An engineer friend of mine recently sent me an email asking if I knew of anybody that could help him with a small commercial project in the American desert southwest, an area noted for plentiful sunlight and temperature extremes. The project would include an all-electric HVAC system. The owner wished to power the facility 100% with photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, and it would not be connected to an electric power grid, since the site was somewhat remote. The owner was not certain if a generator would also be required and was hoping to minimize or eliminate its need. The owner was passionate about renewable energy to reduce the carbon footprint in keeping with good environmental design.
My engineer friend must have been a good fisherman, because I took the bait. I told him I would assist with some basics, but I wasn’t interested in doing the actual design work. So, I decided to provide him with some theories about solar systems to ensure the owner and architect-engineer team would have some common understanding of the situation. It was painfully obvious the owner had unrealistic expectations. Hopefully, this article will provide a similar understanding for those contemplating a PV system for their commercial facility.