EL 265 - Lab for EL 264

Credit Hours: 1.5

This course is an introductory study of photovoltaic systems, theory, PV components and PV circuits. Experiments emphasize: photoelectric effect; performance characteristics of solar modules based on different technologies; irradiance, temperature, and angular position response of PV modules; shading analysis and mounting determination; series and parallel PV circuits and their characteristics; proper usage of inverters, charge controllers and batteries in the PV systems; comparison of pure sine inverters and modified square wave inverters; implementation of stand-alone battery-backup PV system. Additional and/or substitute experiments from grid-intertie, hybrid systems, and other topics as approved by instructor.

Course Outcomes
At the completion of the course, the student should be able to:

construct and troubleshoot photovoltaic circuits including solar modules, charge controllers, inverters, batteries;
identify basic PV components and determine their function in a circuit;
apply safety procedures applicable to PV systems; and
use industry-specific PV equipment and software to perform standard measurements and analysis.

Prerequisites: EL 155
Corequisites: EL 264
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