Major Components in a Photovoltaic System Design

New to photovoltaic (PV) systems (solar panels)? Haven't a clue what their major components are? Here's your chance to discover what goes into both grid-direct and battery-based PV system designs.

Following are the major components of a grid-direct system:

• PV modules (which together form a PV array) with racking

  
  



• A grid-direct inverter (listed to UL1741)

  
  



• A combiner or junction box

  
  



• A DC disconnect

  
  



• An AC disconnect (possibly placed at the utility point of connection)

  
  



• A meter to record the energy produced by the PV array

  
  



• A utility interconnection across the circuit breaker inside the MDP

  
  

The major parts of a battery-based system include the following:

• PV modules (which together form a PV array) with racking

  
  



• A battery-based inverter (listed to UL1741)

  
  



• A combiner box

  
  



• A charge controller

  
  



• A battery bank

  
  



• Battery metering

  
  



• DC overcurrent protection

  
  



• An AC bypass switch and disconnects

  
  



• DC disconnects

  
  



• A main load center

  
  



• A DC load panel located near the battery bank and DC disconnects (optional)

  
  



• A generator (optional)

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/major-components-in-a-photovoltaic-system-design.html