Technical Knowledge

1. Basic Components of PV system

2. Types of PV system

3. Solar PV- Basics

4. The Process of Giving a Customer Proposal

5. Site survey

6. Module mounting structure details

7. Shadow analysis

8. Rules of thumb for capacity & energy generation

 Basic Component

1. Modules – solar electricity generator. 3 basic types in

the market place: Mono crystalline, Multi crystalline
and thin film

2. Array – Several modules connected together into a

system

3. Grid Tie Inverter –converts DC to AC and feeds the

utility grid with the A/C power ( Referred as PCU for
battery based system)

4. Charge Controller – regulates the power going to the

batteries – only for the battery based system

5. Batteries – stores DC power

5.Module mounting Structure– Supportive structure

for solar Modules
 Types of PV Systems

Each type of system has very specific capabilities and limitations. All PV systems consist of one or more modules which produce DC
power . What we do with this power after it is produced is that what determines the type of system.

1. Grid Tie – Grid connected

Modules, and inverter connected to the utility grid, generated power is exported to the grid

2. Stand Alone – Off grid

Modules, charge controller, batteries, and may or may not have an inverter which converts DC power to AC power

3. Hybrid – Grid connected with batteries

Modules, grid-tie inverter, and batteries for storage when the grid is unavailable
 Grid Tie System

This system does not provide backup power during a

power outage (even if the sun is shining) but for
sites with reliable grid power, this is usually
the logical system choice.

Market Awareness/ Acceptance: High

 Grid-tie with Battery Backup system

The Grid-Tie With Battery

Backup system can also push excess
electricity produced to the electric utility
grid but has the added feature of batteries
in order to power some selected backup
loads when the grid is down. With
this benefit comes increased complexity,
cost and maintenance requirements.

Market Awareness/ Acceptance:

Medium; Specifically in areas where
Grid Reliability is an Issue
 Stand- Alone system

The Off-Grid or Stand-Alone PV System

incorporates large amounts of battery
storage to provide power for a certain
number of days (and nights) in a row
when sun is not available.

Market Awareness/ Acceptance: Low;

Primarily because of lack of cost-
effective and Reliable Energy Storage
Technology
 Solar PV Basics
We get Sun light in three different ways

DIRECT SUN LIGHT –MOST IMPORTANT IN SOLAR PV

REFLECTED SUNLIGHT

DIFFUSED SUNLIGHT

The amount of incident energy per unit Area and day depends on
of number of factors:

Latitude (Modules tilt should be equal to latitude of location)

Local climate
Season of the year
Inclination of the collecting Surface in the direction of the sun
.
Solar PV Basics: Position of India in the Globe

The tropic of cancer passes almost in the middle of India, Most of the time sun is seen
towards the south, Hence solar panels are oriented towards the SOUTH direction.
Solar PV Basics: Inclination of the collecting Surface

Solar panels should always face south if you are in the northern hemisphere, or north if you are in
the southern hemisphere. We will need a magnetic compass to ascertain the south direction.
The Process of Giving a Customer Proposal

Formalize Capacity
Customer Visit and
and Estimated
Site Survey
Energy Generation

Submit Techno-
Commercial Negotiations and
Proposal & Savings Closure
Calculations
 The Need for a site survey

1. It is customary for a PV system installer to do a Site survey and collect information about local
conditions and issues before any proposal is made. The information collected is then combined with
the load patterns and the customer preferences to make a final proposal.

2. Bridges the gap between what is expected by customer (Capacity/ Business Model/ Financing
Requirements) and what can be offered. ( understand techno-commercial requirements )

3. Helps us to accurately calculate the BOS requirements for the installation keeping in mind:
- The Infrastructure Available at customer site.
- Equipment location and cable routing plan.
- EHS Requirement of the Customer
- Any other site specific constraints

4. Ensures that the system is well designed and optimized for best performance through out the year.
Selecting the place – Understanding the roof
A suitable location for Solar Panels – the roof top.

