Solar Energy

Prepared by:
Dr. Khuram Maqsood
Assistant Professor
NFC Institute of Engineering & Fertilizer
Research, Faisalabad
 SOLAR ENERGY
A FEW FACTS
• Every day the earth receives thousands of times
more energy from the sun than is consumed in all
other resources.
• The sunlight falling on a typical house can provide
from 1/3 to 1/2 of the heating needs of that house.
 The Sun: Earth’s Energy Source

 The total energy emitted by the Sun per unit time

(Solar luminosity) is L0 = 3.9x1026 Watts. The
energy flux at the surface of the Sun is
approximately 64 x 106 W/m2 .
 The average solar energy flux at the Sun’s surface,
a distance of r0 from its center, is given by the
Solar luminosity (L0) divided by the area of a
sphere with a radius r0:
I0 = L0/4πr02

 Sun’s surface temperature is about 5780 K.

Solar Energy Flux
History of Solar
Energy
1839 – The photovoltaic effect was discovered by
Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel, who was a French
physicist.
• 1873 – The photo conductivity of an element,
selenium, was discovered by Willoughby Smith,
who was an English electrical engineer.
• 1883 – A description of the first solar cells from
selenium wafer were made by Charles Fritts.
• 1894 – Charles Fritts constructed what was
probably the first true solar cell. He coated a
semiconductor material (selenium) with an
extremely thin layer of gold. The efficiency were
only about 1%.
• 1905 – Albert Einstein published his paper about the
photoelectric effect. There he claimed that light
consists of “packets” or quanta of energy, which we
now call photons.
• 1950s – Bell Labs produce solar cells for space
activities.
• 1954 – Three researchers,Gerald Pearson, Daryl
Chapin and Calvin Fuller, at Bell Laboratories
discovered a silicon solar cell, which was the first
material to directly convert enough sunlight into
electricity to run electrical devices. The efficiency of
the silicon solar cell, which Bell Labs produced, were
4%, which later increased to 11%. The cells were
made by hand and cost $1000 per watt.
• 1954 – A cadmium sulphide p-n junction was produced
with an efficiency of 6%

• 1958 – Hoffman Electronics achieved 9% efficient PV

cells.
• 1960 – Hoffman Electronics achieved 14% efficient PV
cells.
• 1981 – Paul MacCready builds the first solar-
powered aircraft, the Solar Challenger, and flies it
from France to England across the English
Channel. The aircraft had over 16,000 solar cells
mounted on its wings, which produced a power of
3kW.
• 1982 – Hans Tholstrup, an Australian, drives the
first solar-powered car, the Quiet Achiever, 4,000km
between Sydney and Perth in 20 days. That was 10
days faster than the first gasoline-powered car to do
so. The maximum speed was 72 km/h, and the
average speed was 24 km/h.
• 1994 – The National Renewable Energy Laboratory
develops a solar cell, made from gallium indium
phosphide and gallium arsenide, that becomes the first
one to exceed 30% conversion efficiency.
• 2007- The universty of Delawareb achieve a 42.8%
efficency solar cell technology
Solar Energy
Significance
 Why Is Solar Energy Important to You?
• Fossil fuels, like gas and oil, are not renewable
energy. Someday these fuels will run out and then
mankind will either need to come up with a new way to
provide power or go back to life as it was prior to
man's use of these things.
• Fossil fuels create massive pollution in the
environment. This pollution affects waterways, the air
we breathe, and even the meat and vegetables that
we eat.
 Global Warming
• Global warming is an issue of great interest. In the recent
times, with more awareness about the harmful effects of
global warming, the issue is taken with great interest.
• There is in point of fact a massive belief that the use of
fossil fuel is a contributing factor to the cause of global
warming, which will ultimately result in the demise of the
planet altogether. Probably the best part about why solar
energy is that it is a renewable source of energy, which
basically means that it will stay there forever.
• Oil, coal etc, is all bound to finish one day and eradicate
from the face of the planet. So why not put them in the
storage and use something more useful.
• On the whole, the planet is being drained of its oil
resources and the energy prices are only bound to go
up.

• To only mend your own personal cost of energy

needs is probably one of the smartest things to do
and not to forget a very valuable future investment,
when measured up to the unavoidable rise in the cost
of energy in recent times as well as the not so far
future.

• These fuels are expensive to retrieve from the earth

and they are expensive to use. Other, more Eco-
friendly energy sources like wind and solar energies
are relatively inexpensive and easy to produce.
• Solar energy systems are very much affordable, and
with the help from the local, state and the federal
programs that are now available to help in the
installation costs, they seem to make much more
sense than using other sources of generating energy
apart from the solar energy.

