Lab 2 Solar Cell Experiments

Ibrahim Khalil Hussaini (4241606)

April 27, 2014
1
Objective
The purposes of these experiments are to ex-
amine the relationships between lights and
the electrical output of solar cells.
Theory
A solar cell (photovoltaic cell) is a solid-state
electronic device that takes in light energy
and converts it directly into electrical energy.
This is sort of like a light bulb that is acting
in reverse.
The typical blue/silver solar cell has a base
of the element silicon. The silicon is doc-
tored so that some loosely held electrons in
the silicon could be bounced into the elec-
trical circuit. These moving electrons, also
known as electrical current, can power elec-
tronic devices, especially devices that have
low power requirements. Low power devices
would be things like calculators, radios, LED
lights, electronic switches, monitoring equip-
ment, rechargers for batteries, and such.
Solar cells have made space habitation and
space research possible. The International
Space Station gets its electrical power from
massive arrays of solar cells. Similarly, the
earlier Space Lab and Mir Space Stations also
used solar power. The Space Shuttle does not
use solar cells, but uses fuel cells, which pro-
duces drinking water as a by-product. Most
satellites orbiting the earth use solar cells for
power. Planetary probes go away from the
earth and sun and the light intensity dimin-
ishes, so they do not rely on solar power but
use other power sources.
Procedure
Attach the leads from the solar cell to the
leads from the Multimeter by using the al-
ligator clip leads. Position the solar cell so
that it is facing the sun or another bright light
source. Read the voltage produced by setting
the Multimeter to the DCV (Direct Current
Voltage) scale appropriate for the size of the
measured voltage. Read the milliamps of cur-
rent produced by setting the Multimeter to
the DCA (Direct Current Amperage) and set
the dial for the appropriate current measur-
ing scale. Depending on what you are testing,
vary only that one item and check the voltage
or amperage to see if there is a relationship
between your variable and the output of the
solar cell.
Results
4241606
Khalil Hussaini
HET544 Introduction to Renewable Energy
Lab 2 Solar Cell Experiments
2
Figure 1: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and angle of inclination for
solar panel 1.
Figure 2: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and angle of inclination for
solar panel 2.
Figure 3: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and distance for solar panel
1.
Figure 4: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and distance for solar panel
2.
Figure 5: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and percentage area of the
solar panel covered for solar panel 1.
Figure 6: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and percentage area of the
solar panel covered for solar panel 2.
4241606
Khalil Hussaini
HET544 Introduction to Renewable Energy
Lab 2 Solar Cell Experiments
3
Figure 7: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and color lter for solar panel
1.
Figure 8: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and color lter for solar panel
2.
Figure 9: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and location of the light spot
for solar panel 1.
Figure 10: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and location of the light spot
for solar panel 2.
4241606
Khalil Hussaini
HET544 Introduction to Renewable Energy
Lab 2 Solar Cell Experiments
4
[degrees] V [V] I [mA]
90.00 0.84 0.15
75.00 0.96 0.22
60.00 1.00 0.24
45.00 1.02 0.24
30.00 0.98 0.22
15.00 0.95 0.20
0.00 0.90 0.18
Table 1: Summary of the relationship be-
tween voltage, current and angle of inclina-
tion for solar panel 1.
[degrees] V [V] I [mA]
90.00 0.87 0.15
75.00 0.93 0.22
60.00 1.01 0.24
45.00 1.04 0.24
30.00 0.98 0.22
15.00 0.95 0.20
0.00 0.87 0.15
Table 2: Summary of the relationship be-
tween voltage, current and angle of inclina-
tion for solar panel 2.
d [cm] V [V] I [mA]
1.00 0.66 0.14
2.00 0.70 0.15
3.00 0.73 0.17
4.00 0.76 0.17
Table 3: Summary of the relationship be-
tween voltage, current and distance for solar
panel 1.
d [cm] V [V] I [mA]
1.00 0.55 0.13
2.00 0.57 0.14
3.00 0.60 0.15
4.00 0.63 0.17
Table 4: Summary of the relationship be-
tween voltage, current and distance for solar
panel 2.
Coverage V [V] I [mA]
0.00 1.03 0.24
0.25 0.73 0.12
0.50 0.50 0.05
0.75 0.25 0.04
Table 5: Summary of the relationship be-
tween voltage, current and percentage area
of the solar panel covered for solar panel 1.
Coverage V [V] I [mA]
0.00 1.23 0.26
0.25 1.01 0.15
0.50 0.50 0.05
0.75 0.27 0.04
Table 6: Summary of the relationship be-
tween voltage, current and percentage area
of the solar panel covered for solar panel 2.
4241606
Khalil Hussaini
HET544 Introduction to Renewable Energy
Lab 2 Solar Cell Experiments
5
Color V [V I [mA]
Violet 1.70 0.14
Blue 1.70 0.12
Green 1.80 0.15
Yellow 1.80 0.14
Orange 1.80 0.13
Red 1.80 0.16
Table 7: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and color lter for solar panel
1.
Color V [V] I [mA]
Violet 1.60 0.14
Blue 1.70 0.12
Green 1.70 0.16
Yellow 1.80 0.14
Orange 1.80 0.13
Red 1.80 0.16
Table 8: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and color lter for solar panel
2.
Location of the light spot V [V I [mA]
Center 1.72 0.55
Side where lines end 0.16 -0.05
Side with long lines 0.05 -0.06
Corner of solar cell 0.72 0.25
Table 9: Summary of the relationship be-
tween voltage, current and location of the
light spot for solar panel 1.
Location of the light spot V [V] I [mA]
Center 1.60 0.57
Side where lines end 1.14 -0.05
Side with long lines 0.10 -0.06
Corner of solar cell 0.63 0.22
Table 10: Plot of the relationship between
voltage, current and location of the light spot
for solar panel 2.
4241606
Khalil Hussaini
HET544 Introduction to Renewable Energy
Lab 2 Solar Cell Experiments
6
Discussion
The results of the experiment were very close
to what we expected. It was thought that the
current and voltage would behave similarily,
but they did not follow the same trend.
Eect of colour lter on the perfor-
mance of solar photovoltaic module:
After analyzing the results, it was concluded
that the wavelengths of light do aect the
performance of solar cell. Red color light gen-
erates more power than other colors.
The ability of solar cell to capture energy
is not just determined by the strength of the
energy, but by the ability to detect light.
This is most often related to the energys
frequency/wavelength. The types of energy
(color, frequency, wavelength) adevice can
detect is called its spectral response. This
is often given as a numerical range of wave-
lengths(frequencies, or colors), But thewave-
length/color that corresponds to thehighest
peak of the spectral responsegraph, will be
the type of light that particular panel can
best convert to electricity. After analyzing
the data, it was determined that the output
of the panel under sun light was signicantly
higher than any of the other colored light .
This isalmost certainly due to the loss of light
intensity inherent to the tint of the color l-
ters. The blue lter yielded an output lower
than all the other color lter. This proves
that the spectral response of the solar panel
for the blue light is the lowest. The spec-
tral response of panel for greenlight is slightly
higher than that of yellow and orange. Red
and blue all had outputs signicantly higher
than green, which is concurrent with the in-
tensity readings: Blues intensity fell short of
the next lowest, violet, by more than 11%. By
this study, it is once again proved that visible
portion of the solar spectrum inuences the
performance of the Solar panel than the Infra
Red light.
Eect of angle of inclination on the per-
formance of solar photovoltaic module:
The results of the experiment were very close
to what we expected. The voltage vs angle
was very linear until it reached an expected
threshold, after which a steep decline in volt-
age was observed. Also expected was a more
predictable current output. It was thought
that the current and voltage would behave
similarily, but they did not follow the same
trend. From the results, it shows that volt-
age does not change dramatically until an an-
gle of incidence of about 45

