1 Scope
This part of the IEC 62257 series
introduces the entire series regarding off-gridrenewable energy and hybrid products and systems most commonly used for rural applications and access
to electricity.
This Part 100 document provides a guide for facilitating the reading and the use of
the IEC 62257 series for setting up off-grid electrification in developing countries or in developed countries, the only difference
being the level of service and the needed quantity of energy that the customer can
afford.
This Part 100 document introduces the series. It focuses on the planned document organization
and numbering structure, including a description of each topic and subtopic grouping.
It contains a brief overview of the project management and tendering process. It also
contains a brief overview of the concept of “access to electricity” and some of the
types of renewable energyoff-grid and hybrid systems. This document has several examples of case studies for various user groups, to assist
them in utilizing the updated series. Additionally, it contains an informative Annex A to assist users of prior versions of the IEC 62257‑x series in locating content within the updated IEC 62257‑xxx series.
This document outlines the organization of documents within the updated IEC 62257‑xxx series published in 2022 and later, including utilization of a new 3-digit part numbering
scheme, grouped into topics and subtopics.
This series is anticipated to be of interest to the following renewable energyoff-grid and hybrid system stakeholders:
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• manufacturers
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• testing and certification labs
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• equipment distributors, importers, and bulk buyers
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• government regulators, inspection, certification, safety, customs and trade agencies
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• agencies developing regional-level solar lantern / kit programs
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• agencies developing RFQs (Request for Quotations) for systems
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• system designers, engineers, project implementers, contractors, supervisors
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• installers of small PV and storage
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• installers of small wind systems
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• installers of large hybrid systems with multiple users
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• system owners, residents, operators, maintenance personnel.
The document part numbers to be assigned within this updated IEC 62257‑xxx series will be grouped into topics as follows:
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• Parts -1xx: Introduction and project management
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• Parts -2xx: System design and installation
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• Parts -3xx: Energy system components
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• Parts -4xx: User equipment and appliances
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• Parts -5xx: Stand-alone products and packaged kits.
To assist users in navigating the documents within the revised IEC 62257 series, this introductory -100 document presents how the documents will be further organized
into the following subtopics, see .
Table 1
—
Subtopics within the IEC 62257 series
| Main topic |
Subtopic
Part #
|
Subtopic |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction and project management | -100 | Overview of the IEC 62257 series |
| -11x | Project management framework | |
| -12x | Tendering and evaluation | |
| -13x | Preliminary assessments | |
| System design and installation | -20x | Design |
| -21x | Installation | |
| -22x | Tools for installation | |
| -23x | Competency evaluation | |
| Energy system components | -30x | Generators and energy conversion |
| -31x | Photovoltaic modules | |
| -32x | Wind turbines | |
| -33x | Generator sets | |
| -34x | Batteries and battery management systems | |
| -35x | Inverters | |
| -36x | Balance of system components – DC | |
| -37x | Balance of system components – AC | |
| User equipment and appliances | -40x | Off-grid loads |
| -41x | Lighting | |
| Stand-alone products and packaged kits | -50x | Stand-alone renewable energy products |
Refer to the website address www.iec.ch for a list of published documents.

