Practical course on Photovoltaic Solar Power

Explore basic electricity: charge, a battery, current flowing through a wire, and how atoms with electrons and protons create the electric force.

Explore how current flows when charged particles move, comparing conductors like copper with insulators, and explain short circuits, air gaps, and charge differences in practical solar power contexts.

Explore how current and voltage drive charge flow in conductors, measured in amps, and how solar panels create a voltage difference that governs electron movement.

Explore how electron flow in a circuit creates current that powers a load. Learn how charging increases a battery’s potential difference and how capacity governs energy available.

Apply Ohm's law to relate voltage, current, and resistance, and show how power equals voltage times current for appliances and solar systems.

Explore the difference between AC and DC current in solar systems, including how voltage, current, and power behave, and see how DC components, inverters, and charge controllers enable AC appliances.

Explore how electricity is generated at power plants, transmitted via high-voltage lines to reduce current, and stepped down near homes to safe voltages for appliances.

Explore how high-voltage transmission lines carry large power via voltage-times-current and contrast with safe 12, 24, or 48 volt solar batteries.

Explore how 12 volt, 24 volt, and 48 volt systems require thicker cables to deliver power, and how voltage drops and heat from undersized connections risk damaging home systems.

Explore the two main solar system types: off-grid stand-alone systems and grid-tied systems, covering battery configurations, semi autonomous operation, and how they deliver solar energy.

Explore off-grid photovoltaic systems, from direct-coupled panels powering a DC motor to regulated, battery-backed setups with a charge regulator and inverter.

Explore grid-tied solar systems where solar panels and the grid share energy, with inverters synchronizing phase and frequency to safely power homes and feed surplus energy back to the grid.

Select cables by considering thickness, material, insulation, and voltage, as proximity to other cables and electromagnetic effects influence current capacity.

Select cables for photovoltaic systems by understanding cable standards, conductor sizes, and resistance, then calculate voltage drop at 24 volts to ensure acceptable losses.

Explore how voltage, length, and current influence cable size for a 27-amp pv system over 10 meters, with 16 mm2 recommended at 50 volts and thinner options at 70 volts.

Explore solar panel connectors, including male and female connectors, wire preparation, and cable selections; measure voltages and assess losses from cable resistance and inverter efficiency.

Explore kilowatt hours as energy; apply P = V I to show 1 kW for 1 hour equals 1 kWh, with a washing machine’s peak and average 0.5–1.5 kW.

Compute electricity costs by multiplying kilowatt hours by the per kilowatt hour rate and adding fixed charges, using washing machine cycles as practical examples.

Explore how kilowatt hours and amp-hours relate, compute energy with a 12-volt, 100 Ah battery (1.2 kWh), and understand how discharge rate (C-rate) affects usable energy and battery life.

Learn how to select solar panels by assessing peak power, operating voltage, and current, and consulting datasheets for open-circuit voltage and efficiency to fit your system.

Explore how to connect solar panels in series to raise terminal voltage and in parallel to boost output current, and understand the tradeoffs for cable sizing and safety.

Analyze a six-panel 2s3p photovoltaic array to determine a 60-volt output and 27-amp current, yielding 1.62 kilowatts of power.

Describe how solar radiation reaches panels and yields energy even in rain through diffuse light, with maximum output when the sun hits normally under optimal conditions.

Explore how a solar charge controller, especially MPPT, maximizes power from solar panels while stabilizing voltage to batteries and feeding inverters for home electricity.

Understand battery concepts such as capacity and energy delivery, how internal resistance causes terminal voltage drop under higher current, and how efficiency and depth of discharge affect lifespan and health.

Learn to assess true battery capacity using c-rates (c-20), balance depth of discharge, and select solar battery types like lead acid with proper charge regulation for photovoltaic systems.

Learn to estimate solar battery capacity from daily five kWh consumption, considering good-day production of six kWh, bad-day production as low as 0.5–1.5 kWh, and a 60% discharge limit.

Understand how to size and manage batteries for a photovoltaic system, including absorption and floating charging, equalization, and selecting controllers to regulate voltage and current.

The inverter converts DC from solar panels to AC for appliances, regulating voltage and battery charging within an integrated unit. It discusses DC versus AC, sine waves, and heat risks.