Spe Notes-1

SOLAR POWER ENGINEERING
UNIT I
Solar Power
 Generating electricity from the Sun is called solar power.
Definition of solar energy:

 Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using
photovoltaic (PV), indirectly using concentrated solar power, or a combination.
 Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of
sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the
photovoltaic effect.
Producing Electricity using Solar Energy

 Solar Energy can be used to generate electricity in 2 ways:
 Thermal Solar Energy: Using solar energy for heating fluids which can be used as a heat source or
to run turbines to generate electricity.
 Photovoltaic Solar Energy: Using solar energy for the direct generation of electricity using
photovoltaic phenomenon.
Solar panels
 Solar panels are devices that convert light into electricity. They are called "solar" panels because most
of the time, the most powerful source of light available is the Sun, called Sol by astronomers.
 Some scientists call them photovoltaic which means, basically, "light-electricity."
 A solar panel is a collection of solar cells. Lots of small solar cells spread over a large area can work
together to provide enough power to be useful.
Advantages of Solar Energy

 Easy Installation & maintenance.
 Absence of noise and other form of pollution.
 A Solar photovoltaic cell system are favourable for fulfilling the requirement of electricity for
decentralized application.
 Clean energy. No combustion. No greenhouse gas emission from use.
 Inexhaustible and abundant “fuel” supply
 Longer life, makes it favourable for remote, isolated, forest, hilly areas.
 Renewable, Generates electricity directly from sunlight.
 No moving parts required, Little or no transmission required
 Can heat houses, Doesn't cause pollution
Disadvantages:
 Expensive
 Not possible to produce as much electricity as a generating station without covering many square
km with solar cells.
 Intermittent source. Not available at night or under clouds.
 Relatively high cost, especially with storage
 Requires inverter to produce AC current
 Requires storage or grid connection for continuous round-the-clock use
 Less available for heating demand (time of day and season)
 Exotic materials required in many thin-film systems
 Requires a relatively large amount of open space
 Relatively low efficiency (around 17-40 percent)
 Relatively low energy intensity ( ~8-12 m2/ kW)
 Fragile materials, Possible aesthetic issues
The applications of solar energy: (other than on space craft enjoying most success today are):
 Heating of buildings, cooling of buildings.
 Solar water heating and solar air heating.
 Salt production by evaporation of sea water or inland brines.
 Solar distillation on a small community scale.
 Solar drying or agricultural products.
 Solar cookers, Solar furnaces.
 Solar engines for water-pumping
 Food refrigeration, Photo-voltaic conversion.
 Solar thermal power generation. Industrial process heat.
Radiation at the Earth’s surface
SOLAR RADIATION AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE (TERRESTRIAL RADIATION)
 From the point of view of utilization of solar energy we are more interested in the energy received at
the earth's surface than in the extra-terrestrial energy. Solar radiation received at the surface of the
earth is entirely different due to the various reasons. Before studying this it is important to know the
following terms:
 Beam and Diffuse Solar Radiation: That portion of the incident solar radiation which comes directly
from the apparent solar disc, without reflection from other objects, is called direct or beam radiation.
These radiations are- received from the sun without change of direction.
 Diffuse radiation: is that solar radiation received from the sun after its direction has been changed by
reflection and scattering by the atmosphere. Diffuse radiation is defined the solar radiation scattered
by aerosols and dust molecules. It does not have a unique direction.
 Total solar radiation or global solar radiation: is all solar radiation incident on a surface, including
scattered, reflected, and direct. Total does not include radiation that has been absorbed by matter and
then re-emitted, because most of this radiation is at longer wavelengths 3 µm.
 Diffuse solar radiation is the total solar radiation minus the direct radiation or beam radiation. The
extra-terrestrial solar radiation is entirely direct or beam radiation. As that radiation passes through the
earth's atmosphere, it undergoes a complex interaction with the various components of the atmosphere.
 The major factors are scattering from molecules and dust particles, absorption by the atmosphere and
refraction. A significant fraction of the radiation which reaches the surface of the earth is reflected and
encounters a similar set of interactions; the remainder is absorbed by the surface of the earth.
 The scattered radiation which reaches the observer from various parts of the sky dome is called diffuse
radiation as already stated.
 Contributions to the scattered radiation emanating from a particular portion of the sky are made from
the radiation reflected from the ground, scattered radiation from the other parts of the sky, as well as
the direct radiation present at that part of the sky.
 Clouds have by far the greatest effect on the variation of solar radiation. A cloud between the observer
and the sun blocks the direct radiation; clouds elsewhere in the sky increase the diffuse radiation.
 Different types of clouds can have different effects on the total solar radiation depending on their
location and the location of the sun. The effects on solar radiation due to aerosols, water vapour, and
atmospheric pollution are smaller and are normally treated for clear-sky conditions.
 These effects are treated by a number of authors. The intensity of the diffuse radiation seen by an
observer on a clear day is not isotropic, but varies as a function of latitude, time of the year, time of
the day, atmospheric content, and other factors. This is discussed by a number of authors.
 The relationship is so complex that it is seldom considered theoretically. Most often for solar system
design purposes the diffuse radiation is assumed to be isotropic over the sky dome, as any other
assumption is simply unwidely for designers to use.
 Another justification often used for making this assumption is that the diffuse radiation is only a
relatively small fraction (5 to 15 percent) of the total when the sun is not obscured by clouds, and that
most solar systems do not operate when the sun is obscured by clouds.
 Hence variations in the distribution of the diffuse radiation are not too important to most users. Sun at
zenith. Position of the sun directly overhead.
 Air mass (m). It is the path length of radiation through the atmosphere considering the vertical path
at sea level as unity.
 For the direct beam at normal incidence passing through the atmosphere at normal pressure, a standard
mass of the atmosphere will be encountered if the beam at zenith angle 0Z, the increased path length
compared with the normal path is called the air mass ratio (or air mass), symbol m, the abbreviation
AM is used for air mass ratio.
 The differing air mass ratio encountered because of change in atmospheric pressure or change in height
of the observer is considered separately.
 Hence the air mass m is the ratio of the path of the sun's rays through the atmosphere to the length of
path when the sun is at the zenith. Except for very low solar altitude angles, the air mass is equal to
the consecant at the altitude angle. Thus at sea level m = 1.
m = 1 When sun is at zenith, i.e. directly over head

m = 2 When zenith angle is 60° (θz., the angle subtended by the zenith and line of sight to the sun).
m = sec θz , when m > 3, m = 0, Just above the earth's atmosphere.
 Attenuation of Beam Radiation. The variation in solar radiation h-aching the earth than received at
the outside of the atmosphere is due to absorption and scattering in atmosphere.
 Absorption. As solar radiation passes through the earth's atmosphere the short-wave ultraviolet rays
are absorbed by the ozone in the atmosphere and the long wave infra-red waves are absorbed by the
carbon dioxide and moisture in the atmosphere.
 This results in n narrowing of the band width. In fact most of the terrestrial solar energy (i.e. energy
received by the earth) lies within the range of 0.29 µ to 2.5 µ.
 Scattering. As solar radiation passes through the earth's atmosphere. The components of the
atmosphere, such as water vapour .Hid dust, scatter a portion of the radiation. A portion of this
scattered radiation always reaches the earth's surface as diffuse radiation.
 Thus I lie radiation finally received at the earth's surface consists partly of beam radiation and partly
of diffuse radiation.
Measurement of solar radiation - Sunshine recorder
 Figure shows the primary radiation fluxes on a surface at or near the ground that are important in
connection with solar thermal processes. It is convenient to consider radiation in two wavelength
ranges.
 Solar or short-wave radiation is radiation originating from the sun, in the wavelength range of 0.3 to
3 µm. In the terminology used throughout this book, solar radiation includes both beam and diffuse
components unless otherwise specified.
 Long-wave radiation is radiation originating from sources at temperatures near ordinary ambient
temperatures and thus substantially all at wavelengths greater than 3 µm. Long-wave radiation is
emitted by the atmosphere, by a collector, or by any other body at ordinary temperatures. (This
radiation, if originating from the ground, is referred to in some literature as ‘‘terrestrial’’ radiation.)
SUN-SHINE RECORDER
Function of the Sunshine Recorder
 A sunshine recorder is a device that records the amount of sunshine at a given location or region at
any time. The results provide information about the weather and climate as well as the temperature of
a geographical area.
Working:
 It is also desirable to have duration of bright sun shine in a day. This instrument is used to measure the
duration in hours of bright sun shine during the course of the day.
 It essentially consists of a glass sphere mounted in a section of spherical brass bowl with grooves for
holding the recorder cards. The sphere burns a trace on the card when exposed to the sun, the length
of the trace being a direct measure of the duration of bright sunshine.
 There are set of grooves for taking three sets of cards, long curved for summer, short curved for winter
and straight cards at equinoxes.
 Glass sphere which is about 10 cm in diameter with an axis mounted on a section of a spherical bowl
parallel to that of the earth. The sphere acts as a lens and the focussed image of the sun moves along a
specially prepared paper bearing a time scale.
 With a sun radiation intensity of more than 200 W/m2, a burning impression is recorded on the paper.
The method of supporting the sphere differs and depends on the place where the measurements take
place, namely, polar latitude, temperate or topical.
 Three overlapping pairs of grooves are provided in the spherical segment to mount the sphere for
different reasons of the year.
 It may be noted that this instrument does not give the exact sunshine hours because in the morning and
evening hours solar radiation is not intense enough to burn a mark in the chart.
 The sunshine hours are extensively measured all over the world using Campbell-Stokes sunshine
recorders.
Advantages:
 Simplicity and ease of use.
 There are no moving parts and it thus
 Requires very little maintenance.
 The unit can be used anywhere in the world with little or no modification to the design.
Disadvantages:
 When the sun is low in the sky it may not have enough strength to properly burn the card and thus can
only measure the amount of bright sunshine as opposed to visible sunshine.
 Rain may cause the card to be torn when removing it and thus making it difficult to read.
 In areas of high frost and during periods of freezing rain the sphere may be difficult to clean and may
not be removed before the sun is shining again
Measurement of solar radiation – Pyrheliometer and its types
 A pyrheliometer is an instrument for measurement of direct beam solar irradiance. Sunlight enters
the instrument through a window and is directed onto a thermopile which converts heat to an electrical
signal that can be recorded.
 Most pyrheliometers used for routine measurements operate on the thermopile effect and are similar
to pyranometer in this respect. They differ in that mechanically they must follow the sun to measure
only direct sunlight and avoid the diffuse component.
 In practice, direct solar radiation is measured by attaching the instrument to an electrically driven
equatorial mount for tracking the sun. The diffuse component is avoided by installing a collimator tube
over the sensor with a circular cone angle of about 5°.
 It may be noted here that solar intensity thus measured includes both the beam and forward scattered
radiation which comes from circumsolar sky and is collected by the pyrheliometer within its acceptable
angle. The inaccuracy in measurement due to this scattered radiation is difficult to estimate and
increases in hazy weather conditions.
 Problems with pyrheliometer measurements are several fold; the aperture angle, the circumsolar
contributions and imprecision in the tracking mechanism.
 The first two problems are almost impossible to eliminate because of the inability to define the solar
disk precisely and the finite dimensions of the instrument components.
 The practical matter of precise taking and sensor orientation are similarly great. The use of correction
factors is not only involved but somewhat unreliable. The direct solar component on a horizontal
surface may also be obtained using a shading ring, this is done by subtracting the shaded (diffuse) from
the unshaded (global) reading.
 Current practice in solar radiometry relies primary on thermoelectric transducers. However, relatively
low-cost photovoltaic transducers are becoming more popular. To measure the direct solar radiation,
the receiving surfaces must be normal to direct solar rays, i.e. a line joining the sun and receiver. Three
pyrheliometers have been in wide-spread use to measure normal incident beam radiation:
1. The Angstrom pyrheliometer

2. The Abbot silver disc pyrheliometer
3. Eppley pyrheliometer.
Abbot silver disk pyrheliometer:
 The Abbot silver disc pyrheliometer, first built by Abbot in 1902 and modified in 1909 and 1927, uses
a silver disc 38mm in diameter and 7mm thick as the radiation receiver.
 The side exposed to radiation is blackened, and the bulb of a precision mercury thermometer is inserted
in a hole in the side of the disc and is in good thermal contact with the disc.
 The silver disc is suspended on wires at the end of a collimating tube, which in later models has
dimensions such that 0.0013 of the hemisphere is ‘‘seen’’ by the detector.
 Thus any point on the detector sees an aperture angle of 5.7◦. The disc is mounted in a copper cylinder,
which in turn is in a cylindrical wood box that insulates the copper and the disc from the surroundings.
 A shutter alternately admits radiation and shades the detector at regular intervals the corresponding
changes in disc temperature are measured and provide the means to calculate the absorbed radiation.
 The thermometer stem is bent through 90° so that it lies along the tube to minimize its exposure to the
sun.
 The instrument must of course be calibrated against a primary standard, but their stability has been
found to be very good and they are widely used for calibrating pyranometers.
Measurement of solar radiation – Pyranometer and its types
 A pyranometer is a type of actinometer that can measure solar irradiance in the desired location and
solar radiation flux density. The solar radiation spectrum extends approximately between 300 and 2800
nm. The pyranometer only requires a flat spectral sensitivity to help cover this spectrum.
 Definition: Pyranometer is an instrument for measuring radiation from the sky by comparing the
heating effect of such radiation upon two blackened metallic strips with that produced in the same
strips when heated by means of an electric current.
Components of pyranometers:
The following are the two main components of pyranometers:
 Thermopile - A sensor consisting of thermocouples connected in series and provided with a black
coating for absorbing all solar radiation. It exhibits a near-perfect cosine response and a flat spectrum
that covers 300 to 50000 nm. It is capable of producing a potential that is relative to the temperature
gradient.
 Glass dome - This dome restricts the spectral response from 300 to 2800 nm from a field of view of
180 degrees. This hemispherical glass dome also shields the thermopile from wind, rain and
convection.
 Occulating disc - It is used for measuring the diffuse radiation and blocking beam radiation from the
surface.
Thermopile sensor work:

