RECENT ADVANCEMENT IN SOLAR TECHNOLOGY

LIPPI CHANDUKA 601101014 M.TECH EST 2011-2013

INTRODUCTION
Solar power is produced by collecting sunlight and converting it into electricity. This is done by using solar panels. Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.

The Earth receives 174 peta-watts (PW) of incoming solar radiation at the upper atmosphere.

Approximately 30% is reflected back to space while the rest is absorbed by clouds, oceans and land masses.

Solar energy can be harnessed at different levels around the world, mostly depending on distance from the equator. Active solar techniques use photovoltaic panels, pumps, and fans to convert sunlight into useful outputs. Passive solar techniques include selecting materials with favorable thermal properties, designing spaces that naturally circulate air, and referencing the position of a building to the Sun.

SOLAR CELL PANEL

Solar cells are devices which convert solar energy directly into electricity, either directly via the photovoltaic effect, or indirectly by first converting the solar energy to heat or chemical energy. The most common form of solar cells are based on the photovoltaic (PV) effect . Today's commercially available silicon solar cells have efficiencies of converting about 18% of the sunlight falling on to them into electricity.

STRUCTURE OF A SOLAR CELL

TYPES OF SOLAR CELLS

Monocrystalline Silicon Polycrystalline Silicon Amorphous Thin Film Silicon
A solar panel is a collection of solar cells on a single panel. The output of a solar panel is usually stated in watts.

The solar panels will be combined into a grouping known as an array.

Panels can be wired in series or in parallel .

APPLICATIONS OF SOLAR TECHNOLOGY

SOLAR POWER
Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). CSP systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. PV converts light into electric current using the photoelectric effect. The most developed CSP technology are the parabolic trough ,

A parabolic trough consists of a linear parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto a receiver positioned along the reflector's focal line. A solar power tower uses an array of tracking reflectors (heliostats) to concentrate light on a central receiver atop a tower The Indian state of Gujarat has built the worlds largest solar photovoltaic power plant.

WATER TREATMENT
Solar distillation can be used to make saline or brackish water potable by using SOLAR STILL. Solar water disinfection (SODIS) involves exposing water-filled plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles to sunlight for several hours. Solar energy may be used in a water stabilisation pond to treat waste water without chemicals or electricity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_still

SOLAR AIR- CONDITIONING

Solar air conditioning refers to any air conditioning system that uses solar power. This can be done through solar photovoltaic conversion, solar thermal energy conversion etc. Photovoltaic solar cooling: Photovoltaic cooling uses PV panels to generate solar electricity to power an electrical cooling device. A PV system uses an inverter to convert the DC power generated by the PV panels into AC power.

Solar open loop air conditioner using Desiccants:

Air can be passed over common, solid desiccants like silica gel or zeolite to draw moisture from the air to allow an efficient evaporation cooling cycle. The desiccant is then regenerated by using solar thermal energy to dry it out.

http://www.aircondirect.com.au/solar-air-conditioning/

SOLAR COOKER
Solar cookers use sunlight for cooking, drying and pasteurization. They can be grouped into three broad categories: box cookers, panel cookers and reflector cookers. A basic box cooker consists of an insulated container with a transparent lid. It can be used effectively with partially overcast skies and will typically reach temperatures of 90150 C. Panel cookers use a reflective panel to direct sunlight onto an insulated container .

www.mrsolar.com/

 Reflector cookers use various concentrating geometries (dish, trough, Fresnel mirrors) to focus light on a cooking container.

The solar bowl is a concentrating technology employed by the Solar Kitchen in Auroville, Pondicherry, India, where a stationary spherical reflector focuses light along a line perpendicular to the sphere's interior surface, and a computer control system moves the receiver to intersect this line.

SOLAR VEHICLES
A solar vehicle is an electric vehicle powered completely or significantly by direct solar energy. Usually,PV cells contained in solar panels convert the sun's energy directly into electric energy.

Solar No 3 sponsored by Harvest Energy was built in Udaipur by the Palace Garage Team led by A V Singh. The hybrid drive is from pedals and a Lynch motor attached to the front wheel with the power being provided by 3 x 75 Watt solar panels producing 36 Volts from 3 x 12 Volt Lead Acid batteries.
http://solareis.anl.gov/

ECO-ETIQUETTE
It seems like a good thing that solar is getting popular, but what about all the materials that go into making the panels, recycling them, etc.? Is solar really as green as it's made out to be?
solar panels also have a dark side; namely, greenhouse gases and toxic chemicals involved in manufacturing, and a lack of regulation regarding recycling.
Toxic chemicals. While it's nowhere near the amount produced by, say, coal-fired power plants, a number of nasty chemicals are used in solar manufacturing, including arsenic, cadmium telluride, chromium, and lead. Greenhouse gases. The goal of solar-generated electricity is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, but , there are even more potent greenhouse gases involved before a panel is ever plugged in.

Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), (17,000 times more powerful than CO2), is used in the manufacturing of thin-film PV panels. The manufacturing side of solar can be very un-green, since its energyintensive processes are often powered by fossil-fuel based electricity. So, do any of the above disclaimers mean we should say see ya to solar? Of course not. Even with the energy and waste involved, PV power in exchange for all our fossil fuels would still reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent.