Installation Data Sheet

PV Panels

Model

No. of Pieces

Dimensions

Weight

Maximum Power Point

Operating Voltage

Operating Current

Open Circuit Voltage

Short Circuit Current

Efficiency

Temperature Ranges

Warranty

Battery

Model

No. of Pieces

Terminal Type

Dimensions

Weight

Voltage

Capacity AH

kWH

Internal Resistance

Short Circuit Current

Depth of Discharge
Warranty

Inverter

Model

Maximum AC Output Power

Surge Power

AC Output Voltage

Efficiency

Maximum Input Current

Maximum Output Current

MPPT Voltage Range

Warranty

Solar Charge Controller

Model

Rated Current

Rated Voltage

Number of Poles

Insulation Voltage

Rated Impulse Withstand Voltage

Warranty

Sizing Grid-Tie PV Systems

1. Calculate the daily load requirement of the client using the load evaluation form,
their past electric bills, and how much of the client’s energy usage will be offset
by the PV system.
For this example, the monthly consumption is 170 kWh.
Divide the monthly consumption by 30 days.
170 kWh divided by 30 days will give you a daily load requirement of 5.67 kWh.
2. To size PV panels, use the formula:
PV Power is equal to 1.3 multiplied to the value of the daily load requirement divided by
peak sun hours.
There’s an additional 30% to the capacity of the solar panel since peak sun hours vary
every day.
3. The computed daily load requirement is 5.67 kilowatt per hour and the peak sun
hours is 5, which is the maximum.
Input these values into the formula and you’ll have
PV Power = (5.67 kWh ÷ 5 h) x 1.3 which is 1.134 kW x 1.3
This will give you a PV Power of 1.475 kW or 1,475 watts.
4. To compute the number of PV panels, use this formula:
No. of PV Panels is equal to PV Power divided by the size of the available PV panel.
5. The size of the PV panel is 380 W.
Input the values into the formula and you’ll have
No. of PV Panels = 1,475 W ÷ 380 W
This is equal to 3.88 or 4 PV panels. Remember to always round the results up.
6. To determine the maximum PV power, simply multiply the size of the PV panel to
the number of PV panels.
In this example, the maximum PV power is equal to 380 watts multiplied by 4
This will give you a maximum PV power of 1,520 watts.
7. In sizing a grid-tie inverter, choose an inverter with a maximum power that is
greater than the maximum power of the PV array.
Make sure that the voltage and current input of the inverter is greater than the voltage
and current output of the solar panels.
8. The voltage and current inputs and outputs are indicated in the data sheet of the
components.
9. To compare voltage, just multiply the open circuit voltage of the PV panels to the
number of PV panels to be used and compare it with the voltage input of the
inverter.
For example, the open circuit voltage of the PV panels is 48.8V and the number of PV
panels is 4.
Multiply these values to one another and you’ll get 195.2V.
10. For the current, just compare the short circuit current indicated in the data sheet
of the solar panels and the inverter.
In this example, the PV panel’s short circuit current is 9.94 amperes.
This means, you’ll need an inverter with an open circuit voltage greater than 195.2V and a
short circuit current greater than 9.94A.
Sizing Off-Grid PV Systems
With a PV system that has an energy storage, the output of that system should be able to meet the load and
possible losses in case of undesirable conditions. In this video, you’re going to learn how to size an off-grid
PV system.
1. Determine the daily load requirement of your client for each month. You can use the load evaluation
form for this as well as your client’s past electric bills. The daily DC energy requirement will help you
in sizing the battery and the solar panels. The daily AC energy requirement will help you in sizing the
inverter
2. To size the battery, if the client prefers a battery that has greater autonomy or number of days that a
fully charged battery can be used without recharging, the system will require a battery with larger
capacity and a lower depth of discharge.
3. You must calculate the Ampere Hour first using this formula: Ampere hour is equal to watt hour
divided by battery voltage. For example, if the watt hour is 2,505 and the battery voltage is 12 V, the
AH is 208.75.
4. Consider the depth of discharge of the battery that you want to use. DOD is the rate of how much of
the stored energy relative to the overall capacity of the battery has been or can be used. If a 200 AH
battery has a DOD of 50%, it can only discharge 100 AH. This means we must divide AH by 50%. That
is 208.75 AH ÷ 0.5. This means that the AH of the battery/ies for one autonomous day should be
417.5 AH. The available sizes of batteries are 20 AH, 40 AH, 50 AH, 100 AH, 200 AH, and 210 AH.
5. For this example, you’re going to use a 210 AH battery. To find out how many batteries the system
needs, divide the AH by the size of the battery/ies that you’re going to use rounded up to the nearest
whole number. That is 417.5 AH divided by 210 AH. Therefore, the number of batteries is 1.99 or 2.
6. When sizing PV panels, you should consider the: daily load requirement, average watt-hour day,
climate of the site, amount of sun exposure of the possible location of the panels, efficiency of the
solar panels, and physical size of the solar panels.
7. To calculate the size of the PV panels that a system needs, you can use this formula: required PV
panel output is equal to watt-hour divided by peak sun hours. For example, if the watt-hour is 2,505
and the peak sun hours is 4.5. The PV Panel required output is 556.67 W.
8. After calculating the size of the solar panels, you can now find out how many pieces of panels are
needed. The common sizes of solar panels available in the market are: 1.3W, 18W, 30W, 100W, 110W,
285W, 330W, 385W, 400W, 450W, and 530W.
9. For this example, you’re going to use 285W sized PV panels. To get how many solar panels you
need, divide the required output of the solar panels by the size of the solar panels that you are going
to use and round the result up to the nearest whole number. That is 556.67 W ÷ 285 W. Therefore, the
number of solar panels is 1.95 or 2.
10. The size of the inverter should be 30% higher than the total AC connected wattage at one time in
case of surge currents or the “instantaneous sharp impulse currents”. It should also depend on the
nominal DC voltage of the battery.
11. To calculate this, use the formula: Inverter Size = Total AC connected wattage at one time x 130%.
For example, the total AC connected wattage at one time is 159 W. The inverter size is equal to 159
W times 1.3 which is 206.7 W. This means that you can use 300 W, 500 W, or 1kVA inverter.
12. Sizing for the solar charge controller depends on whether the system will use a PWM or an MPPT
solar charge controller.
13. For a PWM charge controller, you need to know the open circuit voltage and the operating current of
the PV panels as well as the battery voltage. For example, the open circuit voltage of the PV panel is
21.6 V and the operating current is 6.46 A multiplied by an allowance of 120% which is 7.75 A. The
battery voltage is 12V. The specifications of the PWM charge controller should be equal or higher
than these given specifications.
14. For an MPPT charge controller, you need to know the open circuit voltage and the maximum power
of the PV panels as well as the battery voltage. For example the open circuit voltage of the PV panel
is 21.6 V and the maximum power is 100 W. The battery voltage is 12V. The specifications of the
MPPT charge controller should be equal or higher than these given specifications.

