SEI: Advanced Photovoltaics


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PV202: Advanced PV - Design Criteria and NEC Compliance

Apply the National Electric Code (NEC) to solar-electric systems and specify design criteria for both residential and commercial systems.

This classroom oriented session expands upon PV100 and PV102. It focuses on the National Electric Code (NEC), including grid interface calculations, grounding considerations and wire sizing. Participants evaluate system performance under various operating conditions. Commercial system design elements, including inter-row shading, inverter selection, and data monitoring solutions, are covered. In-person lectures are combined with system design exercises. There is NO significant hands-on component (except in the workshop on Guemes Island which includes an installation). The in-person workshop consists of five days of classroom lecture with tours of working systems.

This course provides 32.5 cumulative hours of training, that may be used towards NABCEP certification purposes

Tuition includes a 2008 NEC Code book.

Advanced PV is also offered as a six-week Online Course.

Prerequisite: Participants must have completed SEI's PV Design & Installation workshop (6 day, 10 day, or online), or Grid-Tied PV workshop (with supplemental stand-alone curriculum), or have permission of the instructor in order to enroll.

This workshop is certified by the Institute of Sustainable Power (ISP) and fulfills the educational requirements for Category 'B' of NABCEP's Solar PV Installer Certification. This course also qualifies you to take the NABCEP PV Entry Level "Certificate of Knowledge" Exam (Click here for entry level exam learning objectives). The test, which consists of 60 multiple choice questions, takes approximately 2 hours to complete. The test will be administered on the last day of the Salt Lake City and Paonia Advanced PV workshops. The test will not be offered after the Guemes Island workshop. The cost of the test is $100. Students must register in advance (either online or by contacting SEI). For more information on the NABCEP Entry Level Certification, please see their website at www.nabcep.org.

Students leave being able to:

Evaluate grid-tied system production
Perform a commercial site evaluation for a grid-tied system
Perform NEC service panel bus bar calculations
Calculate and diagram appropriate series fusing
Determine NEC required workspace clearances
Size appropriate disconnects and overcurrent protection
Calculate spacing between modules to eliminate inter-row shading
Perform uplift force and lag bolt strength calculations
Evaluate different commercially available data monitoring options
Identify all required NEC labeling for solar-electric systems
Size grounding wires and grounding electrode conductors to NEC standards
Draw a three-line diagram of a residential grid-tied system and a residential battery-based system
List the pros and cons of AC coupled and DC coupled systems
Identify the sizing considerations for stand-alone systems
Perform sizing calculations for a battery-based system
Calculate maximum charge rates for batteries

Sessions

Workshop Title	Dates	Location	Price	Duration	Status
Advanced PV	April 6 - 10, 2009	Salt Lake City, UT	$ 895	5 days	[FULL]
Advanced PV	May 18 - 22, 2009	Paonia, CO	$ 895	5 days	[FULL]
Advanced PV	July 20 - 24, 2009	Paonia, CO	$ 895	5 days	[FULL]
Advanced PV	October 19 - 24, 2009	Guemes Island, WA	$ 995	6 days	open

* Note: If you have already purchased an NEC code book from SEI, please let us know at the time of registering, and we will deduct $60 from the cost of your tuition.