In this video, we will look at the various components making up

a photovoltaic system. For the sake of clarity, we need to get

acquainted with the terminology used in the field as well as the
necessity of each component. Later in the course we will
elaborate on the working principles of the individual
technologies, their roles in a photovoltaic power plant and how
to model and design an entire photovoltaic system. The term
photovoltaic, which is often abbreviated PV, is a combination of
the Greek word phōtós, that means light, and the last name of
the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta, who discovered the first
functional electrochemical battery. A direct translation of the
word would be "light battery", but it refers to the direct
conversion of sunlight into electrical energy. A solar cell is the
most basic component that converts light into electricity. In
most cases, solar cells are made of the semiconducting material
silicon, and deliver voltages of approximately 0.5 volts. The
current depends on the cell area as well as the level of
radiation. So it varies between 0 and 10 amps. Solar cells are
connected in series to achieve more usable voltages in the
range of 20 to 50 volts. This is done in a solar module where the
cells are protected against mechanical damage as well as
environmental factors such as moisture. Now let us consider a
residential building with domestic loads such as a washing
machine and some lighting. We want to build a photovoltaic
system. So let's start out by introducing photovoltaic modules
onto the rooftop. To build up the voltage, several modules must
be connected in series into a string. In this case we have
multiple strings in parallel which is also known as a solar array.
However, our domestic loads require an alternating current
(AC) and the solar panels deliver direct current (DC). Therefore
we need an inverter to convert the DC into AC. At the end of
the 19th century, the invention of the transformer allowed
converting alternating currents to higher voltages which
facilitated the transport of electric power over long distances
with significantly reduced losses. Combined with the invention
of the AC motor the public grid settled for AC power lines, and
we can therefore only feed power into the public grid after
converting DC into AC. However, the power distribution
company needs to know how much electricity we fed into and
out of the public grid and at what time. We therefore install a
meter which comes in various configurations, but nowadays
most meters are bidirectional, meaning that they cannot only
read the current flowing but the direction as well. There are,
however, many components which we have not considered in
this very simple example and a very important one is the
mounting structures which of course varies significantly from
installing a solar array on a rooftop compared to the ground or
on water, or even on a satellite in space. Another common
component is a combiner box that brings the DC output of
multiple strings together into a single set of cables. As we only
had two strings in our example, a combiner box wasn't really
necessary, but in larger projects where we may have thousands
of strings, distributed combiner boxes reduce the length of the
very expensive DC cables we would need. To figure out how
many modules we would need in our solar system, we would
need to know how well the individual module performs.
However, the performance of a solar cell and therefore also of
a solar module varies with varying conditions. Therefore, a set
of standard testing conditions have been agreed upon to
properly compare different solar cells or modules from
different manufacturers. The standard test conditions often
abbreviated STC, consist of three specifications. The first is that
the level of irradiance must be 1000 watts per square meter.
This irradiance level is also known as 1 Sun. The second
condition is that the spectrum of the light we use to illuminate
the solar cell or a module must correspond to the solar
spectrum known as air mass 1.5 global (AM1.5G). The spectrum
of the Sun will be elaborated in course module two. The third
and final condition is that the temperature of the solar cells
must be 25 degrees Celsius. However, the standard for testing
PV performance does not reflect typical operating conditions as
the solar spectrum and level of irradiance change throughout
the day, and the temperature of a solar panel is typically much
higher than 25 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, these conditions
are used to evaluate how efficiently solar cells and modules
convert optical power from the Sun into electrical power. We
may write the optical power from the Sun as the irradiance
level multiplied by the area of the module. The electric power
delivered by the module at these conditions is also known as
the rated power of the module and is given in watt-Peak, where
peaks simply specifies that these conditions are optimal. There
are many other PV system components that we have not
covered so far. Trackers are an example of a performance
enhancing component as they serve to reposition the
photovoltaic modules to maximize the incident optical power
from the Sun. Tracking systems are usually classified by the
number of rotational axes and the single axis tracker is usually
configured to rotate the solar array from east to west. One
could also go in and actually tilt the mounting structure itself
while still having the east-west tracker rotating the array, such
a configuration is known as a one and a half axis tracker. The
two-axis tracking system is able to reposition the photovoltaic
modules to be directly facing the Sun at all times. However,
such tracking systems are usually rather expensive and not
necessarily compatible with the photovoltaic system that
you're trying to build. Another performance enhancing
component is the maximum power point tracker, also
abbreviated MPPT. Solar cells and modules have a continuous
range of operating points that has to do with the voltage
output of the device. By resistively loading the module, the
voltage at which we operate shifts. The maximum power point
tracker finds the operating point that gives the highest electric
power output of the module and loads the module accordingly.
