Renewable Energy: Solar Power for Africa — Design, Install, Build a Business
Electricity basics, how solar works, panels, charge controllers, inverters and batteries, sizing a system, safe installation, mini-grids and the business of powering Africa.
What you'll learn
- Explain Africa's energy gap and the opportunities in solar and clean energy
- Use volts, amps, watts and watt-hours confidently in calculations
- Explain how solar panels work and read a panel's specifications
- Choose the right charge controller, inverter and battery for a job
- Size a complete off-grid or hybrid solar system from a load audit
- Follow the safety rules for wiring, protection, earthing and batteries
- Understand mini-grids, wind, hydro, solar pumping and clean cooking
- Price a job and understand the main solar business models in Africa
Course content
Part 1. Africa's energy opportunity5 lessons
Part 2. Electricity basics4 lessons
Part 3. How solar panels work6 lessons
- How do solar panels work? (TED-Ed)by TED-Ed5 min
- How solar panels generate electricity (The Engineering Mindset)by The Engineering Mindset23 min
- Why don't we cover the desert with solar panels? (TED-Ed)by TED-Ed5 min
- Global Solar Atlas — find your peak sun hours
- Reading a panel label and placing panels well
- Quiz: how solar works
Part 4. System components: controllers, inverters and batteries7 lessons
- Basic solar components and how they workby The Solar Lab10 min
- Series vs parallel panel wiringby The Solar Lab7 min
- PWM vs MPPT charge controllersby Cleversolarpower by Nick4 min
- How power inverters work (The Engineering Mindset)by The Engineering Mindset14 min
- Lead-acid vs lithium (LiFePO4) batteries for solarby Cleversolarpower by Nick9 min
- Choosing components
- Quiz: components
Part 5. Designing and sizing a solar system5 lessons
- Off-grid solar design in 4 steps (load analysis)by Cleversolarpower by Nick6 min
- Off-grid solar calculationsby Cleversolarpower by Nick11 min
- How to size your solar power system (Will Prowse)by DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse17 min
- A full worked example: a family home in Benin City
- Practice: size a small shop system
Part 6. Installation and safety6 lessons
- Watch a complete home solar installation (1.5 kVA, 2.5 kWh)by Electrical Beast22 min
- Step-by-step hybrid inverter and lithium battery installationby Zurrian Networks27 min
- How to ground (earth) an off-grid solar systemby Cleversolarpower by Nick6 min
- Solar power: the ultimate beginner's guideby LRN2DIY11 min
- Safety rules that protect lives and businesses
- Quiz: installation and safety
Part 7. Beyond rooftop solar: mini-grids, wind, hydro, water and cooking6 lessons
- Mini-grids: bringing power to millions (Tombo Banda, TED)by TED11 min
- How do wind turbines work? (TED-Ed)by TED-Ed5 min
- Hydropower 101by Student Energy3 min
- Solar water pumping transforming Africaby R.J. Burnside4 min
- Clean cooking in sub-Saharan Africa explainedby ICLEI Africa5 min
- Quiz: beyond rooftop solar
Part 8. The business of powering Africa5 lessons
Part 9. Final project1 lesson
Capstone project: Capstone: design and quote a solar system for a real client. You finish by building something real; a mentor reviews it before your certificate is issued.
About this course
Around 600 million Africans still live without electricity, and millions more depend on noisy, expensive generators. That gap is one of the biggest opportunities of our generation. This course takes you from zero to designing a complete solar system for a home, shop, school or clinic. You'll learn electricity basics, how solar panels work, what charge controllers, inverters and lithium batteries do, how to size a system with real calculations, and how to install it safely — then how mini-grids, wind, hydro, solar water pumping and clean cooking fit in, and how pay-as-you-go and installer businesses make money. Teachers include TED speakers on African energy, Bloomberg, TED-Ed, The Engineering Mindset and leading solar educators, plus installers working on African homes. Your capstone is a full design and quote for a real client. About 5 hours of video plus calculations and practice.