GOOD AND
BAD PRACTICES
F. MARTINEZ-MORENO
N. TYUTYUNDZHIEV
MANUAL TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY
AND REDUCE THE COST OF PV SYSTEMS
PhotoVoltaic Cost r€duction, Reliability,
Operational performance, Prediction and
Simulation
This manual has been possible thanks to the Project PVCROPS (“PhotoVoltaic Cost r€duction, Reliability,
Operational performance, Prediction and Simulation”), cofinanced by the European Commission in the
framework of the Seventh Framework Programme (Grant Agreement no: 308468). The project was proposed
by the Instituto de Energía Solar (IES‐UPM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain) and it is a consortium of
12 partners:
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, IES‐UPM(Spain, University).
SunSwitch (Belgium, Small and Medium Size Enterprise).
Central Laboratory of Solar Energy and New Energy Sources, CLSENES (Bulgaria, University).
Acciona Energía (Spain, Industry).
Association pour la Promotion des Energies Renouvelables, APERe (Belgium, Small and Medium Size
Enterprise).
Ingeteam (Spain, Industry).
Universidade de Évora, UEVORA(Portugal, University).
Universidad Pública de Navarra, UPNA (Spain, University).
Dublin Institute of Technology, DIT (Ireland, University).
Office National de l’ Electricité ONE (Maroc, Industry).
Rtone (France, Small and Medium Size Enterprise).
Renewable Energy Dynamics Technology, REDT (Ireland, Small and Medium Size Enterprise).
This Manual is freely available. All we ask for using this Manual is to reference it if used in any work or any
publication.
The PVCROPS project team wants to express its sincere gratitude to all the individual people, enterprises and
industries that have generously collaborated by sending the pictures included in this Manual. PVCROPS project
does not take responsibility for the origin of the pictures here presented. All the pictures have been kindly sent
to us to produce this Manual, that tries to show the best practices in order to improve any PV installation all
around the world. For new contributions for the improvement of this Manual (future versions), please be sure
that the pictures can be freely shared.
Comments:
IES‐UPM, SunSwitch, CLSENES, Acciona Energía, APERe, Ingeteam
English version review:
DIT
For more details visit:
www.pvcrops.eu
©PVCROPS
November 2013
Index
1. INTRODUCTION.
2. ORGANIZATION OF THE MANUAL.
3. GOOD AND BAD PRACTICES.
3.1. Civil works.
‐ Feasibility study and initial planning.
‐ General organization.
‐ Drainage and water protection.
‐ Cables.
‐ Manholes and chambers.
‐ Supporting roofs.
3.2. Supporting structures.
‐ Grounding of the structures.
‐ Mounting PV modules.
‐ Rigidity of structure elements.
‐ Assembly of structure elements
‐ Material compatibility.
‐ Resistance to outdoor climate conditions.
‐ Protection from vegetation.
‐ Safety of workers.
3.3. Connection boxes.
‐ Labeling electrical components.
‐ Water proofing of connection boxes.
‐ Quality of connections.
‐ Control of temperature in boxes.
‐ Fuses and fuse holders.
‐ Cables and components.
3.4. Photovoltaic array.
‐ Modules quality and integrity.
‐ Trackers and orientation.
‐ Modules placement and shading.
‐ Dust, sand and dirt.
‐ Protection against birds.
‐ Grounding the modules frame.
‐ Connection cables.
‐ Protection against indirect lightning effect in DC cables.
1
5
9
11
13
15
17
22
26
28
31
33
35
39
40
42
43
50
51
53
55
56
60
61
62
65
69
71
76
78
81
85
86
87
92
3.5. Inverters.
‐ Supports and placement.
‐ Cooling.
‐ Dust, sand and dirt.
‐ Terminal boards.
‐ Switching the PV installation ON and OFF.
3.6. Monitoring.
‐ Irradiance sensor.
‐ Irradiance and cell temperature sensors.
‐ Cell temperature sensor.
‐ Wind speed sensor.
‐ Meteorological stations
‐ Centralized monitoring system
‐ Integration and environmental impact
3.7. Others.
4. GENERAL LINKS FOR PHOTOVOLTAICS.
93
95
97
100
101
104
105
107
109
117
118
120
121
123
125
127