The Fundamentals of Photovoltaic Systems

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Electrical Construction and Maintenance

Ryan Mayfield, Renewable Energy Associates

Sun, 2012-01-01 09:00

Over the past several years, the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry has enjoyed substantial growth. According to
the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and GTM Research, cumulative grid-connected PV in the United
States has now reached 3.1 GW 10 times the size of the countrys solar capacity in 2005. While some
projections call for this segment to hit a speed bump this year considering the uncertain effects of the U.S.
Treasury 1603 tax grant program possibly expiring at the end of the year (unless Congress extends it) coupled
with the U.S. governments reaction to a call for import duties on Chinese-manufactured PV cells and modules
most analysts anticipate the solar industry will continue on its expansion path. Thats good news for electrical
contractors.

A typical PV array mounted on a residential roof.

Individual modules are attached to a racking system
and wired together to form an array.
Thanks to popular demand, these systems are no longer installed exclusively by specialty solar contractors a
situation that opens up ongoing revenue streams for electrical contractors, who are being asked to broaden their
scope of work and provide PV installation services. This article will introduce you to the major system types and
most commonly used components within various types of PV systems. Armed with this fundamental
information, you should come away with a basic understanding of how these different systems operate and how
the associated components are involved in their design. In future articles, well focus on the exact design and
installation parameters for PV systems as a whole.

System Configurations
The first important point to establish is the difference between the most common types of PV systems. There are
applications for PV systems all the way from small electronics to solar attic fans to electric utility power plants.
However, the majority of installations most contractors come across involve residential and commercial
applications.

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When it comes to residential projects, PV systems can be broadly categorized by the presence, or lack thereof, of
the electric utility grid. These systems are classified as either stand-alone or utility-interactive.
Stand-alone systems are those that do not have access to the electric utility grid, often referred to as off-grid
systems. Typically found in remote locations, they generally use batteries to store energy produced by the PV
array. Stand-alone systems normally use a traditional generator to charge batteries during times of the year
when solar resources are minimal or when the array is unable to keep up with energy demands of the household.
Generally more complex, these systems require more design and installation time than grid-direct systems.
Utility-interactive systems are those that do exactly that: interact with the electric utility power system. The
power electronics used in these systems, namely the inverters, monitor the grid and react automatically to the
conditions the grid presents. Utility-interactive systems can be broken down into two subcategories grid-direct
or backup systems. In commercial PV applications, the systems are nearly universally utility-interactive,
grid-direct systems.
Tax incentives and electric utility rebate programs have made utility-interactive systems the largest market for
PV to date. These systems are able to interconnect with and work in parallel with the electric utility grid. In a
situation where the PV array is producing more power than what is being consumed on site, the inverter is able
to push that power back onto the electric utility line, essentially running the customers meter backward and
allowing the customer to sell energy to the electric utility. Then, as the sun goes down and more loads are turned
on, the meter begins to run forward again, causing the customer to buy back energy from the electric utility.
When the sun is up but the loads within the building are consuming more than the solar system is producing, the
electric utility makes up the difference but the meter is moving slower than it would if the PV array wasnt
present.
In utility-interactive, grid-direct systems, as shown in Fig. 1 (click here to see Fig. 1), there is no energy storage,
and the PV modules are connected to an inverter, which inverts the DC power produced by the PV modules into
AC power that matches the grid power. These systems have the advantage of higher efficiencies and are more
simplistic in their design/installation compared to their backup counterparts. Because the grid-direct systems
do not employ a method of storing energy, when the electric utility grid fails, they automatically shut down until
the grid is back up. On the other hand, utility-interactive, backup systems, as shown in Fig. 2 (click here to see
Fig. 2), do employ energy storage, typically in the form of a battery bank. These systems can operate specific
loads that have been isolated from the main distribution panel and are connected to a backup load center. It is
common for these systems to only run a few loads off the backup system, not the whole house. If a whole house
backup is required, doing so with a battery bank and inverter system can be difficult.
All utility-interactive systems use a safety feature known as anti-islanding to prevent the solar array from
remaining connected to the electric utility when the grid is down. The inverters used in utility interactive systems
are required by UL1741 listing to disconnect themselves from the grid when the voltage or frequency of the
electric utility falls out of a specific range. The inverters will automatically reconnect to the electric utility system
only after the voltage and frequency values are within the acceptable range for five continuous minutes. This is a
safety feature to protect electric utility line workers from being injured by PV systems that are pushing power
back on to otherwise de-energized power lines.

System Components
Now that you have a better feel for the major types of systems being designed and installed today, lets go over
the major system components used in these systems. This list will not be all inclusive, but rather a good primer
on the major components and the roles they play in the entire system.
Modules The heart of the PV system is the module, an individual unit that contains a number of PV cells,

