PVeducation.com

All About Solar Electric Systems and Components

  • Welcome
  • About
  • General Information
    • Working Safely with Photovoltaic Systems
    • Climate-101
    • Leasing Solar Systems
  • Solar Module Quality
    • Poor Quality Solar Module
    • Poor Quality Control – Solar Cell Color Differences
    • Snail Trails
  • Solar Concepts
    • Solar Cells, Modules, and Arrays
    • Series and Parallel Wiring
    • Sun Path
    • Solar Azimuth
    • Roof Pitch and Roof Angle (Degrees)
    • Electrical Fundamentals
    • Weight of Typical Pitched Roof Solar System
    • Solar PV Module Efficiency
    • Fixed or Tracking Array
    • Shadow Calculations for Row Spacing
    • Battery State of Charge vs Open Circuit Battery Voltage
    • Solar System Output
    • sREC – Solar Renewable Energy Credits
    • Roof Zones
    • Common Electrical Services
  • Solar System Types
    • Grid Tied Residential and Small Commercial Solar System with String Inverter
    • Grid Tied Residential and Small Commercial Solar System with Micro Inverters
    • Solar System with Direct Load
    • Grid Tied Large Commercial Solar System
    • Off Grid Solar System with DC Loads
    • Off Grid Solar System with DC and AC Loads
    • Grid Tied Battery Backup Solar System
  • Designing an Off Grid Solar Electric System
    • Designing an Off Grid Solar Electric System, Step 1, Planning Considerations
    • Designing an Off Grid Solar Electric System, Step 2, Determine the Total Load
    • Designing an Off Grid Solar Electric System, Step 3a, Determine the Amount of Solar Needed Using an MPPT Controller
    • Designing an Off Grid Solar Electric System, Step 4, Sizing the Battery Bank
    • Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems Book
  • System Design Equations
    • Calculate Array Voltage
  • Solar Installation Failures and What Not To Do
    • Squirrel Damage
    • Using the Wrong Disconnect
    • Poor Fused Combiner Design
    • Wrong Conduit
    • Improper Row Spacing
    • Badly Placed Conduit and Bad Roof Penetration
    • Inverter Commissioning
    • Water Filled Enclosures
  • Design Parameters
    • Conductor Ampacity of AL
    • Conductor Ampacity of CU
    • Temp Adjustment Conduit on Roof
    • Conduit Fill Table
    • Adjustment Factors Qty of Conductors
    • Solar Radiation by State
    • US Irradiance Maps
    • Wind Speed, Snow Load, Seismic Ratings, Temperature
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About

This site was just started in Jan 2014 and is growing rapidly. I will be adding new content as often as I can so please be sure to stop back. Thanks for visiting!

View Michael Howell's profile on LinkedIn

I am a solar electric systems expert with 31+ years of real-world industry experience. I have spent a vast majority of that time designing solutions for customers’ photovoltaic needs. I specialized in designing systems for every application of solar including off grid, residential, commercial, and utility scale systems. My extensive knowledge and experiences with systems of all shapes, sizes, and types is the value I bring to my customers to help them succeed.

My career in solar started in 1989 working for a solar installer and equipment distributor for 14 years. I later used my extensive installation knowledge at AstroPower to manage their east coast installations and train their network on solar installers. While at GE Energy I was the applications engineering team leader overseeing all solar system designs, lead trainer and provided customer and sales support. While at GE Energy I trained over 550 of United Electric’s customers as they started their solar product group. I found United Electric’s vision of distributing solar very appealing and joined them to become their Solar Product Manager.

At present I am the Director of Asset Management at C2 Energy Capital and oversee $300 million of renewable assets and more than 130 operational solar projects. With the team that I have built, once the systems are constructed, we are focused on operating and maintaining safe, reliable projects ensuring accountability for performance.

View Michael Howell's profile on LinkedIn

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