Photovoltaic Systems Engineering

By Roger A. Messenger and Amir Abtahi

Book Overview

Breakthroughs in thin film technology, increased efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, and other worldwide efforts to develop clean energy sources have led to an annual 15 percent increase in the manufacture and sale of solar cells. Experts predict this growth to continue, putting engineers skilled in photovoltaic (PV) systems at a premium.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0849320178
• ISBN13: 9780849320170
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: CRC Press
• Length: 424 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

good engineering overview of PV

i found this book to be a good overview on all engineering aspects of photovoltaics & energy storage. the major part of the book covers the practical aspects while the last couple of chapters covers some of the theoretical aspects. I would recommend this book to engineers who want to get a broad understanding of this field.

Sheds light on solar systems engineering

"Photovoltaic Systems Engineering" provides an outstanding overview of the topic: you'll learn what it takes to actually build solar powered systems. I purchased a number of books before finally finding this one - I wish I started here. The first chapters provide background on world energy usage and the underlying science of the sun. Soon after you are reading about the major components of a photovoltaic system followed by eight examples and designs for real-world working systems. I found the examples to be clearly presented and most of the calculations proceeded easily from one step to the next. The many clear examples convey a better understanding of this material. The practical value of this book grows with chapters on cost and mechanical considerations for any reader interested in building a cost-effective, reliable PV system. For me, Chapter 7 on "Stand-Alone PV Systems" was the real highlight. This chapter brings together all of the previously covered material to guide you in building your own system. Here you'll get ideas for building, configuring, and sizing a battery array: this basic ingredient in PV systems seems often overlooked in other books. If you want to tie your PV system to a utility grid, or gain deeper insight into the underlying physics and future of this technology, the closing chapters are for you. I found the book easy and interesting to read. A moderate level of scientific/electronics background knowledge will help explore the entirety of the book. This is a very informative read for anyone considering the creation or installation of a PV system.

Unique book

As with the first edition, this update by Messenger and Ventre is very well suited for a one-semester upper division course in EE or Engineering Technology, or for self study if one knows basic electric (mainly DC) circuit theory. As the title suggests, it's an applications-oriented book, with semiconductor physics (appropriately) relegated to the last two chapters. There are very few derivatives or integrals in the text, and basic algebra is sufficient for the end-of-chapter exercises. Reading 20 pages per day and answering a dozen or so questions from the exercises will get the self-study student through the text in less than a month. PSE is also one of the few books recommended by the NABCEP for the Solar PV Installer Certification Exam. There are a number of excellent PV physics books available today, but this is the only complete and up-to-date systems engineering text I know of.