Sizing Hybrid PV Systems

1. Calculate the daily load requirement of the client using the load evaluation form and their
past electric bills as well as how much of the client’s energy usage will be offset by the PV
system. Just divide the monthly consumption by 30 days. For this example, the monthly
 consumption is 170 kWh. To get the daily load requirement, that’s 170 kWh divided by 30
days which will give you a daily load requirement of 5.67 kWh.
2. To size PV panels, use this formula: PV Power is equal to 1.3 multiplied to the value of the
daily load requirement divided by peak sun hours. There’s an additional 30% to the
capacity of the solar panel since peak sun hours vary everyday. The computed daily load
requirement is 5.67 kilowatt per hour and the peak sun hours is 5, which is the maximum.
Input these values into the formula and you’ll have PV Power = (5.67 kWh ÷ 5 h) x 1.3
which is 1.134 kW x 1.3. This will give you a PV Power of 1.475 kW or 1,475 watts.
3. To compute the number of PV panels, use this formula: The size of the PV panel is 380
W. Input the values into the formula and you’ll have No. of PV Panels = 1,475 W ÷ 280
W. This is equal to 3.88 or 4 PV panels. Remember to always round it up.
4. The no. of PV Panels is equal to PV Power divided by the size of the available PV panel. To
determine the maximum PV power, simply multiply the size of the PV panel to the number
of PV panels. This means, for this example, the maximum PV power is equal to 380 watts
multiplied by 4. This will give you a maximum PV power of 1,520 watts.
5. In sizing a grief-tie inverter, choose an inverter with a maximum power greater than the
maximum power of the PV array. Make sure that the voltage and current input of the
inverter is greater than the voltage and current output of the solar panels.
6. The voltage and current inputs and outputs are indicated in the data sheet of the
components. To compare voltage, just multiply the open circuit voltage of the PV panels to
the number of PV panels to be used and compare it with the voltage input of the inverter.
For example, the open circuit voltage of the PV panels is 48.8V and the number of PV
panels is 4. Multiply these values to one another and you’ll get 195.2V.
7. For the current, just compare the short circuit current indicated in the data sheet of the
solar panels and the inverter. In this example, the PV panel’s short circuit current is 9.94
amperes. This means, you’ll need an inverter with an open circuit voltage greater than
195.2V and a short circuit current greater than 9.94A. The total connected load should not
exceed the inverter capacity.
8. For sizing battery, these are the recommended voltage for different scales of PV systems:
12 V for small installations with less than 1,200 W daily load requirement; 24 V for medium
installations with wattage of more than 1,200 W up to 2,400 W daily load requirement; 48 V
for large installations with more than 2,400 W daily load requirement.
9. You can compute the battery capacity using this formula: battery capacity is equal to the
daily load requirement divided by depth of discharge times the system voltage. For
example, the daily load requirement is 5,012 Wh, the depth of discharge is 50% or 0.5, and
the system voltage is 48 V meaning there are 4 12 V batteries in series connection. Input
these values into the formula: Battery Bank Capacity = 5,012 Wh ÷ (0.5 x 48 V) which is
5,012 Wh ÷ 24. The battery capacity is 208.83 ampere hour.
10. To determine how many strings of battery are needed by the system. You can use to
formula: no. of strings is equal to the battery capacity divided by the battery rating. For
example, the battery rating is 250. That is 208.83 AH divided by 250 which is equal to
0.84. Round the result up and the no. of strings is 1.