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Category Archives: pv

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Free Voltage Drop

This is a follow up to the article Design Recommendations for 1500V String inverters, where we only briefly mentioned "Free Voltage Drop" and wanted to dive in a little deeper here.

When we value engineer a large solar project, we can take advantage...

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Solar Carport Optimization - Part 1 of 2

Carports and canopies are the most expensive type of racking or PV module support structure. Therefore, its critical to optimize equipment selection and value engineer these projects.

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Neutral Conductor Value Engineering in 3-Phase String-Inverter Systems

What is a "Neutral" conductor?

To an Engineer: A "neutral" is a current-carrying conductor that carries the unbalanced current in 3 phase systems, and is intentionally connected to the ground. In North America, the neutral is color-coded white or...

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Roof-Mounted Solar: Structural and Waterproofing Considerations in C&I Applications

In the first part of this two-part article, I covered the roof membranes and roofing systems commonly used in commercial and industrial (C&I) buildings. Roof identification is important because this information drives other design and engineering...

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Solar Carport Optimization - Part 2

Carports and canopies are the most expensive type of racking or PV module support structure. Therefore, its critical to optimize equipment selection and value engineer these projects.

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Roof-Mounted Solar: Identifying Low-Slope Roofing Types

Commercial and industrial (C&I) roof-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) systems present a unique set of engineering challenges and technical risks. Some commercial roof considerations—such as the structural analysis and roof loading plan—apply...

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Aluminum Conductors in Solar Applications: How to Save Costs without Sacrificing Reliability

A principle goal of value engineering is to deliver long-term performance and reliability at the lowest cost practicable. One effective way to reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) in large-scale or commercial and industrial (C&I) solar...

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Arc Flash Studies for Solar — Introduction

Pure Power performs many types of power system studies, and the Arc Flash Study may be the most important because it is all about worker safety. However, since it’s not always a code requirement and doesn’t have a direct impact on generation, it is...

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