The Age of Photovoltaics Is Here
A Brief History of Photovoltaics
How PV Cells Work - Light to Electricity
Single-Crystal PV Production 
Polycrystalline PV Production 
Amorphous Silicon PV Production
PV Production Cost & Energy Payback
Electric Power Production Options
Future Trends in PV
The Boiling Frog Story
2. Government, Utilities & PV
Federal Government
Federal Incentives for Photovoltaics
State Governments, Utility Programs & Incentives
Make Change Happen
3. Conservation & Energy Efficiency
How Much Electricity Do I Use?
kW or kWh?
Your Electric Bill
Conservation, Conservation, Conservation
Utility Audits
Simple Steps to Conservation
Two Examples of Conservation Design
4. Living with PV
PV-Powered Country Home
Back to the City
Our PV-Powered City Home - Part 1
Hassle-Free Urban PV
You Can Do It, Too
Our PV-Powered City Home - Part 2
5. Making the Decision: Your Off-Grid Solar Electric Home
How an Off-Grid PV Systems Works
Getting Started 
Cost Comparison: PV vs. Bringing in a Power Line
Safety Considerations
Insurance
Loans, Grants & Rebates
Don’t Wait - Go Solar Today
6. Making the Decision: Your On-Grid Solar Electric Home
How an On-Grid PV System Works
Net Metering
Getting Started
Start-Up Costs
A Commercial Net-Metered PV System
PV Systems & Home Resale Value
Financing Photovoltaics
Safety Considerations & Insurance
7. Residential Building Codes & Inspections
Structural & Mechanical Requirements
Electrical Codes
Installing a Code-Compliant PV System
Avoid Installation & Inspection Problems
8. A Short Course in Electricity & Safety Electricity
Wire Resistance & Voltage Drop
Series & Parallel Circuits
Electrical Safety
9. Solar Modules
How Solar Modules are Made 
How to Read a Solar Module Spec Sheet
What to Know Before You Buy Your Modules
10. Site Selection & Mounts
Site Selection
Solar Access
Mounts
Concentrators & Reflectors
11. Charge Controllers, Meters & Diodes
Charge Controllers
Meters
Battery Equalizers
Diodes
12. Battery Storage
Battery Construction
How Batteries Work
Battery Size
Battery Capacity
Sulfation
Battery Efficiency
Buying Batteries
Alternatives to Batteries
Installation & Maintenance
Connecting Your Battery Bank
The Battery Box or Battery Room
Battery Testing
Battery Charging
Equalization
Replacing Your Batteries
Battery Safety
13. Inverters
How Inverters Work
The PV-Grid Connection
PV UPS
Selecting an Inverter for Your Off-Grid PV System
Warning!
Buying an Inverter
Inverter Problems
Inverter Wiring
14. Wires, Grounds, Connections & Labels
Wire Basics
Grounding & Ground Fault Protection
Connections
Labels
Putting a PV System Together 
Array Wire
Voltage Drop
15. Calculating Wire, Fuse, Breaker & Conduit Sizes
A Step-by-Step Guide to Wire Sizing
Specifying Conductors, Overcurrent Protection Devices, Grounds & Conduits
Tables for Calculating Wire, Fuse, Breaker & Conduit Sizes
National Electrical Code Tables 
Sample Calculation - Off-Grid 
Sample Calculation - Batteryless On-Grid 
16. Designing Your System: Off-Grid
Sizing an Off-Grid PV System
Sizing - An Example 
The Art of System Sizing
Sizing Your Own PV System
17. Designing Your System: On-Grid
Sizing an On-Grid PV System
Do I Really Need a UPS?
Putting Your PV System Together
18. Combining PV & Other Electric Generators
The Standby PV System
Wind & Solar
19. Installation, Testing & Maintenance
Installation Guidelines 
Off-Grid PV Installation - An Example
Hiring a PV Installer
Monitoring & Testing
Maintenance
Think Safety
PV Installation Checklist
20. The Future of PV
Appendix A. Solar Radiation Data & Peak Sun Hours
Appendix B. Conversion Factors
Appendix C. Web Sites
Appendix D. National Electrical Code Excerpts: 
Article 690. Solar Photovoltaic Systems
Glossary
Index