 A thermopile is an electronic device that converts thermal energy into electrical energy. It is composed
of several thermocouples connected usually in series or, less commonly, in parallel.
 A pyranometer is a type of actinometer used for measuring solar irradiance on a planar surface and it
is designed to measure the solar radiation flux density (W/m2) from the hemisphere above within a
wavelength range 0.3 μm to 3 μm.
 The name pyranometer stems from the Greek words πῦρ (pyr), meaning "fire", and ἄνω (ano), and
meaning "above, sky".
 A typical pyranometer does not require any power to operate. However, recent technical development
includes use of electronics in pyranometers, which do require (low) external power.
 The most common pyranometers are based on detection of difference between the temperature of black
surfaces (which absorb most solar radiation) and white surface (which reflect most solar radiation) by
thermopiles.
 Properly protected from wind and compensated for changes in ambient temperature, the thermopiles
give millivolt signals that can be readily detected, recorded and integrated over time.
 The pyranometer shown in Fig. is used commonly in India. Basically the pyranometer consists of a
black surface which heats up when exposed to solar radiation. Its temperature increases until its rate
of heat gain by solar radiation equals its rate of heat loss by convection, conduction and radiation.
 The hot junctions of a thermopile are attached to the black surface, while the cold junctions are located
in such a way that they do not receive the radiation.
 As a result, an e.m.f is generated, which is a measure of the global radiation.

Pyranometer schematic for the measurement of global radiation.
 In this case the sensitive surface is exposed to total radiation (beam + diffused + reflected from the
earth and the surroundings). To the sensitive surface attached is a thermopile whose cold junctions are
electrically insulated from the basement.
 The temperature difference between the hot and cold junctions is a function of the radiation falling on
the surface. The sensitive surface is covered by two concentric hemispherical glass domes to shield it
from wind rain and other environmental effects.
 The most sensitive component in the instrument is the glass dome, which should have a uniformly
high transmission characteristic throughout the spectral range of 0.3 μm -3.0 μm.
 The measurement of diffuse radiation can only be done indirectly. The first method is by the use of a
pyrheliometer to measure direct solar radiation at normal incidence and subtract it from the value of
global (total) radiation.
 In the second and most commonly employed method of measuring diffused radiation, a suitable device
is used to prevent direct solar radiation reaching the receiver of a pyranometer.
 Shading of a pyranometer from direct radiation is achieved either by a disc which is made to move
with the sun and thus casts its shadow on the receiver of the pyranometer or by a shadow ring.
 The shading ring is fixed in such a way that its plane parallel to the plane of the path of the sun's daily
movement across the sky, and it shades the thermopile element and the two glass domes of the
pyranometer at all times from direct sunshine.
Advantages
 The key benefits of pyranometers are listed below:
 Very small temperature coefficient
 Calibrated to ISO standards
 More accurate measurements of performance index and performance ratio
 Longer response time than a photovoltaic cell
 Integrated measurement of the total available short-wave solar energy under all conditions.
Applications
 The following are the major applications of pyranometers:
 Predicting insulation requirements for building structures
 Establishment of greenhouse locations
 Designing photovoltaic systems
 Meteorological and climatological studies
 Measurement of solar intensity data.
Solar radiation data geometry
 Latitude (Angle of Latitude): (Ф) The latitude of a location on the earth's surface is the angle made
by a radial line joining the given location to the centre of the earth with its projection on the equator
plane, as shown in Fig.(a). The latitude is positive for northern hemisphere and negative for southern
hemisphere.
 Declination, (δ): It is defined as the angular displacement of the sun from the plane of the earth's
equator, as shown in Fig. (b). It is positive when measured above the equatorial plane in the northern
hemisphere. The declination δ can be approximately determined from the equation
 Hour Angle, (ω): The hour angle at any moment is the angle through which the earth must turn to
bring the meridian of the observer directly in line with the sun's rays.
 In other words, at any moment, it is the angular displacement of the sun towards east or west of local
meridian (due to rotation of the earth on its axis). The earth completes one rotation in 24 hours.
Therefore, one hour corresponds to 15° of rotation.
 At solar noon, as the sun's rays are in line with the local meridian, the hour angle is zero. It is -ve in
the forenoon and +ve in the afternoon. Thus, at 06:00 h it is -90° and at 18:00 h it is +90° as shown in
Fig.
It can be calculated as: ω = [Solar Time -12:00] (in hours) x 15 degrees
 Inclination Angle (altitude), (α): The angle between the sun's ray and its projection on a horizontal
surface is known as the inclination angle, as shown in Fig.
Fig. Solar altitude angle, solar azimuth angle and zenith angle
 Zenith Angle, (θz): It is the angle between the sun's ray and the perpendicular (normal) to the
horizontal plane. (Ref. Fig.)
 Solar Azimuth Angle (γs): It is the angle on a horizontal plane, between the line due south and the
projection of the sun's ray on the horizontal plane. It is taken as +ve when measured from south towards
west. (Ref. Fig.).
 (Slope (Tilt Angle), (β): It is the angle between the inclined plane surface (collector), under
consideration and the horizontal. It is taken to be positive for the surface sloping towards south. (Ref.
Fig.)
 Surface Azimuth Angle,( γ): It is the angle in the horizontal plane, between the line due south and
the horizontal projection of the normal to the inclined plane surface (collector). It is taken as +ive when
measured from south towards west. (Ref. Fig.)
 Angle of Incidence, (θi): It is the angle between the sun's ray incident on the plane surface (collector)
and the normal to that surface.
 In general, the angle of incidence can be expressed as,
SOLAR RADIATION DATA

 Solar radiation data are available in several forms and should include the following information.
 Whether they are instantaneous measurement or values integrated over some period of time (usually
hour or day).
 The time or time period of the measurements.

 Whether the measurements are of beam, diffuse or total radiation, and the instrument used.
 The receiving surface orientation (usually horizontal, it may be inclined at a fixed slope, or normal).
 If averaged, the period over which they are averaged {e.g., monthly average of daily radiation).
 Most of the data on solar radiation received on the surface of the earth are measured by solarimeter
which give readings for instantaneous measurements at rate throughout the day for total radiation on
a horizontal surface.
 Integrating the plot of rate of energy received per unit time per unit area over a whole day gives the
langleys of radiation received on a horizontal surface. For instance, the total daily solar radiation
received in Calcutta (lat. 20° 32' N) on the basis of yearly average is 680 langleys (i.e., 680 cals/cm2
day).
 Average solar radiation data are also available from maps. Maps can be used as a source of average
radiation if data are not available.
 Charts are also available for clear day horizontal radiation for any period for any latitude. Tables are
also available for hours of sunshine for various locations.
 India lies between latitudes 7° and 37° N, and receives an annual average intensity of solar radiation
between 400 700 cal/cm /day.
 The daily solar insolation figures over the different places in India are accurately available. Peak values
are generally measured in April or May, with parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat receiving over 600
cal/cm2/day.
 During the monsoon and winter months the daily solar radiation decreases to about 400 cal/cm2/per
day. The annual daily diffuse radiation received over the whole country is observed to be about 175
cal/cm /day.
 The minimum values of diffuse radiation, measured over many parts of the country during November
and December, are between 75 and 100 cal/cm2/day, while maximum values measured over the whole
country are about 300 cal/cm2/day., especially in July in Gujarat.
Solar radiation on tilted surfaces
SOLAR RADIATION ON TILTED SURFACE.

 The rate of receipt of solar energy on a given surface on the ground depends on the orientation of the
surface with reference to the sun A fully sun-tracking surface that always faces the sun receives the
maximum possible solar energy at the particular location.
 A surface of the same area oriented in any other direction will receive a smaller amount of solar
radiation. Because solar radiation is such a 'dilute' form of energy, it is desirable to capture as much
as possible on a given area.
 We have seen in the preceding sect ions that the measuring instruments give the values of solar
radiation falling on a horizontal surface.
 Because most of the solar collectors or solar radiation collecting devices are tilted at an angle to
horizontal, it is therefore necessary to convert data for a hourly radiation (measured or estimated) on
a horizontal surface of radiation on a tilted surface.
 Beam Radiation. In most cases: the tilted surface faces due south i.e., y = 0, for this case,
 It follows that the ratio of the beam radiation falling on the tilted surface to that falling on a horizontal
surface is given by
 This ratio is called the tilt factor for beam radiation.
Radiation on horizontal and tilted surface
 Total Radiation. Beam and diffuse component of solar radiation are absorbed in flat plate type
collector. The angular correction factor has been determined for beam radiation as given by equation.
 Correction for diffuse radiation can be applied for clear days, for that it can be assumed that their
origin is near the sun, that is, the scattering of solar radiation is mostly forward scattering.
 For such a case R may be assumed equal to Rb, where R is the correction factor for both direct and
diffuse radiation.
 For cloudy or hazy days diffuse radiation can be assumed as uniformly distributed over the sky. The
effective ratio of solar energy on the tilted surface to that on the horizontal surface is then
 Conversion factor for diffuse radiation (Rd) is given by equation,

 A surface tilted at slope s from the horizontal sees the sky dome.
 The tilted surface also sees ground or other surroundings and if those surroundings have a diffuse
reflectance of p for solar radiation, the reflected radiation from the surrounding on the surface from
total solar radiation is,
 Hence three components, the beam radiation diffuse solar radiation and solar radiation reflected from
the ground which the tilted surface sees, are considered above. This was first considered by Liu and
Jordon. Hence combining the three terms.
 The values of diffuse reflectance as suggested by Liu and Jordon are as follows
 p = 0.2 when there is no snow
 = 0.7 when there is a snow cover.
 Therefore for Indian conditions, a value around 0.2 is generally expected with surfaces of concrete or
glass and can be used.
 Fortunately the reflected radiation term does not contribute much to the total because in India the
value of the angle s would rarely exceed 30°
Relationship Between Absorption, Emittance And Reflectance
Absorptivity I  (absorbed )
 
I  (incident )
(radiation absorbed / radiation incident)

 That a real substance may emit at a given temperature. At any given wavelength λ, emissivity is defined
as the ratio of the actual emitted radiance, Rλ, to that from an ideal blackbody, Bλ,
ελ = Rλ / Bλ .
 Emissivity is a measure of how strongly a body radiates at a given wavelength; it ranges between zero
and one for all real substances.
 A gray body is defined as a substance whose emissivity is independent of wavelength. In the

atmosphere, clouds and gases have emissivity’s that vary rapidly with wavelength. The ocean surface
has near unit emissivity in the visible regions.
 For a body in local thermodynamic equilibrium the amount of thermal energy emitted must be equal
to the energy absorbed; otherwise the body would heat up or cool down in time, contrary to the
assumption of equilibrium.
 In an absorbing and emitting medium in which Iλ is the incident spectral radiance, the emitted spectral
radiance Rλ is given by
Rλ = ελBλ = aλIλ ,
 where aλ represents the absorptance at a given wavelength. If the source of radiation is in thermal
equilibrium with the absorbing medium, then
Iλ = Bλ
So that, ελ = aλ .
 This is often referred to as Kirchhoff's Law. In qualitative terms, it states that materials that are strong
absorbers at a given wavelength are also strong emitters at that wavelength; similarly weak absorbers
are weak emitters.
Emissivity:
 Emissivity is defined as the ratio of the energy radiated from a material's surface to that radiated from
a blackbody (a perfect emitter) at the same temperature and wavelength and under the same viewing
conditions.
 It is a dimensionless number between 0 (for a perfect reflector) and 1 (for a perfect emitter). The
emissivity of a surface depends not only on the material but also on the nature of the surface.
 Emissivity scales range from 0.0 (zero) to 1.0 (one) depending on the type of material. A material that
absorbs the total amount of IR energy which strikes it, has an emissivity of 1.0 and is also known as a
"black body". (Black bodies are used to calibrate thermal imagers and equipment)
 Emissivity and reflectance are opposites when transmission is not a factor. Objects or materials that
are good absorbers are also good emitters of IR energy. Good emitters radiate IR energy well and
appear like their true temperature.
 Examples of good emitters include wood, brick, soil, water, and many painted surfaces.
I
 
