Design & Installation
Design & Installation
PV systems, like other electrical power systems, use electrical conductors to route power from sources to loads. The 2011 NEC lists about 20 different types of raceways that are suitable for protecting these conductors based on the application. We...
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Design & Installation
Installing PV arrays on tile roofs is more time consuming, complicated and expensive than installing on asphalt shingle roofs. In this article, we examine the most common tile roof systems that installers are likely to encounter and address three...
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Design & Installation
If you asked PV system designers to consider using 400 2.5-kW string inverters on a 1 MW PV system, it would probably be difficult to engage in a serious discussion. But what about specifying four 250-kW inverters, 10 100-kW inverters or even 40 25-...
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Design & Installation
PV system grounding encompasses issues ranging from equipment grounding strategies, including bonding modules and grounding racking support structures, to system grounding considerations, including grounding electrode options. In this article, we...
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Design & Installation
This article is designed to help designers, installers and inspectors of PV systems understand the unique NEC requirements related to bipolar PV systems.
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Design & Installation
Booming demand for large-scale PV power plants in the US has required an evolution in solar project developers’ and contractors’ approaches to system design and engineering. Today, not just pure-play solar enterprises but, in growing numbers, power...
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Design & Installation
PV system designers and installers tend to treat the impact distributed power generation has on the electric power grid as an afterthought. This article discusses the basic architecture of the electric power system in the continental US and explains...
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Design & Installation
1,000 Vdc PV systems have traditionally been relegated to large free-field solar power plant applications in North America. Today, however we have everything needed to design and deploy a 1,000 Vdc PV system in applications covered by the NEC.
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Design & Installation
In the summer of 2012, exactly one module manufacturer had publicly announced the release of a listed 1,000 V–rated PV module. In just 6 months, now over 200 different models of listed 1,000 V PV modules are available from 17 different manufacturers.
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Design & Installation
The codes and standards affecting PV equipment and system installations are almost as varied as the equipment itself. As a result, there is no unanimity regarding what equipment is considered safe for use and what constitutes proper installation.
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Design & Installation
Most people in the industry have heard of the six-handle rule. The source of this rule is found in Section 230.71(A) of the NEC, which indicates that in general each service or set of service entrance conductors shall have not more than six switches...
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Design & Installation
We provide an introduction to some common components used in medium-voltage circuits, including distribution transformers, overhead and underground feeders, pad-mounted switchgear, and metal-enclosed and metal-clad switchgear.
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Design & Installation
Bifacial modules convert light captured on both the front and back sides of a PV module into electrical power. Bifaciality improves PV system energy capture—dramatically in some cases—and rewrites conventional system design rules in interesting ways...
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Design & Installation
The International Association for Fire Fighters introduced language to NEC 2017 that seeks to mandate module-level rapid shutdown for PV systems on buildings. This would, of course, require module-level disconnecting devices for all building-mounted...
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Design & Installation
The 2014 and 2017 editions of the National Electrical Code provide solar companies with more interconnection options than previous Code editions did. In this article, we offer an overview of the Code requirements and allowances for interconnecting...
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Design & Installation
Every 3 years the solar industry receives an updated set of instructions for designing and installing PV systems—the National Electrical Code. Although adoption dates for the new Code vary by jurisdiction, many states will be operating under NEC...
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Design & Installation
More than 600 solar equipment and service providers will display their products at the Solar Power International conference and expo in Las Vegas on September 13–15. We highlight 17 companies that provide a wide range of solutions for system...
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Design & Installation
By all accounts, the PV power plant of the near future is here today and poised for widespread adoption in 2017. In this article, we provide a brief overview of the history of 1,500 Vdc PV systems. After providing an update on applicable codes and...
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Design & Installation
If you do not deploy electrical systems with the available fault current in mind, a short-circuit fault could result in a catastrophic explosion or electrical fire.
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Design & Installation
Solar carports and canopies have proven to be a successful and marketable approach to PV system siting and deployment. This article provides system designers, engineers, and procurement and sales teams with overviews of 17 companies that offer PV...
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Design & Installation
In this article, the modeling of PV system energy production will be focusing on the sub-module level, which analyzes the shade impacts and electrical behavior of a design down to the level of cell strings and bypass diodes inside the solar modules.
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Design & Installation
To keep everyone’s lights on, grid operators must be able to balance supply and demand across long-distance networks of high-voltage power lines. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are what allow grid operators to monitor and...
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Design & Installation
Many solar contractors are reluctant to bid on design-bid-build projects. The solar construction industry is more likely to use a design-build process.
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Design & Installation
New high-density lithium-ion battery technologies, innovative software and power electronics designs, and changes to incentive programs, such as California’s storage-centric Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), are ushering in a new era for...
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