TABLES
1.1 Emissions from Electricity Generation
1.2. Worldwide Grid-Connected PV
3.1 Energy Consumption: Small Office
3.2 Energy Consumption: Energy-Conserving Office
3.3 Cost to Cook a Casserole
3.4 Appliance Lifetime & Discount Factors
3.5 Life-Cycle Costs: Equivalent Refrigerators 
3.6 Life-Cycle Cost Analysis: Refrigerators 
3.7 How Much Energy Do Appliances Use? 
3.8 Phantom Loads 
5.1 Initial Costs for System
5.2 Upgrade Costs
6.1 Contractor-Installed System Costs: So. CA 
6.2 PV System Rebate 
Monthly dollar value of PV-produced electricity 
6.3 Contractor-Installed System Costs: NJ
6.4 Home Improvement Cost Recovery 
6.5 Utility Emissions-CA, NJ & MI
7.1 Relevant Articles in the NEC
7.2 System Components & NEC 690
8.1 Electrical Terms 
8.2 Copper Wire Resistance 
9.1 Specifications for a Typical 12/24-Volt Module
10.1 Converting Roof Pitch to Degrees
Chemical reactions of battery charges & discharges 
12.1 Typical Deep-Cycle Battery Capacity 
12.2 Typical Equalization Charging Time
15.1 Conductor Applications & Insulations 
15.2 Copper Conductor Properties 
15.3 Dimensions of Insulated Conductors 
15.4 Allowable Ampacity: Insulated Copper in Raceway 
15.5 Allowable Ampacity: Insulated Copper in Free Air 
15.6 Temperature Correction Factors
15.7 Dimensions & Percent Area Electrical Metallic Tubing 
15.8 Voltage Correction Factors: Crystal Silicon Modules 
15.9 Voltage Correction Factors, High Temperatures 
15.10 Adjustment Factors for More than 3 Current-Carrying Conductors in a Raceway or Cable 
15.11 Minimum Size Equipment Grounding Conductors: Grounding Raceway & Equipment 
15.12 Grounding Electrode Conductor for AC Systems 
List of National Electrical Code Tables 
16.1 Typical Derating & Efficiency Factors
16.2 PV Array Azimuth Derating Factors
16.3 PV Array Tilt Derating Factors 
Home power consumption calculations 
16.4 Battery Temperature Correction Factors 
18.1 Wind Speed Indicator 
Appendix A: Solar Radiation Data & Peak Sun Hours
Appendix D: National Electrical Code: Excerpts
National Electrical Code Table 690.7-Voltage Correction Factors for Crystalline & Multi-crystalline Silicon Modules

