Solar Training - Advanced PV Stand-alone System Design (Battery-Based) - Online - Solar Training - Solar Installer Training - Solar PV Installation Training - Solar Energy Courses - Renewable Energy Education - NABCEP

duration 6 Wks/40 Hrs
tuition $645.00

PVOL304: Solar Training - Advanced PV Stand-alone System Design (Battery-Based) - Online

The PV industry began with off-grid systems, and with so many new applications for stand-alone power, equipment advancements and cost reductions, the energy storage sector is growing like never before. This advanced course covers detailed load analysis, charge controllers, PV array sizing, stand-alone inverters, as well as numerous design examples that address the wide-ranging specifics of off-grid applications. Also covered is generator sizing and integration, maintenance for stand-alone systems, National Electrical Code (NEC®) requirements, and a healthy dose of best practices that have been learned through years of experience. Advance your PV knowledge well beyond where the grid goes!

what you will learn

Define terms used in stand-alone systems
Name common applications for stand-alone systems; describe basic component layouts
Describe differences between AC and DC coupling
State principle elements of a microgrid
Define the importance of an accurate load analysis
Review load analysis procedures; perform a load analysis based on daily data
Review battery bank sizing for lead-acid and lithium-ion battery types
Define array sizing variables and how they affect design for both MPPT and non-MPPT charge controllers
Explain charge controller types and describe maximum power point tracking and voltage step-down
Examine the calculations for PV array sizing
Describe the difference between sizing for a non-MPPT and an MPPT charge controller
Complete array configuration calculations for a system with a non-MPPT and an MPPT charge controller
Summarize the parameters to check when selecting a charge controller
Explain the purpose of DC load control and the three ways it can be implemented
Identify design variables, advantages, and disadvantages of DC-only PV systems
Describe how to size and integrate components for a recreational vehicle (RV) application
Identify installation and maintenance considerations specific to mobile applications
Identify applications and considerations for DC lighting systems
Specify a battery-based inverter given electrical load and surge requirements
Describe various configurations for stacking and clustering multiple inverters
Examine inverter / charger size considerations
Describe multiwire branch circuit wiring and concerns with single-phase supplies
Describe the purpose and function of a generator
Identify considerations that impact generator selection
Solve for location-based performance degradation
Specify a generator given electrical load, battery charging, and surge requirements
Estimate approximate generator run time
List generator maintenance
Describe the National Electrical Code (NEC®) Articles that apply to the different parts of PV and energy storage systems (ESS)
Identify NEC® requirements for workspace clearances, disconnects, and overcurrent protection devices (OCPD) that apply to PV systems
Locate and apply specific requirements for storage batteries, stand-alone systems, and energy storage systems
Identify labeling requirements
List relevant building and fire codes
Review installation considerations and best practices for stand-alone systems as related to batteries, design strategies, monitoring and metering, balance of system (BOS) equipment
Review DC-coupled stand-alone residential system design
Define operating modes of off-grid AC coupled PV systems
Explain charge regulation of AC coupled PV inverters in a stand-alone system
Discuss AC coupled PV system design strategies; evaluate equipment options for AC coupled off-grid applications
Design a stand-alone microgrid system with PV (AC and DC coupled) and generator power sources
Distinguish between isolated and non-isolated microgrids
Compare concepts of centralized versus decentralized generation and controls
Identify different types of microgrid analysis and planning software
Review isolated microgrid use case examples
Identify general PPE for battery system maintenance
Develop a battery maintenance plan
Identify methods to measure battery state of charge
Identify common causes of battery problems and how to avoid them
Identify PPE for lead-acid battery maintenance
Develop a battery maintenance plan for lead-acid batteries
Describe how to correctly add water to a flooded lead-acid (FLA) battery bank
Identify methods to measure battery state of charge of FLA batteries
Define when and why equalization is needed
Identify common causes of battery problems and how to avoid them

Note: SEI recommends working closely with a qualified person and/or taking PV 202 for more information on conductor sizing, electrical panel specification, and grounding systems. These topics will part of this course, but they are not the focus.

helpful information

Click here for Computer & Software Requirements for online courses.

PREREQUISITE COURSES: Before participating in PVOL304, students MUST complete PV101 or PVOL101 AND PVOL203 or PV203, equivalent training from another organization, have NABCEP certification, or demonstrate field experience and pass two placement quizzes. Please contact [email protected] if you feel you are qualified to skip the prerequisite for PVOL304.

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.

nabcep certification information

SEI Contact Training Hours: 6 weeks online= 40 hours

This course provides approved credit hours towards the following NABCEP Certifications and Recertifications:

PV Installation Professional
PV Design Specialist
PV Installation Specialist
PV Commissioning and Maintenance Specialist
PV Technical Sales Professional
PV Associate (Renewal only)
PV System Inspector (Recertification only)
SH Associate (Renewal only)
Solar Heating System Inspector (Recertification only)
Solar Heating Installer (Recertification only)

Please visit NABCEP’S online course catalog for credit hours breakdown.

