Off-Grid PV system components,

design and installation

considerations

Course : Photovoltaic and Wind off-grid

Off-grid renewable system. [Photography]. Retrieved from Electricity from Sunlight

Photovoltaic-Systems Integration and Sustainability Second Edition

Content developed and presented by Dr Nima Khoshsirat,

All Rights Reserved by Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning

1
 Recap of previous lecture
1. Solar irradiance and solar insolation are used to quantify the solar radiation.

2. Key angles in PV system design are zenith angle, altitude angle, azimuth angle and
tilt angle.

3. There are different types and technologies of PV cells

4. I-V curves of PV cells give us lots of information about how the cells are performing

5. PV cells’ output parameters are functions of temperature and irradiance

6. Solar cells series and shunt resistors affect the output parameters of the cells
2
Why we’re here

Solar 
Energy

Sun
Electricity

PV Modules Electrical load

Today’s Focus
3
In today’s lesson, we will be reviewing:

1. The components of an off-grid PV system

2. Design and installation considerations

3. Sample Problems

4
Off-grid renewable systems components

1. Solar PV modules
2. Wind turbine
3. Charge controller
4. Battery bank
5. Inverter
6. Disconnect switch panel
7. Load

Off-grid renewable system. [Photography]. Retrieved from Electricity from Sunlight

Photovoltaic-Systems Integration and Sustainability Second Edition
6
 Crystalline Solar cells interconnection in PV modules

Solar cell’s front view

Front contacts (+)

Back contacts (-)

-
+
[Photograph]. Retrieved from Crystalline silicon solar cells interconnected in series with tabbing ribbon, [Photograph].
Retrieved from Zarmai, M. T., Ekere, N. N., Oduoza, C. F., & Amalu, E. H. (2015). A review of interconnection 7
technologies for improved crystalline silicon solar cell photovoltaic module assembly. Applied energy, 154, 173-182.
 Solar PV modules back view- output terminals
Solar PV modules parallel connection Solar PV modules series connection

MC4 Multibranch adaptor MC4 connectors

8
Series connection of modules in string to increase voltage

Module 1 Module 2 Module 3

+ - + - + - -
+
Current (A)

Module 1
I-V characteristic ofModule 2 string Module 3
the whole

9
Voltage (V)
 Parallel connection of strings in array to increase current

String 2

+ - + - + -

Current (A)
+ -
String 1

+ - + - + -

Voltage (V)
10
Problem:
A solar PV module is made of 72 solar cells of 157 x 157mm. Under
standard test conditions (STC). The short circuit current of the module is
9.45A. The open circuit and maximum power point voltage of each cell
are 649mV and 532mV respectively. Given the reflection loss is zero and
the Fill Factor of the module is 78.19%, Find the :

(a) Maximum power point current of the module

(b) Maximum power of the module
(c) Input power under standard test conditions (STC)
(d) Module efficiency

11
Answer:

12
Break- 10mins

10
00
04
09
02
01
05
06
03
07
08 min

13
Protecting PV cells under unequal current generation condition
• Bypass diodes are used to protect PV devices against Revers Bias.

• Under revers bias condition the cell continues to pass the current but since the
voltage is negative, cell will consume power instead of producing power.

• Revers bias occurs due to open circuit, shading or any other conditions that
results in unequal current

• Without protection, reverse bias leads to hot-spot heating effect and can
damage the PV device and reduce its lifetime. 14
Protecting PV cells under unequal current generation condition
• Hot-spot heating effect can be detected through PV panel thermography
using “Thermographic Cameras”

PV panel thermography, [Photograph]. By Dr Nima Khoshsirat Thermographic Camera, [Photograph]. Retrieved from Testo UK. Thermographic Camera on drone, [Photograph].
Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/in/nkhoshsirat/ https://www.testo.com/en-UK/products/thermal-imager Retrieved from the South Oracel
https://www.tso.solar/
15
Protecting PV cells under unequal current generation condition

Normal electrical current path in unshaded string

- +
16
Protecting PV cells under unequal current generation condition
• Bypass diode is used to pass current around rather than through, a group of
cells or modules that are experiencing unequal current due to shading or open
circuit.
Electrical current path in a string with a shaded cell

- + 17
Protecting PV cells under unequal current generation condition

- +
• Bypass diode allows the functional cell/ module in the branch/string to continue
delivering power. However, it consequently causes the branch/string to operate at
lower voltage
18
Protecting PV cells under unequal current generation condition
• Without bypass diode or with faulty diode, reverse voltage may decrease until the breakdown voltage is
reached that results in rapid increase in current. The high current can result in potentially damaging
level of power dissipation within the device.

