Solar Energy Systems: Controllers, Chargers and Inverters

All-in-one course on PV Solar Charger controllers, hybrid inverters and more. Taught by the Energy Engineer.

What you'll learn:
Hybrid Inverters, Inverter-Chargers and Battery Inverters: Pros & Cons and System Blueprints
Grid meters and Financial Compensation Options for feeding power back to the grid
The operating principles and essential details of PV Solar Charge Controllers: IV Curves and MPPT Algorithms
Case Studies of the latest technology available: Inverter, Charger, PV controllers and Grid Meters

Requirements:
No prior knowledge required: You will learn everything you need to know.
This course is part of a larger set of courses for Grid Tied Solar Energy Systems: You might be interested in the other sections as well!

Description:
Hello Solar Energy Enthusiast!

My goal is to make sure you will enjoy this course! Since you are reading this, it means you are looking for a reliable source of information related to grid-tied solar energy systems: Through this course, I will share with you my extensive knowledge and experience.

And lucky you! Through this course you will get a condensed version of all the fundamentals you need to be aware of. I have included several short multiple choice questions, though which you can self-test whether you have absorbed the knowledge adequately throughout the course. And to spice it up, we will also take numerous virtual excursions to websites of manufacturers of different components of your solar system. Through this approach, we makes sure that we bridge the following gaps:
We make sure that you get the relevant and unbiased knowledge from an experienced professional
You have the possibility to test your knowledge and freely browse through the content of the course as per your preferences
We will bridge the gap between theory & real-life examples by reviewing numerous product options which you might come across as you will be shopping for your system components
I am glad you are interested in this course: It will teach you all the relevant knowledge, without any 'fluff', and includes several brief multiple-choice questions to test your knowledge.

I have created this course for you, fueled by my academic background in Renewable Energy Engineering and extensive field experience in the design and installation of PV Energy Systems. You are getting a very good deal: I will summarize for you all that I have learned over the years, and all you have to do is push the button and starting soaking up the information. Lucky you!

During this course, we will review and learn about the following topics:
The output characteristics of a PV Solar Cell
The IV Curve and relationship between current and voltage
The correlation between irradiance and PV performance
The difference between the Open Circuit Voltage and Short Circuit Current
The location of the Maximum Power Point, and how to track it
Where to find the IV Curve details of a PV Module you consider to buy
How to interpret the specification sheet information of a particular PV Module
The relationship between the PV Module voltage and power output
The principles of IV Curve stacking
PV Cell Open Circuit Voltage increments versus Short Circuit Current combinations
Parallel and Series connection of PV Cells and the stacking effect
Case study of a real life PV Module: How to find the Voc, Isc an MPP values
Module test protocols: NMOT versus STC testing
Maximum Power Point Tracking: the interactions on the IV Curve
The MPPT algorithm principles explained
Case Study of a MPPT PV Charge Controller: The performance and design characteristics explained
Temperature derating factors of a charge controller
Overdesigning your PV array compared to the charger specification values
The maximum current values for a MPPT charger
The effect of temperature on your PV module voltage output
Pulse Width Modulation and charging algorithms
Charging behavior with PWM devices
Battery voltage versus Vmpp with PWM chargers
Efficiency loss during Pulse Width Modulation charging
Case study of available PWM chargers: Design and performance limits
Input & Output connections on chargers
User Interfaces: advantages and disadvantages
The advantage of stacking multiple chargers in one system
Case Study of available MPPT PV Chargers: Connection types, Terminal sizes and Design parameters
The difference between String Inverters and Central Inverters
The concepts and functionality of Hybrid Inverters
Blue print and operation examples of a Grid Tied Hybrid Inverter with a PV Array and a Energy Storage System
Dedicated versus integrated Inverter-Chargers
Blue print examples of a Grid Tied PV System with both String Inverters and Hybrid Inverters
Case Study: 2kVA and 3kVA 120VAC Inverter-Chargers
Separate functionality and operation values for Integrated Inverter-Chargers
Case Study: All in one Hybrid Inverter, the design and operation values
The difference between the current and voltage Total Harmonic Distortion values [THDI, THDU]
The concept of Anti Islanding for Grid Tied PV Energy Systems
The different terminologies used related to Anti Islanding
Blue print of a typical Distributed Energy System with Energy Storage [DESS]
Theoretical case study of a DESS within a power grid during power outages
The basic differences between Uni- and Bidirectional Grid Meters
The concept of SMART Bidirectional Grid Meters
Feed-in Tariff, Net Metering and the Successor Tariffs explained
The principle of Time Of Use [TOU] compensation for Grid Tied Systems
Blue prints of a Grid Tied System with various Grid Meters and financial compensation models
Read-Out principles of analog unidirectional grid meters
Power Purchase Agreements, Net Metering Vs. Net Billing, Market Rate Metering and other models explained

The main outline of this course is as follows:
PV Controllers
IV Curve
Stacking Effect
MPPT Algorithm
PWM Chargers
Charger options
Inverters
String Inverters
Hybrid Inverters
Inverter-Chargers
Anti Islanding Protection
Grid Meters
The different Financial Compensation Models
Grid Meter options and Read-Out Examples
The different Grid Feed-In Agreements

Take action now! Educate yourself by starting this course, so that you will be able to make well-informed decisions for your system. TIP: Udemy offers a very generous refund policy in case the course content turns out different than what you expected.

See you soon!Jesse

Jesse Gorter
Renewable an Sustainable Energy Engineer, Master of Engineering
Mechanical Engineer, Energy Technology, Bachelor of Engineering

Who this course is for:
Home Owners
Students
Property Managers
Installation Technicians
Design and Sales Experts

More Info