PV TRAINING – DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND

MAINTENANCE
Q&A SESSION 1

September – October 2010

http://www.leonardo-energy.org/node/5948

If the location is in northern You will lose efficiency in tour system, but if
hemisphere, solar panels will be the deviation is small, the losses will not be
mounted facing to south side with very important. As an example, you can see
latitude(optimum) angle+/-15 the graph in the slide 35 webinar 1,
degrees, What happens to the (applicable in southern Europa):.If you take
output if panels are mounted other an ideal panel tilt, deviations in orientation
than south side? around +/-25 º are not very important
What are the methods which can be Recommendations: 1. You can use thin film
followed to reduce the PV panel modules halving the thermal losses
temperature so that the compared to the crystalline panels. (Losses:
temperature losses can be Thin film 2 % each 10 º. Crystaline: 4 %/10
reduced? º), but you will need more land surface
because his efficiency is lower/2. Keep a
reasonable distance between panel and roof
3. If it is possible, avoid valleys and choose
locations with high altitude
Do you think about the precision of The meter has not influence in the PR, but it
de meter? Do you think that is very important to have an accurate meter
improve the precision meter you to avoid slipping kWh away
can boost the PR?
How are panels connected for You need link all the frames, an then
earthing? connect the ground cable to the structure of
the building earthing system
Is 1460 KWH per year/ per month or It is 1460 kWh per year and per kWp
per day?
What is kW peak? The maximum rated output of a photovoltaic
device, such as a solar cell or array, under
standardized test conditions, usually 1000
watts per square meter (0.645 watts per
square inch) of sunlight with other
conditions, such as temperature specified.
Typical rating conditions are 68°F (20°C),
ambient air temperature, and 1 m/s (6.2 x
10-3 miles/sec.) wind speed
Is suntracker always justifiable? 2. You can find trackers with prices around
What is the normal increase ($ per 1,3$/Wp, this means approximately an
watt) for a suntracking system vs. investment of 30 % more than a fixed
fixed? system. In a location with high radiation you
can get increases of production by 33-40 %,
but also you will have certain expenses for
an extra maintenance. With high prices for
panels, this equipment is very profitable.

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 With low prices for panels its employment is
doubtful . Attention: the tracker use is
complicated in case of zones with important
wind

Where will sun tracking be useful in Its usage is more profitable in locations with
diffuse or direct light? a high direct radiation
What is the largest large scale PV we recommend browse at:
installation in the world? http://www.pvresources.com/en/top50pv.php
Would it be possible to name some Our experience with PVSYST is very positive.
programs to make shadowing
calculations?
Does Leonardo Energy have a tool Leonardo don´t have this tool, but we
for estimating or calculating the recommend you to use the program PVSYST.
shadowing effect for dual axis You will need complementarily get certains
tracking system? data from sites as PVGIS or meteonorm,
because this sites supplies radiation data
wich you will need for PVSYST
Do you have any experience or Except zones with important pollution, the
data relating to panel washing? losses for dirt are not so high. If the zone is
What about automated module rainy, our experience says to us that we
washing systems, as opposed to must not clean panels. If there is very few
manual washing? rain or the zone has a strong conditions of
dirt, can clean them periodically. Please,
analyze the production in a dirty string and
in a cleaned one to verify the losses in bouth
cases. With regard to the automatic option,
please verify if 1. Your installation really
needs cleanliness 2. The cost of doing it
manually 3. The cost of the investment of
the automatic system and its foreseen
amortization 4. Except very difficult cases, it
is better not to get obsessed with the
cleanliness

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Can I clean the panels by myself or
do I need an expert?
How far can you place the inverter
from the modules (thinking about
the losses)?
What kind of output is the RS 485
output?
What means RZ-cable?
Up to what extent the additional
costs for Sun Tracking systems
could be offset by the benefits
gained in a given situation?
Hello, Can we use AC Fus instead of
DC fuse?
Aren't concentrators useful only in
areas with high direct and low
diffuse irradiation?
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You can clean them yourself. Important:
Please, pay attention to the used water
because remains staying on the panels can
be more harmful than the benefit obtained
by the cleanliness. Preferably make a dry
cleaning with a soft brush
Usually, if it will be better to put the inverter
near the panels, so we will minimize the
losses, because of we increase the voltage
It is a communication standard for multipoint
systems, that allows the communication with
a maximum of 32 devices and a maximum
cable length of 1.200 meters. It is normally
used with DB-9 connectors (the connectors
of a computer serial port)
It is a cable 0.6 kV, free of halogens
With high prices for panels, this equipment is
very profitable. With low prices for panels its
employment is doubtful .You can find
trackers with prices around 1,3$/Wp, this
means approximately an investment 30 %
more than a fixed system. In a location with
high radiation you can get increases of
production by 33-40 %, but also you will
have certain expenses for extra
maintenance.
It´s more correct to use DC fuse. Mind the
voltage recommended by the manufacturer
of AC fuses
Concentrators only take advantage of the
direct radiation, so you need locations with
good meteorological conditions in an
important part of the year
What is the best efficiency for we recommend browse at:
concentrating technology modules http://www.isfoc.es/ and click the links that
that you can buy commercial you can find in this site for further
today? Who is the supplier? information
What is thermal coefficient? Please, browse at:
http://pvcdrom.pveducation.org/MODULE/He
atLoss.htm to get more details about it
What is the degradation rate of thin The initial degradation of these modules in
film modules? an initial stage is very high, therefore, the
manufacturers always supply an initial
power in panel higher than the nominal one.
Later the degradation becomes stable.
Though there is not an important experience
in large facilities having been producing for
many years, we can consider that the
degradation during its lifetime will be similar
to the crystalline technology, as
manufacturers offer the same production
guarantee (90 % in 10 years, 80 % in 25
years)
What is PR? Definition: Evaluation criterion for solar
power plants, which is independent of the
alignment of the solar power plant and the
global solar radiation. The performance ratio
is defined as the relationship between the
actual returns and theoretically potential
energy returns of a Photovoltaic system. The
performance ratio is an appropriate
valuation criterion for determining the
quality of the plant configuration, because
all components and their interaction is
considered. It is independent of the
orientation of Photovoltaic system and the
global radiation

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