Solar Energy and Electrical System Design

This course supplies learners with the insights necessary for properly planning, and therefore successfully installing, a photovoltaic (PV) system per design specifications. It directs learners through the important steps of initial site inspection and evaluating appropriate locations for PV systems, and features unique elements of residential, small, industrial and utility-scale solar applications. The course probes key design concerns – including load, efficiency, and mechanical and electrical design – as well as aesthetics and tools for planning. Learners experiment with calculations needed to design a PV system, exercising newly gained knowledge about site selection, layout, code compliance, system components, and wire sizing.

This course is targeted for engineers who have interest in entering the solar power sectors. It is also appropriate for HVAC installers, architects and building code inspectors. Learners should have a basic grasp of electrical engineering, physics and mathematical concepts. Those who are unfamiliar with how PV works, the elements of a PV system, and/or solar power ROI should take the first course of the specialization, Solar Energy Systems Overview. Material includes online lectures, videos, demos, hands-on exercises, project work, readings and discussions. This is the second course in the Solar PV for Engineers, Architects and Code Inspectors specialization. To learn more about the specialization, check out a video overview at https://youtu.be/XjkKzbXqA6s.