B
(actual radiation emitted / BB radiation)
Transmittance:
 It is the ability of a material to transmit infrared energy through it. Good transmitters are used as lenses
for thermal imaging cameras and systems. The 2 commonly used materials for such lenses are
germanium and silicon.
I  (transmitted )
T  radiation transmitted / radiation incident
I  (incident )
Reflectance:
 It is the ability of material to reflect infrared energy.
 Good reflectors appear like their surrounding temperature. Their apparent temperature is often quite
different than their true temperature.
 Examples of good reflectors include shiny metals, glazed ceramics, glass, mirrors, and high polished
surfaces. Good reflectors are poor emitters of infrared and have low emissivity ratings.
I  (reflected )
R 
I  (incident ) radiation reflected / radiation incident
(Reflected energy + Emitted energy + Transmitted energy = 1 which equals Total Energy)
Selective Surface
 In solar thermal collectors, a selective surface or selective absorber is a means of increasing its
operation temperature and/or efficiency. The selectivity is defined as the ratio of solar radiation
absorption (αsol) to thermal infrared radiation emission (εtherm).
 Solar collectors must have high absorptance for radiation in the solar energy spectrum.
 At the same time, they lose energy by a combination of mechanisms, including thermal radiation from
the absorbing surface, and it is desirable to have the long-wave emittance of the surface as low as
possible to reduce losses.
 The temperature of this surface in most flat plate collectors is less than 200◦C (473 K), while the
effective surface temperature of the sun is approximately 6000 K. Thus the wavelength range of the
emitted radiation overlaps only slightly the solar spectrum.
 (Ninety-eight percent of the extra-terrestrial solar radiation is at wavelengths less than 3.0 µm, whereas
less than 1% of the blackbody radiation from a 200◦C surface is at wavelengths less than 3.0 µm.)
 Under these circumstances, it is possible to devise surfaces having high solar absorptance and low
long-wave emittance, that is, selective surfaces.
 The concept of a selective surface is illustrated in Figure, This idealized surface is called a semigray
surface, since it can be considered gray in the solar spectrum (i.e., at wavelengths less than
approximately 3.0 µm) and also gray, but with different properties, in the infrared spectrum (i.e., at
wavelengths greater than approximately 3.0 µm).
 For this idealized surface, the reflectance below the cut-off wavelength is very low. For an opaque
surface αλ = 1 − ρλ, so in this range αλ is very high.
 At wavelengths greater than λ c the reflectance is nearly unity, and since ελ = αλ = 1 − ρλ, the emittance
in this range is low.
 The absorptance for solar energy and emittance for long-wave radiation are determined from the
monochromatic reflectance data by integration over the appropriate spectral range.
 The absorptance for solar radiation, usually designated in the solar energy literature simply as α, and
the emittance, usually designated simply as ε, are calculated.
 For normal operation of flat-plate solar collectors, the temperatures will be low enough that essentially
all energy will be emitted at wavelengths greater than 3 µm.
SOLAR CONSTANT
 The solar constant is defined as the quantity of solar energy (W/m²) at normal incidence outside the
atmosphere at the mean sun-earth distance. Its mean value is 1367.7 W/m².
 The sun is a sphere of intensely hot gaseous matter with a diameter of 1.39 x 109 m or 1.39 x 106 km
(see Figure).
 The sun is about 1.5 x 108 km away from earth, so, because thermal radiation travels with the speed of
light in a vacuum (300,000 km/s), after leaving the sun solar energy reaches our planet in 8 min and
20 s.
 As observed from the earth, the sun disk forms an angle of 32 min of a degree.
Sun – Earth geometry
 This is important in many applications, especially in concentrator optics, where the sun cannot be
considered as a point source and even this small angle is significant in the analysis of the optical
behaviour of the collector.
 The sun has an effective black-body temperature of 5760 K.
 The temperature in the central region is much higher. In effect, the sun is a continuous fusion reactor
in which hydrogen is turned into helium.
 The sun’s total energy output is 3.8 x 1020 MW, which is equal to 63 MW/m2 of the sun’s surface. This
energy radiates outward in all directions.
 The earth receives only a tiny fraction of the total radiation emitted, equal to 1.7 x1014 kW;
 However, even with this small fraction, it is estimated that 84 min of solar radiation falling on earth is
equal to the world energy demand for one year (about 900 EJ).
As seen from the earth, the sun rotates around its axis about once every four weeks. As observed from
earth, the path of the sun across the sky varies throughout the year.
 The shape described by the sun’s position, considered at the same time each day for a complete year,
is called the analemma.
Solar Orbit
 Due to the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit around the sun, the intensity of the solar radiation just
outside the earth’s atmosphere is not constant.
 In fact, the solar constant, Io, is the annual average intensity. Between January 2nd when the earth is
closest to the sun and 3rd July when it is furthest away, the intensity varies ± 3% from the average.
 With n denoting the day of the year, n = 1…365. As a consequence, the Southern hemisphere enjoys
more irradiation during its summer than the Northern hemisphere.
In mathematical terms it is:

UNIT II
Introduction to Flat plate collectors
SOLAR COLLECTORS:
 Solar energy collectors are special kinds of heat exchangers that transform solar radiation energy to
internal energy of the transport medium. The major component of any solar system is the solar
collector.
 This is a device that absorbs the incoming solar radiation, converts it into heat, and transfers the heat
to a fluid (usually air, water, or oil) flowing through the collector.
 The solar energy collected is carried from the circulating fluid either directly to the hot water or space
conditioning equipment or to a thermal energy storage tank, from which it can be drawn for use at
night or on cloudy days.
There are basically two types of solar collectors:

 Non-concentrating or stationary solar collectors
 concentrating solar collectors
 A non-concentrating collector has the same area for intercepting and absorbing solar radiation, whereas
a sun-tracking concentrating solar collector usually has concave reflecting surfaces to intercept and
focus the sun’s beam radiation to a smaller receiving area, thereby increasing the radiation flux.
 Concentrating collectors are suitable for high-temperature applications. Solar collectors can also be
distinguished by the type of heat transfer liquid used (water, non-freezing liquid, air, or heat transfer
oil) and whether they are covered or uncovered.
These collectors are permanently fixed in position and do not track the sun. Three main types of
collectors fall into this category:
1. Flat-plate collectors (FPCs).
2. Stationary compound parabolic collectors (CPCs).
3. Evacuated tube collectors (ETCs).
FLAT PLATE COLLECTORS
What is liquid flat plate collector?

 A typical flat-plate collector is a metal box with a glass or plastic cover (called glazing) on top and a
dark-colored absorber plate on the bottom. The sides and bottom of the collector are usually insulated
to minimize heat loss.
What is a concentrating collector?

 A concentrating solar collector is a solar collector that uses reflective surfaces to concentrate sunlight
onto a small area, where it is absorbed and converted to heat or, in the case of solar photovoltaic (PV)
devices, into electricity. Concentrators can increase the power flux of sunlight hundreds of times.
 A typical flat-plate solar collector is shown in Figure. When solar radiation passes through a
transparent cover and impinges on the blackened absorber surface of high absorptivity, a large portion
of this energy is absorbed by the plate and transferred to the transport medium in the fluid tubes, to be
carried away for storage or use.
 The underside of the absorber plate and the two sides are well insulated to reduce conduction losses.
The liquid tubes can be welded to the absorbing plate or they can be an integral part of the plate.
 The liquid tubes are connected at both ends by large-diameter header tubes. The header and riser
collector is the typical design for flat-plate collectors.
Exploded view of a flat-plate collector and absorber details

 This collector does not present the potential problem of uneven flow distribution in the various riser
tubes of the header and riser design, but serpentine collectors cannot work effectively in thermosiphon
mode (natural circulation) and need a pump to circulate the heat transfer fluid.
 The absorber plate can be a single sheet on which all risers are fixed, or each riser can be fixed on a
separate fin.
 The transparent cover is used to reduce convection losses from the absorber plate through the restraint
of the stagnant air layer between the absorber plate and the glass.
 It also reduces radiation losses from the collector because the glass is transparent to the shortwave
radiation received by the sun, but it is nearly opaque to longwave thermal radiation emitted by the
absorber plate (greenhouse effect).
 The advantages of flat-plate collectors are that they are inexpensive to manufacture, they collect both
beam and diffuse radiation, and they are permanently fixed in position, so no tracking of the sun is
required.
 The collectors should be oriented directly toward the equator, facing south in the Northern Hemisphere
and north in the Southern Hemisphere.
 The optimum tilt angle of the collector is equal to the latitude of the location, with angle variations of
10° to 15° more or less, depending on the application.
 If the application is solar cooling, then the optimum angle is latitude -10° so that the sun will be
perpendicular to the collector during summertime, when the energy will be mostly required.
 If the application is space heating, then the optimal angle is latitude +10°; whereas for annual hot
water production, it is latitude +5°, to have relatively better performance during wintertime, when hot
water is mostly required.
The Main Components of a Flat-Plate Collector are:

 Cover: One or more sheets of glass or other radiation-transmitting material.
 Heat removal fluid passageways: Tubes, fins, or passages that conduct or direct the heat transfer
fluid from the inlet to the outlet.
 Absorber plate: Flat, corrugated, or grooved plates, to which the tubes, fins, or passages are attached.
A typical attachment method is the embedded fixing shown in the detail of Figure. The plate is usually
coated with a high-absorptance, low-emittance layer.
 Headers or manifolds: Pipes and ducts to admit and discharge the fluid.
 Insulation: Used to minimize the heat loss from the back and sides of the collector.
 Container: The casing surrounds the aforementioned components and protects them from dust,
moisture, and any other material.
 Flat-plate collectors have been built in a wide variety of designs and from many different materials.
They have been used to heat fluids such as water, water plus antifreeze additive, or air.
 Their major purpose is to collect as much solar energy as possible at the lowest possible total cost. The
collector should also have a long effective life, despite the adverse effects of the sun’s ultraviolet
radiation and corrosion and clogging because of acidity, alkalinity, or hardness of the heat transfer
fluid, freezing of water, or deposition of dust or moisture on the glazing and breakage of the glazing
from thermal expansion, hail, vandalism, or other causes.
 These causes can be minimized by the use of tempered glass. In the following two sections, more
details are given about the glazing and absorber plate materials.
 Most of these details also apply to other types of collectors. A third section refers to the collector
construction and types of absorber configurations used.
COLLECTOR CONSTRUCTION
 For fluid-heating collectors, passages must be integral with or firmly bonded to the absorber plate. A
major problem is obtaining a good thermal bond between tubes and absorber plates without incurring
excessive costs for labor or materials.
 The materials most frequently used for collector plates are copper, aluminum, and stainless steel. UV-
resistant plastic extrusions are used for low-temperature applications.
 If the entire collector area is in contact with the heat transfer fluid, the thermal conductance of the
material is not important.
 The convective heat loss in a collector is relatively insensitive to the spacing between the absorber and
the cover in the range of 15–40 mm. The back insulation of a flat-plate collector is made from
fiberglass or a mineral fiber mat that will not outgas at elevated temperatures.
 Building-grade fiberglass is not satisfactory because the binders evaporate at high temperature and
then condense on the collector cover, blocking incoming solar radiation.
 Figure shows a number of absorber plate designs for solar water and air heaters that have been used
with varying degrees of success.
 Figure a shows a bonded sheet design, in which the fluid passages are integral to the plate to ensure
good thermal conduct between the metal and the fluid.
Various types of flat-plate solar collector absorber configurations for water and air
 Figures b and c show fluid heaters with tubes soldered, brazed, or otherwise fastened to upper or
lower surfaces of sheets or strips of copper (see also the details in Figure). Copper tubes are used most
often because of their superior resistance to corrosion.
 Thermal cement, clips, clamps, or twisted wires have been tried in the search for low-cost bonding
methods.
 Figure (d) shows the use of extruded rectangular tubing to obtain a larger heat transfer area between
tube and plate.
 Mechanical pressure, thermal cement, or brazing may be used to make the assembly. Soft solder must
be avoided because of the high plate temperature encountered at stagnation conditions, which could
melt the solder.
 The major difference between air- and water-based collectors is the need to design an absorber that
overcomes the heat transfer penalty caused by lower heat transfer coefficients between air and the solar
absorber.
 Air or other gases can be heated with flat-plate collectors, particularly if some type of extended surface
(Figure e) is used to counteract the low heat transfer coefficients between metal and air thin corrugated
metal sheets (Figure g), or porous absorbers may be used, with selective surfaces applied to the latter
when a high level of performance is required.
 The principal requirement of these designs is a large contact area between the absorbing surface and
the air. The thermal capacity of air is much lower than water, hence larger volume flow rates of air are
required, resulting in higher pumping power.
 Reduction of heat loss from the absorber can be accomplished either by a selective surface to reduce
radiative heat transfer or by suppressing convection.
 Showed that a honeycomb made of transparent material, placed in the airspace between the glazing
and the absorber, was beneficial.
 Another category of collectors, which is not shown in Figure, is the uncovered or unglazed solar
collector.
 These are usually low-cost units that can offer cost-effective solar thermal energy in applications such
as water preheating for domestic or industrial use, heating of swimming pools, space heating, and air
heating for industrial or agricultural applications.
 Generally, these collectors are used in cases where the operating temperature of the collector is close
to ambient. These collectors, usually called panel collectors, consist of a wide absorber sheet, made of
plastic, containing closed-spaced fluid passages (see Figure).
 Materials used for plastic panel collectors include polypropylene, polyethylene, acrylic, and
polycarbonate.
 Flat-plate collectors (FPCs) are by far the most-used type of collector. Flat–plate collectors are usually
employed for low-temperature applications, up to 80°C, although some new types of collectors
employing vacuum insulation or transparent insulation (TI) can achieve slightly higher.
Transmissivity of cover system
 Transmissivity like reflectivity and absorptivity, is a function of the wavelength and the angle of
incidence of the incoming solar radiation.
 Other variables which effect the transmissivity are the refractive index n and the extinction coefficient
k of the medium but strictly speaking both n and k are also functions of the wavelength X.
 A surface with transmissivity τ = 0 is known as an opaque surface. For such surfaces the sum of the
absorptivity (τ) and reflectivity (p) must be equal to unity (τ + α + p = 0). If however, τ = 1, the medium
is perfectly transparent. Most real materials are only partially transparent 0 > τ ≤ 1.
 Transmissivity in partially transparent (i.e., translucent) materials is dependent both upon the reflection
and absorption of radiation. The problem is usually tackled in two stages:
 The transmissivity τp is first calculated considering reflection alone.
 The transmissivity τα is then calculated considering absorption alone.
 The transmissivity τ, allowing for both reflection and absorption is then given by
τ = τp , τα
 Since in the most applications there will be a slab of materials involving two faces, reflection at both
faces shall have to be considered. Furthermore, the problem is complicated by the fact that the radiation
undergoes multiple reflection at both these faces.
 Reflection at interfaces: Fresnel has given the relationship for the reflection of non-polarized
radiation on passing from one medium to another
 In the expression the two terms in the square brackets represent the reflection for each of the two
components of polarization. The angles Өl and Ө2 are related to the indices of refraction.
 Thus if the angle of incidence and refraction indices are known from the above relations one can
calculate the reflectance of the single interface.
 For radiation at normal incidence,
Performance Of A Flat Plate Collector
The cover reflectance (ρc)

