Hello!

I’m Paul Gilman, and I’m an Instructor for the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA). I teach PV 430, a course focused on using the System Advisor Model (SAM) to model residential and commercial solar systems.

With a degree in electrical engineering and over 20 years of experience at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), I’ve had the opportunity to work on several energy modeling platforms, but I’ve spent the most time with SAM. Before online training became common, I traveled the world, teaching energy policymakers, educators, and project developers how to use SAM to solve real-world challenges.

In addition to teaching, I also work on SAM’s development team at NREL, where I write documentation, provide technical support, and assist engineers. This gives me an in-depth understanding of the software, which I’m excited to share with you in PV 430.

Answering Your Customers’ Questions
Designing and installing PV systems for residential and commercial customers comes with its own set of challenges, one of the most common being how to answer their questions.

Your customers will likely ask:

• How much will the system cost?  
• How much will I save on my electricity bill? 
• Will these savings cover the cost of the system?
• Should I consider investing in storage? 

 SAM is free, and it gives you full control over the data you use for your analysis. It also offers extensive help documentation, though it can be overwhelming at first due to the number of features.

That’s where our PV 430: Introduction to System Advisor Model (SAM) course comes in!

PV 430 is great because it focuses on a specific modeling task: You’ll use SAM to estimate the value of installing a residential PV system by answering this specific question:

“Will the electricity bill savings from the PV system be enough to cover the system’s cost?”

The course consists of a series of videos explaining and demonstrating the steps for modeling a residential PV system. The course begins with a short presentation introducing SAM, followed by videos that guide you through specific tasks. You’ll also receive a course handbook in PDF format, which contains all the information from the videos, including step-by-step instructions.

SECTION 1: The System

In the first section, you’ll model the physical system. You’ll download a weather file, choose a module and inverter, size the system, and review design parameters like array orientation, shading, and wiring losses. You’ll also learn how to interpret the simulation results, such as the hourly generation profile and performance factors, and investigate whether the inverter clips the PV array’s output.

SECTION 2: The Finances

The second section focuses on the financial model. You’ll cover installation and operating costs, how to model a loan, income taxes, and incentive fees. You’ll also learn how to model electricity rates and policies for excess generation, like net metering. Finally, you’ll explore the pro forma cash flow and results, calculating metrics such as net present value and payback period, which are essential for evaluating the project.

After the course, you’ll be able to confidently model a residential PV system in SAM. You’ll be familiar with the software’s interface, how to enter data, and how to interpret the results. By the end, you’ll be ready to apply SAM to your work, whether it’s helping customers understand a system you’re proposing, designing your own system, or learning about solar energy.

I hope you’ll take PV 430, and I look forward to meeting you during the course!

Paul