UEEA3363 Experiment 1 2020 - v3

UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN
Faculty Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science

Department: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Unit Code and Name UEEA/UEEP 3363 Renewable Energy
Experiment No.: 1
Title of Experiment: Design of a simple solar photovoltaic application
Laboratory Room No. and Name: KB601 Telecommunication Lab
Experiment Duration (hour): 3 hours
Number of Student per Group 3 students
Objectives
1. To analyse a standalone photovoltaic charging system.
2. To investigate the key factors which affect the performance of a photovoltaic system
Equipment and Materials

Quantity estimation
Item Description *Item category (e.g. per set/group of
student)
Angle adjustable platform W 1
Retort stand W 2
Retort clamp W 2
50W LED Lamp C 2
Dimmer (AC) W 1
Multimeter (mA and V) E 2
Digital thermocouple C 1
Solar photovoltaic (PV) modules C 16-20
12 V piranha LED module (as a load) C 1
Wires and connector clips C A few
1 kΩ variable resistor C 1
Voltage regulator module C 1
Solar charge controller C 1
12V rechargeable battery C 1
Angle protractor C 1
Cellophane tape C 1 set
Scissors W 1
Screwdriver – for wire connection W 1
Alley key - #4 W 1
Retort stand for lecturer’s demonstration W 1
Retort clamp for lecturer’s demonstration W 1
Xenon lamp for lecturer’s demonstration W 1
Dimmer for lecturer’s demonstration W 1
Prepared by Dr. Lim Boon Han, Lai Keen Yip, Ho Kah Ching, Eric Chieng You Liang, Wong Yan Bin, Tan Hui Li and
Mah Chia Yi 1 7 Feb 2020
Fuel cell set, solar panel and motor for
W 1
lecturer’s demonstration
*Item category
SP Sample or specimen
C Consumable
CH Chemical
W Labware, glassware, tool, and components
E Equipment
S Software
Important Note
 You should attend the lab only on the day assigned to you. Free jumping to alternate
days is not allowed. Contact lecturer who handle your laboratory prior to your session
if you have any problem to attend this practical session.
 On-the-spot evaluation may be carried out during or at the end of the experiment.
 Students are advised to read through this lab sheet and make some preparation before
attending the practical session.
 Students should print out the marking scheme page and attach on the first page of the
report.
 Students are encouraged to bring laptop to do some calculations.
 The practical report is an individual report.
Introduction
1. Your task is to design a solar photovoltaic (PV) system using the solar PV modules
provided. You can connect the solar PV modules in series and parallel connections.
The solar PV modules will charge a rechargeable battery through a solar charge
controller and the LED module will be connected to the solar charge controller.
2. You are given a variable resistor and LED lighting module as the load in this
experiment.
3. The LED module input voltage needs to be regulated by the voltage regulator if it
is directly connected to a PV array without going through solar charge controller.
This is to prevent overvoltage supplied to the LED module that can lead to
overheating of the LED module.
Procedures
Part 1: Light intensity effect to the performance of a PV module

1. Setup two LED lamps side-by-side at 15 cm from a tilt-able platform (in the
horizontal position) as shown in Fig.1.
2. Tune the dimmer to provide maximum light intensity.
3. Switch on the LED lamps and let the light perpendicular to the front surface of the
platform.
4. Place a piece of PV module at the center of the illuminated region.
5. Connect the PV module to a multimeter.
6. Measure the short circuit current of the PV module. Record the value to Table 1
7. Measure the open circuit voltage of the PV module. Record the value to Table 1
8. Dim the light source to about half intensity. Repeat Step 6 and 7.
9. Tune the dimmer back to the maximum intensity.
10. Tilt the platform away for 20°, repeat Step 6 and 7.
11. Repeat Step 10 for tilting angles of 35° and 50°.
LED lamps
Light
15 cm PV modules
Multimeter
Tilt-able platform
Fig. 1 Tilting angle experiment
Part 2: Open-circuit voltage against temperature
1. Setup two LED lamps side-by-side at 10 cm from the laboratory bench in Fig.2.
2. Tune the dimmer to provide maximum light intensity.
3. Switch on the LED lamps and let the light perpendicular to the bench.
4. Estimate the effective lumination edge of the lamps on the bench.
5. Design a PV array configuration that can perform an effective charging to the
lead-acid battery. The specification of the solar charge-controller and PV modules
can be found in Table X. The area of the PV array should not be larger than the
effective lumination area of the LED lamps.
6. Draw out the PV array layout in the box provided in Result and Analysis
section.
7. Construct the PV array so that it is at the center of the illumination of the LED
lamps.
8. Connect voltmeter to your PV array terminals and thermocouple to the rear side
of one of the PV modules (preferably the module at the center of the array)
9. Measure the initial temperature of the PV module. Record this temperature as
Tinit.
10. Switch on the LED lamps and immediately measure the open-circuit voltage of
your array. Record this voltage as Voc1.
11. For every 1 minute, record the open-circuit voltage as Voc2 and module
temperature, T2, in the Table 2 until thermal equilibrium is reached where the
voltage and temperature become nearly constant (changes less than 0.02 V and
0.1 ºC) for 3 minutes.
Note: Step 12 to Step 15 can be done later.
𝑽𝒐𝒄𝟐
12. Plot the graph of 𝟏 − (V) against T2 – Tinit (C), and T2 is the module
𝑽𝒐𝒄𝟏
temperature in C. You are recommended to bring your laptop during the
experiment.
13. Plot a linear regression line in the plotted graph in Step 12. (You can use “add
trendline…” to plot the line and “Display Equation on chart” to obtain the
equation of the line)
14. Obtain and record the gradient of the linear regression line, which is the
temperature coefficient of voltage of PV module, from the formula, Voc2 =
Voc1 [1 +   (T2–Tinit)].
15. Plot the graph of Voc2 (V) versus PV module temperature, T2 (C).
LED lamps
Light
10 cm PV modules
Voltmeter
Digital
Thermocouple
Fig. 2 A solar PV system setup
Part 3: PV Charging and Shaded Conditions