 As cover reflectance is considered the ratio of reflected solar radiation from the cover to the
environment to the incidence solar radiation.
Cover Transmittance (τc)

 It is the ratio of the solar radiation passing through the transparent cover to the incident irradiation.
Cover Absorptance (αc)

 It is the ratio of the absorbed solar radiation in the absorber to the incident radiation.
Coefficient of cover Emissivit (εc)

 The coefficient of cover emittance is the ratio of the intensity emitted by the cover, for a fixed
temperature, to the intensity of a blackbody irradiance, of exactly the same shape and same
temperature.
Coefficient of Absorber Emissivity

 It is the ratio of emitted radiation from the absorber, for a fixed temperature, to the intensity of a black
body irradiance of the exactly same shape and same temperature.
Selective Surface
 It is a solid surface covered by a selective coat. A selective surface identifies the highest possible
absorptivity of the incident solar radiation. The plate surface of the collector is treated with a suitable
material with high selectivity of the solar radiation.
Selective Coat
 Selective coats are materials that possess high solar radiation absorptance (λ ≤ 3 μm) and
simultaneously low emittance for wavelengths larger than three μm (λ ≥ 3 μm).
Collector Efficiency Factor (F′)

 It is the ratio of the real energy output of the collector to the energy output in the case when the total
absorber area was at the average fluid temperature with the same fluid quantity of flowing water.
Collector Flow Factor (F″)

 It is the ratio of the energy that the collector can deliver at the average temperature of the fluid to the
energy that the collector can supply at the inlet collector temperature. For a certain collector the flow
factor is a function of the flowing water quantity.
Collector Heat Removal Factor (FR)

 It is the ratio of the energy collector output to the energy output of the collector in temperature of the
inlet fluid. It is temperature dependent. The thermal output factor is connected to the flow factor and
to efficiency factor by the relationship: FR = F′×F″.
Collector Heat Loss Coefficient (UL)

 The coefficient of thermal loss of a collector is defined as the ratio of the temperature difference per
unit area of the cover to the ambient temperature.
Concentrating collectors - Flat plate collector with plane reflector
Concentrating Collector: Focusing Type

 Introduction. Focusing collector is a device to collect solar energy with high intensity of solar
radiation on the energy absorbing surface. Such collectors generally use optical system in the form of
reflectors or refractors.
 A focusing collector is a special form of flat-plate collector modified by introducing a reflecting (or
refracting) surface (concentrator) between the solar radiations and the absorber.
 These type of collectors can have radiation increase from low value of 1.5 - 2 to high values of the
order of 10,000.
 In these collectors radiation falling on a relatively large area is focused on to a receiver (or absorber)
of considerably smaller area.
 As a result of the energy concentration, fluids can be heated to temperatures of 500°C or more.
 An importance difference between collectors of the non-focusing and focusing types in that the latter
concentrate only direct radiation coming from a specific direction, since diffuse radiation arrives from
all directions, only a very small proportion is from the direction for which focusing occurs.
 The optical system directs the solar radiation on-to an absorber of smaller area which is usually
surrounded by a transparent cover.
 Because of the optical system, certain losses (in addition to those which occur while the radiation is
transmitted through the cover) are introduced.
 Because the sun has a finite size, focusing does infact occur over a small area or volume rather than a
line or point. As per the number of concentrating collector geometries, the main-types of concentrating
collectors are :
 Parabolic trough collector
 Mirror strip reflector
 Fresnel lens collector
 Flat plate collector with adjustable mirrors
 Compound parabolic concentrator (C.P.C.).
FLAT PLATE COLLECTOR WITH PLANE REFLECTOR

 Concentrators can be reflectors or refractors, can be cylindrical or parabolic, and can be continuous or
segmented. Receivers can be convex, flat, cylindrical, or concave and can be covered with glazing or
uncovered.
 Concentration ratios, i.e., the ratio of aperture to absorber areas, can vary over several orders of
magnitude, from as low as slightly above unity to high values on the order of 10,000. Because of the
apparent movement of the sun across the sky, conventional concentrating collectors must follow the
sun’s daily motion. The sun’s motion can be readily tracked by two methods.
 The first is the altazimuth method, which requires the tracking device to turn in both altitude and
azimuth, i.e., when performed properly, this method enables the concentrator to follow the sun exactly.
 Paraboloidal solar collectors generally use this system. The second one is one axis tracking, in which
the collector tracks the sun in only one direction, either from east to west or north to south.
 Parabolic trough collectors generally use this system. These systems require continuous and accurate
adjustment to compensate for the changes in the sun’s orientation.
 The first type of solar concentrator, shown in Figure, is effectively a flat-plate collector fitted with
simple flat reflectors, which can markedly increase the amount of direct radiation reaching the
collector.
Flat-plate collector fitted with flat reflectors
 This is, in fact, a concentrator because the aperture is bigger than the absorber but the system is
stationary.
 The model facilitates the prediction of the total energy absorbed by the collector at any hour of the day
for any latitude for random tilt angles and azimuth angles of the collector and reflectors.
 Flat-plate collectors can be equipped with flat reflectors, either in the way shown in Figure or in the
saw-toothed arrangement shown in Figure, which is suitable for multi-row collector installations.
 In both cases, the simple flat diffuse reflectors can significantly increase the amount of direct radiation
reaching the collector.
 The term diffuse reflector denotes a material that is not a mirror, avoiding the formation of an image
of the sun on the absorber, which creates uneven radiation distribution and thermal stresses.
Parabolic Trough Collector
 Parabolic Trough Reflector: The principle of the parabolic trough collector, which is often used in
concentration collectors, is shown by the cross-section in Fig.,
 Solar radiation coming from the particular direction is collected over the area of the reflecting surface
and is concentrated at the focus of the parabola, if the reflector is in the form of a trough with parabolic
cross-section, the solar radiation is focused along a line.
 Mostly cylindrical parabolic concentrators are used, in which absorber is placed along focus axis. The
collector pipe, preferably with a selective absorber coating, is used as an absorber.
 The dimension of parabolic trough or parabolic cylindrical collector can be vary over a wide range the
length of a reflector unit may be roughly 3 to 5 m, and the width about 1.5 to 2.4 m, Ten or more such
units are often connected end to end in a row, several rows may also be connected in parallel.
 Parabolic trough reflectors have been made of highly polished aluminium, of silvered glass or of a thin
film of aluminized plastic on a firm base. Instead of having a continuous form, the reflector may be
constructed from a number of long flat strips on a parabolic base.
 For the solar radiation to be brought to a focus by parabolic trough reflector, the sun must be in such
a direction that it lies on the plane passing through the focal line and the vertex (i.e., the base) of the
parabola.
 Since the elevation of the sun is always changing, either the reflector trough or the collector pipe
(absorber) must be turn continuously about its long axis to maintain the required orientation. Both
schemes are used in different practical-designs.
 Either the trough/cylindrical reflector or the pipe is turned by partial rotation around a single axis
parallel to the trough length. Trough type collectors are generally oriented in the east-west or north-
south directions for the east west orientation, the collectors are laid flat on (or Parallel to the ground).
 For the north-south orientation however, the north end of the trough is raised so that the collectors are
sloped facing south-just like flat-plate collectors.
 Ideally, the slope angle should be changed periodically; it is simpler, but less efficient, however to use
a fixed angle design.
 The north-south orientation permits more solar energy to be collected than the east-west arrangement,
except around the winter equinox On the other hand, construction costs are higher for the north-south
(sloping) type.
 Moreover, a system of such collectors requires a larger land area to allow for the shadowing effect of
the sloping troughs. The increased separation distance between rows of collectors also results in
increased pipe line costs and greater pumping and thermal losses.
Compound parabolic collectors
 Compound parabolic collectors (CPCs) are non-imaging concentrators. They have the capability of
reflecting to the absorber all of the incident radiation within wide limits.
 Their potential as collectors of solar energy was pointed out by Winston (1974). The necessity of
moving the concentrator to accommodate the changing solar orientation can be reduced by using a
trough with two sections of a parabola facing each other, as shown in Figure.
Compound parabolic collectors

 Compound parabolic concentrators can accept incoming radiation over a relatively wide range of
angles. By using multiple internal reflections, any radiation entering the aperture within the collector
acceptance angle finds its way to the absorber surface located at the bottom of the collector.
 The absorber can take a variety of configurations. It can be flat, bifacial, wedge, or cylindrical, as
shown in Figure. Details on the collector shape construction are presented in Section.
 Two basic types of CPC collectors have been designed: symmetric and asymmetric.
 CPCs usually employ two main types of absorbers: the fin type with a pipe and tubular absorbers. The
fin type can be flat, bifacial, or wedge, as shown in Figure. for the symmetric type, and can be single
channel or multichannel.
 Compound parabolic collectors should have a gap between the receiver and the reflector to prevent the
reflector from acting as a fin conducting heat away from the absorber.
 Because the gap results in a loss of reflector area and a corresponding loss of performance, it should
be kept small. This is more important for flat receivers.
 For higher-temperature applications a tracking CPC can be used. When tracking is used, this is very
rough or intermittent, since the concentration ratio is usually small and radiation can be collected and
concentrated by one or more reflections on the parabolic surfaces.
 Compound parabolic collectors can be manufactured either as one unit with one opening and one
receiver (see Figure) or as a panel. When constructed as a panel, the collector looks like a flat-plate
collector.
Applications:
 Because of their high performance these systems could able to provide energy output mainly on large
level water heating projects in leather industry - auto sprayer, tunnel dryer, toggle unit, calendaring
unit.
 Industrial degreasing plant
 Textile - dying units, relax dryer, stender dryer, tumble dryer etc.
 Other industrial process heat
 These collectors instead of water could use thermal oil and transfer heat from sun to process
applications reducing the fossil fuel consumption.
Advantages:
 Ease of fabrication
 No need for continuous tracking
 Simpler support structure

 High concentration ratio.
 Efficiency for accepting diffuse radiation is much larger than conventional concentrators.
Disadvantages:
 Lower concentration
 Height increases rapidly with aperture
 Multiple reflections for many years
Mirror Strip Collector

 Refer to Fig. A mirror strip collector has a number of planes or slightly curved or concave mirror strips
which are mounted on a base.
 These individual mirrors are placed at such angles that the reflected solar radiations fall on the same
focal line where the pipe is placed.
 In this system, collector pipe is rotated so that the reflected rays on the absorber remain focused with
respect to changes in sun’s elevation.
Central receiver collector
Central Receiver Collector (Or) Heliostat Field Collectors (HFCS)

 For extremely high inputs of radiant energy, a multiplicity of flat mirrors, or heliostats, using at
azimuth mounts can be used to reflect their incident direct solar radiation onto a common target, as
shown in Figure. This is also called the heliostat field or central receiver collector.
 By using slightly concave mirror segments on the heliostats, large amounts of thermal energy can be
directed into the cavity of a steam generator to produce steam at high temperature and pressure.
 The concentrated heat energy absorbed by the receiver is transferred to a circulating fluid that can be
stored and later used to produce power.
 Each heliostat at a central receiver facility has from 50 to 150 m2 of reflective surface, with four
mirrors installed on a common pillar for economy, as shown in Figure.
 The heliostats collect and concentrate sunlight onto the receiver, which absorbs the concentrated
sunlight, transferring its energy to a heat transfer fluid.
 The heat transport system, which consists primarily of pipes, pumps, and valves, directs the transfer
fluid in a closed loop among the receiver, storage, and power conversion systems.
 A thermal storage system typically stores the collected energy as sensible heat for later delivery to the
power conversion system.
 The storage system also decouples the collection of solar energy from its conversion to electricity. The
power conversion system consists of a steam generator, turbine generator, and support equipment,
which convert the thermal energy into electricity and supply it to the utility grid.
 In this case incident sunrays are reflected by large tracking mirrored collectors, which concentrate the
energy flux towards radiative-convective heat exchangers, where energy is transferred to a working
thermal fluid.
 After energy collection by the solar system, the conversion of thermal energy to electricity has many
similarities with the conventional fossil-fueled thermal power plants.
Central receivers have several advantages:

