Solar Energy Entry Level

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e_m_m_o

Member
Location
Cairo , Egypt
Hello ,

I'm an Electrical power engineer and i was wondering where to start and what should i read to learn about solar systems design for power generation ?

note: i have no experience of the subject

thanks in advance :)
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Once you get your first job, presumably you will be working under someone with some experience and will get some sort of guidance from them. Until you actually have limitations on what you may do the topic is wide open.

If your first job should put you in a top position and you do not have the experience - not saying you won't make it, but be prepared for some mistakes that come with learning. Hard to prepare for what you don't know about, and hard for us to tell you what to prepare for if we don't really know what you are doing.
 

e_m_m_o

Member
Location
Cairo , Egypt
Once you get your first job, presumably you will be working under someone with some experience and will get some sort of guidance from them. Until you actually have limitations on what you may do the topic is wide open.

If your first job should put you in a top position and you do not have the experience - not saying you won't make it, but be prepared for some mistakes that come with learning. Hard to prepare for what you don't know about, and hard for us to tell you what to prepare for if we don't really know what you are doing.

first of all Thank you very much for your response and concern :)

when it comes to not knowing and obscurity of the subject i completely understand you because it's my mistake :D

let me see if i could explain it a little ...
my company is starting to engage in this new field of projects "power generation by solar energy".
they install solar cells on rooftops of commercial buildings to operate some of the electrical loads such as lighting , all of this is for the sake of energy saving

sorry if my explanation is vague but it's not a field of work that I'm dealing with but i just want to be prepared just in case

thank you in advance
 

jaggedben

Senior Member
Location
Northern California
Occupation
Solar and Energy Storage Installer
I would highly recommend subscribing to SolarPro magazine. http://solarprofessional.com/ Browse current or past issues for subjects that you're curious about. Also if you get on their mailing list they periodically send out a calendar of trainings.

The editor also posts in this forum from time to time.

You can subscribe and read online without getting the printed version sent to you, if you like. Unfortunately I think it now costs some money.

EDIT: I just realized you are in Egypt so you will need to filter information for what is specific to the United States. Discussions of the US National Electric Code would be largely irrelevant. I would recommended seeking out websites or publications in Europe similar to Solar Pro. If you happen to know the German language that could be extremely helpful. Contacting major inverter manufacturers such as SMA and ABB and inquiring about any training opportunities you could attend might be a good idea.
 
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ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
Hello ,

I'm an Electrical power engineer and i was wondering where to start and what should i read to learn about solar systems design for power generation ?

note: i have no experience of the subject

thanks in advance :)
If you are a degreed engineer you have much of the requisite background to sit for the NABCEP http://www.nabcep.org Solar Professional exam, but you'll need some real world experience to go with it. You could probably pass the NABCEP Entry Level exam with just a little training, but that doesn't buy you much. The NABCEP Pro credential is a lot more worthwhile, but is much more challenging to get. If you can get your PE license as well, you'll have more employment options.

Get a copy of the National Electric Code; read and become very familiar with Chapters 690, 702, 310 and 250.

In the meantime, network - go to any and all solar and/or renewable energy meetings, conferences, symposia, etc. you can find and soak it up like a sponge. See and be seen, and show enthusiasm. Solar training is available, too, see ImagineSolar http://imaginesolar.com and Solar Energy International http://www.solarenergy.org. I am familiar with both of those orgs and I can vouch for them.

Good luck!

- Gordon Gunn, PE, NABCEP
 
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ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
If your first job should put you in a top position and you do not have the experience - not saying you won't make it, but be prepared for some mistakes that come with learning. Hard to prepare for what you don't know about, and hard for us to tell you what to prepare for if we don't really know what you are doing.
That's what happened to me and it was a highly educational but agonizingly painful experience. It's much better to start out with folks who already know what they are doing.
 

e_m_m_o

Member
Location
Cairo , Egypt
EDIT: I just realized you are in Egypt so you will need to filter information for what is specific to the United States. Discussions of the US National Electric Code would be largely irrelevant. I would recommended seeking out websites or publications in Europe similar to Solar Pro.
Thank you so much for your consideration really :)

If you happen to know the German language that could be extremely helpful. Contacting major inverter manufacturers such as SMA and ABB and inquiring about any training opportunities you could attend might be a good idea.

well I started learning german but still have a long way ahead of me :D ... I'll be considering contacting ABB , they are related to major projects here in Egypt
 

e_m_m_o

Member
Location
Cairo , Egypt
If you are a degreed engineer you have much of the requisite background to sit for the NABCEP http://www.nabcep.org Solar Professional exam, but you'll need some real world experience to go with it. You could probably pass the NABCEP Entry Level exam with just a little training, but that doesn't buy you much. The NABCEP Pro credential is a lot more worthwhile, but is much more challenging to get. If you can get your PE license as well, you'll have more employment options.

