MSc Sustainable Energy Systems

EUB_7_133

Renewable Energy Technologies 1

Problems: photovoltaics

Department of Urban Engineering

2012/13

Alan Dunn 1 29/09/2013

Question 1
A silicon solar cell module is formed by 36 cells connected in series. The
manufacturers values of the module parameters under standard test conditions are
short circuit current, = 5.0 A; open circuit voltage, = 22.1 V; maximum power,
= 85W and normal operating cell temperature, NOCT = 47oC.

Determine the values of and and the cell temperature, when the
module operates at an ambient temperature, = 35oC and an irradiation level, =
600 W∙m-2. Describe any assumptions you make.

Assume
Standard test conditions are 25oC and = 1 kW∙m-2
Temperature coefficient of = -2.3 mV∙K-1
o
[3.0 A; 19.6 V; 45.2 W; 55.25 C]

Question 2
A PV system is required for a DC application for daytime use, without battery
storage, where the load demand is 68 Ah∙day-1. The mean solar radiation falling on
the panels is 5.5 kWh∙m-2∙day-1 and each panel is rated to produce a current of 4.0 A
at maximum power under standard conditions. Calculate the number of panels
required assuming system losses of 15%.
[4]

Question 3
(a) Briefly explain the significance of the parameter “normal operating cell
temperature” (NOCT) for a PV module.

(b) A silicon solar cell module is formed by 72 cells connected in series. The
manufacturers values of the module parameters under standard test
conditions are short circuit current, = 5.2 A, open circuit voltage, =
o
44.2 V; maximum power, = 170W and NOCT = 43 C.

Determine the values of , the cell temperature , and when the

module operates at an ambient temperature, = 45 C and an irradiation
-2
level, = 850 W∙m . Describe any assumptions you make.

Assume
Standard test conditions are 25oC and = 1 kW∙m-2
Cell temperature coefficient of = -2.3 mV∙K-1
[4.42 A; 69.44oC; 36.84 V; 120.5 W]

Alan Dunn 2 29/09/2013

Question 4
Calculate the approximate photon flux density (photon∙s-1∙m-2) for AM 1.5 solar
radiation at 1.0 kW∙m-2. Assume the photons have an average energy of 1.5 eV.
AM 1.5 insolation is incident on a silicon solar cell of area 225 cm2. Assuming 18% of
photons lead to current generation in an external circuit, what is the short circuit
current of the cell?

If such a cell has an open circuit voltage of 0.6 V and a fill factor of 75%, calculate the
AM 1.5 efficiency.

(Assume 1 eV = 1.6 × 10-19 J; electronic charge = 1.6 × 10-19 C)

[5.40 A; 10.8%]

Question 5
Explain the concept of “peak solar hours” used in the sizing of PV systems.

A PV system is required for a DC water pump, without battery storage, where the
load demand is 90 Ah∙day-1. The mean solar radiation falling on the panels is 5
kWh∙m-2∙day-1 and each panel is rated to produce a current of 6.0 A at maximum
power under standard conditions. Calculate the number of panels required assuming
system losses of 20%.
[4]

Question 6
A high efficiency Sunpower silicon PV module is formed using 96 cells connected in
series. The manufacturer’s values for the module parameters under standard test
conditions are:
6.24 A Short circuit current
64.8 V Open circuit voltage
320 W Maximum power
45 oC Normal operating cell temperature

Determine the values of , cell temperature and when the module operates
at an ambient temperature, of 40 C and an irradiation level, = 900 W∙m-2.
o

Hence determine the change in compared to standard test conditions stating

any assumptions you make.

Assume
Standard test conditions are 25oC and G = 1 kW∙m-2
Temperature coefficient of = -1.84 mV∙K-1 per cell
Where is expressed in kW∙m-2
[5.62 A; 68.13oC; 57.18 V; -21%]

Alan Dunn 3 29/09/2013

 Solutions

Question 1
(a) Determine the new value of at 600 W∙m-2

This assumes that varies only with irradiance, and not cell temperature.

(b) Calculate new cell temperature

( )

(c) Calculate the new value of allowing for temperature dependence

per cell falls by 2.3 mV∙K-1

The difference between the cell temperature under STC and actual operation:

For 36 cells in series

Hence

(d) Calculate the new value of

Assuming that the fill factor, does not change with and

From STC

Hence the new

Question 2
Solar radiation or insolation data is usually given in units of kWh∙m -2∙day-1. This
information can also be thought of as the equivalent number of hours per day that
the irradiance on a surface is at the peak level of 1 kW∙m-2 – the standard used for
module peak output ratings. Hence solar insolation data in units of kWh∙m -2∙day-1 is
also referred to as “Peak Solar Hours” (PSH).

Load = 68 Ah∙day-1.
Insolation of 5.5 kWh∙m-2∙day-1 gives peak solar hours, PSH = 5.5 h
Output of 1 panel Ah∙day-1, allowing for system losses.
Hence number of panels needed = 68/18.7 = 3.64 panels.
BUT cannot have part panels and round off to 4 panels.

Alan Dunn 4 29/09/2013

Question 3
(a) Using the NOCT we can work out the actual cell temperature at a given
ambient module temperature and level of irradiation.

(b) Put in units of kW∙m-2. We get = 850 W∙m-2 = 0.85 kW∙m-2

Short-circuit current

Solar cell temperature

Using equation for NOCT
( )

Open-circuit voltage
Using temperature coefficient of
( )

Pmax
Assume is independent of and . Then from STC conditions

Hence, under operating conditions and using the calculated above, we get

Question 4

( )
( ) ()

( )
Short circuit current
If each photon creates one electron-hole pair then:
Number of charge carriers

Cell area

Assuming 18% of photons produce current

Short circuit current density,

Alan Dunn 5 29/09/2013

 ( )
( )

Question 5
Solar radiation or insolation data is usually given in units of kWh∙m-2∙day-1. This
information can also be thought of as the equivalent number of hours per day that
the irradiance on a surface is at the peak level of 1 kW∙m-2 – the standard used for
module peak output ratings. Hence solar insolation data in units of kWh∙m-2∙day-1is
also referred to as “Peak Solar Hours” (PSH).

Load = 90 Ah∙day-1

Insolation of 5.0 kWh∙m-2∙day-1 gives peak solar hours,

Output of 1 panel allowing for system

losses.
Hence number of panels needed = 90/24 = 3.75 panels.
BUT cannot have part panels and round off to 4 panels.

Question 6
Put into units of kW∙m-2. We get W∙m-2= 0.9 kW∙m-2

New value of
Assumes proportional to irradiance only

Cell temperature
Using NOCT formula, ( )

New value of
per cell falls by 1.84 mV∙K-1

Now
V for 96 cells
Hence V

New value of
To get this we have to assume does not change with and . From standard
conditions

Hence

Change in or 21% decrease

Alan Dunn 6 29/09/2013