PV 302: Intermediate Photovoltaic Design and Installation

Once you have successfully completed your Basic Photovoltaics Class, you’ll be ready to dive deeper into system design. This three day course encompasses lecture, practicum design examples and hands-on lab work. You’ll focus on how to size major components for both battery based and utility-interactive PV systems. By the end of this class you should be able to demonstrate how to size PV system components, including wiring and overcurrent protection; assemble different mounting systems; and wire appropriate strings of modules. This class is ISP Accredited and counts toward the NABCEP educational requirement. More information about NABCEP certification can be found on the NABCEP website.

Prerequisite: Participants must have completed the AltE Basic PV and Site Assessment (PV 301) class in order to enroll. We do our best to ensure we offer the most complete education we can, and we realize in some cases, you have already begun your RE training. If you have a certificate of completion of a five or six day course from an ISP accredited program or NABCEP Approved Provider or if you have passed the NABCEP Entry Level Certification of Knowledge Exam, please provide your certificate and we can accept that as the prerequisite for our PV 301/302 class. Or if you have at least two years of design and installation of PV or solar thermal systems, please send us documentation and we can count that toward your prerequisite as well.

Students who complete both PV 301 and PV 302 are eligible to take the NABCEP PV Entry Level Exam at the end of the week. However, we recommend that this test be taken only after additional coursework has been completed, including our PV 303 class. The cost of the test is $100 and is additional to class tuition. Please sign up for the exam prior to the start date of the class by letting a representative know at the time your register over the phone or adding a note when you register online.

Lecture and Lab Topics:

• Load Analysis: Quantifing electrical load through multiple means
• Estimating sizing requirements for major components for both stand alone and utility-interactive systems
• Quick testing and wiring modules
• Assembling modules and support structures
• Determining design currents for PV electrical circuits
• Inverter String Sizing
• Working Safely with PV Systems
• Introduction to National Electric Code Article 690

If you own the National Electric Code 2008 code book we recommend that you bring it to this class.

Dave draws on his experience growing up in a solar family to add real world examples to the classes he teaches. We are happy to have Dave teach classes in Columbus, and often we are lucky enough to have him teach PV classes in Massachusetts as well. If Dave looks familiar, you may have seen him on stage. He is invited on occasion to play percussion with the Westerville Symphony.

James joined the AltE team in 2005 and is currently our Sales Engineer, specializing in Photovoltaic system design. James earned his degree in Renewable Energy from San Juan College in New Mexico. He is responsible for the prepackaged systems on our website as well as being the lead of our technical support team. James is also tireless in his ability to talk and teach renewable energy to anyone who will listen! When he's not working with renewable energy, he is likely refereeing soccer games, or doting over one of his Volkswagens.