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Photovoltaic Building

User liaison
Charles J. Hanley (cjhanle@sandia.gov)
Sandia National Laboratories
P.O. Box 5800, MS 1033
Albuquerque, NM 87185-1033
phone: (505) 844-4435
FAX: (505) 844-3952

Sandia’s Photovoltaic Laboratories work with the photovoltaic industry and energy users to accomplish two valuable primary functions:

• accelerate the commercial use of photovoltaic energy systems
• aid in understanding and improving the performance of those systems

Photovoltaic System Evaluation Laboratory

The Photovoltaic System Evaluation Laboratory (PSEL) provides expertise and test support within several facilities and outdoor sites for evaluating PV and other distributed energy hardware. It includes the following capabilities:

• PV systems evaluations and optimization
• field testing of arrays and systems in collaboration with system integrators
• performance testing for modules, arrays, power inverters, charge controllers, and batteries
• diagnosis of module reliability issues with manufacturing consultation
• complete performance characterization of PV cells and photo sensors
• calibration of PV reference cells, reference modules, and solar instruments
• performance measurements on multiple, interacting distributed energy sources
• on-site education and training on the attributes and limitations of photovoltaic and other distributed energy systems
  

Distributed Energy Technologies Laboratory

The Distributed Energy Technologies Laboratory (DETL) is an extension of the power electronics testing capabilities of PSEL. DETL is configured as a 480V, 3-phase microgrid with interconnections to the utility grid and to various distributed energy resources including PV inverters, microturbines, fuel cells, reciprocating engine-generators, and electrical energy storage systems. DETL provides expertise and test support to perform the following functions:

• Grid-connected performance evaluations (e.g., efficiency, distortion, power factor, response to abnormal grid conditions)
• Off-grid (stand-alone) performance evaluations (e.g., transient response, compatibility with various load types, voltage and frequency regulations)
• Specialized tests (e.g., radio-frequency emissions, “non-islanding inverter,” interactions of multiple sources on a common microgrid, surge tolerance)

Availability

The Photovoltaic Laboratories are available to support any application that can benefit from their unique capabilities. To make arrangements for support from these facilities, contact the user liaison.

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