[SOUND] Welcome to this module on grid tied design.

Throughout this
module we'll be putting it all together by looking at a site survey for
installation, looking at how inverters are used in photovoltaic grid tied
design, sizing photovoltaic arrays for energy needs, and sizing to meet
inverter specifications.

Welcome to the segment on site surveys for residential grid-tie design.

We'll begin this segment with looking at a site survey kit. A site survey
kit is very useful when going on a proposed site, so you have all the
tools needed in one place. Your typical site survey kit would include a
site survey checklist or unified permit, along 100 foot or 30 meter tape
measure, as well as a shorter 25 foot or eight meter tape measure. A
solar pathfinder sole metric SunEye with compass, a camera, notepad,
pen, a ladder, a flashlight, screwdrivers, and a magnetic protractor or
angle finder. There are links in the module readings to some examples
of site survey checklist, as well as some unified solar permits. Once you
get to a site, the first thing that you want to do is take measurements
and photos of the exterior space. We'll focus on a residential site in this
lesson. You should also take photos of the front-end side of the building
as well as use the tape measure to record the length and width of the
building. It's also important to know the azimuth of the building and
relation to the solar, array, and the sun. The next step would be to look
at the roof structure itself. Now, you can use you climb up a small
ladder or look from a distance to see any deterioration that might exist
on the roof, as well as note the type of roof material that's used, the
metal, tile or shingle, are typical. You can look under the eaves and
oftentimes see the thickness of the sheathing, as well as make sure that
there's appropriate area for the solar array installation. Generally
sheathing for roof should be about a half inch thick or thicker. If you're
unsure about the quality of the roof in terms of age and strength, you
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are the homeowner should consult a professional roofer for inspection.
While you're up on the roof, this is also a good time to do a quick shade
analysis using the solar pathfinder. The next important step is to
determine the size of the actual roof space. There are a few ways that
you can calculate the length and width of the roof. With newer asphalt
shingles, you can count the number of shingles on a roof slope because
each shingle has a 5.5 inch exposure in the United States, and you can
use that to determine the length of the roof. You can determine the
width from the exterior site measurements that you took before. If
there's not a shingle roof or you cannot see the top of the roof, another
way to do this is to use an angle finder and then do some trigonometry.
The roof itself would be considered the hypotenuse of a triangle, and
you can measure that angle by taking a picture and then applying a
protractor or using an angle finder, and rest on the rooftop to
determine the angle. As long as you know the angle of the rooftop,
angle a in this case. You can take the cosine of angle a, and divide it by
the adjacent length, which is X. The resulting value is the hypotenuse,
which is the total length of the rooftop or the rise of the roof. For
example, consider a roof angle of 27 degrees and the building width of
60 feet. Splitting that width at the peak of the roof, equals 30 feet. The
resulting hypotenuse or rise of the roof becomes 33.7 feet. Once the
roof size is known, the next step is to go inside the attic space and
assess the roof structure. Once you get into the roof the first in the
attic, the first thing you want to do is take some pictures of all the
spaces, but especially make note of where the roof is constructed of
rafters or truss systems. If we look a little bit closer, trusses are more
modern method of roofing, and they are very strong. But it's important
that trusses are not altered in any way or compromising the structural
integrity of the whole system. In older style roofing, uses rafters with
color ties, where the rafters go from the attic floor up to the peak of

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the roof. Either system can be used for mounting photovoltaic arrays,
but that's why it's important to follow international building code and
consult an engineer. You may be required to provide additional
reinforcement for the dead load associated with a photovoltaic system
on that rooftop, especially in areas that have high snow loading. The
next stop on the site survey is to consider whether or not the system
will be used on grid or off-grid. While we're planning for on grid design
in this course, if you consider batteries they require a stable warm
location and must be placed no further than 20 feet from the inverter,
according to National Electric Code. Generally, this means looking in a
basement area to determine where the inverter will be located,
generally some wall, and finally, a floor space for that battery bank.
Electrical Code also requires that any battery be placed in a sealed box
with venting. The inverter and any battery charge controller need to be
mounted in a space that's accessible and clear from any obstructions.
This typically means a clear area on an exterior wall in a basement. So,
you want to take a look at the basement area or wherever the system
will be, and see where the inverter and other electronics can be placed.
The final piece to look at in the site visit is the breaker box or fuse box.
It's important to record the size and brand of that circuit box, also
known as the load center. Record how many circuits are available, as
well as the bus bar amperage rating on the breaker panel. The bus bar
rating indicates the maximum current that's allowed to flow through
load center. You'll have a better idea of why this current value is so
critical once we talk about site design in installation. Note that, at
minimum, at least to breaker locations need to be open for a
photovoltaic system to be installed. The site survey will be later used to
develop the site design as well as develop a project proposal for the
customer, and apply for a municipal permit. In the next few lessons,

