ABSTRACT
This chapter will introduce the design process for several complete selfcontained PV systems. For each system, a life-cycle cost analysis will be made for several design options to illustrate the iterative process that leads to reasonable system cost effectiveness. The first system will be a relatively simple refrigeration system, except that the system will be designed to meet a critical need. The second system will be another mountain cabin. In this chapter, the complete cabin system will be designed, including consideration of placement of the various loads and computation of the wire sizes needed to meet the needs of the loads. A hybrid residence will then be designed, with an emphasis on the process of selecting an appropriate mix of PV and propane electrical generation. This residence will use 120 V loads as opposed to the 24 V loads of the cabin and will thus require an inverter and a more interesting control system.
