10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The PVA exam has 70 questions and runs 2 hours.
These 10 free PVA questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Photovoltaic Associate blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
The AC and DC disconnects for a rooftop inverter have been opened and locked out. Its display is dark, and the manufacturer's capacitor-discharge time has elapsed. Before a qualified electrician treats the inverter terminals as de-energized, what evidence is still needed?
Correct answer: D - Absence-of-voltage tests at the work points, with the tester proved before and after.
Measurements previously required a worker to walk near an unprotected roof edge. A revised survey method obtains the same information from ground level, removing the need for that roof visit. In the hierarchy of controls, this change represents:
Correct answer: C - Elimination
During a sunny afternoon outage, a home's grid-following PV inverter shuts down. The installation has neither storage nor equipment for isolated backup operation. The owner wants selected household circuits to stay powered during future outages. Which proposed upgrade supplies the missing capability?
Correct answer: B - A compatible grid-forming backup system with approved isolation from the utility.
A cell substring in a crystalline-silicon module is shaded, and the bypass diode across that substring is conducting. The module's other substrings remain illuminated, and current continues through the series string. What is the electrical consequence of the diode's operation?
Correct answer: D - The shaded substring is bypassed, reducing the module's voltage contribution.
A workshop can move a daily 4 kWh task from evening to midday without changing its energy use. At midday, the task would consume 4 kWh of surplus PV energy that would otherwise be exported. Evening imports cost $0.31/kWh; PV exports earn $0.07/kWh. There is no battery, and all other charges stay unchanged. By how much would the daily electricity cost decrease?
Correct answer: A - $0.96
A module has an open-circuit voltage of 50.0 V at a cell temperature of 25°C and a Voc temperature coefficient of -0.30%/°C. The site's minimum design cell temperature is -15°C. The inverter's absolute maximum DC input voltage is 600 V. Considering this voltage limit alone, what is the greatest permissible number of these modules in one series string?
Correct answer: A - 10 modules
A remote communications shelter needs 13 hours of backup for a steady 0.60 kW AC load. Its proposed battery starts fully charged, stores 10.0 kWh nominally, and must retain a 20% state-of-charge reserve. Discharge-path efficiency to the AC load is 90%. Power ratings are adequate, and there is no charging or other loss during the outage. Does the proposal meet the duration requirement, and what runtime supports that conclusion?
Correct answer: D - No; approximately 12.0 hours.
An installer needs an extension lead for a factory-terminated PV module. A connector from another product family clicks into place and has matching voltage and current ratings, but the documentation does not identify the pair as compatible. What should determine whether that connector can be used?
Correct answer: B - Documented mating compatibility for the exact connector pair.
During final inspection of a pitched-roof array, the rail supports match the engineered layout, but one module is clamped outside the manufacturer's permitted clamping zones. The module feels secure, and its electrical bonding is satisfactory. The appropriate correction is to:
Correct answer: B - Reposition the clamps within the manufacturer's permitted zones.
On clear days, a correctly configured 7.5 kW DC array produces an AC power trace that rises smoothly to 6.0 kW, stays flat around noon, and then falls smoothly. Its inverter is rated 6.0 kW AC and permits this array size. Operating temperature and grid voltage are normal; no alarm or external power limit is active. How should this pattern be handled?
Correct answer: C - Recognize clipping and check whether the energy loss matches the design estimate.
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