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we'll look at designing and wiring a photovoltaic system. Then, how to
match that to an inverter for a photovoltaic project.

Hi. Welcome to the segment on re-sizing and module selection. During

this lesson, we'll be looking at three methods that can be used to
determine the size of a photovoltaic installation. One of these is
calculating total energy based upon the predetermined energy
requirement. The second is looking at total available area for
photovoltaic installation, and the third is using total available finances.
We'll begin this discussion by looking at sizing for energy. The simplest
method for sizing photovoltaic installation is look at some of the energy
bill and try to make it net zero. To do this, we first have to determine
the total annual energy usage which is something we looked at in the
previous course. Once you have the total energy usage for a location,
you then need to look at that site and location data to determine the
total solar access, which is the amount of sunlight combined with
building factors such as the roof tilt and then the azimuth. This is
something we've covered in module two and module three in this
course. The final piece is to use a reasonable estimation of loss to
determine the total available power from that photovoltaic system that
will be delivered. The next methods is to size the system based upon
total available area. To do this, you first have to define the total area
available for the array which has bounds based upon both building
requirements in building code. Once that's done, you need to set a
module and with its known dimensions, you can determine the system
power based upon the area and the power of the individual module.
The next step would be similar to sizing by energy, which is to look at
the site and location data to determine the solar access for that
particular photovoltaic array. From there, you can make a reasonable
estimation of loss and then determine the total system energy. In the
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first example, you use an energy determine the size of the system, and
in the second example, you use the area that's available to define the
system size, which will then give you the overall system energy. The last
example is sizing based upon available finances or money. To do this,
one would have to define the total budget available for a project
including any incentives or rebates. The next step would be to do some
pricing for the modules, the balance of system components and the
labor. This is fundamentally important but beyond the scope of this
specialization. Once that's done however, you can then apply the total
module cost to determine the number of modules that can be
purchased and then the power that could be produced from those
modules in that location. To do that, again, we would need to use the
site and location data to determine solar access and estimation of loss,
and then calculate the total system energy per year. Let's begin by
looking at an example where we size a system based on total energy
requirements. In this example, I'm going to use an electrical utility bill
which has an annual energy use of 11,250 kilowatt hours. In this
location, the daily installation given by the irradiance maps, indicates it
to be 4.7 kilowatt hours per square meter per day for a site that is due
South at latitude minus 15 degrees. We're going to assume 20 percent
loss in the system from the inverter wiring and other items. The next
part is to divide the total energy, 11,250 kilowatt hours by the total
solar insulation per year, which is 4.7 kilowatt hours per square meter
per day, multiplied by 365 days per year, and again by 0.8 which is the
efficiency of the system. The solution to this gives us the power of the
whole photovoltaic system which is 8.2 kilowatts or 8,200 watts. By
then, take a module power, say, 250 watts per module, and I divide
8,200 watts by that individual module power of 250 watts. It yields
32.78 modules. However, we have to round because you can't have a
fractional module. So, in this case, we're going to round up to 33

