Standards Reference
The standards behind a compliant solar and battery install: what each one covers, where it applies, and how they meet.
This sets out what each standard governs, not the standard text itself. Standards are published by Standards Australia / Standards New Zealand and the IEC, and are revised periodically; always work to the current edition and have a licensed professional confirm compliance. The focus here is Australian (AS/NZS), with the key international (IEC) product standards.
Ask Watt which one applies
Watt answers from the bench: which standard governs what, where the boundaries sit, and what to check on site. It does not hold the standard text and will say so rather than guess.
How they fit together
Most confusion on a job is not about one standard, it is about where one stops and the next begins. This is the running order of a job and which standards govern each part of it.
Equipment
Product-level qualification for the gear before it reaches site.
Install
The electrical installation itself, from the array to the switchboard.
Connect
Bringing the system onto the grid, and what the inverter must do.
Commission
Proving it works, documenting it, and the off-grid equivalent.
Where the lines sit
The general wiring rules sit under the whole electrical installation; 5033 covers the PV array specifically.
General wiring rules under the installation; 4777.1 covers connecting it to the grid through an inverter.
5033 governs the DC side of the array. 4777.1 picks up at how the inverter-connected system is installed for grid connection.
Part 1 is how the system is installed. Part 2 is what the inverter itself must do.
Cable selection and current-carrying capacity is worked out alongside the array requirements.
Battery energy storage installed with a grid-connected inverter system engages both.
A battery on the DC side sits alongside the array requirements.
IEC 62109 (Parts 1 & 2)AS/NZS 4777.2
Inverter product safety sits behind the inverter requirements applied at grid connection.
Module design qualification is a product-level standard for the modules an array is built from.
IEC 61730 (Parts 1 & 2)AS/NZS 5033
Module safety qualification is a product-level standard for the modules an array is built from.
Commissioning tests and handover documentation for the installed grid-connected system.
Commissioning verification of the installed array.
Stand-alone systems still build a PV array, so the array requirements apply off-grid too.
Explore the standards relationship map
Equipment
Product-level qualification for the gear before it reaches site.
Install
The electrical installation itself, from the array to the switchboard.
Connect
Bringing the system onto the grid, and what the inverter must do.
Commission
Proving it works, documenting it, and the off-grid equivalent.
Where the lines sit
The general wiring rules sit under the whole electrical installation; 5033 covers the PV array specifically.
General wiring rules under the installation; 4777.1 covers connecting it to the grid through an inverter.
5033 governs the DC side of the array. 4777.1 picks up at how the inverter-connected system is installed for grid connection.
Part 1 is how the system is installed. Part 2 is what the inverter itself must do.
Cable selection and current-carrying capacity is worked out alongside the array requirements.
Battery energy storage installed with a grid-connected inverter system engages both.
A battery on the DC side sits alongside the array requirements.
IEC 62109 (Parts 1 & 2)AS/NZS 4777.2
Inverter product safety sits behind the inverter requirements applied at grid connection.
Module design qualification is a product-level standard for the modules an array is built from.
IEC 61730 (Parts 1 & 2)AS/NZS 5033
Module safety qualification is a product-level standard for the modules an array is built from.
Commissioning tests and handover documentation for the installed grid-connected system.
Commissioning verification of the installed array.
Stand-alone systems still build a PV array, so the array requirements apply off-grid too.
Installation & safety
Standards Australia / NZ
Installation and safety requirements for photovoltaic (PV) arrays: DC-side layout, isolation, maximum array voltage, earthing and signage.
Applies to The DC side of every grid-connected and off-grid PV array.
Standards Australia / NZ
Installation requirements for grid-connected energy systems via inverters.
Applies to How inverter-connected grid systems are installed.
Standards Australia / NZ
The Wiring Rules: the overarching standard for the safety of electrical installations.
Applies to All electrical work, including the AC side of solar.
Grid connection & inverters
Standards Australia / NZ
Inverter requirements for grid connection: anti-islanding, power quality, and voltage/frequency response, including the regional settings inverters ship with.
Applies to Grid-connected solar and battery inverters.
Safety of power converters for use in photovoltaic power systems: electrical safety of the inverter as a product.
Applies to Inverter product-level electrical safety.
Cabling & protection
Standards Australia / NZ
Selection of cables: current-carrying capacity (ampacity) and voltage-drop sizing for conductors.
Applies to Sizing DC string and AC cabling.
Batteries
Standards Australia / NZ
Safety of battery systems used with power conversion equipment: installation, location, and protection of battery energy storage.
Applies to Home and commercial battery storage installs.
Product qualification (modules)
IEC
Design qualification and type approval for crystalline-silicon terrestrial PV modules: performance and durability testing.
Applies to PV module performance certification.
Photovoltaic module safety qualification: construction requirements and safety testing.
Applies to PV module safety certification.
Commissioning & off-grid
IEC
Requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance of grid-connected PV systems: commissioning tests and handover documentation.
Applies to Commissioning and handover of grid-connected systems.
Standards Australia / NZ
Stand-alone power systems: design and installation of off-grid systems.
Applies to Off-grid (stand-alone) power systems.
Need the full text? Standards are available from Standards Australia and the IEC. This page is general information, not advice. See our Disclaimer.