Design process overview - Revision history

Alex at 23:50, 13 March 2021

2021-03-13T23:50:39Z

Alex: Marked this version for translation

2021-03-13T23:19:00Z

Marked this version for translation

Alex at 23:18, 13 March 2021

2021-03-13T23:18:43Z

Alex at 23:08, 14 January 2021

2021-01-14T23:08:40Z

Alex at 23:06, 14 January 2021

2021-01-14T23:06:52Z

Alex: Text replacement - "Category:System design" to "Category:Detailed system design"

2021-01-14T22:58:33Z

Text replacement - "Category:System design" to "Category:Detailed system design"

Alex at 21:34, 29 December 2020

2020-12-29T21:34:06Z

Alex at 17:11, 4 December 2020

2020-12-04T17:11:38Z

Alex at 17:11, 4 December 2020

2020-12-04T17:11:00Z

Alex: Alex moved page Detailed design process overview to Design process overview

2020-12-04T16:57:15Z

Alex moved page Detailed design process overview to Design process overview

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 <translate>
 <!--T:1-->
-[[File:Mainflowchart2012031.png|thumb|right|The flowchart below depicts the major phases of designing a PV system including primary inputs/outputs that flow from one phase to another. System design involves many more secondary considerations than are depicted in this chart, which will be covered in more detail in the article dedicated to each of the nine phases depicted in the flowchart.]]
+[[File:Mainflowchart2012031.png|thumb|right|The flowchart below depicts the major phases of designing a PV system including primary inputs and outputs that flow from one phase to another. System design involves many more secondary considerations than are depicted in this chart, which will be covered in more detail in the article dedicated to each of the nine phases depicted in the flowchart.]]
 <!--T:2-->
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 The approach to design is exceedingly important though as it is the first step in building a PV system that will perform properly and that will withstand the test of time. An improperly designed system, regardless of how well it is installed or the quality of the components that are used, will not perform as it should.
 The starting point for any design is an analysis of the loads that the system will be required to power and for how long, an analysis of the solar resource throughout the year, the parameters chosen for the efficiency of various system components, and the chosen design specifications for the system. Conservative values should be used for each of these variables. Playing with these numbers or using numbers that are not conservative can lead to a smaller and lower-cost design, but that will not meet end user needs and will not last as it should. Determining appropriate values for to use for calculations involving the solar resource or weather can be challenging for many locations as there may not be locally gathered data that can be relied upon. There are tools that use globally calculated data and perform calculations to estimate the solar resource and annual weather for locations throughout the world, but there is no one perfect tool.
-The general design principle underlying off-grid PV system is to design for the worst-case scenario in terms of poor solar resource and load usage. Yearly and monthly averages can sometimes hide periods of poor weather and limited solar resource; therefore, it can be useful to consult various resources that have daily/weekly data and have discussions with people from the region.
+The general design principle underlying off-grid PV system is to design for the worst-case scenario in terms of poor solar resource and load usage. Yearly and monthly averages can sometimes hide periods of poor weather and limited solar resource; therefore, it can be useful to consult various resources that have daily or weekly data and consult people work or live in the region.
 <!--T:4-->
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 <!--T:6-->
-*A person seeking out an off-grid system has not likely used an off-grid system beforehand and may not have even used electricity frequently beforehand. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the designer/installer to responsibly guide the person through all steps of the evaluation, design and installation process.
+*It is likely that a person that wants an off-grid system has not likely used a system of this type and may not have even used electricity frequently beforehand. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the designer and installer to responsibly guide the person through all steps of the evaluation, design and installation process.
 <!--T:7-->
-*Perform a methodical evaluation of the power needs, usage expectations and budget limitations that the system users may have. A good design is often a compromise between these different evaluations.
+*Perform a methodical evaluation of the power needs, usage expectations and budget limitations that the system users may have. A good design is a compromise between these different factors.
 <!--T:8-->
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 <!--T:10-->
-OSSP offers both a detailed design process and a simplified design process that have the shared goal of making small-scale off-grid PV system design as accessible as possible, but each has a different approach.
+On this website there are two different approaches to system design: a simplified and a detailed process. Both have the shared goal of making small-scale off-grid PV system design as accessible as possible, but have different intended uses.
 ===Detailed design process=== <!--T:11-->

