Program Description

Photovoltaic systems consist of solar panels, batteries, and converters to generate and supply power correctly. The size of these projects vary from powering small devices, like outdoor lights, to giant solar farms. Problems arise due to location, the amount of power to be made, and safety. Solar engineering provides solutions for the creation and maintenance of these systems.

Due to diverse power requirements and system uses, solar engineers have to design according to the calculations for the size of panels, batteries, and power distribution. Design also changes depending on special requirements such as the amount of time the power must last. The amount of power a battery can give is dependent on how much power is being used at once and for how long. Batteries have a limit on instantaneous power so if a device requires more than what a battery can give at once, it will fail. This means that engineers have to make adjustments to what sorts of loads are at the receiving end of the energy being accumulated.

The flow for PV systems is: Device that converts light from sun to energy →Charge controller monitors power delivery to a battery →Energy is stored in battery → Converters change dc power from battery to ac for all appliances to use

Since each of these steps affects others, a solar engineer must carefully design these components to meet all requirements.