is reached, after
which voltage drops rapidly. The current and
power response to angle do not have a thresh-
old and are non-linear.
Eect of distance on the performance of
solar photovoltaic module: The power
output of a solar cell is directly proportional
4241606
Khalil Hussaini
HET544 Introduction to Renewable Energy
Lab 2 Solar Cell Experiments
7
to the intensity of illumination, usually de-
ned in watts per square metre. The inten-
sity of illumination at a point distant from a
source is inversely proportional to the square
of the distance. If the source is terrestrial
then this law will apply. If we assume that
the source of illumination of your solar cells
is the sun, then given the enormous distance
of the earth from the sun, then the altitude of
a solar cell from the mean sea level will make
little or no dierence to the power generated.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study is to determinethe
wavelength and colour eect on the perfor-
mance of Solar panel. After analyzing the
results, it was concluded that:
The voltage and current output of a so-
lar panel increases linearly with increas-
ing distance. In other words, the volt-
age and current output of a solar panel
are directly proprtional to the distance
between the light source and the solar
panel.
The voltage and current output of a so-
lar panel decreases linearly with increas-
ing solar panel coverage. In other words,
the voltage and current output of a solar
panel are inversly proprtional to the per-
centage area of the solar panel covered.
The wavelengths of light do aect the
performance of solar cell. Red color light
generates more electricity than other col-
ors. Contrary to popular belief, longer
wavelengths of visible light, the ones
withless photon energy, are more e-
cient with
4241606
Khalil Hussaini
HET544 Introduction to Renewable Energy
Lab 2 Solar Cell Experiments
8
REFERENCES REFERENCES
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[6] Kribus, A. (2002). A high-
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[7] Hecht, Eugene. (2000).
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[8] Website 2010.igem.org/TeamCambridge.
4241606
Khalil Hussaini
HET544 Introduction to Renewable Energy
Lab 2 Solar Cell Experiments
9