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 <languages />
 <translate>
 [[File:Mainflowchart2012031.png|thumb|right|The flowchart below depicts the major phases of designing a PV system including primary inputs/outputs that flow from one phase to another. System design involves many more secondary considerations than are depicted in this chart, which will be covered in more detail in the article dedicated to each of the nine phases depicted in the flowchart.]]
 There is no definitive systematic approach to design, thus the approach outlined by OSSP – which uses common practices and the National Electrical Code from the United States as a rough guide - is only one approach of many. The environment, the power needs, the available components, and the regulations will vary from location to location, which means that the process that is used to design an off-grid PV system will have to be adapted to each project. Additional factors that should be considered when performing a design will be explored in each step of the design process.
 The approach to design is exceedingly important though as it is the first step in building a PV system that will perform properly and that will withstand the test of time. An improperly designed system, regardless of how well it is installed or the quality of the components that are used, will not perform as it should.
 The starting point for any design is an analysis of the loads that the system will be required to power and for how long, an analysis of the solar resource throughout the year, the parameters chosen for the efficiency of various system components, and the chosen design specifications for the system. Conservative values should be used for each of these variables. Playing with these numbers or using numbers that are not conservative can lead to a smaller and lower-cost design, but that will not meet end user needs and will not last as it should. Determining appropriate values for to use for calculations involving the solar resource or weather can be challenging for many locations as there may not be locally gathered data that can be relied upon. There are tools that use globally calculated data and perform calculations to estimate the solar resource and annual weather for locations throughout the world, but there is no one perfect tool.
 The general design principle underlying off-grid PV system is to design for the worst-case scenario in terms of poor solar resource and load usage. Yearly and monthly averages can sometimes hide periods of poor weather and limited solar resource; therefore, it can be useful to consult various resources that have daily/weekly data and have discussions with people from the region.
 Beyond designing for worst-case scenarios, there are a few other universal design principles that should be followed regardless of the project:
 *Understand the local context – electrical codes, legislation, local laws, required permits, enforcement – to avoid issues.
 *A person seeking out an off-grid system has not likely used an off-grid system beforehand and may not have even used electricity frequently beforehand. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the designer/installer to responsibly guide the person through all steps of the evaluation, design and installation process.
 *Perform a methodical evaluation of the power needs, usage expectations and budget limitations that the system users may have. A good design is often a compromise between these different evaluations.
 *Use manuals and information directly from manufacturers for each component in the design process.
 *Only quality components should be used as the savings from using low-quality components rapidly evaporates if there is a failure in a remote location. Quality is not synonymous with cost, there are many options in the market that are a good balance between the two factors.
 OSSP offers both a detailed design process and a simplified design process that have the shared goal of making small-scale off-grid PV system design as accessible as possible, but each has a different approach.
-===Detailed design process===
+===Detailed design process=== <!--T:11-->
 The goal of the detailed approach is to create an approach to design that is functional for as many different applications and geographic locations as possible. The only way to achieve this is by providing significant amounts of information to anyone using this process and requiring them to perform calculations and make design decisions. This result is that this approach is necessarily complex, time consuming, and demands a lot from a system designer.
-===Simplified design process===
+===Simplified design process=== <!--T:13-->
 The simplified approach recognizes that the detailed design process may be too complex for certain individuals or applications. The goal of the simplified approach is therefore to try to create an approach that is as accessible to as wide of an audience as possible by providing a design tool. The only way to create a simplified design process is to make certain assumptions about the potential system and to impose certain design constraints. The inevitable result of making assumptions and simplifying a process is that there are some potential projects that will be excluded from the process and will require a more detailed design process, for example:
 *Special applications that require additional considerations like medical facilities or agricultural applications.
 *High seasonal variability in system usage or solar resource.
 *The presence of a generator.
-==Notes/references==
+==Notes/references== <!--T:18-->
 </translate>

