INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT Volume 7, Issue 2, 2016 pp.137-148 Journal homepage: www.IJEE.IEEFoundation.org ISSN 2076-2895 (Print), ISSN 2076-2909 (Online) ©2016 International Energy & Environment Foundation. All rights reserved. Earthing system for stand alone PV solar house M. Nassereddine, J. Rizk, M. Nagrial, A. Hellany School of Computing, Engineering & Mathematics, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia. Abstract Renewable energy is becoming an essential element when it comes to climate change. The advance technology in energy storage increases the installation of standalone system for residential houses. As the solar system is the sole power source for the property, a rigid reliability system should be designed. The paper addresses the earthing requirement for the standalone system to mitigate lightning strike, transfer voltage from nearby high voltage infrastructure and adequate protection operation. Case study is also included. Copyright © 2016 International Energy and Environment Foundation - All rights reserved. Keywords: Earth grid; Earth potential rise; Lightning; Soil resistivity; Transfer voltage. 1. Introduction Climate change is a contemporary issue, and the international communities have accepted the dangers of greenhouse gas emissions. Methodologies and policies on how to address this important issue, is now a popularly debated topic. Renewable energy is one of the hot topics when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions treatments. Solar system is one of the renewable energy power sources that help in reducing the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In the recent days, more standalone systems are being installed worldwide. The system consists of the followings [1-5]: • Solar panels • Controller charger • Energy storage • Inverter The design and installations should take into consideration the earthing aspect of the electrical system. Different standards have different approach when it comes to earthing for the PV solar system. For example, the information in [6] only permit the earthing of the metallic body of the system, the voltage terminals are not earthed while other systems allow for earthing the negative terminals of the PV solar system. The neighboring between residential properties and high voltage infrastructure introduces the risk of transfer voltage [7-10]. The current research shows that high voltage fault has the potential to transfer to nearby conductive structures [11-17]. The magnitude of the transferred voltage could reach an unsafe condition and jeopardize safety of the residence. Therefore, earthing system shall be considered to mitigate the issue of the transfer voltage. In addition, standalone house is the only power source; therefore it should be protected against lightning strike. Earthing system is an essential element when it comes to lightning performance [18, 20]. The adequate earthing system absorbs the lightning energy into the ground without causing any damage to the standalone system.