Experiment 1

Determination of Characteristic of Solar Panel

Experiment A: Wavelength of Light that hits a Solar Panel

Objective:
To demonstrate how a solar cell responds differently to different wavelengths
of light.
Materials:
1. Encapsulated solar panel of 10W, Isc = 0.66A,Voc = 21.3V, size
(16.510.71.31)
2. Metal Halide or Tungsten Halogen Discharge Lamp:
1000W,240V/50Hz
3. Multimeter to measure Milli-Amps.
4. Color filter (violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, red).
Circuit schematic

Figure 1 : Solar Panel

Setup
Procedure:
1. Equipment was set up as shown in figure 1.
2. The solar panel was lay on the surface so that it is facing straight
under the lamp and was kept it in the same position for all of our
testing. A block of wood was use.
3. The testing was began by measuring the output of the solar cell
under a full beam of bright light without filters. The mA reading was
recorded from ammeter.

4. Each color filter was tested by covering the solar cell. The color and
the mA reading from ammeter was recorded each time.

Result
z
Red (full beam)
Violet
Blue
Green
Yellow
Orange
Red

Wavelength (nm)
390-780
390-455
455-495
495-575
575-595
595-625
625-780

Solar Cell Output (mA)

Experiment B: Solar Cell Series Circuits.

Objective:
To demonstrate how solar cells and panels are connected, like batteries, to
achieve certain ratings of voltage and amperage. The total power in wattage
(W) delivered is the voltage times the amperage.

Materials:
1. Two solar panels: Encapsulated solar panel of 10W, Isc = 0.66A,Voc
= 21.3V, size (16.510.71.31)
2. Metal Halide or Tungsten Halogen Discharge Lamp:
1000W,240V/50Hz
3. Digital Multimeter

Circuit schematic

A
_
_

Figure 2 : Solar Panel Serial Setup

Procedure:
1. The bright spot was find under the lamp to work.
2. The meter was connected to one solar panel as shown in Figure 2
and the solar panel was set so that it gets a good amount of light.
3. The DC volts was measure and the data was recorded.
4. The DC amps was measure and the data was recorded.
5. The meter was connected to two solar panels as shown in Figure 2
and the solar panel was set so that they get a good amount of light.
6. The DC volts was measure and the data was recorded.
7. The DC amps was measure and the data was recorded.

Experiment C: Solar Cell Parallel Circuits

Objective:
To demonstrate how solar cells and panels are connected, like batteries, to
achieve certain ratings of voltage and amperage. We develop this idea by
measuring the no-load voltage and amperage of solar cells connected in
parallel.

Materials:
1. Two solar panels: Encapsulated solar panel of 10W, Isc = 0.66A,Voc
= 21.3V, size (16.510.71.31)
2. Metal Halide or Tungsten Halogen Discharge Lamp:
1000W,240V/50Hz
3. Digital Multimeter

Circuit schematic

Figure 3: Solar Panel Parallel Setup

Procedure:
1. The bright spot was find under the lamp to work.
2. The meter was connected to one solar panel as shown in Figure 3
and the solar panel was set so that it gets a good amount of light.
3. The DC volts was measure and the data was recorded.
4. The DC amps was measure and the data was recorded.
5. The meter was connected to two solar panels as shown in Figure 3
and the solar panel was set so that they get a good amount of light.
6. The DC volts was measure and the data was recorded.
7. The DC amps was measure and the data was recorded.
Experiment D: Measuring the power output of a PV solar panel and its
efficiency

Objective:
To determine the operating point of a PV solar panel, its peak power output
and efficiency.
Materials:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Meter ruler
Large rod base stand (4kg) with rod 120cm long and multi clamp.
Power resistor (50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 5) up to 50W.
Metal Halide or Tungsten Halogen Discharge Lamp:
1000W,240V/50Hz
5. Digital Multimeter
6. Digital Solar Radiation Meter (pyranometer).
7. Solar panels: Encapsulated solar panel of 10W, Isc = 0.66A,Voc =
21.3V, size (16.510.71.31)

Procedure:
1. The area of solar cell was measured in units of mm2 (L W) This
value was recorded in the data table.
2. The irradiance was measured using the digital solar radiation meter
(in W/m2). Power input to the solar cell was calculated.

