PV Systems Installation (NC II-aligned)

Practitioner · about 14 hours · 26 lessons and builds · for solar trainees and nc ii reviewers, electricians moving into solar, owners of off-grid systems

Work safely on PV jobs; prepare materials and read PV drawings and manuals; assess a site; check modules, controllers, batteries and inverters against their specs; install, test and commission a stand-alone system up to about 1 kW; hand it over and keep it running. Aligned with the NC II competency standard for PV systems installation.

Safety, materials and drawings, PV calculations, site assessment, component checks, installation, controllers and batteries, commissioning, handover: lessons, the solar bench, graded design exams and a practice test for every module.

Before you start: Ohm’s law and power (module 3 reviews them)

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Module 1: 1 · Safety on PV jobs

• Safety on PV jobs

Then a written practice test in the lab: questions drawn at random, pass at 80 %, every answer explained.

Extra practice:

• RCD protection: someone touches a live wire

Module 2: 2 · Materials, tools, manuals and drawings

• Materials, tools, manuals and PV drawings

Then a written practice test in the lab: questions drawn at random, pass at 80 %, every answer explained.

Module 3: 3 · Mensuration and PV calculations

• The IV curve: Voc, Isc and the knee
• A string against the controller: the cold-morning Voc

Then a written practice test in the lab: questions drawn at random, pass at 80 %, every answer explained.

Extra practice:

• Power and power ratings
• Cold mornings raise Voc; hot noons cut power

Module 4: 4 · Site assessment

• Site assessment
• Shading and bypass diodes: a shadow costs more than its size

Then a written practice test in the lab: questions drawn at random, pass at 80 %, every answer explained.

Extra practice:

• Cold mornings raise Voc; hot noons cut power

Module 5: 5 · Checking PV components

• Checking components before installation

Then a written practice test in the lab: questions drawn at random, pass at 80 %, every answer explained.

Extra practice:

• Lead-acid against LiFePO4: usable capacity, voltage and life

Module 6: 6 · Installing the system

• Installing a stand-alone PV system
• Wiring, fuses and breakers for an array: the 1.25 and 1.56 rules
• Grounding, bonding and surge protection: the two jobs of earth

Then a written practice test in the lab: questions drawn at random, pass at 80 %, every answer explained.

Extra practice:

• Code and safety: PEC 2017 and NEC 690 in one page
• Exam: add surge protection and grounding to meet code

Module 7: 7 · Controllers, batteries and inverters

• PWM against MPPT: the harvest, as a number
• Lead-acid against LiFePO4: usable capacity, voltage and life

Then a written practice test in the lab: questions drawn at random, pass at 80 %, every answer explained.

Extra practice:

• MPPT: perturb and observe
• Why a 1.5 HP non-inverter aircon trips a 3 kW inverter at start-up

Module 8: 8 · Testing and commissioning

• Commissioning and troubleshooting: the checklist and the fault
• Exam: size and wire a system for this home

Then a written practice test in the lab: questions drawn at random, pass at 80 %, every answer explained.

Extra practice:

• Exam: this system fails on cold mornings

Module 9: 9 · Handover, maintenance and the final assessment

• Handover, user orientation and maintenance

Then a written practice test and the final practice assessment in the lab: questions drawn at random, pass at 80 %, every answer explained.

Extra practice:

• Economics: payback, and what a battery really costs per kWh