• Under extreme cases the resulting high temperature can melt the module laminate and pose fire
hazard.

Damaged PV modules, [Photograph]. Retrieved from CanSIA ,

"Solar Electricity Safety Handbook for Firefighters" 19
https://www.cansia.ca/uploads/7/2/5/1/72513707/solar_electricity_safety_handbook_for_firefighters_.pdf
 Diode
- +

Anode (+) Cathode (-)

Solar modules junction box, [Photograph

20
 Row to row spacing
• A minimum separation distance is required to prevent rack-mounted rows of PV arrays from shading one
another
• Greater separation distances are required for taller arrays, higher latitudes, and to avoid shading for longer
periods of the day

Non-optimum
Minimum row distance 21
 Row to row spacing
• Spacing between rows (d) must be wide enough to prevent shading at low sun altitude in the morning and
afternoon around winter solstice
• The separation factor, d/h, represents ratio of minimum required separation distance and height of the array
measured from the horizontal plane

ℎ
𝛼 𝛼
𝑑 22
 Row to row spacing
• Minimum required separation distances between PV Separation Factor vs. Latitude for South-Facing Array Rows
array rows depends on latitude, the height of the 12
To Avoid Shading on Winter Solstice at Specified Solar Time

obstruction, and the time of day and year

8 am - 4 pm
• The analysis for inner row shading can be summarized 10
in a chart showing the separation factor versus latitude 9 am - 3 pm

to prevent shading for specific time of the day in winter.

𝒅
𝒉
8 10 am - 2 pm

Separation factor (
• These results can be applied to any shading 11 am - 1 pm

obstruction. 6

• For example to avoid shading at the winter solstice

4
between 9 am and 3 pm solar time, the separation
distance between PV arrays and obstructions should
2
be at least 2 times the height of the obstruction at
latitudes around 30°
0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
Latitude (deg N)

Inner row shading and spacing distance. [Photography]. Retrieved from American Technical Publication (atp).
Photovoltaic systems, third edition

23
 Row to row spacing
Let’s design to ensure shadow from one row of panels never covers any portion of the panels in the next
row:
• For this, consider worst case, which occurs on the Winter Solstice (December 21st, greatest angle from
azimuth to location of sun)
• On this day, the angle of the sun from the ground is given by: 𝜶𝟏 𝟗𝟎 – 𝑳𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 – 𝟐𝟑. 𝟓
• The height of the panel install is given by 𝒉 𝑳 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜶𝟐
• where L is the vertical length of panel, and 𝛼 is the panel tilt angle
• The distance between panels (back to front) can then be calculated by:
𝒉
𝒅
𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝜶𝟏
𝐿

ℎ
𝛼 𝛼
24
𝑑
Problem:

For a fixed ground mount PV system located at a latitude of 43

degrees, where the optimal tilt angle is determined to be 30 degrees,
how far apart should the rows of panels be placed? Assume a panel
with dimensions 1956mm x 945mm, installed in portrait mode.

05
04
02
01
03
00
min

25
Answer:

26
Off-grid PV systems circuit diagram

Off-grid PV system circuit diagram. [Photography]. Retrieved from Electricity from Sunlight
Photovoltaic-Systems Integration and Sustainability Second Edition
 Inverter:
• Inverter is a device that converts DC power to AC power

• There are a wide range of inverters available in the market that can be categorized based on their output
waveform to: square wave, modified sine wave, and pure sine wave.

• Utility grid systems supply pure sine wave voltages and require when inverters tie into their systems that
the quality meet UL1741 standards. In Canada, the standard that defines the inverters requirements is
CSA 107.1-01.

