What is the California Energy Commission's photovoltaic installation guide?

The California Energy Commission is providing this guide as an information resource to those installing photovoltaic (PV) systems under the Emerging Renewables Buydown Program. This is the first published draft of this guide and represents the current state-of-the-art in PV system installation.

Do I need to meter a photovoltaic system?

It is assumed that aluminum framed photovoltaic (PV) panels mounted on a “post” and rail mounting system, the most common in the industry today, will be installed by the homeowner. While metering the system is encouraged, the specification does not address system wiring elements for associated system sensors or monitoring equipment.

How does a photovoltaic system work?

The heart of a photovoltaic system is the solar module. Many photovoltaic cells are wired together by the manufacturer to produce a solar module. When installed at a site, solar modules are wired together in series to form strings. Strings of modules are connected in parallel to form an array.

How many PV installations are monitored by Prof Haberlin?

lightning protection. Prof. Haberlin’s PV Lab has, since also been continuously€monitoring more than 70 PV installations, mainly under the auspices of research projects commissioned by Switzerland’

Should a PV array be installed before a DC switch-disconnector is installed?

ible be completed prior to installing a PV array. This will allow efective electrical isolation of the d.c. system (via the d.c. switch-disconnector and PV module cable connectors) while the array is installed; and efective electrical isolatio nction box to either end of the PV string/array;

What is photovoltaic technology?

n past economic recessions. The term photovoltaics is often associated primarily with so ar cells and solar modules. As these are the core elements of photovoltaic technology, this indset makes perfect sense. However, it does not go far enough when it comes to characterizing the energy production of