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EDWartens UK

Free course · Renewable energy

PVsyst Solar Power Plant Design

For electrical engineers: design a solar plant in PVsyst, size strings, model shading, read the report. Free to learn; the certificate is optional and paid.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Intermediate
Modules
12
Video
10 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Take a site and a target capacity and produce a complete PVsyst study: create the meteo site and justify the climate source, load modules and inverters from PAN and OND files, size strings against the MPPT window and the maximum DC input voltage with the arithmetic shown, set tilt, azimuth and row pitch at a sensible ground cover ratio, build or import a 3D near-shading scene and read its loss, assign module layout so electrical shading is modelled on the real wiring, set thermal, ohmic, soiling, mismatch, LID and IAM losses you can justify, run the simulation and read specific yield, performance ratio and the loss diagram, and extend the same method to off-grid, pumping, batch and economic studies.

  • Build a PVsyst project from coordinates and choose a climate source you can defend to a reviewer
  • Read PAN and OND files against the datasheet and size a string to the inverter MPPT window and its maximum DC input voltage
  • Set tilt, azimuth, row pitch and ground cover ratio, and see what each costs in yield
  • Build or import a 3D near-shading scene and separate linear shading loss from electrical shading loss
  • Set thermal, ohmic, soiling, mismatch, LID and IAM losses with a written justification for every figure
  • Read a PVsyst report by specific yield, performance ratio and the loss diagram, and run batch and economic comparisons

Software

PVsyst 8: a 30-day evaluation (generic components only, watermarked reports) or a licensed seat at work. Google Earth and SketchUp Free for site imagery and 3D scenes.

Hardware

None required.

Syllabus

12 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1The PVsyst workflow end to end3 lessons
  2. 2Site, meteo and climate data5 lessons
  3. 3The components database: modules and inverters3 lessons
  4. 4Orientation, system sizing and the first grid-connected run2 lessonsLab
  5. 5Near shading: building the 3D scene4 lessons
  6. 6Importing and managing 3D scenes4 lessons
  7. 7Module layout, energy management and a full design pass2 lessonsLab
  8. 8Detailed losses2 lessons
  9. 9Running the simulation and reading the report3 lessons
  10. 10Off-grid and solar pumping systems3 lessons
  11. 11Optimisation, batch simulation and the economic evaluation4 lessons
  12. 12Final assessment0 lessons

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Practise in the labOptionalTry a task from the module in the EDWartens Lab, in your browser.
  5. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

EDWartens Lab

Practise this in the EDWartens Lab

Test a solar string, isolate the DC side safely and find an EV charger fault in the Lab's Solar and EV simulator.

Works alongside PVsyst Solar Power Plant Design. The Lab is solar and ev charging practice in your browser: no install, no hardware, free to use. Sign in as a learner and it opens with your account.

Open the free lab See the Lab
Solar and EV charging: Commission solar and EV.

Levels to try with this course

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Why practise in a lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

  • Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
  • The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
  • Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for PVsyst Solar Power Plant Design

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

  • PVsyst

    the official PVsyst 7 tutorials: licensing, the module and inverter databases, meteo sites, the first grid-connected simulation, detailed losses, the shading editor from user interface to importing and managing a 3D scene, the optimisation and batch tools, and the economic evaluation

  • Consulting Technical Solutions

    the long end-to-end design walk-throughs: a complete grid-connected plant, 3D near-shading analysis, importing PAN and OND files, off-grid and solar pumping design, and exporting time-series and weather data

  • TechBurst Solutions

    choosing a weather database, setting up a project, the detailed loss pages, near shading from a SketchUp import, module layout and energy management, running the simulation and reading the report

Questions

About this course

What happens when the PVsyst trial ends?
After the 30-day evaluation, PVsyst drops into a DEMO mode with restricted functions, so you need a licence to keep doing full studies. PVsyst SA's general conditions of use state that evaluation mode stays active for 30 days from the date of installation, that only generic components can be used in projects created in it, and that simulation reports carry the mention EVALUATION. Install it when you reach the modules where you build a full project, and do the string sizing and shading arithmetic on paper before that.
What is performance ratio (PR) in PVsyst?
Performance ratio is the energy a PV system actually delivers divided by the energy it would produce if it ran at its rated efficiency at standard test conditions under the same incident sunlight, so it measures the plant's losses rather than its weather. PVsyst's documentation states that PR is defined in the standard IEC EN 61724 for grid-connected systems without storage and that it is not directly dependent on weather data or plane orientation. Reading PR alongside specific yield and the loss diagram is part of the simulation report work in this course.
Do I need a PVsyst licence?
PVsyst is paid software. Its 30-day evaluation uses generic components only and watermarks its reports, which is enough to learn the method. Plan the trial window so it covers the modules where you actually build a project, and use the earlier modules to work through the sizing and shading arithmetic on paper. The method transfers unchanged to a licensed seat at work.
What should I already know?
Basic electrical engineering: series and parallel DC circuits, what open-circuit voltage and maximum power point mean, three-phase supply, and roughly what a grid-connected inverter does. Diploma and BE electrical graduates have enough. It is not a first course in electricity.
Is this the same as an official PVsyst certification or a paid solar design certification?
No. PVsyst SA runs its own paid training, and there are paid solar design certifications from other bodies. This course is preparation for the work those certifications cover. It is not any of them, and it is never described as equivalent to one.
Does it cover rooftop or utility scale?
Both, because the method is the same. Grid-connected design is the spine, with rooftop constraints such as parapet shading and self-consumption covered alongside ground-mount pitch, ground cover ratio and grid injection limits. Off-grid and solar pumping systems get their own module.
Is the course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it a vendor qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you have finished every module and passed the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a vendor credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels, including the PVsyst tutorials published by PVsyst itself. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
Will this help me get a solar job?
PVsyst is named by name in design-engineer job descriptions at solar EPC contractors, developers and module makers, and the practice tasks are the calculations those interviews ask about: string length, ground cover ratio, loss assumptions and reading a report. It is the design method, not a placement guarantee.

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module