itself to be interrupted. It will arc and keep arcing through a normal relay. Relays designed for high voltage DC have vanes and such to break the arc and are tested rigorously.

 

They use carbon plates in large contactors that take the arcing while transferring from contact to contact so that the arcing does not vaporize the contact points.

 

I have no power engineering experience myself, but I did have an uncle who worked for Reyrolle Parsons, a UK manufacturer of power engineering products for the UK National Grid. I remember him describing the construction of the switches for the HV side (many thousands of volts). They were - and I presume still are - huge tanks full of arc-quenching oil. I can however attest to the power of even a small DC arc, having once punched a hole clean through my thumbnail with a 500V motor-generator set that hadn't fully spun down. So some care is required.