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Category:Detailed system design basics]]
 [[File:Mainflowchart2012031.png|thumb|right|The flowchart below depicts the major phases of designing a PV system including primary inputs/outputs that flow from one phase to another. System design involves many more secondary considerations than are depicted in this chart, which will be covered in more detail in the article dedicated to each of the nine phases depicted in the flowchart.]]
 There is no definitive systematic approach to design, thus the approach outlined by OSSP – which uses common practices and the National Electrical Code from the United States as a rough guide - is only one approach of many. The environment, the power needs, the available components, and the regulations will vary from location to location, which means that the process that is used to design an off-grid PV system will have to be adapted to each project. Additional factors that should be considered when performing a design will be explored in each step of the design process.
@@ Line 8: / Line 11: @@
 Beyond designing for worst-case scenarios, there are a few other universal design principles that should be followed regardless of the project:
 *Understand the local context – electrical codes, legislation, local laws, required permits, enforcement – to avoid issues.
 *A person seeking out an off-grid system has not likely used an off-grid system beforehand and may not have even used electricity frequently beforehand. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the designer/installer to responsibly guide the person through all steps of the evaluation, design and installation process.
 *Perform a methodical evaluation of the power needs, usage expectations and budget limitations that the system users may have. A good design is often a compromise between these different evaluations.
 *Use manuals and information directly from manufacturers for each component in the design process.
 *Only quality components should be used as the savings from using low-quality components rapidly evaporates if there is a failure in a remote location. Quality is not synonymous with cost, there are many options in the market that are a good balance between the two factors.
@@ Line 17: / Line 25: @@
 ===Detailed design process===
 The goal of the detailed approach is to create an approach to design that is functional for as many different applications and geographic locations as possible. The only way to achieve this is by providing significant amounts of information to anyone using this process and requiring them to perform calculations and make design decisions. This result is that this approach is necessarily complex, time consuming, and demands a lot from a system designer.
 ===Simplified design process===
 The simplified approach recognizes that the detailed design process may be too complex for certain individuals or applications. The goal of the simplified approach is therefore to try to create an approach that is as accessible to as wide of an audience as possible by providing a design tool. The only way to create a simplified design process is to make certain assumptions about the potential system and to impose certain design constraints. The inevitable result of making assumptions and simplifying a process is that there are some potential projects that will be excluded from the process and will require a more detailed design process, for example:
 *Special applications that require additional considerations like medical facilities or agricultural applications.
 *High seasonal variability in system usage or solar resource.
 *The presence of a generator.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Category:Detailed design basics]]
+[[Category:Detailed system design basics]]
 [[File:Mainflowchart2012031.png|thumb|right|The flowchart below depicts the major phases of designing a PV system including primary inputs/outputs that flow from one phase to another. System design involves many more secondary considerations than are depicted in this chart, which will be covered in more detail in the article dedicated to each of the nine phases depicted in the flowchart.]]
 There is no definitive systematic approach to design, thus the approach outlined by OSSP – which uses common practices and the National Electrical Code from the United States as a rough guide - is only one approach of many. The environment, the power needs, the available components, and the regulations will vary from location to location, which means that the process that is used to design an off-grid PV system will have to be adapted to each project. Additional factors that should be considered when performing a design will be explored in each step of the design process.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Category:Detailed system design]]
+[[Category:Detailed design basics]]
 [[File:Mainflowchart2012031.png|thumb|right|The flowchart below depicts the major phases of designing a PV system including primary inputs/outputs that flow from one phase to another. System design involves many more secondary considerations than are depicted in this chart, which will be covered in more detail in the article dedicated to each of the nine phases depicted in the flowchart.]]
 There is no definitive systematic approach to design, thus the approach outlined by OSSP – which uses common practices and the National Electrical Code from the United States as a rough guide - is only one approach of many. The environment, the power needs, the available components, and the regulations will vary from location to location, which means that the process that is used to design an off-grid PV system will have to be adapted to each project. Additional factors that should be considered when performing a design will be explored in each step of the design process.

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:11, 4 December 2020
Line 13:		Line 13:
	*Use manuals and information directly from manufacturers for each component in the design process.		*Use manuals and information directly from manufacturers for each component in the design process.
	*Only quality components should be used as the savings from using low-quality components rapidly evaporates if there is a failure in a remote location. Quality is not synonymous with cost, there are many options in the market that are a good balance between the two factors.		*Only quality components should be used as the savings from using low-quality components rapidly evaporates if there is a failure in a remote location. Quality is not synonymous with cost, there are many options in the market that are a good balance between the two factors.
		+
		+	OSSP offers both a detailed design process and a simplified design process that have the shared goal of making small-scale off-grid PV system design as accessible as possible, but each has a different approach.
		+
		+	====Detailed design process====
		+	The goal of the detailed approach is to create an approach to design that is functional for as many different applications and geographic locations as possible. The only way to achieve this is by providing significant amounts of information to anyone using this process and requiring them to perform calculations and make design decisions. This result is that this approach is necessarily complex, time consuming, and demands a lot from a system designer.
		+
		+	====Simplified design process===
		+	The simplified approach recognizes that the detailed design process may be too complex for certain individuals or applications. The goal of the simplfied approach is therefore to try to create an approach that is as accessible to as wide of an audience as possible. The only way to create a simplified design process is to make certain assumptions about the potential system and to impose certain design constraints. The inevitable result of making assumptions and simplifying a process is that there are some potential projects that will be excluded from the process and will require a more detailed design process, for example:
		+	*Special applications that require additional considerations like medical facilities or agricultural applications.
		+	*Extreme high and low temperatures.
		+	*High seasonal variability in system usage or solar resource.
		+	*Locations with very long circuits.
		+	*The presence of a generator.
		+
		+	The simplified process will follow the same steps as the details process, so the detailed process can be consulted and used whenever necessary.

← Older revision	Revision as of 16:57, 4 December 2020
(No difference)