 They collect solar energy optically and transfer it to a single receiver, thus minimizing thermal
energy transport requirements.
 They typically achieve concentration ratios of 300 to 1500 and so are highly efficient, both in
collecting energy and in converting it to electricity.
 They can conveniently store thermal energy.
 They are quite large (generally more than 10 MW) and thus benefit from economies of scale.
Parabolic Dish Reflectors, Fresnel Collectors
 A parabolic dish reflector (PDR), shown schematically in Figure a, is a point-focus collector that tracks
the sun in two axes, concentrating solar energy onto a receiver located at the focal point of the dish.
The dish structure must fully track the sun to reflect the beam into the thermal receiver.
 For this purpose, tracking mechanisms similar to the ones described in the previous section are
employed in double, so the collector is tracked in two axes.
 The receiver absorbs the radiant solar energy, converting it into thermal energy in a circulating fluid.
The thermal energy can then be either converted into electricity using an engine-generator coupled
directly to the receiver or transported through pipes to a central power conversion system.
 Parabolic dish systems can achieve temperatures in excess of 1500°C.
 Because the receivers are distributed throughout a collector field, like parabolic troughs, parabolic
dishes are often called distributed receiver systems.
Parabolic dishes have several important advantages:

1. Because they are always pointing at the sun, they are the most efficient of all collector systems.
2. They typically have concentration ratios in the range of 600 to 2000 and thus are highly efficient
at thermal-energy absorption and power conversion systems.
3. They are modular collector and receiver units that can function either independently or as part of
a larger system of dishes.
 The main use of this type of concentrator is for parabolic dish engines. A parabolic dish engine system
is an electric generator that uses sunlight instead of crude oil or coal to produce electricity.
 The major parts of a system are the solar dish concentrator and the power conversion unit.
 Parabolic dish systems that generate electricity from a central power converter collect the absorbed
sunlight from individual receivers and deliver it via a heat transfer fluid to the power conversion
systems.
 The need to circulate heat transfer fluid throughout the collector field raises design issues such as
piping layout, pumping requirements, and thermal losses.
FRESNEL COLLECTORS (LFC)

 The former is made from a plastic material and shaped in the way shown to focus the solar rays to a
point receiver, whereas the latter relies on an array of linear mirror strips that concentrate light onto a
linear receiver.
 The strips can also be mounted on flat ground (field) and concentrate light on a linear fixed receiver
mounted on a tower.
 In addition to the reflecting collectors described above, a refraction type of focusing collectors has
been developed. It utilizes the focusing effect of a Fresnel lens, as represented in cross-section in Fig.
 For a trough-type collector, the lens is rectangle, about 4.7 m in overall length and 0.95 m in sections
from cost acrylic plastic and can probably be produced m quantity at low cost. The rounded triangular
trough serves only as a container and plays no role in concentrating the solar energy.
 To be fully effective, the Fresnel lens must be continuously aligned with the sun in two directions
namely, both along and perpendicular to its length.
 This is achieved by orienting the troughs in the north-south direction with rotation about the length
wise axis, in addition, the north ends of the troughs are raised to increase the slope as the sun's elevation
decreases (and vice versa).
Receiver pipe.
 The receiver pipe of a parabolic line focusing collector. The total solar radiation energy that can be
collected annually is about 30 per cent greater than for an east-west orientation.
 The absorber pipe is usually enclosed in a glass (Pyrex) jacket in order to decrease thermal losses by
convection and radiation. The space between the pipe and the jacket is sometimes evacuated to reduce
convection losses.
 The diameter of the glass jacket may be about 5 cm and that of the absorber pipe about 3 cm. The
annulus between this pipe and the plug may be as little as 2.5 mm wide.
 In a Fresnel lens collector, the solar radiation is focused into the absorber from the top, rather than
from the bottom as in the parabolic (reflection) type.
Advantages of Concentrating Collectors:

 High concentration ratio.
 High fluid temperature can be achieved.
 Less thermal heat losses.
 System’s efficiency increases at high temperatures.
 Inexpensive process.
Disadvantages of Concentrating Collectors:

 Non-uniform flux on absorber.
 Collect only beam radiation components because diffuse radiation components cannot be reflected,
hence these are lost.
 Need costly tracking device.
 High initial cost.
 Need maintenance to retain the quality of reflecting surface against dirt and oxidation.
To model the collector, a number of assumptions, which simplify the problem, need to be made.
These assumptions are not against the basic physical principles and are as follows:
 The collector is in a steady state.
 The collector is of the header and riser type fixed on a sheet with parallel tubes.
 The headers cover only a small area of the collector and can be neglected.
 Heaters provide uniform flow to the riser tubes.
 Flow through the back insulation is one dimensional.
 The sky is considered as a blackbody for the long-wavelength radiation at an equivalent sky
temperature. Since the sky temperature does not affect the results much, this is considered
equal to the ambient temperature.
 Temperature gradients around tubes are neglected.
 Properties of materials are independent of temperature.
 No solar energy is absorbed by the cover.
 Heat flow through the cover is one dimensional.
 Temperature drop through the cover is negligible.
 Covers are opaque to infrared radiation.
 Same ambient temperature exists at the front and back of the collector.
 Dust effects on the cover are negligible.
 There is no shading of the absorber plate.
UNIT III
Solar Air Heating system
 Solar air heating refers to heating a fluid by the sun, then transferring heat to the air for using in
applications such as drying or curing of agricultural products, space heating for comfort, regeneration
of dehumidifying agents, seasoning of timber, curing of industrial products such as plastics
 Heating a fluid by the sun, then transferring heat to the air results in loss of temperature potential
available, hence it would be wiser to eliminate any heat transfer operations.
Construction of solar air heater

 Fig. represents a typical solar air-heating collector.
 A conventional air heater is typically a flat passage between two parallel plates.
 One of the plates is blackened to absorb incident solar radiation.
 One or more transparent covers are located above the absorbing surface.
 The air is made to pass through the passage and in doing so, is heated.
 Insulation around the sides and base of the unit is necessary to keep heat losses to a minimum
Types of Air Heaters

 Basically air heaters are classified in the following two categories.
 The first type is called a non-porous absorber in which the air stream may flow above and/or below
the absorber plate, as shown in fig.
 The second type has a porous abs in which the air stream may flow through the absorber plate, as
shown in fig.
Non-porous absorber plate type collectors

 In a non-porous absorber, the air stream flows over both sides of the plate.
 In most common design the air flows behind the absorbing surface. Air flow above the upper surface
increases the convection losses from the cover plate and therefore is not recommended.
 In addition to this, there are some other absorber plate designs in order to maximise heat absorption
efficiency
 Roughening the rear of the plate or corrugating the plate can promote turbulence and improve the
convective heat transfer coefficient shown in fig.
 Adding fins to the bottom side of the absorber in order to increase the surface area of heat transfer
shown in fig.
Collectors with porous absorbers

 The main drawback of the non-porous absorber plate is that it is difficult to absorb all incoming
radiation over a thin layer of absorbing surface, which is in the order of a few microns.
 In porous plate absorber, the absorber plate is perforated (like a sieve) in nature
 The solar radiation penetrates to greater depths and is absorbed gradually depending on the matrix
density
 The air or fluid flows through the absorber and thus increases the efficiency of heat transfer.
 A typical porous absorber plate air heater is shown in fig.
CRITERIA FOR DESIGN OF SOLAR AIR HEATERS

 There are eight variables that a designer concerns himself with in the construction of an air heater:
Heater configuration
 It is the dimensions and shape of the duct through which air passes.
Airflow
 Air must be pumped through the heater increasing air velocity results in higher collection efficiencies,
but also in increased operating costs.
Absorber plate material

 Absorber surfaces are painted black in order to maximise absorption of sunlight. Special coatings
called selective surfaces can significantly improve the performance of solar air heaters by increasing
the collector efficiency, but black-painted solar heaters are widely used due to the cost of selective
surfaces
Cover material
 The type and number of layers of cover material must be considered and transmittance properties must
be examined
Natural Convection barriers

 A stagnant air gap imposes a high impedance to convective heat flow between the absorber plate and
the ambient air. The losses, can be reduced to low values by the use of multiple covers or honeycombs.
Plate-to-air heat transfer coefficient

 The absorber can be roughened and coated to increase the effective coefficient of heat transfer between
the air and the plate. For this reason, crumpled or corrugated sheets and wirer screens are attractive as
absorbing materials.
Insulation
 Insulation is required at the absorber base to minimize heat losses through the underside of the heater.
Solar radiation data

 Solar radiation data corresponding to the site are needed to evaluate heater performance.
Advantages of solar air heater

 Reduces the number of components required in the system,
 Eliminate corrosion and leakage problems which may be difficult and costly to overcome.
 The cost of the air heater could be substantially lower than the liquid systems.
 Higher pressures experienced in liquid heaters necessitate the use of heavy-gauge sheet metal or tubes
 Possibility for the evaporation of the liquid into gas (such as water into steam) is also eliminated
Disadvantages of solar air heater

 Need of handling larger, volumes of air than liquids.
 In cases where the thermal storage is required, water is superior one
 They have relatively high fluid circulation costs.
 They have relatively large volumes of storage (roughly three times as much volume as for water heat-
storage).
 The system has difficulty of adding conventional absorption air-conditioners to air systems ; and
 More space is required for ducting.
Applications of solar air heater

 Heating buildings.
 Air conditioning buildings
 Drying agricultural produce
 Using air heaters as the heat source for a heat engine, Heating green houses.
Solar Heat Pumping Systems
 Solar pumping consists in utilizing the power generated by solar energy for water pumping, useful for
irrigation.
 Solar energy offers several features that make its utilization for irrigation pumping quite attractive.
First, the greatest need for pumping occurs during the summer months when solar radiation is greatest.
Second, pumping can be intermittent to an extent.
 During periods of low solar radiation when pumping decreases, evaporation losses from crops are also
low. Finally, relatively in expensive pumped storage can be provided in the forms of ponds.
 A number of recently constructed solar irrigation pump installations are now operational. The major
obstacle to increase use of solar irrigation systems at this time is their relatively high capital cost.
 If the costs of solar pumps can be substantially reduced and assuming that conventional fuel costs
continue to rise, solar irrigation could become economical, and increased use of such systems might
be anticipated in future.
 The solar pump is not much different from a solar heat engine working in a low temperature cycle.
The sources of heat is the solar collector, and sink is the waiter to be pumped. A typical solar powered
water pumping system is shown in Fig.
 The primary components of the system are an array of flat-plate collectors and an Rankine engine with
an organic fluid as the working substance. During operation a heat transfer fluid (pressurized water)
flows through the collector arrays.
 Depending upon the collector configuration, solar flux and the operating conditions of the engine, the
fluid will be heated in the collector to a higher temperature, the solar energy which is thus converted
to the thermal energy.
 The fluid (water) flows into a heat exchanger (boiler), due to temperature gradient, and comes back to
the collector. This water yields its heat to an intermediate fluid in the boiler. This fluid evaporates and
expands in the engine before reaching the condenser, where it condenses at low pressure.
 The condenser is cooled by the water to be pumped. The fluid is then reinjected in the boiler to close
the cycle. The expansion engine or Rankine engine is coupled to the pump and it could of course be
coupled to an electric generation.
 The working fluids used in the cycle are toluene (CP-25), mono-chlorobenzene (MCB) trifluoro ethanol
(TFE-100 and 85), hexafluro benzene (HFB), pyridine (CP-32), refrigerant-11 (R-l 1), refrigerant (R-
113), and thiopene (CP-34). R-113 is preferable to all, because of high cycle efficiency, non-toxic in
nature and due to low cost.
 The irrigation pump operates at a rated power of 19 kW (25 horse power) and delivers water at 500 to
600 gal/min (32 to 38 litres/sec) from a well roughly 30 m deep.
 The energy efficiency (U percentage of solar energy collected that is converted into useful work) is 13
to 14 per cent, this low value is largely a result of the relatively low temperature of the working fluid
entering the turbine.
 Rankine efficiency will be within acceptable limits, if the temperature of the order of 200 to 400°C is
obtained, using proper focusing collector system.
Solar water heating system (Forced and Natural circulation)
 Solar water heating is the direct use of solar energy that has been practised most extensively in
the last two decades.
 It is the most viable of all low-temperature solar energy applications.
 It will probably be the first wide use of solar energy in near future because the: initial investment
is small and the system is used throughout the year (in the developed countries).
The basic elements of a solar water heater are.