1. Measure the open-circuit voltage of the 12 V-battery. Record the voltage of the
battery before charging.
2. Connect the PV array, PWM solar charge controller, battery, voltmeter and
ammeter to form a solar charging system as shown in Fig. 3.
3. Measure the charging voltage, charging current and then record the values to
Table 3.
4. Calculate the charging power and record them.
5. Make a partial shading to the PV array by putting any light-weight items on the
PV modules, you can shade any number of modules.
6. Then, note down the shaded modules on your PV array configuration
drawing. Calculate and record the shaded area and percentage of shaded
area to the total area of the PV array.
7. Repeat Step 3 and Step 4.
8. Remove the partial shading and charge the battery for 5 mins.
9. Connect the piranha LED modules to the solar charge controller, observe whether
the LED module is lighted up. If it is lighted up, take a picture to record down
its brightness.
10. Switch off the LED lamps.
11. Disconnect the battery from the solar charge controller and measure the open-
circuit voltage of the 12 V-battery after charging. Record the value.
12. Disconnect the PV array from the solar charge controller.
13. Then connect the piranha LED module to the output of a voltage regulator. Be
very careful on the polarity.
14. After that connect the input of the voltage regulator to the PV array.
15. Switch on the lamp.
16. Observe the intensity of the LED module. If it is lighted up, take a picture to
record down its brightness.
17. Record the voltage and current reading to Table 3.
18. Make a same partial shading as Step 5. Then repeat Step 16 and Step 17.
19. Turn off the LED lamps.
Solar
Charge
Controller
LED lamps
Light Ammeter
15 cm PV modules
Battery
Voltmeter
Digital
Thermocouple
Fig. 3 A solar PV system setup: Charging
Part 4: PV System Load Matching
1. Disconnect the terminals of the PV array from the solar charge controller.
2. Connect a multimeter to the terminals of the PV array and turn on the LED lamps.
3. Record the short-circuit current as Isc3 and open-circuit voltage as Voc3.
4. Connect the PV module array to a variable resistor, 5 kΩ (as a load) as shown in
Fig. 4.
5. Set the scale on the variable resistor to zero or the lowest value possible.
6. Now increase the value of the variable resistor so that the voltage reduced by
ROUGHLY 1/10 of Voc3. Record the corresponding voltage and current
reading in Table 4a.
7. Repeat the preceding step by slowly increasing the resistance until the voltage
closed to about 70% of Voc3.
8. Now slowly reduce the current by ROUGHLY 1/10 of Isc3. You may need to
change the resistor to 1kΩ. Record the corresponding voltage and current
reading in Table 4a.
9. Repeat the preceding steps until the current has been reduced to the minimum
value.
10. For each set of current and voltage, calculate the corresponding power and fill
in all the data into the Table 4a provided.
11. Plot the current versus voltage readings and their corresponding power
versus voltage reading on a graph using two y-axes. This gives the
characteristic IV and Power Curves of the modules. Remember to include the
values of Voc3 and Isc3.
12. Determine the maximum power point from the plotted graph.
13. Tune the resistor value so that the voltage and current reading shows that the PV
array is delivering maximum power to the load.
14. Record the voltage, Vmp and current, Imp reading during the maximum power
transfer in Table 4c.
15. Make the same partial shading as the one in Part 3 Step 5.
16. Record the voltage and current reading to Table 4c immediately after applied
the shade.
17. Repeat Step 3 to 14 with partial shading condition. Data should be recorded in
Table 4b but graph should be plotted on the same graph stated in Step 11.
Variable
Resistors / Load
LED lamps
Light Ammeter
15 cm PV modules
Digital
Thermocouple Voltmeter
Fig. 4 A solar PV system setup: Load Matching
Table X. Specifications for Solar Charge Controller and PV Module

