Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Systems
Submitted by
Abhishek Raj Urs K N
1000988334
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
University of Texas, Arlington
Contents
Introduction
Solar Characteristics
Solar Spectrum
Intensity and Energy
Surface orientation
Attenuation
Diffusion
Characteristics of PV Modules
Measurements
Principle of Operation
Band Gap and Response rate
Performance and Energy loses
List of Figures
Solar energy is the primary origins for all other energy sources like tidal
energy, fossil fuel, hydro energy, biomass etc. Solar energy falls on the
surface of the earth at a rate of 120 petawatts, which is the solar energy
received from sun in one day can be used to overcome the world energy
requirements for 20 years. Fig 1 shows the potential for some of the
renewable energy sources based on today's technology. Future advances in
the technology will lead to higher potential for each energy source.
In solar technology department, there are many devices that directly convert
solar energy into electrical or thermal energy. Photo-voltaic cells and
concentrated solar power systems are some of those devices. For a specific
geographic location, a particular solar technology system has to be
incorporated in order to achieve maximum efficiency out of the device.
There are a wide range of applications for solar energy. For instance it can
used for controlling room temperature, solar desalination, solar propulsion,
photochemical applications, electricity generation etc. Solar energy can
easily be converted into electrical energy which again has a lot of
applications. Electrical energy is a high grade energy, which means it can
further be converted to other energy forms easily. Therefore it has attracted
a lot of researchers as electrical energy consumption is continuously
increasing.
Environmental Aspects
In the above figure we can see that birds have located their nest on the PV
panels. The above PV station is located in Merced, CA. These PV stations are
usually located on wide barren lands with adequate sunlight throughout the
year to trap maximum solar energy.
However not all of the solar technologies are toxic free. Few technologies
which achieve relatively higher work efficiency and work on this concept
involve toxic materials like gallium arsenide or cadmium telluride. These can
cause severe harm to the environment if leaked. So care has to be taken to
avoid these drawbacks.
Solar Technologies
Currently there are several kinds of solar technologies. They basically differ
from the converting efficiency and materials used, but the concept behind
most of them remain the same. Each of those particular methods have their
own drawbacks and advantages. Certain methods prove to be more efficient
only when it is used at a particular location or at specific set of conditions.
The figure below gives us a broad idea about the different solar technologies
that are being used for energy production/conversion. Out of these, the most
broadly used methods are Photovoltaic solar panels and concentrated solar
power systems. However, in the recent years a lot of research has been
made in concentrated photovoltaic systems and solar thermoelectricity
systems. They are emerging to be more energy converting efficient and
claim a significant share of solar energy market.
Crystalline Silicon
Thin Films
Semiconductor thin films
Solar Characteristics
Solar Spectrum
The Energy in solar irradiation comes in the form of electromagnetic
radiation. We know that longer wavelength radiation have lesser energy than
shorter ones such as UV light or visible light. The figure below shows us the
spectral distribution and also relative weights of individual wavelengths.
Attenuation
To express the amount of intensity that is lost through absorption, the clarity
index is defined as the ratio between the observed (global) hourly irradiance
on earth, Hg, and the hourly radiation Ho just outside the atmosphere.
Typical values for k are 0.6-0.8 at clear sky and 0.1-0.3 on cloudy sky.
K = Hg/Ho
Diffusion
Direct beam radiation is one which strikes the surface from one angle only,
directly from the sun. Conversely, diffuse light as a result of absorption and
scattering, approaches the horizontal surface from almost any angle. Hence
it cannot be focused or concentrated.
Hg = H (beam) + H (diffuse)
Kd = H (diffuse)/Hg
Characteristics of PV modules
The photons which strike the solar panels pass through the panels get
reflected back to the atmosphere or get absorbed by the semiconducting
material inside the panel. These photons get absorbed only if the energy is
more than band gap value of the material.
These absorbed photons, give energy to the electrons in the valence bond.
Thus exciting them and moving them to the conduction band, where it is free
to move and hence constitutes DC.
Here, p-type and n-type layers join at the p-n junction, electrons and holes
diffuse to create the charge free depletion zone. Moreover, the junction
creates a slope in the resulting energy bands. Now, when a photon promotes
an electron to the conduction band, it can "roll down" through the depletion
zone into a lower energy band rather than instantly re-combine with a hole.
This is what generates the photo current.