Customer Reviews

Planning and Installing Photovoltaic Systems: A Guide for Installers, Architects and Engineers (Planning and Installing Series)

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If you're looking at building a library on PV or if your company is buying ... this is a good book to have.

BUT ..... it's expensive and as others have said it has european references and measures and doesn't have information relating to the National Electrical Code (NEC) of the USA. This should not be your only book.

If you're in the USA and you're a novice who's thinking of learning about solar or you want to take the NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Practitioners) entry level exam you ought to save yourself a $100 and buy "Photovoltaics: Design and Installation Manual" by Solar Energy International from Colorado.

If you are a technical person and understand electricity/high school physics you might choose "Photovoltaic Systems" from American Technical Publishers Inc. and the NJATC. This will take you up to and beyond the NABCEP entry level exam.

I have all three books and the last is used/read most .. but I've already taken the entry level exam.

This design book was written in Germany, so it follows the European standards. There is definitely some good information here, but if you want to follow the NEC rules for the USA, this won't help much. Try looking for information from John Wiles for that. US designers won't gain much from this book.

This is an excellent review of PV solar systems, both from a technology and practical usage points of view, as they are currently being used in Europe. Guessing that this technology will gain importance in the US in the near future, this book should be very useful for anybody who is looking to get in depth information and/or planning to work in this field.

I am using this guide in my upcoming course Investment Grade Solar Feasibility Studies taught at UCBerkeley Extension--downtown San Francisco-- this spring. It is simply the best desktop reference for photovoltaic system design available. If you are serious about getting a great understanding of this fast moving field, invest the time and money in studying this book.
For more about the course, go here
http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/cat/course1911.html

This is a great purchase. The book offers details of the PV system components, their functions and installation. I have purchased and read many other books related to PV systems, but this one offers much greater details and the PV systems are explained on much deeper level. The authors often quote what seem to be highly reliable sources, mainly German universities and well-known companies. The book may be a valuable source for installers, who operate in areas with limited sunny days, the geographical latitude typical for the Northern and Central Europe, where the solar intensity (insolation) is rather limited if compared to southern parts of the US. The book contains detailed explanation of the topic, accompanied by appropriate graphs, charts and illustrations. I highly recommend it to contractors, students or anyone who is interested in the PV topic beyond the basics.

My husband LOVES the book. Great information. He would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a technical read.

After reading this entire book,I found the content very useful.. It is very well written and it gives a good overview of the components used in PV Systems Installation. It is a must read if you want to catch up on the PV fundamentals (without going into too much details..)

The book was definitely a good buy. It contains valuable information and it is presented extremely well.