Designing a solar photovoltaic plant using PVsol software

In this section we will go through different photovoltaic system types.

The first one is grid-connected PV system and we will continue all the way to stand-alone solar systems.

Battery storages and EV charging stations haven't been neglected. So if you are curious how electric vehicle charging stations can be integrated with solar panels, just don't miss this course.

Each of these system types have subcategories themselves. For instance grid-tied systems can be divided into more sub-categories depending on their interaction with the power grid.

In this section, we learn how to define or modify meteorological data in a specific location. So each city/town/area has some climate data in the database while the exact location of our project might not totally fit with it. So we learn how to add a location and its climate data to the software’s database to increase our simulation accuracy.

Furthermore for grid-connected systems, the power grid technical specifications including the nominal voltage, frequency, number of phases, power factor, and the amount of GHG emission for each KWh of current energy mix.

We will take a closer look at all these parameters and go on with our case study simulation journey.

Ok. So now the question is where do we want to install our solar panels?

In this section we will find out the answer. We will gradually simulate the building, define the dimensions, building type and roof type. Depending on the roof type, we can choose different mounting structures for our panels. We will find out more later about the mounting structures.

For now stay focused on the building. There might be some objects or walls on the building causing shadings. We will learn how to locate them properly on the roof.

Furthermore, if the roof has a pitch or angle, here is the best time to set it. So do an accurate site visit or survey prior to doing this section for your project.

Many obstacles might impact our solar panels. The adjacent building, tall trees, an antenna on neighbor's roof even. So it's of high importance to define them and set their location so that we can find an optimum location for our solar panels to be installed.

There might be areas on the roof such as windows or obstacles on which we don't want to install panels. Those are called barred areas. In this section we will go through different probable barred areas and learn how to define them.

More than thousands of solar panel models from different manufacturers.

Which one to choose?

Don't worry. We will find the answer in this section. Then we will go on with the easiest but not apparently the most efficient method of installing the panels, covering the whole roof. We will modify it then and check the shadings percentage.

As you all know solar panels are usually installed on a tilt angle. The question is how to define the best and optimum angle considering different factors which might affect. The generation amount, wind resistivity, snow load and mutual shadings are some of the parameters which directly affect.

Another question is how many panels to be installed on top of each other in each table?

Don't hesitate to watch this lecture even twice. You will surely find it useful.

The electricity generated in solar panels are in DC. An inverter is required to convert it to AC. In this section we will find the optimum inverter for our project and design the system configuration.

What we mean by configuration is literally the number of solar panels and the way they are connected to each other, whether in series or parallel.

Also each inverter might have several separate MPPTs. Wanna know what is an MPPT, watch this section. But to give you a heads-up, MPPT stands for Maximum Power Point Tracker.

The software provides the capability to define the system SLD (Single Line Diagram). So we don't need to redo the system design in CAD programs.

Also the software automatically draws the SLD, the cabling paths, string cables and configuration. Then comes up with a detailed part list including the panels, inverters, transformer (if applicable), circuit breakers, disconnect switches, and etc.

Whatever that you can imagine of a solar power plant will be here.

Different graphs, mostly customizable including the financial savings, the forecasted generation of the solar panels, irradiations, climate data, cash flow, performance ratio, probable losses and their causes in details, cabling paths , detailed BOM (bill of Material), major equipment datasheets and etc.