Type of roof

RCC roof Sheet roof

Type of sheet
Flat Inclined and
inclination
 Reaching the roof

Suitability of site for safe installation of PV array

This is seen as important while making offer and following will help you to
understand:
1. Access to the roof ( think of safety while carrying materials during I&C, maintenance of
plant)
2. Type of roof: RCC / Slanted GI ( think of structural requirements )
Result: Enabling Solar - go ahead with area measurement and KWp estimate
 RCC Roof
Observation for RCC Roof:
• Height of building
• Roof Access detail
• Parapet wall height
• Obstacles height
• Inclination if slanted RCC terrace
 Sheet roof
Observation for Sheet Roof:
• Height of building
• Roof Access detail
• Sheet Type
1. GI sheet
2. Asbestos sheet
3. Mangalore Tile
• Sheet Profile
1. Trapezoidal sheet
2. Standing seam sheet
3. Clip-lock sheet
4. Corrugated sheet
• Thickness of the sheet
• Age of the sheet
• Turbo ventilators & Skylight detail
 Ground Mount system

Observation for Ground Mount System:

• Soil type
• Land Inclination & undulation
• Soil test report & contour map if available with customer
• Water blockage if any
• Any shadow object ,transmission line over the land
 PV Panel mounting systems
There are two basic panel mounting systems :
1. Ground mounting
2. Roof mounting
Ground mounting is used in large commercial and utility sized PV systems. These can be in
Sizes of several KW or moderate size of less than 100KW.

Smaller commercial and domestic grid connect market, where the PV systems are required
to be installed on existing roof space, roof mounting is used. The installed system capacity
will be limited to roof space available.
PV Panel mounting-Typical TPS Installation

RCC terrace: The load carrying capacity of the roof should be checked. The solar panels with
structure typically weigh 60 Kg per Sq. meter.
PV Panel mounting-Typical TPS Installation
Sheet Roofs – Penetrating or non-penetrating

Sheet roof: The load carrying capacity of the roof should

be checked. The solar panels with structure typically
weigh 25 Kg per Sq. meter.
 Car Port

Car port: Modules to be installed directly on supportive purlins without any sheet support
 Google Marking
1. Paint shop
(trapezoidal GI sheet)
Height :8 M
Roof Access
(Monkey ladder)

Cable route
Shadow of (Existing Cable
Staircase trench )
room Ht: 3 M

2.Raw material Godown

(trapezoidal GI sheet) Main LT
Height :8 M Panel
 Shadow is bad for PV
What and where are the shaded areas that might fall on proposed Solar arrays during
day time with maximum Sun, typically 9.00am to 4.00pm

Rule of thumb: Effective shadow impact

of any object located in South- North-
West of pv area will be 1.5 times of the
ht of the object.

Shading due to row spacing and seasonal effect

Rule of Thumb: Area available and KWp estimate – Flat Roofs

m2 required per kWp

14 Divide the area available
13. by this number to get KWp
51 Example
If area available is 1500 m2
13 Delhi: 110 KWp
3
12. Raipur: 115 KWp
5 Hyderabad: 120 KWp
12.
Chennai: 125 KWp
51
drum: 140 KWp
2 Key: Shadow will be larger if
1
tilt angle is larger. Tilt is
21 usually latitude degree of the
211 place.
Rule of Thumb: Area available and KWp estimate – Slanted roof

m2 required per KWp

8. Divide the area

58.5 available by this
8.5 number to get kWp
8.5 Interesting right?
8.5 1. On slanted roof no
8.5 issue of shadowing
2. Panels are placed
8.5 side by side or one
8.5 above the other
3. Space required for
8.5
walkway or
8.5 maintenance only

Key: Panels are on single

plane
Rule of Thumb: India Solar Irradiance & Estimated Generation Map

2-2.5 KWh/KWp/day
Energy generation depends
2.5-3
on following parameter:

• Latitude
• Climate
3.2-3.7 • Season of the year

4-4.5
 Must Know

Following info is a must know:

 Day time connected load must be >= KWp rating

 Poor grid quality affects the energy generation

 Cable lengths from array area to feeding point

 Grid feeding @ 415V 3-phase, AC, 50Hz

 If DG switched on during grid failure, DG rating shall be >1.5 times the

solar array capacity and shall be loaded at least 50% with full solar

capacity
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