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typically encapsulated behind a sheet of glass with an aluminum frame protecting the edges. A number of PV
modules are wired together to produce a desired amount of voltage and current that matches the requirements
of the power electronics connected on the other end of the PV array. In grid-direct PV systems, a number of
modules are typically connected in series to create a string of modules that can operate at elevated voltages (i.e.,
up to 600VDC in some situations). Battery-based systems, either stand-alone or utility-interactive, will generally
operate at lower voltage levels but can still exceed 150VDC within the string. These PV strings are then
connected in parallel to create the PV array.
PV modules are offered in a variety of technologies; however, crystalline silicone modules are the most
commonly used. Thin film modules, such as amorphous crystalline or cadmium telluride, are another category
of PV modules you may come across.
Racking Traditional PV modules require a support structure to hold the array in place. There are modules
known as building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) that actually replace the outer shell of a building, but these
systems are not as common as PV modules mounted to the exterior of a building or ones mounted at ground
level. PV modules can be installed in a variety of locations, and there are racking systems for every conceivable
location. The racking systems generally fall into one of three categories: roof mount, ground mount, or
top-of-pole mount. Within each of these general classifications, there are multiple subcategories.
Regardless of the mounting classification, racking systems are commonly made of extruded aluminum rails that
support the PV modules at four points along the modules aluminum frame. The exact form the racks extrusion
takes on is a function of the racking manufacturers engineering and final location of the array. Common
applications include flush-to-roof racking systems that hold the array parallel to and in close proximity (i.e.,
within 6 inches) to the roof surface, as shown in the Photo. Another racking type is a ballasted rack, which does
not penetrate the roof membrane or ground, and uses weights, such as concrete ballast blocks, to hold the array
in place. PV arrays can also be mounted close to the ground on piers that support the racking system, which
directly support the modules.
Combiner and junction boxes Today, PV modules are nearly universally manufactured with conductors
pre-installed on the back of the unit with quick-connect plugs on the end. These plugs allow the PV installer to
quickly make the series connections without additional tools. This wiring method is allowed per the NEC (Sec.
690.31). Once the conductors leave the vicinity of the array, either through a building, along the exterior of the
building, or through a trench in ground-mounted arrays, these source circuit conductors are most often
transitioned into a different wire type, such as THWN-2. This transition happens in either a PV combiner box or
a junction box. In a combiner, the source circuits are placed in parallel and very often include overcurrent
protection. A junction box is used solely as a location to make the transition from the outdoor-rated conductors
to the THWN-2 conductors.
The use of a combiner or junction box is a design decision that is made based on the specifics of the PV array
location, proximity to the power electronics, and the preferences of the designer and installer. The NEC has
requirements for placing disconnecting means in proximity to fused combiner boxes, so this can affect the
combiner versus junction box design decision.
For smaller residential installations, there may only be one or two PV source circuits to deal with, and the box
chosen is selected for its ability to transition into a raceway and route the conductors down off the roof through
the interior of the building. In large commercial applications, there can be hundreds of circuits located within
the array that require dozens of boxes to be strategically located and specified to minimize conductor size and
overall length.
Power electronics The output of the PV array will be connected to some form of power electronics. In systems

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that employ battery backup, both utility-interactive and stand-alone, the array will connect to a charge
controller before going into the batteries. These battery-based systems will also use one or more inverters to then
invert the energy stored in the batteries to AC for use by the loads. For grid-direct PV systems, the array will go
directly into an inverter that will invert the DC energy from the array into AC for interconnection with the electric
utility. An example wiring diagram for grid-direct systems is shown in Fig. 3 (click here to see Fig. 3).
Charge controllers Charge controllers are only necessary for systems that use batteries. The primary purpose
of a charge controller is to keep the battery bank from becoming overcharged, which could damage the
batteries. Todays charge controllers also have multiple auxiliary features that can be used to do things like
engage relays and power up loads when the battery bank reaches meets certain conditions. One of the most
common applications is a relay that sends power to a vent fan when the batteries are charging so the buildup of
hydrogen gas does not occur.
In stand-alone systems, when the battery bank has been fully recharged, it is the charge controllers job to isolate
the PV array from the battery bank by opening the circuit and stopping all current flow from the PV array. For
PV systems that use battery storage as a form of backup to the electric utility, the charge controllers are now
manufactured with the ability to talk to the inverters connected to the other side of the battery bank and make
sure the PV array is able to send as much energy back into the electric utility when possible.
Inverters The inverters used in PV systems primarily are used to invert DC energy into AC that can be used
within the building to run loads or be pushed back onto the grid. The inverters used in stand-alone and utilityinteractive battery backup applications are very similar in their appearance and function, whereas the inverters
used in grid-direct systems are very different from the battery-based units.
Battery-based inverters are modular units, meaning multiple small units can be connected together to create a
single large power source. The most commonly used battery-based inverters are actually inverter/chargers,
meaning they have the ability to take the energy from the battery bank to run loads as well as connect to an AC
source and recharge the batteries as necessary. A stand-alone inverter will commonly have a traditional
generator connected to it to provide battery charging as needed. The generator is not a requirement in these
systems, but it gives users greater flexibility in their use of energy.
A utility-interactive, battery-based inverter will connect to the electric utility instead of a generator for its AC
source of power, allowing the user to send energy back to the grid and receive credits for that energy when the
PV array is able to produce more energy than is being consumed. The major difference between a stand-alone
inverter and a battery-based backup inverter is the ability to push current back toward the AC source. In
stand-alone systems, pushing current back into the generator can quickly damage the generator and serves no
good purpose. In utility interactive systems, pushing current toward the grid is a desirable situation and results
in a financial benefit to the system owner.
Grid-direct inverters come in a wide variety of power output sizes from hundreds of watts (micro-inverters) to
kilowatts (string-inverters) to thousands of kilowatts (central inverters). These inverters are simply a way to
invert the DC energy produced by the PV array and connect it directly to the utility grid. Multiple grid-direct
inverters can be combined to increase the overall power output as required. It is important to remember that
these systems offer no form of energy backup, so when the electric utility goes down, the inverter will shut down
and not come back online until the grid is back up.
The individual components listed here should give you a good idea of the major components used with most PV
systems. Additional components required for a complete installation will be covered in future articles.
Mayfield is a principal with Renewable Energy Associates, Corvallis, Ore. He can be reached at:
ryan@renewableassociates.com.

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