Ways to harvest: 1) Solar Photovoltaic and 2) Solar Thermal
1839: Edmond Becquerel – electrons – excite – conduction band – current
1883: Charles Fritts – thin layer of selenium and extreme thin gold – first solar panel
1941: Russel S Ohl – silicon ingots – SC – PN junction
1950: Bell Laboratory – Daryl Chaplin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson – silicon = solar cells
1960-1970: Solar Panels
Solar Energy
- photons
- sun radiation: 1.7 x 10^17 W
Solar Photovoltaic – solar panel
Solar Thermal – heat
Solar concentration -> water = steam -> turbine = energy
heating and cooling system – solar water heating
Grid Connected PV system – commercialized
- solar to electricity
Max power capacity in market : 1 kW
PV array – solar to electricity
Batt Stor – elec store
Power Conditioning – DC to AC
Types of PV systems
1. Grid-Connected Solar PV System
Primary Component: PCU – DC to AC
Electricity Meter – kWh – elec flow
Standard - odometer
Digital - LCD
AC Fuses – On off – break connection
Safety Switches and Cabling – PV array – maintenance and safety
2. Stand Alone/Off-grid Solar PV System
With Batteries and Charge Controller – stop
charging after full
3. PV Hybrid Systems – 2 sources of Energy
solar rectifier – AC convert to low voltage DC –
with/or out transformer
4. Grid-Tied Solar Systems with battery – hybrid –
own house only
Solar Radiation
- solar resource – em radiation – speed of light (3x10^8 m/s) – sun to earth (8 mins and 20 seconds)
- Varies on: Geographic Location; Time of Day; Season (Equinox and Solstice); Local Landscape;
Local Weather
Diffuse (absorbed, scatter, reflect) and Direct (direct beam solar radiation) – sum of these 2 =
global solar radiation
Measurements
Light – 0.40 to 0.71 micrometers
solar radiation outside earth atmosphere – extraterrestrial radiation
Solar irradiance – light output energy sun to earth - W/m^2
Solar irradiation – solar panel – (W*hr)/m^2 – time duration
Solar Radiation – diffusion – scattering
2 factors: (lambda of incoming radiation) and size of scattering particle
Direct/beam solar – undiffused
Diffused solar – scattered
Absorption – radiation = retained = heat (ex. Water)
Reflection – redirect sunlight – 180 degrees = 100% loss of insolation
Wavelength – energy – photon
long = better absorbed
insolation – incident solar power per area (affected by: position, time, month, angle of incidence,
clouds)
equinox – March 20 to September 23 (spring, autumn)– nearest sun to equator – equal amounts of day
and night
Solstice – June 21 to 21 December – farthest from sun – longer nights – winter
Latitude – east west
Longitude – north south
Solar Declination
Atomic Arranges;
1. crystalline – perfect order – highest eff
2. Amorphous – random order – lowest eff
3. polycrystalline – grain boundaries
SC = electron filled valence band and empty conduction band
Si = 1.1 eV, GaAs = 1.45 eV
- four covalent bonds
doping – impurities = higher conductivity
energy gap – requirement to break bond of elec pair
N type Si = P + Si or P + As
lower wavelength = higher absorption
Charge accumulate to edge of field region – if not maintained they die – but it has voltage since current
drives
antireflection coating – from SiO or TiO2
wire attachment – solder or weld - corrosion resistant
surface of solar panels = textured
solar cell string = series connection
solar cell module- array of cells