 Flat plate collector
 Storage tank
 Circulation system and auxiliary heating
 Control of the system.
Some typical and commercial designs of Solar water heaters are:

1. Natural circulation solar water heater (pressurized)
2. Natural circulation solar water heater (non-pressurized)
3. Forced circulation solar water heater.
Natural circulation solar water heater (pressurized)

 A natural circulation system is shown in Fig. It consists of a titled collector (south facing), with
transparent cover glasses, a separate water heater (pressurized), highly insulated water storage tank,
and well insulated pipes connecting the two.
 The bottom of the tank is at least 1 ft. (0.3 m) the top of the collector, and no auxiliary energy is
required to circulate water through it. Circulation occurs through natural convection, or thermo
siphoning.
 As the water is heated in its passage through the collector, its density decreases and hence it rises and
flows into the top of the storage tank, colder water from the bottom of the tank has a higher density
and so tends to sink and enter the lower heater of the collector for further heating.
 The density difference between the hot and cold water thus provides the driving force (convection) for
the circulation of water through the collector and the storage tank Hot water is drawn off from the top
of the tank as required and is replaced by cold water from the service system.
 As long as the sun shines the water will quietly circulate, getting warmer. After sunset, a thermosiphon
system can reverse its flow direction and loss heat to the environment during the night.
 To avoid reverse flow, the top heater of the absorber is kept as stated above 0.3 m below the cold leg
fitting on the storage tank.
 To provide heat during long, cloudy periods, an electrical immersion heater can be used as a backup
for the solar system. A non-freezing fluid may be used in the collector circuit, the thermosiphon system
is one of the least expensive solar hot-water systems and should be used whenever possible.
 Thermosiphon solar water heaters are passive systems and do not require a mechanical pump to
circulate the water. Such heaters can be used extensively in rural areas, where electricity is expensive
(or not available) and there is little danger of freezing.
Natural circulation solar water heater (Non-pressurized)

 The pressurized system is able to supply hot water at locations of the storage tank. This creates
considerable stress on the water channels in the collector which must be designed accordingly.
 The non-pressurized systems supply hot water by gravity flow only to users lower than tank. If
pressurized hot water is required (for showers, or appliances) the difference in height will have to be
large enough to meet the requirements.
 If the height of difference cannot be accommodated, the only solution is to install a separate pump
and pressure tank. The stresses within non-pressurized system are lower which allows cheaper and
easier construction. In this type also mechanical pump is riot required as shown in Fig.
 However, a one-way check valve may be desirable to prevent reverse circulation and thus loss of heat
at night. A typical system for domestic water heating is shown in Fig.
Forced circulation solar water heater

 Schematic of a forced circulation solar water heater, Figure shows Schematic of a forced
circulation system.
 By including an electric pump in the return circuit between the bottom of the storage tank and the
lower header of the collector, the tank can be placed at a more convenient level (e.g. in the house
basement). This is now an active system.
 A control unit permits the pump to operate only when the temperature of the water at the bottom of
the tank is below that of the water in the upper header.
 A check valve is needed to prevent reverse circulation and resultant night time thermal losses from the
collector. In this example, auxiliary heater is shown as provided to the water leaving the tank and going
to the load.
 When there is a danger of freezing, the water may be drained from the collector; alternatively, a slow
reverse flow of the warmer water may be permitted through the collector on cold nights. The freezing
danger can be overcome, although at some increase in cost, by using an antifreeze solution as the heat-
transport medium, as described earlier.
 The heat is then transferred to water in the storage tank by way of a heat exchanger coil.
Passive solar heating system , Greenhouse effect
PASSIVE HEATING SYSTEMS

 Building with large windows facing the equator (South in the northern hemisphere or north in the
southern hemisphere) and arranged to admit solar radiation into the building when the sun is low in
the winter sky, have been termed 'Solar houses'.
 The gains to be realized from properly oriented windows are significant, but in cold climates losses
during the periods of low radiation, nights and cloudy weather, must be controlled so net gains can be
realized.
 If a building is designed properly :
a. It will function as a solar collector, collecting heat when the sun is shining and storing it for later
use.
b. The building will function as a solar store house. It must store the heat for cool times when the sun
is not shining, and store the cool for warm or hot periods when the sun is shining. Buildings which
are made of heavy materials such as stone or concrete do this most effectively.
c. Building will function as a good heat trap. It must make good use of the heat (or cool) and let it
escape only very slowly. This is done primarily by reducing the heat loss of the building through
the use of insulation, reduction of infiltration and storm windows.
 Wall and roof of the building must be oriented in such a way so as to receive solar radiation heat in
the winter and shed it in the summer. A building can benefit from its orientation; for similar reasons,
it also benefit from different ratios of its length to its width to its height.
 The optimum shape losses, the minimum amount of outward moving heat and gains maximum amount
of solar heat in the winter, and retains the minimum amount of solar heat in the summer.
 The basic design principles of passive solar space-heating systems, that is, without mechanical
components, fall into the following five general categories :
 Direct gain
 Thermal storage wall
 Attached sun space
 Roof storage
 Convective loop.
 There are modifications within each of these categories and two or more may be combined in a single
building.
 Direct gain: In this system, the building has a south wall with a large number of windows; two layers
of glass minimise heat losses.
 Solar radiation entering the windows falls on thick concrete, slate, or brick floors (and possibly walls)
and is absorbed and stored as heat. The building air is then heated by radiation and convection from
the floor and walls. Covering the windows with shutters or curtains at night reduces heat losses.
 Thermal storage wall: A large wall like mass which absorbs solar radiation and stores heat, is placed
directly behind large south- facing windows.
SOLAR SPACE HEATING AND COOLING
 Solar energy is also used for heating or cooling a building to maintain comfortable temperature inside.
Passive systems do not require any mechanical device and make use of natural process of convection,
radiation and conduction for transport of heat.
 Use of passive heating/cooling systems put restrictions on the building design to make possible the
flow of heat naturally.
 Such a specially designed building is called solar house. The state of the art for passive cooling is
much less developed than for passive space heating.
 Natural passive cooling may not always be sufficient to meet the requirement and at peak load,
auxiliary means may also be needed, but it greatly reduces the load on the air conditioner plant.
 Active heating/cooling systems employ mechanical devices, e.g. pump, blower, etc.to circulate the
working fluid for transportation of heat and therefore special building design is not necessary as
required in the case of passive heating.
 Nevertheless, careful building design and insulation is desirable and will be less expensive than
additional heating/cooling load due to poor design.
A solar passive space heating system
 The south facing thick wall called Trombe Wall' is made of concrete, adobe, stone or composites of
brick blocks and sand, designed for thermal storage. In order to increase the absorption, the outer
surface is painted black.
 The entire south wall is covered by one or two sheets of glass or plastic sheet with some air gap (usually
10-15 cm) between the wall and inner glazing.
 Solar radiation after penetration through the glazing is absorbed by the thermal storage wall. The air
in the air gap between the glazing and the wall thus gets heated, rises up and enters the room through
the upper vent while cool air from the room replaces it from the bottom vent.
 The circulation of air continues till the wall goes on heating the air. Thus the thermal wall collects
stores and transfers the heat to the room. Heating can be adjusted by controlling the airflow through
the inlet and outlet vents by shutters.
 Opening the damper at the top of the glazing allows the excess heat to escape outside, when heating is
not required.
 Sometimes a reflective horizontal surface is also provided to make available the additional radiation
for thermal storage. A movable insulation cover (not shown in figure) also sometimes used to cover
the glaze to reduce the heat loss from the storage wall to outside during night.
 In some models the thermal storage wall is made up 0f water drums stacked over one another to
increase the thermal storage capacity. In another variation the thermal storage mass is provided above
a metallic roof of the building instead of a wall.
Solar Passive Cooling System:
 Figure shows the scheme for solar passive cooling through ventilation. This scheme utilizes solar
'chimney effect' and is effective where outside temperatures are moderate.
 Solar radiation is allowed to heat up the air between the glazing and interior south wall. The heated
air rises up and ducted outside and the warm air from the room is drawn into this space due to natural
draught thus produced.
 As a result, cool outside air enters the room from the bottom air vent on the other side of the room.
vaporizes, moves from A to B and gets condensed in it. Now the valve is closed and the contents of B
are cooled by circulating cold water through a heat exchanger. The system is kept in this state after
closing the valve till the time cooling is required.
 In refrigeration mode, the valve is opened; the refrigerant evaporates and moves from B to A. In this
mode it absorbs heat from vessel B and its surroundings and produces cooling effect.
 While in intermittent type cooling process, the two operations regeneration and refrigeration take place
alternately at different times, in continuous type cooling the two processes take place simultaneously
and continuous cooling effect is produced.
 The continuous absorption cycle is more reliable. In most applications continuous cooling is required.
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
 A green house is an enclosure having transparent glass panes or sheets as shown in Fig. It behaves
differently for incoming visible (short wave) radiation and outgoing infrared (long wave) radiation.
 It appears as transparent for incoming solar radiation, allowing entry of sunlight and becomes largely
opaque for reflected infrared radiation from earth surface, preventing exit of heat.
 Thus it maintains a controlled warmer environment inside for growth of plants, in places where the
climate is very cold.
 Carbon dioxide (C02) envelope present around the globe in the atmosphere behaves similar to a glass
pane and forms a big global green house.
 This tends to prevent the escape of heat from earth, which leads to global warming. This phenomenon
is known as greenhouse effect.
 Apart from C02, other gases behaving similar to C02 include methane, nitrous oxide (N20),
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFC),
sulphur hexafluoride, ozone and water vapor. These gases are known as greenhouse gases (GHG).
 Their average concentrations in atmosphere along with Global Warming Potentials (GWPs) relative
to C02 and atmospheric lifetimes are listed in Table.
SOLAR GREENHOUSE
 Greenhouse is an enclosure where proper environment is provided for growth and production of crops,
vegetable and flower plants under adverse climatic conditions.
 By controlling the environment a particular vegetable or flower can be grown throughout the year. The
design of a greenhouse depends on local climatic conditions.
 In cold countries, winter greenhouses' provide supplementary heat to maintain adequate temperature
during cold months when solar insolation is low.
 In tropical countries, the solar insolation and ambient temperatures are quite high and therefore
summer greenhouses' are used to maintain low temperatures inside and allow just sufficient sunlight
for photosynthesis.
 Greenhouses for arid zone are designed to conserve water resources. Although, there is slight variation
in the environmental needs of e variety of plants for best production, basically they all require moderate
temperatures and light, adequate quantities of carbon dioxide, oxygen, mineral nutrients movement
and water.
 Moderate temperatures, light and air movement are energy related needs of plants and supplied by the
greenhouse \ greenhouse designed to use solar energy to meet these requirements is known as solar
greenhouse'.
 If natural means are adopted to collect, store and distribute the energy inside, it is known as 'passive
greenhouse'. A greenhouse, where auxiliary means are used for these functions is known to be an
active one.
 Generally, a combination of both active and passive features is employed in solar greenhouses to
minimize the need of auxiliary energy.
 A small greenhouse can also be constructed as an integral part of a house and free exchange of air
takes place between the residence and the green house.
 Such a greenhouse is known as 'attached greenhouse'. A separate independent structure of a

greenhouse is known as 'free standing greenhouse'.
 The cooling system is based on the principle that heat is absorbed for evaporation of water. If humidity
is low, evaporative cooler can reduce space temperature by 5-10 °C. Some typical greenhouse designs
are discussed below.
Typical Winter Greenhouse
 A typical design of a greenhouse for cold climate is shown in Fig. South facing wall and roof is
provided with double-glazing. North facing roof is made of insulating material with reflecting inner
lining to reflect solar radiation on the plant canopy.
 The frame of entire greenhouse is made of wood. The east and west facing walls are provided with
single layer of rigid transparent fiberglass sheets. In some designs pipes are buried in the soil under
the plants to store surplus thermal energy during daytime.
 Air from the growing area is blown out through these pipes at the time of surplus heat to store the
excess heat in the ground. At night the heat is recovered by reversing the direction of airflow through
these pipes.
Typical Summer Greenhouse

 In summer greenhouse, most important requirements are maintaining moderate temperature by
reducing cooling loads and also to provide adequate solar radiation.
 Typical summer greenhouse is shown in Fig. South facing wall is provided with double-glazing,
covered with white thick movable insulating blocks. These blocks can be selectively moved to admit
only absolutely essential solar radiation whenever needed.
 Sunlight is allowed to enter only in the morning and evening hours. Solar radiation can also be admitted
through east and west transparent walls of the greenhouse whenever required by removing plywood
sheets covering these walls.
 The north-facing wall is made of insulating material, like plywood, etc., with reflective lining on the
inner side to reflect solar radiation on plant canopy.
 A part of greenhouse is also sunken in the ground to take advantage of the low and constant ground
temperature. Windows on the north and south walls are used for cooling through natural convection
process when outside temperature is not very high.
 When the outside temperature becomes very high, south wall windows are closed and evaporative
cooling is used by drawing outside air through wet pads using a powerful blower.
 A greenhouse requires certain initial investment to construct and equip it. Greenhouse operation cost
includes expenditure on environment control and agricultural inputs. As a result the cost of production
per unit greenhouse area is higher as compared to open field cultivation.
 However, greenhouse crops yield several times more than those obtained from open field cultivation.
Therefore, the monetary return per unit area is many times higher in case of greenhouse cultivation.
 Greenhouses are popular for growing high valued horticultural crops, raising seedlings and plant
propagation material.
 Greenhouses are being used in almost all types of climatic conditions. Intensive greenhouse crop
production has been adopted by Israel and Japan due to smaller and marginal land holdings and shorter
growing seasons.
 Israel and Holland are exporters of greenhouse products. Large areas of land are found under
greenhouse cultivation in Italy, Turkey, Spain and France
Solar cooling - Absorption cooling - Vapour absorption refrigeration
 The refrigeration is produced by using mechanical, power to run the compressor. Generating the
mechanical power using solar thermal energy is costlier when the power is developed by generating
the steam.
 This is because, the pressure of the steam required to generate the power with reasonable efficiency is
sufficiently high and therefore, the generation of high pressure steam using solar energy is very costly
and system is highly complicated. Generally such system is rarely used in practice.
 The solar thermal energy can be made available at temperature 100 to 150°C with simplified
arrangement and economically. If such thermal energy is used for refrigeration purposes, then the
system becomes more economical and preferable also.
 Absorption refrigeration system uses direct heat (instead of work) to produce refrigeration and that
also at a reasonable temperature (100 – 1500 C).
 Therefore, solar energy is generally used to run the refrigeration system economically when the
refrigeration temperature is also in the reasonable range (5 - 10°C). Such systems are commercially
developed throughout the world.
 Two common systems which arc generally used are discussed here:
(a) Aqua -Ammonia absorption refrigeration system

