Deck 4: Solar Fundamentals

Question 1

Solar ____________________ is a measure of the total amount of solar energy accumulated on an area over of period of time.

Answer 1

irradiation

Question 2

How does a PV cell receive the highest average insolation?

Answer 2

The PV cell needs to have a tilt angle equal to its latitude to receive the highest average insolation.

Question 3

What is the unit of measurement for the sun's altitude?

Answer 3

The sun's altitude is measured in the number of degrees above the horizon.

Question 4

In what two ways can an array performance calculation be made?

Question 5

The Solar PathfinderTM and the Solmetric SunEyeTM are examples of solar site ____________________ devices.

Question 6

How would be a digital camera and digital voice recorder be used during a site inspection visit?

Question 7

Azimuth is the sun's height above the horizon.

Question 8

The profile angle is the projection of the altitude angle onto an imaginary plane that is perpendicular to the surface of an obstruction.

Question 9

A good PV system installation begins with a proper site ____________________.

Question 10

Why is it important to know the solar window for a given PV cell installation location?

Question 11

____________________ is the solar irradiation received over a period of time, typically one day.

Question 12

What must you attach to a protractor to use it to measure altitude angle?

Question 13

For a PV array, the ____________________ angle is the angle clockwise from true north that the PV array faces.

Question 14

As a general rule, a PV array should be free of shade from 9:00 pm to 3:00 am.

Question 15

Solar radiation data is used to size and estimate the performance of a PV system.

Question 16

Write the formula used to calculate the minimum distance between rows of PV modules.

Question 17

Irradiance is a measure of how much solar power is striking a specific location.

Question 18

Solar site selector devices work by comparing the solar ___________________ for a specific location to an image of the different shading obstructions around the proposed array site.

Question 19

____________________ charts are often used to estimate shading at an installation site.

Question 20

What is the solar constant value on the surface of the earth at sea level at solar noon?