PV Power System Installations

The goal for a solar electric, or photovoltaic (PV), system is to provide high-quality, reliable renewable
electrical power to a street light. The following sections contain detailed information on system design,
installation, and testing. Photovoltaic (PV) power systems convert sunlight directly into electricity. A
street light PV power system enables a society to have uninterruptable independent street lighting system.

PV systems can also include battery backup, or uninterruptible power supply capability to operate
selected circuits in the street light for hours or days during sun light outage. The purpose of this document
is to provide tools and guidelines for the new street lighting system design and developer to help ensure
that city street light photovoltaic power systems are properly specified and installed, resulting in a system
that operates to its design potentially. This document sets out key criteria that describe a quality system
and key design and installation considerations that should be met to achieve this goal. This document
deals with systems located on city that are standalone street lighting system. Recent studies have found
that 10-20% of new PV installations have serious installation problems that will result in significantly
decreased performance. All of these problems can lead to defect litigation. These cost-effective
procedures will improve performance and reduce potential defect liability exposure. This document
focuses on pre-engineered and pre-designed packaged systems installed on new PV system.

Criteria for a Quality PV System

A PV system should:

1. Be properly sized and oriented to provide the expected electrical power and energy;

2. Use sunlight and weather resistant materials for all outdoor equipment;

3. Be installed with a minimum of shading from objects like foliage, trees, or adjacent poles;

4. Be installed in compliance with all applicable engineering and electrical codes;

5. Be installed with a minimum of electrical losses due to wiring, over current protection, charge
controllers & lighting fixtures;

6. Be properly grounded to reduce the threat of shock hazards and induced surges;

7. Properly house and manage the battery system, batteries should be part of the system;
PV Panel Orientations

A solar electric panel array can be mounted at a fixed angle from the horizontal or on a sun-
tracking mechanism. The preferred azimuth for arrays in the northern hemisphere is true south.
The decrease in energy production for off-south arrays roughly follows a cosine function, so if
the azimuth of the array is kept to ±20° of true south, annual energy production is not reduced
significantly. Some arrays are sited west of south to skew the production toward an afternoon
peak load demand. For most locations, a tilt angle near the latitude angle will provide the most
energy over a full year. Tilt angles of latitude ±15° will skew energy production toward winter or
summer, respectively.