What parts make up a solar PV system?

Solar panel (or module).

Silicone wafers arranged in a pattern of usually 60 or 72 cells, interconnected by fine copper wires (busbars) and fitted with a diode box, cables and connectors.

Inverter

  • Electronic control which takes the DC current from the panels and converts (inverts) it to AC for feeding into the grid.
  • Also provides monitoring outputs, collecting and collating data for subsequent analysis.

Mounting system

Roof

  • A variety of engineered products for all roof sheet types.
  • Normally made from lightweight aluminium to minimise additional static loading on the roof.
  • Designed for rapid installation to minimise costs.
  • Normally warrantied for 10 years.

Ground Mount

  • The majority of systems are designed around steel rammed piles, as this offers the fastest installation and most robust long term performance.
  • Available for varying panel layouts and for both standard and frameless panels.
  • Some specialist systems allow installation in rocky or stony ground.
  • It is possible to use concrete bases if the ground can not be disturbed, but this is an expensive option.

Cables

The cable selection is critical to system performance. Solar parks and large commercial roofs mean that cable runs can be many tens of metres long and correct cable sizing for voltage drop and current capacity are crucial.

Transformer

  • This takes the normal 400V from then inverters and transforms it to either 11kV of 33kV if the solar system is connected to the HV grid.
  • It must be sized to handle the maximum energy the PV system can deliver.
  • Consideration may be given to use of a low loss core. This can improve energy output to the grid by one or two percent, important when considering the 20Y + life of a PV system

Monitoring

  • With any large system, an Operation & Maintenance contract will be put into place, often with the company installing the system. It is important that all the relevant data concerning the site performance minute by minute is available remotely, to ensure that faults can quickly be noticed and corrected.
  • We have a relationship with Meteocontrol from Germany and will install dataloggers to report to us and the client.