SOLAR ENERGY MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

PRESENTED BY
DASARI LUKE NIHAL 443/IC/12
BHUPINDER
437/IC/12
GIRIWAR YADAV
456/IC/12
BRIJESH BAGHEL
438/IC/12

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
TRANSFORMER (230 12 V AC)
VOLTAGE REGULATOR (LM 7805)
RECTIFIER
FILTER
PIC Microcontroller (16F877A)
LED
PUSH BUTTONS
SOLAR PANEL
LDR
LCD
1N4007
RESISTOR
CAPACITOR

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The aim of this project is on multiple sensor data acquisition. In this project a solar panel is
used which keeps tracking the sunlight. Here different parameters of the solar panel like
the light intensity, voltage, current and the temperature are monitored.

The microcontroller used here is PIC16F877A.

The light intensity is monitored using an LDR sensor, voltage by voltage divider principle,
current by current sensor and temperature by temperature sensor.

All these data are displayed on a 16 x 2 LCD interfaced to the PIC microcontroller.

These sensors continuously monitor the parameters and the same are displayed on the
LCD.

SOLAR CELL
Solar cells are made of special materials called semiconductors such as silicon, which is currently the most

commonly used.
The majority of modules usewafer-basedcrystalline siliconcells orthin-film cellsbased on

cadmium tellurideorsilicon. The structural (load carrying) member of a module can either
be the top layer or the back layer. Cells must also be protected from mechanical damage
and moisture. Most solar modules are rigid, but semi-flexible ones are available, based on
thin-film cells.

SOLAR CELL WORKING

Expose the cell to light, and the energy from each photon (light particle) hitting the

silicon, will liberate an electron and a corresponding hole.

If this happens within range of the electric fields influence, the electrons will be sent to

the N side and the holes to the P one, resulting in yet further disruption of electrical
neutrality
This flow of electrons through external circuit combine with holes constitutes current;

the electrical field in the cell causes a voltage and the product of these two is power

TEMPERATURE SENSOR(LM35)
The LM35 series are precision integrated-circuit temperature sensors, whose

output voltage is linearly proportional to the Celsius (Centigrade) temperature.

The

LM35

thus has an advantage

over linear temperature sensors

calibrated in Kelvin, as the user is not required to subtract a large constant

voltage from its output to obtain convenient Centigrade scaling.
The LM35 does not require any external calibration or trimming to provide

typical accuracies of 14C

at room temperature and 34C over a full 55 to +150C temperature

range.

PHOTORESISTOR

A photoresistor or light dependent resistor (LDR) is a resistor

whose resistance decreases with increasing incident light

intensity.

It can also be referred to as a photoconductor.

A photo-resistor is made of a high resistance semiconductor.

If light falling on the device is of high enough frequency,

photons absorbed by the semiconductor give bound electrons

enough energy to jump into the conduction band. The
resulting free electrons (and theirholepartners) conduct
electricity, thereby loweringresistance

LCD DISPLAY

Most common LCDs connected to the microcontrollers are 16x2 and 20x2 displays.
This means 16 characters per line by 2 lines and 20 characters per line

by 2 lines,

respectively.
A16x2 LCDmeans it can display 16 characters per line and there are 2 such lines. In this

LCD each character is displayed in 5x7 pixel matrix. This LCD has two registers, namely,
Command and Data.