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modules. Thus, 33 modules will produce 8,250 watts under standard
test conditions. Once you know what type of module you'll be using,
you can use the specification sheets to calculate the area of all the
modules that in total for the system. In the next example, I'll show you
how to size by area. In this case, I'm going to take an example where
we have a usable roof space of 42 square meters. This location also has
a daily insulation of 4.7 kilowatt hours per square meter per day, and
faces due South at a tilt of latitude minus 15 degrees. According to the
spec sheet, each of these 250 watts solar panels is 1.25 square meters
in size. So, if I divide 42 square meters by 1.25 square meters, it gives us
33.6 panels. In this case, we have to round down because we cannot
have more area of solar panels than what's available. So, we must use
33 panels. This calculation assumes that the modules are set without
any space between them and that the module dimensions allow for all
the modules to fit within the dimensions of the usable roof space. So, it
may be an overestimate or an estimate for the total number of
installable modules. A scale drawing lays out the panels on the available
roof space, and could reveal where some of these panels may not fit or
they might need to be oriented in different directions. Assuming all the
panels do fit in our example though, the 33 panels times 250 watts per
panel yield 8,250 watts for the system. Putting in the 20 percent system
loss for wiring in inverter inefficiency. In this case, the system would
multiply 8,250 watts or 8.25 kilowatts by 4.7 kilowatt hours per square
meter per day multiplied again by 365 days per year and 0.8 which is
the system efficiency. This produces an annual energy of 11,322
kilowatt hours per year. In this example, we get both the size of the
system as well as the energy of the system will produce. Now, there's
no single way to design or size a system. Sometimes it's based upon
money, the space, or the need. More often however, it's a mixture of
two or three of those variables at once. It's important that you're

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comfortable with shifting between power energy and physical size
when doing these types of calculations. So, in summary, there are three
methods for sizing photovoltaic system and all of them rely on the solar
access of the individual site. These calculations will always yield the
number of required modules. The next step in the next video, we'll
consider the voltage and current allowances from the system that will
go into the inverter.

Welcome to this lesson on inverter sizing and selection. In the first

course, I briefly discussed the role of the inverter in the photovoltaic
array in whole system design. We'll now look a little bit closer at the
importance of the inverter, how it works, and how to size a
photovoltaic array in inverter together. First, let's look back at what an
inverter does. Well, an inverter converts the DC or direct current that
comes from the voltaic system into AC or alternating current. This is the
required piece of equipment for photovoltaic installations that are tied
into alternating current power systems. It's typical for both on-grid and
off-grid systems, though there are a few off-grid or mobile systems that
are DC only. Inverter is absolutely required for any on-grid system
because they operate universally on alternating current. The role of the
inverter is to convert that direct current that's produced by the
photovoltaic system into a sine wave that matches the alternating
current frequency found on the utility grid. That's a rather complex
conversion, as beyond the scope of the course. However, it's important
to know that a photovoltaic module itself cannot be directly plugged
into the electrical grid, and we need an inverter to be able to function
on the AC system. Alternating current runs on either 50 hertz frequency
in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world or 60 hertz in the United
States, Canada, and some other countries. In either case, the inverter is
designed to convert that direct current from the photovoltaic to the
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alternating current frequency that you used in the region. There are
also several safety factors and protections that are vital to an inverter,
and we'll go over those when we discuss the US National Electric Code
in the next course. Also, keep in mind anytime the battery is in use,
batteries would use an inverter to convert the DC from the battery to
the AC that's also required on the grid. At this point, we're going to
jump into evaluating the specifications for an inverter. In the last
lesson, we learned how to size a photovoltaic system in term of the
total power in energy. We're going to use the total power input that'll
be produced by that system and pair it to the appropriate inverter. We
also need to consider the maximum voltage and maximum current
allowed by that inverter. All these details are given by the typical
specifications for an inverter. As an example, we can see here that
there are two electrical sections to a specification page. One is for the
alternating output current side, and the other one is for the direct
current input side. We'll look at both in order to accommodate our
system. Typically, the output data for an inverter includes the operating
voltage range, which is usually 208 volts for three-phase or 240 volts for
single-phase. It would also include the operating AC frequency and
range that can deviate, the maximum current that the system can
produce while operating, and the maximum of a current, which is the
absolute maximum fused current for that system. The maximum
continuous power output tells us the maximum power the inverter will
output, as well as the nominal output power, which is essentially the
preferred long-term power output for the inverter where efficiency is
maximized. Now, inverters are not always on, and they only convert
and deliver power when a sufficient voltage is present on the input side
of the system. On the input side, an inverter will indicate the range of
allowable voltages during operation: the maximum system input
voltage, the DC turn-on voltage, which happens to be higher than the

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minimum operating range, the maximum input current from the
photovoltaic, and the maximum usable input power from the array. In
larger inverters, the total number of series inputs may also be included,
which indicates how many series strings can be wired into the inverter.
In this case, we'll begin by looking at the inverter input. Now, the
inverter power input is always higher than the inverter power output
because of efficiency in the conversion. Under real-world conditions,
voltage and current change continuously in a photovoltaic system,
which is why a voltage range is given. As I mentioned earlier, the turn-
on voltage is always higher than the operating voltage. This is because
if we think about a cloudy day, where the sun is going in and out and
dipping above and below that minimum operating voltage, the system
would be constantly turning on and off, on and off, and it would be
detrimental to both the device, and could cause some significant
fluctuations to the AC input side that goes to the utility. For this reason,
the turn-on voltage is always set to some level above the minimum
input voltage. We assume that when the system reaches this turn-on
voltage, it will not dip back down very easily. So, the system will remain
on for some time. Other specifications indicate the maximum input
current, which is the absolute maximum number of amps that can be
input to an inverter regardless of the number of strings they're
providing. This means that in this case, we can provide one 18 amp line
or we can provide, say, three six amp lines. Both give us 18 amps. The
maximum usable input power is the maximum power that can be
converted by the system. Generally speaking, this is drive by multiplying
the maximum operating voltage by the maximum operating input
current. Exceeding any of these specifications could result in failure of
the inverter and potentially be a safety and fire hazard. So, it's
important to always consider the temperature effects on voltage as
well, especially for open-circuit voltage for safety and voltage limits.

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Since voltage decreases as the temperature increases, we're not
worried about exceeding the maximum input voltage of the system
during operation. The other side of the inverter is the output. The
voltage output is constant for a specified inverter. It's either 240 volts
or 208 volts generally. The output current however is variable. The
maximum power delivered by the inverter is obtained when the
maximum output current is multiplied by the output voltage. The
continuous power is the preferred operating power which both
maximize the efficiency and happens to be lower than the maximum
power. This means that we should always size our system for this
preferred continuous power level. By comparing the two power values,
the input power and the output power, we can solve for inverter
efficiency. So, dividing the maximum AC output power by the maximum
DC input power yields the fractional inverter efficiency. Modern
inverters have an efficiency of 90-95 percent. This is in contrast to
smaller inverters or those that produce lower quality sine wave
outputs, which can have efficiencies of only 75-85 percent. In general,
inverter efficiency decreases under very low fractional loads and
increases and decreases slightly as the inverter approaches the
maximum input power. Next, we'll look at how to match inverter to a
defined photovoltaic system array.

Welcome to the segment on string sizing. In the last video, we

examined inverter specification sheets. In this section, we'll combine
photovoltaic module and array data to find the appropriate inverter for
the system. Let's begin by looking at an example where we need a
7,400 watt or 7.4 kilowatt system and then choose a module in an
inverter that matches this requirement. We're going to use this
example of an inverter that has a nominal output of 7,200 watts and a
maximum usable input of 8,640 watts. So, we're going to start with the
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assumption that, 7,400 watts are required and we're using 300 watt
photovoltaic modules. By dividing 7,400 watts by 300 watts per
module, we get 24.7 modules. Because we can't have fraction module,
we'll need to round down to 24 modules. So now, we know our system
will have 24 photovoltaic modules. These modules are listed as having
an open circuit voltage of 38.2 volts and a maximum power voltage of
36 volts. The short circuit current is rated as 8.6 amps and the
maximum power current is rated at 8.3 amps. Now, that we have the
values for the input of the inverter and the output of the photovoltaic
panels, we can determine if the system will work together. First, we
we'll look at what happens when we wire 24 modules in series. We
want to look at the absolute highest voltage the system could produce,
which would be an open circuit conditions. The Voc and stc is 38.2 volts
and multiplied by 24 modules gives us a total system voltage of 917
volts. By looking at the spec sheets on the inverter, we see that the
maximum input voltage is 600 volts. That means that this system in a
series string will not work with this inverter and it's also an excessively
high voltage. To solve this problem, we'll instead try a parallel string to
provide two series strings. If we have two series strings, then there are
only 12 modules per string and 12 modules times the 38.2 Voc is 458.4
volts. This is acceptable because below the 600 volt maximum, 12
modules times the 36 volt maximum power voltage is 432 volts, which
is within the operating range of the inverter as well. The next step is to
look at the maximum current that can be produced by the photovoltaic
modules, which is the short circuit condition. We're now working under
the assumption that we'll have to series strings and each string has a
short circuit current of 8.6 amps. Well, 8.6 amps multiplied by the two
strings that we determined previously is 17.2 amps. Looking at the
specification sheet for the inverter, we see the maximum input current
that inverter is 18 amps. So, we're below the maximum input current

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allowed for the inverter. In this case, it appears that the final design
would include two strings of 12 300 watt modules. The total system
power is still calculated to be 7,200 watts understanding test
conditions. This is a little bit lower than the maximum usable input
power of the inverter of 8,640 watts. When the PV array output is too
far below the maximum usable input power of the inverter, we would
want to consider an inverter that has a slightly lower input requirement
in order to maximize the overall system efficiency. Still, it would work in
our case here. So, we settled on two strings of 12 but, is that the only
option? Well, let's look at other possibilities. We know that there are 24
modules that are being considered and that one string of 24 provides a
voltage that is too high. 24 modules can be widened several ways
however, such as one string at 24, two strings at 12, three strings of
eight, four strings at six and so on. So, let's see what happens when we
try three strings of eight. In this case, each string would have an open
circuit voltage of 305.6 volts and 208 volts at maximum power. This fits
within the specification of the inverter which requires less than 600
volts at Voc and that the operating range be less than 480 volts.
Because we're going to have three strings in parallel, however, we need
to add the current for each string. In this case, it would be 8.6 amperes
which is the short circuit current for each string multiplied by three.
This gives us an operating short circuit current of 25.8 amps which
exceeds the maximum input. This means that we cannot have three
strings of eight and our only option in this case is two strings of 12 for
this inverter and module pair. Now, there are situations where modules
can be wired in several different ways to meet the input requirements
for both current and voltage of inverter. In general, high voltages
pervert over high current. So, there's less loss due to resistance, which
is also why we wouldn't want to use say 12 strings of two or where low
voltages with large numbers of parallel strings. So in summary, the

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process of choosing inverter begins with first defining the size or the
power of the photovoltaic array. You must then choose a module and
an inverter and balance the output of the photovoltaic string with the
inverters input requirements. You'll likely need to go through a few
iterations to match and maximize the system efficiency. So, this
concludes the lesson for this module and course. You should now be
able to calculate solar gain based on location. Use online resources to
determined solar gain and calculate losses due to shading, tilt and
[inaudible]. Explain circuitry basics and electrical output for a module in
an array as well as calculate changes based on temperature. Apply PV
specification to determine power and energy output. Finally, size,
photovoltaic system strings using module in inverse spec sheets.

Site checklists and Unified Solar Permits

Unified Solar Permits and Checklists
The solar permitting process can vary from state to state and possibly
even between municipalities, so you will always need to check the
requirements for the area you are working in. A Unified Solar Permit
helps streamline the permitting process across a state for PV system
designs and installations, although usually there usually are limits on
what PV systems qualify for that process vs. a more extensive
permitting process. When there is a Unified Solar Permit available in a
state, it still must be adopted by the local Authorities Having
Jurisdiction (AHJs) for it to apply in that jurisdiction. Below are two
examples of the support resources and unified solar permits for the
states of New York and California. Note the similarities and differences
in the expectations of information needed as part of the permitting and
reporting process, as well as the different system specifications under
which the unified permitting process can be used.
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New York State Solar Guidebook and Unified Solar Permit Application
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
(NYSERDA) has created a guidebook for solar development in New York
State. Specifically, you should review the NYSERDA Guide to
Understanding Solar PV Permitting and Inspection in New York State
[PDF]. The Guide addresses both the New York State Unified Solar
Permit Application [DOC] and the Field Inspection Checklist [DOC], that
would be used during permitting and inspection, which are also linked
as separate documents.

