Tuesday 9am-1.00pm
General Education Outcomes are the knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, and behaviors that students are expected to develop as a result of their overall experiences with any aspect of the college, including courses, programs, and student services, both inside and outside of the classroom. The General Education Outcomes specifically learned in this course are:
- Critical Thinking
- Responsibility
Advanced Photovoltaics Installations (ELTR 2343)) was designed to meet specific student needs either
individually or within a program and is designed to transfer to other colleges and universities. KCC
participates in the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI), a statewide transfer agreement for general
education courses. All colleges and universities participating in the IAI agree to accept a collective
“package” of IAI general education courses; transfer of courses separately is not guaranteed. For
more information about IAI and the transferability of courses to specific four-year institutions, go to
www.itransfer.org and MyCreditsTransfer/Transferology.
Goals and Objectives
This course has, at least, four major intentions:
- Build an understanding of photovoltaics system design based on NEC and design principles.
- Develop a portfolio of three residential system designs, rooftop, ground mount and stand alone systems that comply with Code, materials specifications and site assessment.
- Perform a residential site assessment.
- Design and install a permanent solar electric system on campus.
The major intentions (given above) for this course relate directly to the awareness, understanding,
and knowledge that may be attained via the learning experiences inherent in the course content,
aimed at these general goals:
1. To give the students the requisite skills and knowledge to work safely when installing,
troubleshooting, and maintaining solar-PV power systems.
2. To give the students the requisite skills and knowledge to perform and produce a
professional-quality solar site assessment.
3. To give the students experience designing a residential rooftop PV system that complies with best practices.
4. To give the students experience designing a residential ground mount PV system that complies with best practices.
5. To give the students experience designing a stand alone PV system that complies with best practices.
6. To give students experience designing a permanent PV system on campus.
7. To give students requisite skills to perform a financial model of one of their systems using NREL’s SAM program
8. To give students hands-on experience installing the mechanical and electrical components of a permanent PV system on campus.
9. To give the student experience and understanding of how to commission a solar electric system.
Specific Unit Learning Objectives are delineated in the weekly Unit Materials
that will be distributed by the instructor.
General Education Goals and Objectives
The general education program at KCC is designed to enable students to acquire communication and
reasoning skills at a level reflecting college-level learning. Students who complete the general education
program will be able to examine complex topics and apply systematic processes to form conclusions. The
specific general education objectives addressed in this course are:
Reading Comprehension: Students will comprehend the reading required in their chosen curriculum.
Verbal Communication: Students will use clear, concise language in verbal communication.
Written Communication: Students will demonstrate written communication that is organized and
coherent.
Quantitative Reasoning: Students will reason and solve quantitative problems from a wide array of
contexts.
Ethical Reasoning: Students will apply skills in ethical reasoning and come to understand the ways
ethical issues affect individual behaviors, individual lifestyles, and public life.
Inquiry and Analysis: Students will examine complex topics and apply systematic processes resulting in
formed conclusions.
Faculty Contact Information
M noon-1pm, 4-5pm; T 1-5pm; W 3.30-5pm
Clay Sterling
Course Information
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Design a Code compliant roof mounted, ground mounted and battery based system to meet the goals and limitations of the site
- Perform basic roof loading calculations
- Explain and use web based performance calculators
- Install and commission a photovoltaic system
- Identify steps for project management
- Identify and explain photovoltaic system monitoring applications
- Demonstrate safe working skills
- Demonstrate the use of Job Hazard Analysis procedures and documentation
National Electrical Code 2023 by NFPA 70, Solar Electric Handbook: Photovoltaics Fundamentals and Applications, by Solar Energy International
Safety glasses, close toed shoes, gloves, basic hand tools from Intro to Solar Electric Technology
Student achievement in the classroom phase of the course will be evaluated on the basis of
homework, quizzes and exams. Achievement in the laboratory will be evaluated on the basis of the
accuracy and completeness of reports, of laboratory activities, and of skills developed in the
performance of manipulative tasks as evidenced by the workmanship demonstrated in the laboratory
assignments. A laboratory final examination may be administered.
Letter grades are determined by the following percentage:
93 - 100 A 85 - 92 B 75 - 84 C 65 - 74 D BELOW 65 F
In determination of the final mark in the course, the various items will be weighted as follows:
Third Party Certification = 5%, Assignments = 10%, Quizzes = 10%, Written Final = 20% System Design, Lab sheet = 25% Portfolio = 30%
Assignments will NOT be accepted past the date due without prior approval. Missed quizzes may
NOT be made up.