• In the future, solar energy may well be the primary

form of energy.

• This could lead to a clean environment, less money

spent on utilities, and a healthier world.

• It has the potential to allow technology and nature to

co-exist peacefully.
MECHANISM
Solar Plate
Sun is a sphere of hot gaseous matter, due to its
temperature sun emits energy in the form of
electromagnetic waves, which is called radiation
energy.
The energy from the sun is transferred to the
earth in the form of photons.
The photons energy can be converted into
electrical energy, heat energy, chemical energy
etc. in different ways.
 Solar Cell
Solar cell is the main component of Solar panel,
which converts Solar energy (Photons) into
electrical energy (DC).
Solar cell operation is based on photovoltaic
effect:
The generation of a voltage difference
at the junction of two different materials in
response to visible or other radiation.
When photons fall on solar cells their energy is
converted into electrical energy.
Solar (PV) modules directly convert sunlight
into electrical energy without any intermediate
steps.
Steps to Convert sunlight into Electricity

1. Absorption of light
2. Generation of charge carriers.
3. Separation of charge carriers.
4. Collection of the carriers at electrodes.
Converting Sunlight into Electricity
Light striking a silicon semiconductor causes
electrons to flow, creating electricity.
Solar power generating system take advantages
of this property to convert sunlight directly into
electrical energy.
Solar panels produce direct current which goes
through a power converter to become (AC)-
electricity that we can use in homes , offices like
that supplied by a utility power company.
 Characteristics of Isolation

• Isolation is the amount of solar

radiation reaching the earth.
Also called Incident Solar
Radiation.
• The sun’s energy is created from
the fusion of hydrogen nuclei
into helium nuclei.
• Components of Solar Radiation:
Direct radiation
Diffuse radiation
Reflect radiation
 Solar Thermal Energy Conversion
Applications

 Water Heating
 Space heating, ventilation and cooling
 Solar cooking
 Water desalination
 Crop drying
 Domestic Hot Water
 Industrial and Process Heat
 Swimming Pool Heating
 Power generation
 Water heating
 Solar water heater systems are a well-tried and
tested technology.

 They are suitable for both new-build and retrofit.

 A system can typically provide 60-70% of domestic

hot water needs over a year.

 There are many possible designs for a solar water

heater.
 Components of Solar Water Heaters
In general, it consists of three main components:

1. Solar collector, which converts solar radiation into

useable heat.

2. Heat exchanger, pump, controller module, which

transfers the heat from the solar collector into the
potable water.

3. Storage tank to store the solar heated water.

 Solar Collectors

There are two types of solar collectors:

1. Flat plate solar collector

 Unglazed flat plate solar collector
 Glazed flat plate solar collector
2. Evacuated tube solar collector
 Unglazed Flat Plate Solar Collectors

 Low cost
 Low temperature
 Rugged
 Lightweight
 Seasonal pool
heating
 Cont…
• A unglazed flat-plate collectors currently account for the most
area installed per year of any solar collector. Because they are not
insulated, these collectors are best suited for low temperature
applications where the demand temperature is below 30°C.
• By far, the primary market is for heating outdoor swimming
pools , but other markets exist including heating seasonal indoor
swimming pools, pre-heating water for car washes, and heating
water used in fish farming operations.
• There is also a market potential for these collectors for water
heating at remote, seasonal locations such as summer camps.
• Unglazed collectors are usually made of black plastic that has
been stabilized to withstand ultraviolet light.
• Since these collectors have no glazing, a larger portion of the
Sun's energy is absorbed. However, because they are not
insulated a large portion of the heat absorbed is lost, particularly
when it is windy and not warm outside. They transfer heat so
well to air (and from air) that they can actually capture heat
during the night when it is hot and windy outside.
 Glazed Flat Plate Solar Collectors

 Moderate cost
 Higher temperature operation
 Heavier and more fragile (easily broken)
• Flat-plate collectors are the most common solar
collectors for use in solar water-heating systems in
homes and in solar space heating.
• A flat-plate collector consists basically of an insulated
metal box with a glass or plastic cover (the glazing) and
a dark-colored absorber plate.
• Solar radiation is absorbed by the absorber plate and
transferred to a fluid that circulates through the
collector in tubes.
• In an air-based collector the circulating fluid is air,
whereas in a liquid-based collector it is usually water.
 Evacuated Tube Collectors