Please read the Guide to Understanding Solar PV Permitting through

page 22, and review the examples of required construction photos on
pp. 30-39 to get a better sense of what a plan and installation looks
like. As you are looking through the field checklist and unified solar
permit in the guide you will notice that there are number of details,
particularly around the National Electrical Code (NEC) and article 690,
that we have not covered yet. Don't worry, in course 3 you'll be going in
depth into these aspects of PV system design, including choosing the
correct conductors (wiring), overcurrent protection, and drawing line
diagrams.

California Solar Permitting Guidebook

The California Solar Permitting Guidebook [PDF] provides another
example of state checklists and permitting requirements. Note that the
California Solar guidebook also includes a separate part on solar
thermal installations, which is outside of this specialization's focus.
Please review the Project approval process section that starts on page
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13, the Eligibility checklist for expedited solar PV permitting and the
Solar PV standard plan that start on page 25, and the Field Inspection
Guide the starts on page 57. As you're looking over the different
components try to identify major similarities and differences to the NY
State permitting and inspection standards.

Putting it all together to design a photovoltaic system

In the first course of this specialization you learned about the basics of
how solar panels work, how to determine an annual energy demand for
a location, how to determine the solar energy available at that location,
and how to estimate a PV system size to meet that demand with the
available solar energy. The sizing of the PV array was underpinned by
several assumptions about site conditions being ideal. In the field, site
conditions can result in changes from the ideal array setup that result in
losses in performance. These losses need to be accounted for during
the planning phase and the calculated losses may be required as part of
a permitting process.

To wrap up this module and course material, you will be combining the
various aspects of real world site and equipment assessment as would
be necessary to create a quote for a PV system. You may want to
review some of the earlier modules' materials to make sure you are
comfortable with the various tools and calculations needed to tackle
these real world scenarios.

15
You should begin by looking at the available insolation at a particular
site. This is a function of the location, as well as site specific conditions,
like array tilt and azimuth angle, that may affect the overall usable
energy. This can be done to some extent using the NREL NSRDB data
sets, but can be estimated more accurately using a tool like PV Watts
that can account for specific tilt and azimuth angle conditions. Next,
you will need to calculate any additional losses in available sunlight due
to shading. Once you have a realistic picture of the insolation available,
it is time to choose the equipment that will work for the array.

The sizing of the system may be determined by an energy production

target, constraints of the available space, a client's budget, or some
combination of these factors. As you choose components to use in the
system, the specification sheets of the modules and of the inverter will
be critical in understanding what components will work together and
how the array needs to be connected together. Starting with the solar
panels, you need to determine the number of panels to meet the
energy target that can fit in the space available, and/or works with your
client's budget. From there, you need to calculate voltage and current
output, then choose an inverter that will work with those panels (and
with the budget). You will then determine how those panels need to be
connected together to safely work with that inverter.

Calculating voltage changes due to temperature is going to be critical

when choosing the modules and inverter, and in designing the array
circuitry. The record low temperature for a location will determine the
maximum voltage that may occur during open circuit conditions (Voc).
It is critical that the temperature-modified Voc for a series string does
not exceed the maximum voltage dictated by any of the components;
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module, wiring, or inverter. The average high temperature is also
important, because at warmer temperatures the operating voltage will
decrease. It is important that the temperature-modified Vmp of a series
string is sufficient to exceed the turn-on voltage needed to start the
inverter and stay within an inverter's operating window. In the case of
warm conditions, remember that for roof-mounted arrays you need to
account for the ambient temperature and the elevated temperature
from being on a roof. This is done using a rooftop adder to the average
high ambient air temperature.

Finally, the optimal connection of modules must be determined. It is

important that string length does not exceed the maximum string size
determined to be safe for the inverter under cold Voc conditions, and
that the Vmp is within the optimal operating range for the inverter. If
strings are connected in parallel at the inverter, it is critical that the
combined short-circuit current (Isc) of parallel strings of modules does
not exceed the maximum input current for an inverter. When multiple
configurations of series and parallel connections of panels can
potentially work with an inverter, higher voltage is preferable to higher
current as a general principle because it reduces losses due to
resistance. You'll see this play out more during course 3 when you learn
to select the appropriate wiring for a PV system.

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