Cable protection

Cable protection means shielding exposed DC wiring against UV exposure and mechanical damage. It is one of the listed mitigations for Cable Defect. The others are replacing damaged cable runs and correcting routing and strain relief. Damaged or undersized DC cables can overheat and cause insulation faults, ground faults, lost production and a fire risk. Damage seen in the field includes corroded cables and cables bitten by animals. Insulation faults can come and go with humidity. If the leakage current stays below what the protection devices react to, the fault can go unnoticed and cause large power losses. Damaged cables can also start arcs. Where cables enter an inverter, seal the gaps around the inlet and outlet holes with fireproof or waterproof material, such as fireproof mud, and cover any unused terminals. This keeps moisture and foreign matter out. Protection does not fix cable that is already damaged. Replace damaged runs, then confirm the insulation is intact after the repair.

<!-- review notes

• sentence 1: support check: partial - The passages list protecting exposed wiring from UV and mechanical damage as a mitigation, but they don't define 'cable protection' that way.
• sentence 7: support check: partial - Replacing damaged runs and confirming insulation integrity after repair are stated, but the passages never say that protection doesn't fix already-damaged cable. -->