There is no lockout for the sun.
Article 380 is new. It exists because a photovoltaic array breaks the assumption every other article rests on — that a circuit can be de-energized. An illuminated array is a source, and opening the inverter disconnect does nothing to the dc conductors behind it.
380.1 covers electrical safety requirements for the practical safeguarding of employees while working on photovoltaic (PV) arrays that present an electrical hazard. The Informational Note is important for scoping: see other articles in Chapter 3 for hazards associated with the other components of PV systems, such as combiner boxes and inverters. This article is the array; the rest of the system lands elsewhere.
§ Exposure levels — the same dc numbers
380.2 requires risk control measures from the hierarchy of risk control if any of the following are exceeded. They are identical to 310.2:
| Hazard | Threshold |
|---|---|
| dc contact thermal | 1000 watts |
| dc electric shock | 100 volts and 40 milliamperes |
| dc arc flash | 150 volts and 1.2 cal/cm² |
That consistency is the point of the Chapter 3 rebuild. A technician who learns the dc thresholds once carries them from the battery room to the roof.
§ Training and qualification
Application. Training requirements apply to employees exposed to electrical hazards associated with work on or near PV arrays, including the interconnected photovoltaic equipment and collection systems — not just the modules.
Qualified person training. Employees who install, operate, maintain or repair PV installations shall be trained to: understand the operating characteristics of the PV modules and equipment they work with; recognize the continuously energized nature of PV panels; perform a risk assessment for energized electrical work; and develop and follow procedures that minimize exposure.
Qualified person. Only qualified persons shall work on PV installations and equipment. There is no unqualified-person carve-out in this article.
PV risk assessment. Prior to any work on an energized PV array, a risk assessment shall be performed to identify the contact thermal, electric shock and arc flash hazards and assess the risks associated with the type of tasks to be performed.
§ The connector rules — where people actually get hurt
380.6 is where the article gets specific, and it is specific about the thing PV technicians do dozens of times a day: pulling connectors apart.
Job safety plan. If work is performed on an exposed PV terminal greater than the contact thermal, electric shock or arc flash thresholds, the risk assessment shall be documented in the written job safety plan.
Conductor manipulation. Before manipulating any connectors on an energized system, a risk assessment shall be performed to determine the maximum open circuit voltage that would be generated and the maximum current to be interrupted. The Informational Note states the purpose plainly: this determines whether the action can be performed safely and what PPE is required.
Plugging and unplugging connectors. Procedures shall be developed that include preventing connections that create a short circuit and the controls necessary to prevent that situation; verification of no load current prior to disconnecting; and control measures, including PPE, to prevent injury.
“Verification of no load current prior to disconnecting” is the requirement that separates this from ordinary dc work. A PV connector pulled under load draws a sustained dc arc that will not self-extinguish — there is no current zero. The connector is rated to carry current, not to break it, and the array behind it cannot be turned off.
PV shows up on data center campuses as rooftop arrays, carport structures and ground-mount fields tied to the same site electrical infrastructure. The crews that work on them are frequently contractors, and 380.4 makes qualification non-negotiable.
Article 380 also arrives on the roof at the same moment as a fall hazard. An energized dc array, an unprotected leading edge, and one person working both problems at once is the combination worth planning against — OSHA 1926 Subpart M and this article apply simultaneously.
Scope the boundary carefully. The array is Article 380. The combiner boxes and inverters are not — the Informational Note to 380.1 sends those to other Chapter 3 articles, and an inverter is Article 330 equipment by its scope.