Power Electronics and Photovoltaic Power Systems Laboratory

ECEN 4517/5517 Spring 2012


Announcements and Updates

  • Lecture 4: Exp. 3 Part 1, 2/7/12. Lecture slides Updated 2/7/12
  • Experiment 1: Introduction to PV Systems and Power Electronics, Jan 24-26.
  • Experiment 2: MSP 430 microcontroller, Jan 31 - Feb. 2.
    • Makeup session: a TA will be available in lab on Monday Feb. 6 at 1:30 - 2:30 pm; if necessary you may demonstrate your working Lab 2 parts and obtain his initials at that time.
    • Because of bad weather, the Tuesday section swapped the order of Exps. 1 and 2. The due dates on the schedule page have been updated accordingly. The Exp. 1 final report and the Exp. 2 scoresheet are due at the beginning of lab this week.
  • Quiz 1 will be held in the first ten minutes of lecture next week, Feb. 14. It will cover material from Exp. 1. A sample quiz problem

Update 2/7/12 rwe


This course is an introduction to analysis, modeling, design, and testing of electrical energy processing systems, in a practical laboratory setting. Included are power electronics converters for efficient utilization of available energy sources, and energy sources including solar panels and the utility. The semester experiments plus final design project involve design, modeling, fabrication, and testing of a solar power system.

The laboratory includes portable photovoltaic systems associated with every lab station, including 85 W PV panels, 56 A-hour batteries, 300 W inverters, and other supporting infrastructure. Associated with these systems, students design and build power conversion electronics, with analog and digital control circuitry.

The course begins with basic experiments in:

The course will then culminate in a design project involving photovoltaics and power electronics.

ECEN 5517 involves additional work in power converters requiring deeper knowledge and understanding of power electronics.

This course is offered every spring semester. The instructor for Spring 2012 is Prof. Robert Erickson.

Spring 2010 Competition Video ( Update 5/14/10 RWE )

It is recommended that this site be viewed using a browser other than Internet Explorer (because of its documented bugs). Note that Mozilla Firefox is installed on the lab computers.