 Higher cost
 No convection losses
 High temperature
 Cold climates
 Fragile
 Snow is less of a problem
 Installation can be more complicated
 Cont…
• A type of solar collector that can achieve high temperatures, in
the range 170°F (77°C) to 350°F (177°C) and can, under the
right set of circumstances, work very efficiently.
• Evacuated-tube collectors are, however, quite expensive, with
unit area costs typically about twice that of flat-plate collectors.
• They are well-suited to commercial and industrial heating
applications and also for cooling applications (by regenerating
refrigeration cycles).
• They can also be an effective alternative to flat-plate collectors
for domestic space heating, especially in regions where it is often
cloudy. For domestic hot water heating, flat-plate collectors tend
to offer a cheaper and more reliable option.
Evacuated Tube Collectors
Photovoltaic Cells use in Energy
Production
•How cells are built
•The Photoelectric Effect
•Pros and Cons of PV (Photovoltaic)
 4 types of PV cells
• Single-crystal silicon.
• Polycrystal silicon (also known as multicrystal
silicon).
• Thick Film
• Amorphous silicon (abbreviated as "aSi," also
known as thin film silicon).
Single- Polycrystal
crystal silicon
silicon.

Thick- Amorphous
film Silicon
Silicon
 Single-Crystal Silicon Cell Construction
• The majority of PV cells in use are the single-crystal silicon
type.
• Silica (SiO2) is the compound used to make the cells. It is
first refined and purified, then melted down and re-
solidified so that it can be arranged in perfect wafers for
electric conduction. These wafers are very thin.
• The wafers then have either Phosphorous or Boron added
to make each wafer either a negative type layer or a positive
type layer respectively. Used together these two types
treated of crystalline silicon form the p-n junction which is
the heart of the solar– electrical reaction.
• Many of these types of cells are joined together to make
arrays, the size of each array is dependant upon the
amount of sunlight in a given area.
 How Does A Cell Become A Module?
• A solar cell is the basic building
block of a PV system.
• A typical cell produces .5 to 1V of
electricity.
• Solar cells are combined together
to become modules or if large
enough, known as an array.
• A structure to point the modules
towards the sun is necessary, as
well as electricity converters,
which convert DC power to AC.
• All of these components allow the
system to power a water pump,
appliances, commercial sites, or
even a whole community.
 The Photoelectric Effect
• The photoelectric effect relies
on the principle that whenever
light strikes the surface of
certain metals electrons are
released.
• In the p-n junction the n-type
wafer treated with phosphorus
has extra electrons which flow
into the holes in the p-type
layer that has been treated
with boron.
• Connected by an external
circuit electrons flow from the
n-side to create electricity and
end up in the p-side.
• Sunlight is the catalyst of the reaction.
• The output current of this reaction is DC (direct) and the
amount of energy produced is directly proportional to the
amount of sunlight put in.
• Cells only have an average efficiency of 30%
 Pros and Cons of Solar Electricity
• Expensive to produce because of the high cost of semi-
conducting materials, which could be avoided by reducing
manufacturing costs.
• Solar energy contributes positively to the nation’s energy security
because it is produced domestically, reducing reliance on energy
imports.
• The industry is still relatively new and extremely hi tech allowing
for the creation of more jobs in the market.
• The government has many incentives program which vary from
state to state, but they exist to encourage investment in forms of
alternative energy.
• Does not require the transportation of hazardous materials across
country.
• Sunlight is a free abundant source!
 Pros and Cons cont.
• PV can be designed for a variety of applications
• No noise or air pollution
• Require minimal maintenance and have long
service life times.
• Power can be either centralized in individual
homes or distributed by electrical companies.
How PV Systems Work

Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems

Grid-connected
 BREAKDOWN
• PV systems are like any other electrical power
generating systems, except the equipment used to
generate the power is different.
• Specific components required, and may include major
components such as a DC-AC power inverter,
batteries, auxiliary energy sources, sometimes the
specified electrical load (appliances), wiring, surge
protection and other hardware.
• Batteries are often used in PV systems for the purpose
of storing energy produced by the PV array during the
day, and to supply it to electrical loads as needed
(during the night and periods of cloudy weather).
Also to keep the system at full operational power
 Life

• Average 20-30 years

• Efficiency decrease 1% a year.
• Research on manufacturing and output
efficiency and recycling ongoing.
• Payback or energy break even - 15 years.
 After life
• Waste generation lag due to life of technology
• Heavy metals and toxic gases produced in
breakdown.
• High temperatures
 Things to consider when looking at technologies