• For Canada, the frequency rate is 60 Hz and standard for residential voltage is 120 Volts RMS
Oscilloscope Inverter Oscilloscope

In Out

28
 Inverter output waveform:
• Square wave inverter: is the simplest and the least expensive type, its use is limited to non critical loads with
some loads or equipment not able to work with this type of AC.

• Square wave is inefficient and not a common inverter output but is the basis for the improved modified square
wave.
Square Wave 1
1 𝑉 𝑉 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑻 𝑇
𝒇
𝑉
1 1
→𝑉 𝑉 𝑑𝑡 𝑉 𝑑𝑡
𝑇 𝑇

1 𝑇 1 𝑇
𝑽𝑷𝑷 →𝑉 𝑉 0 𝑉 𝑇
Time 𝑇 2 𝑇 2

1 𝑇
→𝑉 2 𝑉 𝑉
𝑇 2
𝑉
→𝑉 𝑉 29
 Inverter output waveform:
Modified Square Wave 1
• Modified Square wave inverter: also known as 𝑻
𝒇
modified sine wave is a stepped waveform that
approximates a sine wave 𝑉

• It is used in many stand-alone (off-grid) inverters.

• It produces square waves with some dead spots 𝑽𝑷𝑷

between positive and negative half-cycles they are Time
suitable for many electronic loads, although its THD
( Total harmonic Distortion) is high about 25%.
𝑉
• The power quality is improved compared with
square wave inverters, but it is still lower than pure
sine wave inverters.

• Most loads can be operated from a modified sine

wave; they are the most popular low-cost inverters
30
Inverter output waveform:
• The modified square wave THD can be reduced by increase of the steps in the wave form (down to 5%-6.5%)
as shown in below figure.

• Harmonics cause extra heat in motors and transformers and sometimes create audible noise. They also can
cause current in neutral cable.

• When choosing an inverters, we need to check maximum allowable input THD of the loads

31
 Inverter output waveform:
• Pure sine wave inverter reproduces a sine wave with a THD of less than 3 percent.

• All loads will work with these inverters.

• It is these types of inverters that are used in grid tie applications.

Sinusoidal Wave 𝐼 1
𝑻 𝑉 𝑉 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝒇 2𝜋
𝑉

𝑉
𝑉 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
2𝜋
𝑽𝑷𝑷
Time sin 2𝑡
𝑉 𝑡 𝑉 𝑉
𝑉 2 | 2𝜋 2𝜋 2
𝑉 0.7𝑉
2𝜋 2 0 2𝜋 2 2 2
𝑉
32
 Voltage, current and power in an AC circuit

Resistive and reactive power [Photography]. Retrieved from ASU photovoltaic reliability laboratory
 Power factor
• There are two types of loads, resistive (active) or reactive loads.

• The resistive load keeps the voltage and current in phase, meaning
that there is no phase difference between voltage and current:
𝑉 𝑉 sin 𝜔𝑡
𝐼 𝐼 sin 𝜔𝑡

• The reactive loads such as capacitor and inductor cause the current 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒
to be out of phase
𝑉 𝑉 sin 𝜔𝑡
𝐼 𝐼 sin 𝜔𝑡 𝜑
2𝜋∆𝑡
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝜑
𝑇

∆𝑡

𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒
 Three phase system
• Inverter output can be single-phase or three-phase.
• In a three-phase system, there are three lines of power with their corresponding voltage and current.
• There is a 120 degrees phase difference between voltage (or current) of each phase and the next phase

𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕

𝑳𝟏 𝑳𝟐 𝑳𝟑

𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆

120 120
 Stand alone inverter:

• This type of inverter operates from batteries and supply power independent of the utility grid.
• PV arrays charge the batteries but do not influence the operation of the inverter.
• AC load is connected to the inverter output, but DC loads can be powered directly from the battery bank.
• The AC loads affect the operation of the inverter; loads require the inverter to draw stored power from the battery bank
• Temporary surge current is present with inductive loads such as motors, therefore inverters must be sized to meet those
peak loads.

PV array
DC LOAD

Inverter

AC LOAD
 Different types of PV inverter:
• Micro-inverters or Module level inverters: are small grid-tied inverters that are each connected to a single PV module
• AC modules are factory-integrated PV modules with interactive inverters
• Typically 200-300 W rated maximum AC output (approx. PV module size)
• Used primarily for residential and small commercial applications, and can achieve greater energy harvest from partially
shaded and multi-directional arrays
• Each module can produce its own maximum power (MPPT) independent of the others, this can be useful in shade-challenged
arrays, or with roofs with multiple module orientations

Micro-inverter inverter [Photography]. Retrieved from AP systems

 Different types of PV inverter:
• String inverters: are small inverters in the 1 to 50 kW size range, intended for residential and small commercial applications.
• Generally single-phase, usually limited to 1 to 6 parallel-connected source circuits, or “strings”.
• Some integrate source circuit combiners, fuses and disconnects into a single unit.

String Inverter. [Photograph]. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest.

https://quest.eb.com/search/132_1497528/1/132_1497528/cite
 Inverter Efficiency
 Inverter efficiency is especially important in a stand-alone system that
must obtain all its energy from precious sunlight without grid backup.

 Maximizing efficiency and minimizing standby consumption do not come

cheap, but the resulting energy savings may allow the system designer
to specify a smaller PV array and battery bank, leading to overall cost
savings.

 Unfortunately some inverter manufacturers only quote maximum

efficiency, or efficiency at full rated output, disguising unfavorable
performance under low-load conditions.

 This figure shows two typical efficiency curves, red for an inverter Inverter efficiency curve with respect to the load .
[Photography]. Retrieved from Electricity from Sunlight
incorporating a low-frequency transformer and orange for a unit Photovoltaic-Systems Integration and Sustainability Second Edition
with a high-frequency transformer.

 Both suffer from severely reduced efficiency when delivering less than
about 10% of their rated output. With rising load the efficiency reaches a
maximum over 90% and then tails off again.
 Inverter Efficiency
 The unit with the low-frequency transformer does better at low load,
and vice versa (switching losses associated with HF electronics are
relatively dominant at low load, whereas magnetic losses in a
low-frequency transformer are greater at high load). Such
differences can be important when choosing an inverter for a
particular duty.

Inverter efficiency curve with respect to the load .

[Photography]. Retrieved from Electricity from Sunlight
Photovoltaic-Systems Integration and Sustainability Second Edition
 Inverter Efficiency
 Usually stand-alone systems spend much of their time on
low load with peaks at certain times of day.

 This figure shows a representative daily load profile for a

home running a wide range of electrical appliances for
lighting, cooking, and household machines.

 Most of the time the inverter load is less than 20% of its
rated output, with peak periods in the morning and
evening. This is exactly the sort of situation where careful
attention to the inverter’s low-load efficiency and standby
power requirements is likely to pay dividends. Inverter load profile.
[Photography]. Retrieved from Electricity from Sunlight
Photovoltaic-Systems Integration and Sustainability Second Edition
 System Sizing Method
• This strategy needs a comprehensive study of the loads and energy consumption that is known as “Load Analysis”.

• Off-grid systems are specifically designed to meet a specific electrical load requirement and fully power loads for the worst-case
scenario (load & irradiance) Stand-alone PV systems.

• If the PV or battery system is designed too small, there will be a failure in system reliability.

• Failure of PV system results in loss of load.

• If the system is too large to meet worst case needs, excess energy will be unutilized, and investments will be wasted.

Sizing strategy and energy flow of off-grid system [Photography].

Retrieved from American Technical Publication (atp).Photovoltaic systems, third edition
What have we learned in this lecture?
1. We can build up current and voltage by parallel and series connection of PV cells/modules Strings.
2. Series and parallel connection of a set of modules is known as PV array
3. Unequal current in a cell/module strings should be avoided due the risk of hot-spot heating effect
4. Bypass diodes are used to protect cells/modules against unequal current/ shading and open circuit
effects
5. Inverters convert DC voltage to AC voltage
6. Inverters can be categorized based on their output voltage waveform
7. Inverter output efficiency can be a function of output load

43