Solar Charge Controller
Rated Output Voltage 12V/24V Auto
Maximum Input PV Voltage 50V
Maximum Current Output 10A
Standby Current <20mA
Working Temperature -25°C ~ + 55°C
PV Module
Materials Multi-crystaline silicon
Open circuit Voltage 4.4 V
Maximum power point voltage 4V
Maximum power point current 160 mA
Maximum Power at Standard Test 0.64W
Conditions
Standard Test Conditions:
Solar Irradiance: 1000 W/m2; AM1.5 and cell temperature 25°C
Battery
Type Lead-acid
Capacity 12 V, 7.2 Ah
Result and Analysis
Part 1: Light intensity effect to the performance of a PV module
Table 1
Light Tilting Open circuit Short circuit
No
Intensity Angle, ° voltage, V current, mA
Max light
1 0
intensity
Half-light
2 0
intensity
Max light
3 20
intensity
Max light
4 35
intensity
Max light
5 50
intensity
[10]
Part 2: PV array’s open-circuited voltage against temperature
The first recorded PV array open-circuited voltage: Voc1 = ____________

The initial PV module’s temperature, Tinit = ____________ [2]
Table 2
Time (minutes) Open circuit voltage, V oc2 (Volt) PV module’s temperature, T2
(°C)
[4]
𝑉𝑜𝑐2
Graph of of 1 − (V) against T2 – Tinit (C) [6]
𝑉𝑜𝑐1
Graph of Voc2 (V) versus PV module temperature, T2 (C) [4]
Temperature coefficient of voltage of PV module,   
Part 3: PV Charging System
Open-circuited voltage of the rated 12V battery before charging: _________

Open-circuited voltage of the rated 12V battery after charging: _________ [2]
PV Array Configurations
[4]
Total PV area : __________
Total shaded area : __________
Percentage of un-shaded area: __________ [3]
Table 3
Operating Operating
Power (Pm),
No Experiments voltage current (Im),
mW
(Vm) , V mA
1 Charging without shading
2 Charging with partial shading
LED module operation without
3
shading
LED module operation with
4
shading
[8]
LED module light up condition with solar charge controller and battery
[1]
LED module light up condition with voltage regulator only
[1]
LED module light up condition with voltage regulator but partially shaded
[1]
Part 4: PV System Load Matching
The PV array open-circuited voltage: Voc3 = ____________

The PV array short-circuited current: Isc3 = ____________ [2]
Table 4a Electrical characteristic of loaded PV system without shading

Voltage (V) Current (mA) Power (W)
[4]
Table 4b Electrical characteristic of loaded PV system with shading
Voltage (V) Current (mA) Power (W)
[4]
Graphs of I-V and power curves without shading (from Table 4a) and with shading (from
Table 4b) [12]
Table 4c
Maximum
Voltage Current (Imp),
No Experiments Power (Pmp),
(Vmp) , V mA
W
Maximum power point for
1
loading without shading
Change of operating point due to
2
shading
Maximum power point for
3
loading with shading
[6]
Discussion
1. Discuss about the effect of reduced light intensity to the short circuit current of a
PV module. [3]
2. Discuss about tilting angles of the platform to the short circuit current of a PV
module. [3]
3. Is the phenomenon by the reduced light intensity same with that of tilting
angles? [3]
4. Discuss about the temperature effect to the power, voltage and current of the PV
modules. [3]
5. Does PV array deliver the same power at different loading conditions? Briefly
explain from your measurement results. [3]
6. Discuss about the shading effect to the output of the PV modules. Are the output
changes proportional to the percentage of shaded area? [3]
7. Compare the light of LED module for Part 3 Step 9, Part 3 Step 16 and Part 3 18.
Briefly explain. [3]
8. How long does the solar controller need to charge the battery to full capacity if the
current battery state of charge (SOC) is at 50% at maximum light intensity of the
LED light source and with horizontal orientation? [4]

UEEA3363 Experiment 1 2020 - v3

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UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN

Faculty Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science

Equipment and Materials

Part 1: Light intensity effect to the performance of a PV module

Fig. 1 Tilting angle experiment

Part 3: PV Charging and Shaded Conditions

Fig. 3 A solar PV system setup: Charging

Fig. 4 A solar PV system setup: Load Matching

Table X. Specifications for Solar Charge Controller and PV Module

The first recorded PV array open-circuited voltage: Voc1 = ____________

Open-circuited voltage of the rated 12V battery before charging: _________

LED module light up condition with voltage regulator only

The PV array open-circuited voltage: Voc3 = ____________

Table 4a Electrical characteristic of loaded PV system without shading

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