3. The light source was set up to stimulate the sun at noon conditions.
The light source was turned on.
4. Six solar PV panels was connected in parallel to give a 21V, 60W PV
system with two panels sharing one light source.
5. The apparatus was set up as shown in the Figure 3
Solar
Digital
multimeter
Power
resistor

Figure 3 : PV setup
6. The multimeter was turned to 20V DC tomeasure the voltage (V) of
the solar panel for the various power resistors.
7. The voltage across the different power resistors was measured.
8. The results was recorded.
9. The efficiency of solar panel was calculated
Efficiency = (Power Out/ Power In) 100%
10.
A graph of voltage versus the current was plotted and the
operating point of the solar panel was determined.
11.
A graph of power output versus resistance was plotted and the
value of resistance for the highest power output was determined.
Calculation
Peak power Output = Voltage x Current
=(

Discussion
In this experiment, it was divided into four experiment where
concludes according to each objectives.
For the experiment A, show that to demonstrate how the solar cell respond
differently to different wavelengths of light. This is was illustrate by covering
solar panel with colour light filters. From the hypothesis, a solar panel will
output different levels of power depending on the colour and wavelength of
the incoming light. Firstly setup of apparatus by using solar panel of 10W,
Isc=0.66A, Voc=21.3V. The size of solar panel is 16.5x10.7x1.31. The
lamp that used is Tungsten Halogen Discharge Lamp 1000W. The colour filter
used is coloured plastic tabs. After analyze the result, conclude that the solar
panel would output different levels of power depending on the colour and the
wavelength of this incoming light as proven the hypothesis stated. As a
general trend, a greater amount of current was generated when light of a
longer wavelength fell upon the photovoltaic cell, supporting the hypothesis.
However, the wavelengths of violet and yellow-orange light did not follow the
trend. This signifies a relationship between wavelength and current that may
not be completely linear. Outside factors may have also influenced the result.
A solar panel is a set of solar photovoltaic modules electrically connected
and mounted on a supporting structure. A photovoltaic module is a
packaged, connected assembly of solar cells. The solar panel can be used as

component

of

larger

photovoltaic

system

to

generate

and

supply electricity in commercial and residential applications. Each module is

rated by its DC output power under standard test conditions (STC), and
typically ranges from 100 to 320 watts. The efficiency of a module
determines the area of a module given the same rated output - an 8%
efficient 230 watt module will have twice the area of a 16% efficient 230 watt
module. A single solar module can produce only a limited amount of power;
most installations contain multiple modules. A photovoltaic system typically
includes a panel or an array of solar modules, an inverter, and sometimes
a battery and/or solar tracker and interconnection wiring. Depending on
construction, photovoltaic modules can produce electricity from a range
of frequencies of light, but usually cannot cover the entire solar range
(specifically, ultraviolet, infrared and low or diffused light). Hence much of
the incident sunlight energy is wasted by solar modules, and they can give
far higher efficiencies if illuminated with monochromatic light. Therefore,
another design concept is to split the light into different wavelength ranges
and direct the beams onto different cells tuned to those ranges. This has
been projected to be capable of raising efficiency by 50%. Currently the best
achieved sunlight conversion rate (solar module efficiency) is around 21.5%
in new commercial products typically lower than the efficiencies of their cells
in isolation. The most efficient mass-produced solar modules have power
density values of up to 175 W/m2 (16.22 W/ft2).

Solar cells are often

encapsulated as a module. Photovoltaic modules often have a sheet of glass

on the sun-facing side, allowing light to pass while protecting the
semiconductor wafers. Solar cells are usually connected in series in modules,
creating an additive voltage. Connecting cells in parallel yields a higher
current; however, problems such as shadow effects can shut down the
weaker (less illuminated) parallel string (a number of series connected cells)
causing substantial power loss and possible damage because of the reverse
bias applied to the shadowed cells by their illuminated partners. Strings of
series cells are usually handled independently and not connected in parallel,

though (as of 2014) individual power boxes are often supplied for each
module,

and

are

connected

in

parallel.

Although

modules

can

be

interconnected to create an array with the desired peak DC voltage and

loading current capacity, using independent MPPTs (maximum power point
trackers) is preferable. Otherwise, shunt diodes can reduce shadowing power
loss in arrays with series/parallel connected cells. The single solar cell for DC
is 19.4V with 0.25 A. But when multiply single solar cell reading by 2 is 38.8V
with 0.52A. This means that the solar cells of a parallel circuit have the same
voltage but a higher current when multiply it. There are differences show
when series solar cells with the parallel solar cells was compare. For series
solar cell is 39.54V with 0.32A while parallel solar cell is 19.73V with 0.63A.
The output of series solar cell more than parallel solar cells. When solar cell
was connected in parallel, cells that output a lower voltage will dissipate
power from the cells that output a higher voltage. As the voltage output of
any cell is a function of many variables, no two cells are likely to output
precisely the same voltage, so this condition is unavoidable. This is why it's
best to connect them in series. Large banks of series connected panels can
be connected in parallel with other banks by including diodes or other means
to prevent some banks draining current from others. This is same with the
parallel connected batteries suffer from a similar problem.
The experiment four was conducted to determine the operating point of a PV
solar panel, its peak power output and efficiency. To find the operating point,
the graph of voltage vs current need to plotted. The operating point for the
solar panel is the mid-point of the bend in the curve. This is the point at
which the solar panel generates its peak power output. Therefore, the power
output was calculated for this graph is