 The ammonia from the generator which contains strong aqua-ammonia is taken out at higher
temperature with the help of boat supplied by solar collector as shown in Fig.
 The water particles and vapour carried by NH3 vapour are separated in rectifier. Then pure NH3 vapour
at higher pressure is condensed in the condenser and collected in the receiver.
 Then the high pressure liquid ammonia is throttled to lower pressure and lower temperature by the
expansion valve (- 5 to 5°C) as per requirements.
 The low temperature ammonia mixture enters the refrigerator and maintains the required temperature
by absorbing the heat. Then the NH3 vapour at low pressure enters into the mixing chamber as shown
in Fig.
 The aqua ammonia in the generator becomes weak in NH3 as ammonia vapours are generated. .This
weak ammonia is passed to the mixing chamber through pressure reduction value (pressure equal to
the evaporator pressure) and heat-exchanger to the mixing chamber.
 This weak aqua absorbs NH3 vapour coming from refrigerator and becomes strong-aqua. This strong
aqua at low temperature is pumped to the generator with the help of the pump through heat exchanger.
The configuration of the system is shown in Fig.
 Aqua ammonia has a special advantage in such a system as one kg of water absorbs 1 kg of NH3 and
absorbed ammonia can be separated from water just by heating the aqua ammonia to 100 to 200°C
which can be easily supplied by the solar energy.
 The NH3 is used as a refrigerant in the system.
 This heat exchanger cools the weak aqua (which increases its absorbing capacity for NH3 at lower
temp) and heats the strong aqua coming from mixing chamber and going to generator (this reduces the
heat input in the generator by the solar collector).
 The heat exchanger improves the overall performance of the system.
Advantages of of aqua - ammonia system

 It can be used for refrigeration (-5 to -10°C) as well as for air-conditioning purposes also (5 to 10°C).
 the refrigerant has low molecular weight and therefore, a high heat of vaporization
 As water is used as absorbent, it is non-toxic and inexpensive
Disadvantages
 A rectifier in the system is absolutely essential as absorbent water is highly volatile.
 Comparatively high pumping power is required.
 as the absorbent (water) is volatile, a rectifier unit is required to separate and drain it out
 The NH3 is flammable therefore, its leaks should be totally avoided.
(b) Lithium-Bromide (Li - Br) water absorption refrigeration system

 This is another absorption refrigeration system which is commonly used for maintaining the
temperature above zero degree and in the range of 5 - 10°C.
 In this system, Lithium-Bromide is used as an absorbent and water as refrigerant. The arrangement of
the components in this system is shown in Fig.
 A flat plate collector is used to supply heat to the generator and water-vapours are raised at a
temperature less than 100°C. These vapours are condensed in the condenser by cooling (supplied from
external source at 30°C (not shown in Fig.) water.
 The condensed water is throttled to a lower pressure and temperature (5°C) and passed through the
evaporator and absorbs the heat from the evaporator at lower temperature.
 The low pressure water-vapour from the evaporator enters into the mixing chamber, whose hot, LiBr
strong solution is sprayed passing through a throttle valve as shown in the Figure.
 The strong LiBr absorbs water-vapour coming out from evaporator and becomes weak. Then this weak
LiBr solution is pumped back by the pump to the generator.
 The purpose of the heat-exchanger in the circuit is same as explained in the previous system. A separate
cooling around mixing chamber is provided to increase the absorption of water vapour (and NH3 in
previous system). This is not shown in Fig.
 The temperature in the generator is always maintained between 80 to 100°C to avoid the crystallization
of lithium bromide which may chock the system.
Advantages
 The system is simple, It gives higher COP
 The pumping water is less as pressure range is small
 As water is used as refrigerant, its latent heat is considerably high (2500 kJ/kg) compared with any
other refrigerant
 The Li-Br being non-volatile and therefore there is no necessity to provide rectifying equipment which
is absolutely necessary in aqua ammonia system
 The Li-Br water solution is non-toxic and non-flammable
Disadvantages
 Li-Br solution is highly corrosive
 The whole system must be air-tight as it works under high vacuum conditions.
 It can be used only for air-conditioning purposes as the maximum temperature maintained in the
evaporator is limited to 500 C.
Solar desiccant Cooling
 The passive desiccant cooling method is effective in a warm and humid climate. Natural cooling of
human body through sweating does not occur in highly humid conditions.
 The removal of moisture (dehumidification) from the room air using either the absorbent or the
adsorbent, followed by evaporative cooling of air, is a workable air-conditioning method for use in a
hot and humid climate.
 Desiccant materials have a high affinity for water vapour which are used to dehumidify moisture. In
solar air-conditioning, silica gel, molecular sieve and methylene glycol are used as desiccant materials.
 In desiccant cooling, the hot and humid air from rooms is first dehumidified with a solid or liquid
desiccant, then cooled by exchange of sensible heat and finally it is evaporatively cooled.
 A schematic diagram of solar dehumidification and evaporative cooling by using methylene glycol
(TEG), an organic liquid absorbent, is shown in Figure.
 The TEG is atomized in order to cause rapid absorption of water vapour in the absorption chamber.
 The TEG is then pumped through a heat exchanger to a stripping chamber (regenerator), sprayed
counter- currently to heated air from solar collectors.
 Hot air takes a part of moisture from glycol solution and is exhausted to atmosphere. Hot concentrated
glycol is pumped back through a heat exchanger to the absorption chamber (dehumidifier).
 Dehydrated air from the absorption chamber passes through the evaporative cooler for further supply
into the air-conditioned room.
SOLAR DRIER
 One of the traditional uses of solar energy-has been for drying of agricultural products. The drying
process removes moisture and helps in the preservation of the product. Traditionally, drying is done
on open ground.
 The disadvantages associated with this are that the process is slow and that insects and dust get mixed
with the product. The use of dryers helps to eliminate these disadvantages. Drying can then be done
faster and in a controlled fashion. In addition, a better- quality product is obtained
Types of Drier in Use

 Solar driers in use can be broadly divided into two types; the direct type and the indirect type.
Direct type cabinet drier

 A cabinet-type solar dryer, suitable for small- scale use, is shown in Fig.
The principal components are
1. Transparent roof of plastic film or glass sheet.
2. Frame work pannels etc. of wood or metal for portable units: bricks, rocks or concrete for
permanent structure
3. Insulation of wood shavings, bagasse, coconut fibre etc.
 The dryer consists of an enclosure with a transparent cover. The material to be dried is placed on
perforated trays. Solar radiation entering the enclosure is absorbed in the product itself and the
surrounding internal surfaces of the enclosure.
 As a result, moisture is removed from the product and the air inside is heated. Suitable openings at the
bottom and top ensure a natural circulation.
 Temperatures ranging from 50°C to 80°C are usually attained and the drying time ranges from 2 to 4
days. Typical products which can be dried in such devices are dates, apricots, chillies, grapes, etc.
 An indirect type of active device is used when the solar radiation falling directly on the product (as in
Figs.) is not adequate, or the temperature of the product needs to be controlled.
 One such system is shown in Fig. Here, the air is heated separately in an array of solar air heaters and
then ducted to the chamber in which the product to be dried is stored.
 Such dryers are suitable for food, grains, tea, spices,'' etc. and for products like leather and ceramics.
The collector is to be mounted with the optimum tilting to get maximum solar radiation depending on
the location and season.
 Air drawn in through the open end of the collector gets heated by the blackened hard board backing
sheet. The absorber is heated by absorbing the solar radiation energy passing through the transparent
cover
 The warm air outlet of the collector is connected to the base of the drying chamber. The drying chamber
itself is provided with transparent sheeting on 3 vertical sides.
 The fourth vertical side {rear side) and bottom horizontal side are made of hard board blackened inside
to absorb the radiant solar heat falling on it and insulated outside to reduce heat losses.
Solar pond
Introduction to Solar Ponds:

 Solar pond, also called solar ‘salt pond’, is an artificially designed pond, filled with salty water,
maintaining a definite concentration gradient. It combines solar energy radiation and sensible heat
storage, and as such, it is utilised for collecting and storing solar energy.
 A solar pond reduces the convective and evaporative heat losses by reversing the temperature gradient
with the help of non-uniform vertical concentration of salts.
Principles of Solar Pond

 The salt gradient solar pond normally consists of following Three zones:
1. Upper Convective Zone (UCZ)
2. Intermediate Gradient Zone
3. Lower Convective Zone (LCZ)
Fig. Illustrates the principle of solar pond
The vertical configuration of “salt gradient solar pond” normally consists of the following three
zones:
 Surface (homogeneous) convective zone (SCZ): It is adjacent to the surface and serves as a buffer
zone between environmental fluctuations at the surface and conductive heat transport from the layer
below. It, is about 10 to 20 cm thick with a low uniform concentration at nearly the ambient air
temperature.
 Lower connective zone (LCG): It is at the bottom of the pond, and this is the layer with highest salt
concentration, where high temperatures are built up.
 Concentration/Intermediate gradient zone (CGZ): This zone keeps the two convective zones (SCG
and LCG) apart and gives the solar pond its unique thermal performance. It provides excellent
insulation for the storage layer, while transmitting the solar radiation.
 To maintain a solar pond in this non-equilibrium stationary state it is necessary to replace the amount
of salt that is transported by molecular diffusion from the LCG to SCZ. This means that salt must be
added to the LCG, and fresh water to the SCG whilst brine is removed.
 The brine can be recycled, divided into water and salt (by solar distillation) and returned to the pond.
The major heat loss occurs from the surface of the solar pond. This heat loss can be prevented by
spreading a plastic grid over the pond’s surface to prevent disturbance by the wind. Disturbed water
tends to lose heat transfer faster than when calm.
 Due to the excessively high salt concentration of the LCZ, a plastic liner or impermeable soil must be
used to prevent infiltration into the nearby ground water or soil. The liner is a factor that increases the
cost of a solar pond.
 A site where the soil is naturally impermeable, such as the base of a natural pond or lake, or can be
made impermeable by compaction or other means, will allow considerably lower power costs.
The optical transmission properties and related collection efficiency vary greatly and depend on the
following factors:
 Salt concentration.
 The quantity of suspended dust or other particles.
 Surface impurities like leaves or debris, biological material like bacteria and algae.
 The type of salt.
 It becomes obvious that much higher efficiencies and storage can be achieved through the utilization
of refined or pure salt whenever possible, as this maximizes optical transmission.
 The solar pond is an effective collector of diffuse, as well as direct radiation, and will gather useful
heat even on cloudy or overcast days.
 Under ideal conditions, the pond’s absorption efficiency can reach 50% of incoming solar radiation,
although actual efficiencies average about 20% due to heat losses.
 Once the lower layer of the pond reaches over 60°C the heat generated can be drawn off through a heat
exchanger and used to drive a low temperature organic Rankine cycle (ORC) turbine.
 This harnesses the pressure differentials created when a low boiling point organic fluid (or gas) is
boiled by heat from the pond via a heat exchanger and cooled by a condenser to drive a turbine to
generate electricity.
 The conversion efficiency of an organic Rankine cycle turbine driving an electric generator is 5-8%
(which mean 1-3% from insolation to electricity output).
Applications of solar heating / cooling systems
SOLAR DISTILLATION
 Fresh water is a necessity for the sustenance of life and also the key to man's prosperity. It is generally
observed that in some arid, semi-arid and coastal areas which are thinly populated and scattered, one
or two family members are always busy in bringing fresh water from a long distance.
 In these areas solar energy is plentiful and can be used for converting saline water into distilled water.
The pure water can be obtained by distillation in the simplest solar still, generally known as the "basin
type solar still".
 It is shown schematically in Fig. Such solar stills have been operated for farm and community use in
several countries.
 It consists of a blackened basin containing saline water at a shallow depth, over which is a transparent
air tight cover that encloses completely the space above the basin.
 It has a roof-like shape. The cover which is usually glass, may be of plastic, is sloped towards a
collection trough. Solar radiation passes through the cover and is absorbed and converted into heat in
the black surface.
 Impure water in the basin or tray is heated and the vapour produced is condensed to purified water oh
the cooler interior of the roof.
 The transparent roof material, (mainly glass) transmits nearly all radiation falling on it and absorbs
very little, hence it remains cool enough to condense the water vapour.
 The condensed water flows down the sloping roof and is collected in troughs at the bottom. Saline
water can be replaced in the operation by either continuous operation or by batches.
 Although there are numerous configurations of basin type units, their basic theory is identical. The
basin type solar still has produced distilled water at a cost per unit of product lower than other types
of solar equipment and is the only type in operation.
 Operating efficiencies of 35 to 50% for basin type still have been achieved in practical units, as
compared with a theoretical maximum of slightly more than 60%.
 The performance rating and efficiency of the solar still is determined by plotting the graph of the
amount of fresh water produced per unit of basin area in one day versus the solar radiation intensity
over the same period. Such curves for several stills are drawn.
 Efficiency is defined as, ƞ = wΔh / H

where w = weight of distillate per square meter per day.

