Solar Training - Solar Electric Design (Battery-Based) - Online

Topics such as load analysis, component selection, battery safety, voltage drop, and commissioning procedures will be presented.  In addition to sizing exercises and calculations, students will explore additional design considerations unique to battery-based systems. 

This course is ideal for people looking to design and install battery-based systems, and for solar professionals who have been working in the grid-direct market and need to learn about battery-based systems in preparation for the NABCEP Solar PV Installer Certification Exam.

Prerequisites:  PV101 (or PV D&I or Grid-Tied PV prior to January 2010)

If you are just looking for enough Battery Based system information to prep for the NABCEP exams or SEI's PV301L Battery Based Lab, but will not be working extensively with Battery Based systems,  you may be interested in our shorter, 18 hour, instructorless, on-demand PV203 PREP - Battery Based Systems Fundamentals Online Course. 

Required Course materials for this course:  2011 National Electrical Code Book.  You must either already have or purchase your own copy.  You can purchase your book or PDF of the book at the NFPA website by clicking here. 

PVOL203 students receive 1 full year of FREE access to Solar PRO Magazine Online. You will receive your login information in an email 1 to 2 weeks after your course starts. 

Students who complete the workshop will be able to perform the following:
•    Diagram a battery bank in series and parallel configurations
•    Identify the proper safety protocols for working with batteries
•    Draw a three-line schematic of a residential battery-based system, including the array, controller, batteries, inverter, disconnects, overcurrent protection, and grounding  (including the equipment grounding conductors, ungrounded conductors, grounded conductors, the grounding electrode(s), and the system grounds)
•    List the pros, cons, and applications of hybrid and AC and DC coupled systems
•    Define depth of discharge, days of autonomy, equalization, and efficiency of a battery
•    Create a maintenance schedule for batteries
•    Calculate maximum charge rates for batteries and determine state of charge
•    Identify the pros and cons of using valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) verses flooded batteries in specific system designs
•    Specify either a PWM or MPPT charge controller depending on system parameters
•    Specify a battery-based inverter given electrical load and surge requirements
•    Evaluate a client’s electrical load and size a stand-alone system (including inverter, controller, battery bank, and array)
•    Perform sizing calculations for their battery-based system
•    Size a grid-tied with battery back-up system (including inverter, controller, battery bank, and array)
•    Calculate and diagram appropriate series fusing for a battery-based system
•    Identify appropriate disconnect and overcurrent protection placement
•    Provide all NEC required labeling for a battery-based system
•    List the order of commissioning and decommissioning, as well as potential safety hazards, for battery-based systems

Contact Training Hours (shown on Record of Completion): 60 hours

NABCEP Training Hours:
•    PV Installer Certification Requirements: This course counts for 60 advanced training hours.
•    PV Installer Recertification Requirements: This course counts for the following:

• o    6 NEC (Code Based) Hours
• o    6 Job Task Analysis Hours
• o    6 Non-Technical Hours

•    Solar Heating Installer Recertification: This course counts for 6 Non-Technical continuing education hours.

See our NABCEP information page at www.solarenergy.org/nabcep-certification or www.nabcep.org for more information on the additional requirements for the PV Installer Certification.

For information on SEI's Solar Professionals Certificate Program please click here.  For information on SEI's workshop and training program policies please click here.

Quotes from students in the November 2012 session of PVOL203:

• The comradery of the classmates, the exception depth of knowledge of the instructors and their ability to pass it on to you, being as patient as it took for you to understand the concept or topic. In the end it was the instructors that stood out the most. They were great at building your confidence. 
• The instructors in the videos really imparted real life experiences into the their presentations. They really brought the course together in a way that PV101 was not able to.
• As I completed my 4th and final Class for Solar Pro certification, I have to say that I was nothing short of impressed by the quality of presentations, amount of materials presented in nice and organized ways, and instructors' passion for the Solar Industry. I learned more than I expected, and I am looking forward to continued co-oparation with SEI
  Team . Thank you.
• I am really impressed with how experienced the instructors are and how well the courses are put together. Happy Holidays and I'll see you next year!