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Solar PV System Design

The course explores the principles of solar irradiation, different types of solar PV systems, their technological components, and provides guidance and examples for system sizing.


Learning Objectives

  • Understand key concepts of solar radiation and the factors affecting solar PV site assessment, orientation, and tilt angle
  • Distinguish between on-grid, off-grid, and hybrid solar PV systems, as well as the characteristics of residential, commercial and industrial (C&I), utility-scale, and agrivoltaics installations
  • Grasp the function, technological options, and sizing considerations for solar PV system components, including PV modules, battery storage, float chargers, charge controllers, inverters, wiring, overcurrent protection devices, grounding, net metering, and mounting and tracking systems
  • Comprehend the technical parameters and conditions involved in solar PV system design and sizing and learning from practical examples


Course Syllabus (4 modules, 93 lessons, 71 figures, 5 quizzes)

1. Solar Resources 1.1 The Sun and Its Radiation, 1.1.1 Radiation Spectrum, 1.1.2 Global Insolation, 1.1.3 Direct and Diffused Radiation, 1.1.4 Solar Resources Definitions, 1.1.5 Atmospheric Effects, 1.1.6 Earth’s Radiative Equilibrium, 1.1.7 Air Mass Index, 1.1.8 Solar Constant, 1.1.9 Peak Sun Hour, 1.1.10 Sun Angles,  1.1.11 Sun Path, 1.2 Tilt Angle and Orientation of Solar PV Modules, 1.3 Site Assessment.

2. Introduction to Solar PV Systems 2.1 Overview of Solar PV Systems, 2.2 Off-Grid PV Systems, 2.3 Grid-Tied PV Systems, 2.4 Hybrid PV Systems, 2.5 Typologies of Solar PV Installations, 2.5.1 Residential Solar, 2.5.2 Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Solar, 2.5.3 Utility-Scale Solar, 2.5.4 Agrivoltaics, 2.6 Material Consumption and Land Use, 2.7 LCOE and Auction Value Trends.

3. Solar PV System Components 3.1 Introduction to Solar PV System Components, 3.2 Solar PV Modules, 3.2.1 Bifacial PV Modules, 3.2.2 PV Module Terminals and Connection, 3.3 Energy Storage Technologies, 3.3.1 Battery Storage, 3.3.2 Lead-Acid (LA) Batteries, 3.3.3 Nickel-Based Batteries, 3.3.4 Lithium Batteries, 3.3.5 Battery Technologies Comparison, 3.3.6 Battery Technical Parameters, 3.3.7 Battery Sizing Considerations, 3.3.8 Battery Sizing Example, 3.3.9 Battery Maintenance, 3.4 Float Charger, 3.5 Regulators or Charge Controllers, 3.5.1 Charge and Discharge Regulation Set Points, 3.5.2 Temperature Compensation, 3.5.3 Shunt Charge Controller, 3.5.4 Series Charge Controller, 3.5.5 Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Controller, 3.5.6 Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) Controller, 3.5.7 Comparison between PWM and MPPT Charge Controller, 3.5.8 Diversionary Charge Controller, 3.5.9 Charge Controller for Hybrid PV Systems, 3.5.10 Charge Controller Sizing, 3.6 Inverter, 3.6.1 Off-Grid Inverter, 3.6.2 Grid-Tied Inverter, 3.6.3 Hybrid Inverter, 3.6.4 String, Central, and Micro Inverters, 3.6.5 Solar Inverter Development and Trends, 3.6.6 Inverter Loading Ratio, 3.6.7 Inverter Sizing, 3.7 Wiring, 3.7.1 Ampacity, 3.7.2 DC Cables and AC Cables, 3.7.3 Cable Materials, 3.7.4 Cable Naming, 3.7.5 Cable Voltage Rating and Voltage Drop, 3.8 Overcurrent Protection Devices, 3.9 Switches, 3.10 Grounding, 3.10.1 System and Equipment Grounding, 3.10.2 Lightning Protection, 3.11 Net Metering, 3.12 Module Mounting, 3.13 Solar Tracking Systems, 3.14 Module Cooling.

4. Solar PV System Sizing 4.1 Off-Grid PV System Sizing, 4.1.1 Off-Grid PV System Components, 4.1.2 Load Analysis and Evaluation, 4.1.3 Determination of System Voltage, 4.1.4 Battery Bank Sizing, 4.1.5 Evaluation of Solar Resources, 4.1.6 Determination of PV Array Size, 4.1.7 Charge Controller Sizing, 4.1.8 Inverter Sizing, 4.2 Hybrid PV System Sizing, 4.2.1 Site Assessment and PV Array Size, 4.2.2 Batteries in Hybrid PV Systems, 4.2.3 Inverter Sizing, 4.2.4 Wiring, 4.3 Grid-Tied PV System Sizing, 4.3.1 Site Evaluation, 4.3.2 Solar Array Sizing, 4.3.3 Inverter Selection and DC/AC Ratio, 4.3.4 Challenges of Grid-Tied PV Systems.


General Information

Level: Beginner/intermediate  

Duration: Self-paced course. Estimated overall duration 10/12 hours.

Language: English

Certificate: Course completion certificate


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