Solar PV System Installation and Maintenance

Short Term Training Manual

Unit of Apply Principles of Photovoltaic system

Competence Operation
Module Title Applying Principles of Photovoltaic system
Operation
LG Code EIS PIM2 M01 LO1 LG-1
TTLM Code EIS STT TTLM 0120v1
 Cont’d
LO 1: Identify Renewable Energy
Sources;
 Basic Electricity and Electronics
•
Introduction
 Electricity is an apparent force in nature that exists
whenever there is a net electrical charge between
any two objects and is put to use in industrial
applications such as: electronics and electric power.
 Cont’d
Electricity:
• Dynamic electricity is the flow of an electric
charge through a conduction point. Dynamic
electricity is often referred to as electric
current. The biggest difference between
dynamic electricity and static electricity is the
movement of charges or currents.
• Atom the smallest particle of a chemical
element that can exist.
– It is made up of three parts known as:
– Protons–positively charged particles
– Neutrons–particles with no charge
– Electrons–negatively charged particles
Cont’d
 Cont’d
• Conductors
 Allow the flow of electricity
 Contain atoms with free electrons one to three electrons
in the outer orbit
 Free electrons are not locked in orbit around the nucleus
 electrons can be forced to move from one atom to
another
 Copper, gold, and silver are good conductors
• Insulators
– Resist the flow of electricity
– Contain atoms with bound electrons five to eight
electrons in the outer orbit
– Bound electrons will not leave their orbit around the
nucleus
– Plastic, rubber, and ceramics are good insulators
 Cont’d
 Semi conductors
 Allow the flow of electricity partially.
 Have the properties of the two elements
 example: Silicon
• Substances capable of acting as both a conductor
and an insulator are called semiconductors. This
enables semiconductor devices to control current
without mechanical points.
 Semiconductor devices include
 diodes
 transistors
 integrated circuits
 Three terms are used in the study of electricity

1. Current (I)
Current is a measure of the rate of
electron flow through a material.
Electrical current is measured in units of
amperes or "Amps” or “A" for short.
 This flow of electrical current develops
when electrons are forced from one
atom to another. One amp is defined as
6.28 x 1018 electrons per second. When
current flows in a conductor, heat is
produced.
 The Voltage

2. Voltage
 is the electrical force that causes free
electrons to move from one atom to another.
 Just as water needs some pressure to force it
through a pipe, electrical current needs some
force to make it flows.
 "Volts" is the measure of "electrical pressure"
that causes current flow.
 Voltage is sometimes referred to as the
measure of a potential difference between
two points along a conductor. Sometimes the
symbol E is used for EMF (Electro motive
force).
Cont’d
 The resistor
 Resistance
 Resistance is the opposition to current
flow.
 The electrical resistance of a material is
measured in units called "ohms"(Ω).
 The lower the resistance of a material,
the better the material acts as a
conductor.
 For example, copper has a lower
electrical resistance than aluminum,
copper is a better conductor.
Cont’d
 Cont’d
The scientific symbol for electrical
resistance, which is measured in ohms,
is the Greek letter Omega
(Ω).Electricians and practical wiring
books typically use an "R" to represent
resistance.
 Factors Affecting the Resistance of a conductor

 Kind of the material-the greatest the number

of free electrons present in a substances, the
lower the resistance. For example, copper has a
lower electrical resistance than aluminum,
copper is a better conductor
 Length of the material-Directly proportional with
resistance
 Cross sectional area ( thickness) -inversely
proportional with resistance
 Temperature-Metals generally offer higher
resistance at high temperature. Non- metallic
substance such as carbon offer lower resistance
at high temperature
 THE Ohm’s law

The relationship of Ohm’s law is the

behavior of electric currents I, relating
them to voltage V and resistance R.
V=RxI
This is a linear relation. If you double
the voltage (V) then for the same
value of R you get twice the current. If
you want to keep the current the same
value after doubling V, you would
have to double the resistance (R).
Cont’d
Cont’d
 Electrical Circuits
An electrical circuit is a path or line
through which an electrical current
flows.
The path may be closed (joined at both
ends), making it a loop. A closed circuit
makes electrical current flow possible.
 It may also be an open circuit where
the electron flow is cut short because
the path is broken.
 An open circuit does not allow
electrical current to flow
Cont’d
 Alternating Current (AC) & Direct Current ( DC)
• The supply of current for electrical
devices may come from a direct
current (DC) source or an alternating
current (AC) source.
 Alternating current: is the type of current
most commonly used in households to power
electrical appliances (for example TVs,
refrigerators, radios and computers).
 Grid supplied electricity is alternating current
.
 Direct current
 Direct current: is produced by PV modules and
stored in batteries.
 It is possible to convert direct current
to alternating current and vice versa
using an adapter(e.g. cell phone
charger) or an inverter
THE difference
The symbolical representation
The basic difference b/n Dc and AC
 Types of Electrical Circuits

 Based on the connection of loads, electrical circuits are

classified in to three:
1. Series circuit
• In series circuit, loads are connected end to end.
• The current is the same at any point in the circuit
 I1=I2=I3=...+In
 The total resistance is the sum of the individual
resistors
 RT=R1+R2+R3….+RN
 The applied voltage is equal to the sum of the
voltage drops across all the resistors
 VT=V1+V2+V3….+VN
 Cont’d
Advantage:- Economical, less wire/cable is
needed.
Disadvantage:- if one of the lamps is broken the
whole circuit will be out of operation.
 Parallel circuit
In a parallel circuit the loads are
arranged to allow all the positive
terminals to be joined to a single
conductor and all the negative one to
another conductor so in effect the
current travels through different
parallel paths.
The total resistance of a parallel circuit
is the reciprocal of the sum of the
reciprocals of each resistor.
In parallel circuits, loads are connected
side by side or across the line.
 Cont’d
• Total current is the sum of all branch
currents
IT=I1+I2+I3….+IN
• equal voltage drops across each load
• VT=V1=V2=V3……..VN
Total resistance( RT ) is computed as:-
Product over sum method
reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals
of each resistor
 Cont’d
• For equal resistors connected in parallel:
The value of one resistor is divided by
number of branches/ resistors
• Advantages of parallel connections:
 if one of the lamps is broken the other circuit
part independently operate.
• Disadvantage of parallel connections:-
less-economical because more cables/wire are
needed.
Cont’d
Cont’d