Business, Technology & Human Services
Dean, Paul Carlson; 815-802-8858; V105; pcarlson@kcc.edu; Division Office – W102; 815-802-8650
ATTENDANCE: If a student has missed more class hours than the number of credit hours to be
earned in the class, the instructor may record the grade of "F" for the course. Missed classes may
not be made up without prior permission from the instructor. Failure of the student to attend class
does not constitute withdrawal. A formal written withdrawal must be made by the student to the
Office of Admissions and Records.
Some important information provided during the lecture/discussions does not appear in your
textbook, but you will find it useful for completing your assignments or exams. It is the student’s
responsibility to obtain handouts and information presented for any class for which he/she is absent
from fellow students or the instructor. Labs are due at the end of each lab period. Homework
is due at the start of class on the day due.
No students will be allowed to work in lab areas outside of class time without instructor
permission and appropriate supervision.
School code requires that safety glasses or some other APPROVED form of eye protection be
worn in the laboratory at all times. There will be NO exceptions! Glasses may be borrowed from
the technology office but the student must leave their drivers licenses. The glasses are to be
returned at the end of the period. The student may be required to purchase basic components used
in the laboratory experiments
Code of Conduct
Students need to adhere to the Code of Conduct located in the college catalog.
Email Policy
To ensure a student's privacy under all applicable education laws and to facilitate timely interactions, two
College-authorized methods of electronic communication exist: KCC-issued student email accounts
(using the domain name of .student.kcc.edu) and the Canvas Learning Management System. Students
are expected to regularly check their KCC email accounts and Canvas for important incoming
communication from the college or from individual instructors. Students understand that emails they send
from personal email accounts (other than those listed above) may not be delivered to the KCC recipient,
and students should have no expectation that such messages will be answered.
Non-Attendance/Non-Participation
KCC complies with state law and federal financial aid policy. If you receive an attendance grade of F or
are institutionally withdrawn from a course, it will affect your eligibility for financial aid. (1) You must attend
at least one class, or participate at least once for an online course (logging in without participation is not
attending), by the 10th day of 16 week courses or within the first 10% of shorter term classes. Non-
attendance will result in an attendance grade of F. (2) If you have excessive absences and no reasonable
chance of passing the course at midterm (or after), your instructor may give you a WX grade and have
you institutionally withdrawn from the course.
| Week | Lecture | Lab | Homework |
| 1 | Course Introduction, Course Administration Code Overview, Point of Interconnection | Tour of shop projects | Worksheet 1 |
| 2 | Max Voltage and Current calculations, Max V DC circuits, Array layout | Build PV trainers (Battery) and battery cart | Worksheet 2 |
| 3 | OCPD’s, Sizing conductor OCPD’s | Build PV trainers (Battery) and battery cart | Worksheet 3 |
| 4 | Inverters, Matching source circuits to inverter | Build PV trainers (Inverter set-ups) | Worksheet 4 |
| 5 | Disconnecting means, Clean-up | Electrical Trainer set-up | Worksheet 5 |
| 6 | Rooftop systems, residential design example | Begin residential system design Materials selection, components selection Electrical Trainer set-up | Worksheet 6 |
| 7 | Ground mounted systems, Grounding | Begin Residential ground mount system design Materials selection, components selection Prep SolarEdge installation: measure roof, module layout, cut slip sheets | Worksheet 7 |
| 8 | Spring Break | ||
| 9 | PV Site Assessment | PV Site Assessment worksheets | |
| 10 | PV Site Assessment | Residential PV Site Assessment | |
| 11 | Labeling, Commercial size PV systems | Campus PV installation Begin campus install | Residential PV Site Assessment paperwork completed |
| 12 | Large scale PV | Campus PV installation | |
| 13 | NREL SAM Program | Campus PV installation | |
| 14 | Campus PV installation | ||
| 15 | Campus PV installation Commissioning | ||
| 16 | System Design Presentations |
College Policies, Resources and Supports
For information related to the Student Code of Conduct Policy, Withdrawal Policy, Email Policy, and Non- Attendance/Non-Participation Policy, please review the college’s Code of Campus Affairs and Regulations webpage, which can be found at catalog.kcc.edu under the Academic Regulations & Conduct Guide.
KCC offers various academic and personal resources for all students. Many services are offered virtually, as well as in person. Please visit Student Resources - Kankakee Community College to access student resources services such as:
- Clubs and organizations
- Counseling and referral services
- Office of disability services
- Student complaint policy
- Transfer services
- Tutoring services, etc.
The materials on this course are only for the use of students enrolled in this course for purposes associated with this course. Further information regarding KCC's copyright policy is available at https://kcc.libguides.com/copyright.
|Course syllabus/calendar is subject to change.