Get a copy of the National Electric Code; read and become very familiar with Chapters 690, 702, 310 and 250.

Well I'm from Egypt but I'm really thankful for your consideration and effort and I'm sorry I didn't point that out at the beginning :)

In the meantime, network - go to any and all solar and/or renewable energy meetings, conferences, symposia, etc. you can find and soak it up like a sponge. See and be seen, and show enthusiasm. Solar training is available, too, see ImagineSolar http://imaginesolar.com and Solar Energy International http://www.solarenergy.org. I am familiar with both of those orgs and I can vouch for them.

I'm surfing them right now and they look like they are following the North American standard but I'll be looking for useful info anyway

It's much better to start out with folks who already know what they are doing

sure that's right and I agree ... it's just that the field of solar energy is still new here in Egypt and it's scale is still limited
 

ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
Well I'm from Egypt but I'm really thankful for your consideration and effort and I'm sorry I didn't point that out at the beginning :)



I'm surfing them right now and they look like they are following the North American standard but I'll be looking for useful info anyway



sure that's right and I agree ... it's just that the field of solar energy is still new here in Egypt and it's scale is still limited
Sorry I didn't pick up on the fact that you are in Egypt, and yes, most of what I said is US specific. The fundamentals are the same, though - ampacities of wire, how PV converts sunlight to electricity, system efficiencies, inverter function, etc. - no matter where you are, so on line courses in those fundamentals will still be largely relevant. I suspect that Egypt has a respectable solar resource, so systems built there will be very productive, and it sounds like you are getting into the game early. Good luck to you!
 

e_m_m_o

Member
Location
Cairo , Egypt
Sorry I didn't pick up on the fact that you are in Egypt, and yes, most of what I said is US specific. The fundamentals are the same, though - ampacities of wire, how PV converts sunlight to electricity, system efficiencies, inverter function, etc. - no matter where you are, so on line courses in those fundamentals will still be largely relevant. I suspect that Egypt has a respectable solar resource, so systems built there will be very productive, and it sounds like you are getting into the game early. Good luck to you!

Thanks for the encouragement :)
I'm very happy to see people like you who are experienced in the field and are also helping newcomers like me
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Forgive me, your OP sounded like you were maybe totally new and thrown into a situaiton well above your experiences.

Now it sounds like you have some experience but are possibly taking on something you haven't really done before but many of the basics you already learned will apply.

Have you looked into who will be suppliers for your equipment and what training opportunities they may have?
 

ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
Forgive me, your OP sounded like you were maybe totally new and thrown into a situaiton well above your experiences.

Now it sounds like you have some experience but are possibly taking on something you haven't really done before but many of the basics you already learned will apply.

Have you looked into who will be suppliers for your equipment and what training opportunities they may have?

To me, the OP just sounded like he is totally new to solar and wants to learn about it because the company he works for is breaking into the industry.
 

e_m_m_o

Member
Location
Cairo , Egypt
the OP just sounded like he is totally new to solar and wants to learn about it because the company he works for is breaking into the industry

exactly

Have you looked into who will be suppliers for your equipment and what training opportunities they may have?

schneider electric & i've taken a look at their customer training center programs and I found a course "Design of Photovoltaic Systems (Grid-tie type)"

are these courses reliable ? because i feel that they're just used as publicity with no real value or content
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
exactly



schneider electric & i've taken a look at their customer training center programs and I found a course "Design of Photovoltaic Systems (Grid-tie type)"

are these courses reliable ? because i feel that they're just used as publicity with no real value or content

How valuable those courses may be to you really depends on what you already know going in. If they are a course from a particular manufacturer, you have to expect to some extent for them to push their products in some way. If you are intending to become an authorized distributor or something similar - the course may be very good - but still with a lot of emphasis on their specific product.
 

e_m_m_o

Member
Location
Cairo , Egypt
How valuable those courses may be to you really depends on what you already know going in. If they are a course from a particular manufacturer, you have to expect to some extent for them to push their products in some way. If you are intending to become an authorized distributor or something similar - the course may be very good - but still with a lot of emphasis on their specific product.

I'll keep this in mind .. Thank you very much for your help , really appreciate your effort :)
 
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