• Payback or breakeven is important (Energy

produced by technology - energy used in
production <per unit/ unit of time>)
• Less hazardous materials.
• More easily taken apart if constructed with
several detachable components which could be
recycled or smelted.
Feasibility within
Pakistan
• Pakistan, with its vast sun-shine lands, is an ideal
market for harvesting solar energy. It enjoys
some of the best sunshine in the world for 300-
odd days and is energy hungry.
• In Pakistan more than 50 per cent of the
electricity demand comes from residential and
commercial consumers.
• The mean global irradiation falling on horizontal
surface in Pakistan is about 200–250 watt per m2
in a day with about 1500–3000 sunshine hours
in a year.
• The Energy Information Administration
describes the daily solar energy potential for
Pakistan as 5.3 KWh per m2 (1.93 MWh per m2
annually), which is in accordance with the above
mentioned values.
• Pakistan, being in the sun belt, is ideally located
to take advantage of solar energy technologies.
• The solar energy resources for our country are
about 100,000 megawatts as Pakistan is the 6th
luckiest country in the world where sun-
availability is up to 16 hours on average
• There has been a recent trend among urban
residential consumers installing solar panels to
augment grid electricity supply.
• If 0.25% of Baluchistan was covered with solar
panels with an efficiency of 20%, enough
electricity would be generated to cover all of
Pakistan’s demand.
 One of the ideal area of solar
projects in Pakistan is Baluchistan
with its vast lands and huge sunlight
intensity
• Baluchistan covers 42% area of Pakistan with
population of just 6.84%
• Its climate is warm and dry
• The south-western province of Baluchistan is
particularly rich in solar energy. It has an average
daily global insolation of 19–20 MJ/m2 a day (1.93–
2.03 MWh per m2 in a year) with annual mean
sunshine duration of 8–8.5 hours. Such conditions
are ideal for photo- voltaics (PV) and other solar
energy applications.
 Other States
• In Punjab, solar sites are available in Southern part
as well as in central Punjab because of horizontal
land and plenty of sunshine
• Interior regions of Sindh are also very suitable for
solar energy mega projects as there is plenty of
barren land with hot climate and sunshine.
• Most sites of Khyber Pakhtun Khawa are not much
suitable for solar energy production as the land is
mountainous with wet and cold weather along with
poor sunshine
• Firstly, 70% of the population lives in 50,000
villages that are very far away from the national
grid.
• Connecting these villages to the national grid
would be very costly, thus giving each house a
solar panel would be cost efficient and would
empower people both economically.
• Pakistan can make use of this freely available
and widely distributed solar energy to improve
the socio-economic conditions of the people
living in remote areas and to reduce the poverty
level.
Conclusion
• In Pakistan, energy shortage reaches 5000-6000
megawatts in summer and 1500-2000 megawatt
in winters.
• Our power plants hugely depends on furnace oil
and fossil fuels along with Rental Power Plants.
Prices of these fuels fluctuate in International
market due to which electricity prices shoot-up.
• They are a big burden on our economy.
• These increased prices bring with themselves
inflation and energy crisis.
• With Renewable energy sources like solar energy
then we can save billions of dollars spending on
energy sector.
• Pakistan can easily consume solar energy and
bring a revolution in energy sector.
• Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park is one of the world’s
largest solar park project initiated in Nov-2014
by Punjab Government
• It is located in South Punjab’s Cholistan Desert
at an area of nearly 6500 acres with 4,00,000
solar panels.
• It had total planned capacity of 1000 Megawatt,
planned till end of 2016 & is still operational at
100 Megawatt output
Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park,
Bahawalpur
Feasibility of Solar
Power Worldwide
Solar Cell Power Generation
 Largest Solar Power Generation
Plants
Capacity Name Country Technology type
(MW)
392 Ivanpah Solar Power Facility USA solar power tower
354 Solar Energy Generating
Systems (SEGS) USA parabolic trough
280 Mojave Solar Project USA parabolic trough
280 Solana Generating Station USA parabolic trough
 Ivanpah Solar Power Facility
• Plant have three solar power plants
• Mirrors focus sunlight on receivers located on
centralized solar power towers
• Steam is generated to drive specially adapted steam
turbines

plant cost $2.2 billion

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility
Solar Assisted Air Conditioning
Solar Cooking
Solar Cooking
Solar Cooking
Solar Cooking
Solar Water Desalination
Solar Crop dryer