For information on SEI’s Solar Professionals Certificate Program please click here.

more on nabcep certification > sei's solar professionals certificate program info >

course snapshot

Online
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE LOCATION DETAILS >

SEI online courses cover the same topics as the face-to-face workshops of the similar name, but do not include a hands-on component. You can log on at any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the full duration of the specified course. You will generally need between 10-20 hrs/week to complete the lesson materials and graded activities. The earlier lessons generally take less time than the later lessons. Students can access the course anytime, from any computer with an internet connection (see computer requirements below). There are no specific times that you need to log on, the course is self paced but you must finish all graded materials by the end date of the course. The live instructors are there to give feedback, grade your work and you can contact them with questions on the forum discussion boards, or by email.

These courses include interactive activities, power points, readings and quizzes, and exercises and homework to test student comprehension. There is also a forum where students can post questions to the instructors and network between each other. Online courses last six (6) weeks and will end on the Sunday night of the last week. All graded course activities (e.g., quizzes, forum discussion assignments, any other assignments with a score) need to be completed within these 6 weeks, with a 70% or better cumulative grade, to pass and receive a Record of Completion. After the course end-date, you will have two additional weeks for instructorless review-only time. During this time you will not be able to complete any graded activities. However, this is an ideal time to finish saving and reviewing any course materials of particular interest.

All required reading for the course is fully downloadable from within the course, so there is no need to wait for your course materials to arrive in the mail. You can also download/save the PDF files that make up the “Digital Course Notebook” for future reference.

The following are the computer and software requirements for taking SEI’s online courses.

Computer and Internet Requirements

Laptop and Desktop Platforms

PC (Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10)

Mac (Intel-based only, OSX 10.5 or later)

Mobile Devices are only supported for viewing Podcast versions of the presentations

Hardware/Internet Requirements

1.8 Ghz or faster processor

2 Gb of RAM, 10 Gb of free disk space

Minimum screen / monitor resolution is 1280 x 800

Built in sound or sound card

Computer microphone or regular telephone for Webinar or Live Office Hours participation

High-speed Internet connection (at least 5 Mb download speed — click here to check your speed)

Latest version of Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Apple Safari

Enabled cookies, javascript, Java, pop-ups

Special Considerations

1) Satellite, cellular 3G/4G cards, mesh wide area networks, and other similar “non-copper” or non WI-FI connections, while appearing to be high speed, will likely experience performance issues in this course. We do not recommend this type of Internet connection.

2) There are subtle differences among all browsers based on whether using a Windows or Mac computer.

3) The version of your computer’s operating system and your browser version can also have an affect on operation.

4) Video buffering problems have been reported in some cases on slow connections.

5) The video/audio Playback Rate speed control dropdown menu is not available/functional using the Chrome browser.

Video and Audio Presentations

The lecture capture presentations are streaming video (just like Netflix® or Hulu® or Amazon®). To adequately view these lecture presentations, a high speed network connection is preferred. We suggest at least 5 Mb/sec. If your connection speed is slow, is unreliable, or if the connection is shared with other active computers or mobile devices (phones or tablets), you may experience less than optimal playback. If this happens, there are a three options: obtain a faster network connection, turn off all active devices other than the device used to view the presentations, download the presentations from Apple iTunes and view from a mobile device or the iTunes app on your computer.

Smart Phone and Tablet Platforms: Apple iOS Devices (iPod touch, iPhone, iPad) and Android Phones & Tablets.

For the best experience with our online course content we recommend using a PC or Mac computer with a wired or WiFi Internet connection. It is possible to do all of the following with smart phones and tablets, however, we strongly recommend taking the quizzes on a non touch screen device to avoid unintentional changes to your selected answers:

Take quizzes

Read your textbook ebook version

Download PDFs

Participate in online forum discussions

Check your grade book

Complete questionnaires and surveys

View video and audio presentations

Some performance or access may vary

Required Software

Microsoft Silverlight (video/audio//PowerPoint presentations)

Adobe Flash (latest version for presentations & interactive exercises in some courses)

Oracle Java plugin (latest version)

Adobe Acrobat Reader (viewing & printing PDF files)

Optional Software

Microsoft Office Viewers (viewing & printing Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Visio files)

Open Source Office Suite (viewing & printing Word, PowerPoint, Excel files)

Apple QuickTime (viewing QuickTime video in some courses)

Apple iTunes (podcast subscription)
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- August 17 2020 - September 27 2020
- November 09 2020 - December 20 2020

6 Wks/40 Hrs
8-15 hours per week

Instructors

Zeke Yewdall
Instructor

Zeke Yewdall grew up with off-grid PV in eastern Washington, and two engineering degrees later, decided to make a career of solar starting in 2002. He has designed and built grid-tied PV systems between 200 watts and 200kW, and off grid systems between 10 watts and 10kW. He also experiments with wind turbines at his home in the mountains of Colorado, as well as working on other projects such as electric cars, biodiesel vehicles, and doing lots of hiking and mountain climbing with his two giant Newfamutes. He holds NABCEP and CoSEIA certification for PV installation and has completed SEI courses in PV, solar thermal, wind, and microhydro power as well as teaching courses in solar.

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PVOL304: Solar Training - Advanced PV Stand-alone System Design (Battery-Based) - Online

Additional Details

what you will learn

helpful information

nabcep certification information

available sessions

course snapshot

course materials

Instructors

Zeke Yewdall

Instructors

PVOL304: Solar Training - Advanced PV Stand-alone System Design (Battery-Based) - Online

Additional Details

what you will learn

helpful information

nabcep certification information

available sessions

course snapshot

course materials

Instructors

Zeke Yewdall

Instructors

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