The maximum power point changes with conditions such as
irradiation and temperature, and in this case, the module is
actually partially shaded, which has a significant impact on the
operating points. Finally, we have to consider a few safety
components as well. One of the more common components is a
DC breaker designed to interrupt the DC electricity in case you
for example, need to do maintenance. Another important type
of component is the residual current device that switches off
the electricity automatically if there is a fault. This is a
protective measure against electrocution as well as fires caused
by earth faults. The relevant system components depend on
what kind of PV system you are designing. We may divide
photovoltaics into grid-connected and standalone systems
where product-integrated PV would fall on the stand alone
applications. This includes: outdoor lighting products, vehicles,
solar-driven rescue ladders and harbors, and even pocket
calculators. As you can see, I have also divided the grid-
connected systems into three categories, that is; residential,
commercial, and utility-scale system. The residential and
commercial systems are most often simply installed on
rooftops, whereas utility scale covers the PV power plants and
solar parks. From standalone systems, I have included
microgrids. Grid connection refers to the public distribution
grid, whereas a microgrid often refers to a local distribution
grid, generally not connected to the main grid. A microgrid
produces and distributes electricity independently in a smaller
area. Rooftop installations have historically been realized by
applying photovoltaic modules onto existing roof constructions.
However, PV modules may be integrated into the building and
thus serve two purposes, producing energy and contributing as
a building material for instance, as a cladding material. This
type of system is known as building integrated photovoltaics, or
simply BIPV. Developers of BIPV systems have successfully
created architecturally and aesthetically pleasing systems in a
variety of colors, which enables the conservation of the
building's architectural appearance. On the utility scale, there's
a large variety of PV power plants, and this includes tracking
systems and bifacial modules, where the light is absorbed from
both sides of the module, floating PV, where the modules are
located on water, agrivoltaics, where the agricultural use of
land is combined with the use of land for photovoltaics and the
list goes on. Actually, all the applications marked in red are
examples of optimizing area resources, such as the rooftop
systems, where the photovoltaic system doesn't take up any
additional land area. In this video, we learned that the word
photovoltaic refers to the direct conversion of light into
electrical energy. The solar cell is the most basic component
responsible for this energy conversion process, and several
solar cells are connected in series to obtain usable voltages.
This is done in a solar module that protects the cells from
mechanical impacts as well as the environment. However, a
solar module delivers a direct current, whereas most of our
domestic appliances, as well as the public grid requires an
alternating current. We therefore use an inverter to convert DC
into AC. Furthermore, we also have to monitor the flow of
electricity to and from the grid, which is done using a meter.
Today, most meters are bidirectional. We have also learned
that the performance of a solar cell, as well as a photovoltaic
module varies with varying conditions. Therefore, a set of
standard test conditions known as STC, have been agreed upon
to properly compare devices from different manufacturers. This
includes an irradiance level of 1,000 watts per square meter,
the solar spectrum known as AM1.5G, and a solar cell
temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. A photovoltaic system may
also include performance enhancing components such as
tracking systems and we also need to consider some safety
components, such as DC current breakers and residual current
devices. However, the relevant components depend on the
type of PV system that you're designing. We therefore, looked
into the applications of PV, which included rooftops where we
had building applied and building integrated PV. We also looked
into microgrids, floating PV, agrivoltaics, product integrated PV,
bifacial PV, and the list goes on.