1.2 A solar cell 
1.3 How a solar cell works 
1.4 worldwide cell/module production 
1.5 Proposed PV Breed plant - Frederick MD 
1.6 Retail cost: PV $/watt vs. U.S. utility bill 
1.7 U.S. electricity sources 
1.8 U.S. energy sources 
1.9 Commercial BIPV application 
1.10 PV applications in U.S. 
1.11 U.S. & world PV production 
1.12 Long-term world PV demand 
2.1 1 MW Sacramento utility-owned PV system
2.2 Net-metered PV system - Ashland OR 
2.3 Power center for system 
3.1 Analog kilowatt-hour meter 
3.2 Temperature vs. heating & cooling costs
3.3 Energy Guide Label
3.4 grid-connect home - Colorado 
3.5 Diversified daily electrical loads 
3.6 A battery bank 
3.7 Off-Grid home - Arizona
3.8 Off-Grid home inverter & battery bank 
3.9 Off-Grid home 1-line diagram 
4.1 Remote installation module transport 
4.2 PV-powered cabin - Arkansas
4.3 Block diagram of cabin PV system
4.4 Block diagram of PV office - California
4.5 One-line diagram of home PV system 
4.6 Office and adjoining garage roofs before PV 
4.7 Placing modules on the roof 
4.8 Attaching mounting feet to modules 
4.9 Caulking the mounting foot screws 
4.10 Fastening the mounting feet to the roof 
4.11 Installing solar array conduit, j-boxes & wiring 
4.12 Conduit, j-boxes & homerun roof jack 
4.13 Installing the subpanel & kWh meter hub
4.14 Subpanel with cover plate removed 
4.15 Roof homerun & inverter output conduit 
4.16 Inverter & battery enclosure 
4.17 Enclosure with inverter & battery bank 
4.18 Inverter & battery enclosure 
4.19 A closed equipment enclosure 
4.20 The completed array 
4.21 Fastening roof jack onto roof rafters 
4.22 Array mounting rails 
4.23 Raising a module onto a roof 
4.24 Panels being put into position 
4.25 Wires in series in weatherproof j-box
4.26 Inverter, DC & AC disconnect switches 
4.27 Finished inverter installation
4.28 Completed new array 
4.29 One-line diagram of system expansion 
4.30 New solar array as seen from the street 
5.1 Off-grid home - northern California-PV/wind 
5.2 Battery bank, inverters & power center
5.3 Line extension costs vs. PV system costs 
5.4 PV system - Ontario, Canada 
5.5 Equipment room - Ontario, Canada
5.6 Cost-effective PV system upgrade 
5.7 Home PV system - central California 
6.1 A home PV system 
6.2 Inverters for home 
6.3 Net-metered residential PV system paybacks 
6.4 Effect of commercial PV system incentives 
6.5 Costs-net-metered contractor-installed system 
6.6 PV Powered house - Massachusetts
7.1 Codes that affect your PV system 
8.1 Alternating current 
8.2 Ohm’s Law Chart 
8.3 Calculating resistance 
8.4 Resistors in series 
8.5 Resistors in parallel 
9.1 PV modularity 
9.2 Solar cells in series 
10.1 The sun at noon-summer & winter 
10.2 Determining solar window or shade pattern 
10.3 Seasonal changes - sun path & angle 
10.4 Sun’s hourly location, facing south 
10.5 Magnetic north vs. true north 
10.6 Solar production at different orientations 
10.7 A home PV system - Denver, Colorado 
10.8 Formula for calculating roof pitch 
10.9 Determining tilt angle or pitch of roof 
10.10 Owner-built ground mount 
10.11 Four basic array mounting schemes 
10.12 Stand-off mount feet 
10.13 Roof-mounted junction box 
10.14 Fastening PV mounts 
10.15 Solar array roof plan 
10.16 Solar modules as roof covering 
10.17 Simple solution to mounting problem 
10.18 Typical roof or ground mount 
10.19 Flat roof array with telescoping legs - NM 
10.20 A home system with pole mounted arrays 
10.21 Ground-mounted array with snow build-up 
10.22 12-module passive solar trackers
11.1 Shunt charge controller 
11.2 Series charge controller 
11.3 Charge controller decision flowchart 
11.4 Bypass diodes & blocking diodes 
12.1 Cumulative installed PV in the U.S. 
12.2 Cut-away view of a deep-cycle battery 
12.3 Deep-cycle vs. auto SLI batteries 
12.4 A fully charged battery 
12.5 Temperature & DOD vs. battery life 
12.6 Temperature vs. lead-acid battery life 
12.7 Lead-acid battery self-discharge rate 
12.8 Telephone company batteries 
12.9 A sample battery report 
12.10 A direct-drive PV fan 
12.11 PV-direct DC submersible pump 
12.12 Battery maintenance 
12.13 Commercial tool shed battery enclosure 
12.14 Acid-resistant plastic battery enclosures 
12.15 Typical voltage & SG at discharge, recharge 
12.16 The correct way to read a hydrometer 
12.17 Typical efficiency range lead-acid battery 
13.1 How a DC to AC inverter works 
13.2 Wave forms 
13.3 Utility-connected PV-net metered
13.4 Net-metered inverter without batteries 
13.5 Net-metered inverter with batteries 
14.1 A typical PV junction box 
15.1 Wiring diagram-on-grid PV w/batteries 
16.1 Three Lists Diagram 
16.2 Home PV system in a cold climate 
16.3 PV-powered trailer home 
16.4 Peak sun hours per day 
16.5 Insolation average kWh/m2/day at lat tilt 
16.6 Battery storage-days of autonomy 
16.7 PV-powered home - eastern Massachusetts 
16.8 One-line wiring diagram - Granby CO
17.1 Block diagram on-grid batteryless system 
17.2 Wiring diagram on-grid batteryless system 
17.3 Block diagram on-grid system w/battery 
17.4 Wiring diagram on-grid system w/battery 
17.5 Wiring diagram 12-kW grid-connect PV 
18.1 Dual battery charging system with isolator 
18.2 Circuit diagram: 3 inputs/1 battery bank
18.3 Standby system block diagram 
18.4 System wiring & controls 
18.5 Wiring diagram
18.6 Equipment room - Fresno CA 
18.7 Block diagram
18.8 General Store PV/wind - WA
18.9 Inverter, charge & load controller
18.10 Wiring diagram
18.11 PV/wind-powered home - Maine 
19.1 Solar array assembly of prewired modules 
19.2 Positioning a preassembled solar array 
19.3 Testing an array on a tracking mount 
19.4 Testing wire w/high voltage “megger” 
19.5 Power losses mitigated by cleansing rainfall 
20.1 PV Building - New York City
20.2 PV-powered home & workplace 
20.3 PV-powered mountain cabin 
20.4 Trellis-framed PV installation 
20.5 Home PV system

WORKSHEETS & CHECKLISTS
Residential Building Codes & Inspections
Electrical Inspection Checklists 
Batteries 
Charge Controller 
Circuit Requirements 
Circuit Sizing 
Connection to Other Sources 
Disconnects 
Grounding 
Installation 
Markings 
Overcurrent Protection 
Wiring 
Electrical Hazards Checklist 
Module Selection Checklist
Mount Selection Checklist 
Charge Controller Troubleshooting Checklist 
Battery Installation & Maintenance Checklist 
Battery Room Guidelines 
Specific Gravity Test Guidelines
Inverter Features Checklist 
Step-by-Step Guides to Wire Sizing 
Systems with Batteries 
Batteryless Systems 
Design Temperature Chart 
Specifying Conductors, Overcurrent Protection 
Devices, Grounds & Conduit Checklist 
Sample Calculation #1: Off-Grid w/Batteries 
Sample Calculation #2: Batteryless On-Grid 
Sample Calculation #3: On-Grid w/Batteries 
PV System Sizing Worksheet 
PV Installation Checklists 
Before Testing 
PV Array 
PV Array Circuit Wiring 
Source String Wiring 
Continuation of PV Circuit Wiring 
Wiring Test
Inverter Start-Up Test 
System Acceptance Test