Δh = enthalpy change from cold water to vapour.
H = Solar radiation intensity per square meter per day.
 Here area of the water surface is to be considered. Δh includes the latent heat of vaporization, which
is being taken a3 average value 594.5 kcal/kg (2489 kJ/kg).
 Solar still installations may provide about 15 to 50 litres per day per 10 sq. m.
SOLAR FURNACE
 Introduction. A solar furnance is an instrument to get high temperatures by concentrating solar
radiations onto a specimen.
 Solar furnaces have long been used for scientific investigations. French scientist Lavoisier used it in
1774, with a lens as tall as man, for carrying chemical studies at high temperatures.
 In 1921, German scientist Strauble devised a solar furnace composed of a paraboloidal concentrator
and a lens. Then he built another furnace.
 In which he used paraboloidal concentrator, 2 m in aperture and 86 cm in focal length, was fixed facing
downward and the solar radiation was conveyed upward by heliostats (turnable mirrors).
 It consists of 63 heliostats, each having an area of 45 sq. m., arranged in eight tiers. The heliostats
reflect the solar radiation in a parallel beam toward a paraboloidal mirror 40 m high and 54 m
maximum width.
 This mirror is made up of 9500 pieces which are curved to produce a minimum image of the sun at the
focus.
 The maximum temperature, attained at the focal point of the mirror, is estimated to be over 3800°C,
the maximum heat flux is 16,000 kW/sq. m.
Working principle
 The principle of the solar furnace is outlined in Fig. A number of heliostats (turnable mirrors) are
arranged in terraces on a slopping surface (e.g., on a hill side) so that, regardless of the sun's position,
they always reflect solar radiation in the same direction onto a large paraboloid (or spherical) reflecting
collector made up of many fixed mirrors) attached to the face of a structure.
 The collector then brings the radiation to a focus within a small volume (receiver). In figure a heliostat
type furnace with horizontal optical axis is shown which is comparatively convenient and widely used
in large furnaces.
 The most desirable mirror is that obtained by grinding and polishing a glass plate into an optical flat,
aluminizing or silvering by vacuum evaporation, and cooling with a suitable film.
 The change of elevation and that of azimuth can be obtained by the rotation of frame about a horizontal
axis and about a vertical axis respectively. In order to rotate the frame,
 Uses: The solar furnace is an excellent means for studying Properties of ceramics at high temperatures
above the range ordinarily.
Advantages.
 In a solar furnace heating is carried out without any contamination and temperature is easily controlled
by changing the position of the material in focus.
 It gives an extremely high temperature, It provides very rapid heating and cooling.
 Various property measurements are possible on an open specimen.
 Contamination by ions does not occur m fusion which might happen in the case of plasma or oxy
hydrogen flame.
 Proper desirable atmosphere can be provided to the specimen.
Disadvantages:
 Its use is limited to sunny days, and to 4-5 hours only (maximum bright sun shine hours)
 High cost.
UNIT IV
Photovoltaic Principle
Principles Of PV Cell
 Solar photovoltaic (PV) system converts solar energy directly into electric energy. Solar photovoltaic
cell (or) solar cell is used as a basic conversion device.
 When photons from the sun are absorbed in a semi-conductor, they create free electrons with higher
energies then the electrons which provide the bonding in the basis crystal.
 Once three electrons are crated, there must be an electric field to induce these higher energy electrons
to flow out of the semiconductor to do useful work.
 The electric field is most solar cells are provided by the function of materials which have difference
electrical properties.
 Three processes are required to obtain a useful power output from photon interaction in a
semiconductor.
a. The photons have to be absorbed in the active part of the material and result in electrons being
excited to a higher energy potential.
b. The electron-hole charge carries created must be physically separated and moved to the edge
of the cell.
c. The charge carries must be removed from the cell and delivered to a useful load before they
lose their extra potential.
For completing the above processes, a solar cell consists of:

 Semiconductor in which electron-hole pairs are created by absorption of incident solar radiation.
 Region containing a drift field for charge separation.
 Charge collecting front and back electrodes.
Working:
 The combination of N-type and P-type semiconductor constitutes a photovoltaic cell as solar cell.
 The PN junction is usually obtained by putting a P-type base material into a diffusion furnace
containing a gaseous N-type dopant such as phosphorous and allowing the N dopant and allowing then
dopant to diffuse into the surface.
 The positive and negative charges created by the absorption of photons are thus encouraged to drift to
the front and back of the solar cell.
 The back is completely covered by a metallic contact to remove the charges to the electric load. The
collection of charges from the front of the cell is aided by a fine grid of narrow metallic fingers. An
anti-reflective coating is applied on the top of the cell.
How photovoltaic systems operate

 The PV cell is the basic building block of a PV system. Individual cells can vary in size from about
1.25cm to about 100cm across. However, one cell only produces 1 or 2 Watts, which is only enough
electricity for small uses.
 PV cells are electrically connected in a packaged, weather-tight PV module or panel. PV modules vary
in size and in the amount of electricity they can produce. PV module electricity generating capacity
increases with the number of cells in the module or in the surface area of the module.
 PV modules can be connected in groups to form a PV array. A PV array can be composed of two or
hundreds of PV modules.
 The number of PV modules connected in a PV array determines the total amount of electricity that the
array can generate.
 Photovoltaic cells generate direct current (DC) electricity. This DC electricity can be used to charge
batteries that, in turn, power devices that use direct current electricity. Nearly all electricity is supplied
as alternating current (AC) in electricity transmission and distribution systems.
 Devices called inverters are used on PV modules or in arrays to convert the DC electricity to AC
electricity. PV cells and modules will produce the largest amount of electricity when they are directly
facing the sun.
 PV modules and arrays can use tracking systems that move the modules to constantly face the sun, but
these systems are expensive.
 Most PV systems have modules in a fixed position with the modules facing directly south (in the
northern hemisphere - directly north in the southern hemisphere) and at an angle that optimizes the
physical and economic performance of the system.
Applications of photovoltaic systems

 The smallest photovoltaic systems power calculators and wrist watches.
 Larger systems can provide electricity to pump water, to power communications equipment, to supply
electricity for a single home or business, or to form large arrays that supply electricity to thousands of
electricity consumers.
Advantages of PV systems are

 PV systems can supply electricity in locations where electricity distribution systems (power lines) do
not exist, and they can also supply electricity to an electric power grid.
 PV arrays can be installed quickly and can be any size.
 The environmental impact of PV systems is minimal.
Importance of FERMI level:
What is meant by Fermi level in semiconductor?

 Fermi level is the highest energy state occupied by electrons in a material at absolute zero
temperature. As the temperature is increased, electrons start to exist in higher energy states too. Fermi
level is also defined as the work done to add an electron to the system.
 If PN junction is in thermodynamic equilibrium, then the Fermi energy must be uniform throughout.
 Since the Fermi level is near the top of the gap of N doped material and near the bottom of the P doped
side, an electric field must exist at the junction providing the charge separation function of cell.
 Important characteristic of the Fermi level is that, in thermodynamic equilibrium, it is always

continuous across between the two materials.
BASIC PHOTOVOLTIC SYSTEM FOR POWER GENERATION
 The basic photovoltaic system integrated with the utility grid is shown in figure.
 It generated electric power to be delivered to a local load.
Solar Array
 It consists of large or small which converts the insulation to useful DC electric power.
Blowing Diode
 A blowing diode which lets the array generated power flow only towards the battery or grid without a
blowing diode the battery would discharge back through the solar array during times of no insulation.
Battery Storage
 Battery storage in which the solar generated electric energy may be stored.
Inverter/Converter
 It is usually solid state, which converts the battery bus voltage to AC frequency and matches the phase
with the utility grid. It is typically a DC-AC inverter.
 It may also contain a suitable output step up transformer, perhaps some filtering and power correction
circuits and perhaps some power conditioning circuits.
Appropriate Switches and Circuit Breakers

 It to permit isolating parts of the system, as the battery one would also want to include breakers and
fusing protection between the inverter output and the utility grid to protect both the photo-voltaic
system and the grid.
Advantages of Photo-Voltaic Solar Energy Conversion

 Absence of moving parts.
 Maintenance cost is low.
 Easy to operate, They do not create pollution.
 They have a long effective life.
 They are highly reliable.

 They consume no fuel.
Disadvantages
 High cost.
 Energy storage is required because of no insulation at night.
Application
 Battery charging, Street lighting.
 Weather monitoring, Community radio and television sets.
 Water pumping sets for micro irrigation and drinking water supply.
Materials for photovoltaic cells
The materials commonly used for solar photovoltaic cell synthesis are
1. Single Crystal Silicon
2. Multicrystattine Silicon
3. Amorphous Silicon
4. Cadmium Telluride
5. Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide
The various properties of the materials and their synthesis procedure are described below
Single Crystal Silicon
 The usual source of silicon is silica (silicon dioxide).
 In order to produce silicon, silica is melted and a measured amount of carbon is added.
 As a result, carbon dioxide is formed and silica is reduced to relatively pure silicon called metallurgical
grade (MG) silicon.
 It has to be converted by a purification process to a much purer grade called semiconductor grade
(SeG) silicon.
 The process is to treat MG-Si with hydrochloric acid to get trichlorosilane gas, which is condensed
and fractionally distilled to yield SeG-silicon.
 This is obtained in multicrystalline form. In the final step, the multicrystalline state is converted to j
the single crystal state.
 The above method for converting MG-Si to single crystal SeG-Si is expensive and increases the cost
of the silicon by a factor of about one hundred.
 The single crystal silicon is obtained in the form of a long cylindrical block, 6 to 15 cm in diameter.
 This block is sliced into a number of wafers (about 250 μm thick) by sawing. Recently, a new type of
saw, called the multi-wire saw has been developed to reduce the sawing losses further.
 The p-type wafers are then passed through a furnace; containing phosphorus vapour so that phosphorus
atoms diffuse a short distance through one face of the wafers, thereby forming n-type silicon up to a
depth of 1 micron or so.
 After this, metal contacts are fixed to both faces of the wafer and an anti-reflection coating laid.
 For single crystal silicon, the efficiency ranges between 12 and 16 per cent.
 The highest value reported is 22.7 per cent.
 Finally the wafer is encapsulated in a weather resistant transparent coating.
Multicrystalline Silicon
 Most of the current commercial modules are made from multicrystalline silicon.
 The cells are made from wafers by a process very similar to that described for single crystal silicon ,
the step for converting from the multicrystalline state to the single crystal being eliminated,
 Multicrystalline wafers are prepared from large-grained multicrystalline ingots.
 The grains are generally much larger than the wafer thickness. Consequently, the grain boundaries do
not interfere much with the flow of electrons.
 Thus, the cells yield efficiencies not very inferior to those obtained with single crystal cells, and have
the advantage of a lower cost.
 Cell efficiencies up to 20.3 per cent have been obtained (Table 9.1).
 Methods have been developed to prepare multicrystalline silicon in the form of a ribbon directly in
order to remove the cost of wafering as well as reducing the wastage of silicon source material
 Both the EFG process and the string ribbon process are suitable from the point of view of continuous
production.
 Multicrystalline silicon solar cells have a great potential for further development in terms of increased
cell efficiency and reduced cost.
 They can be manufactured easily in square shapes and hence, when used in modules, a more complete
utilisation of the module area is realized.
 Consequently, the lower efficiency of the cell is compensated at the module level.
Amorphous Silicon
 Thin-film cells based on a hydrogenated alloy of amorphous silicon have been successfully
commercialized.
 This alloy is represented by the symbol a-Si:H.
 Typically, a cell consists of three layers, viz. p-type, undoped and n-type amorphous silicon.
 It is manufactured by a chemical vapour deposition technique.
 In this technique, large vacuum chambers are filled with mixtures of silane gas, hydrogen and small
quantities of doping agents (diborane for p- type, phosphine for n-type).
 The silane gas dissociates allowing silicon to deposit on a glass substrate.
 Typical deposition temperatures are in the range of 150° to 250°C.

 The vapour deposition technique is suitable for automation, large-scale production, and fabrication of
large size cells. As a consequence, the potential for reducing manufacturing costs is high.
 However, the expectation of large- scale production of amorphous silicon cells has not materialized
due to their lower efficiency and degradation with exposure to sunlight.
 The conversion efficiency of amorphous silicon cells is lower than single crystal and multicrystalline
silicon cells.
 Efficiencies around 13 per cent have been obtained in the laboratory, while the highest efficiencies
reported with com-mercially available modules are about 8 per cent.
 The other problem associated with amorphous silicon is that the performance of the cell is found to
degrade by 10 to 20 per cent with exposure to sunlight.
 Thus an initial efficiency of 8 per cent is likely to stabilise at a value between 6.5 and 7 per cent after
about one year of operation.
Cadmium Telluride
 Like amorphous silicon, the cadmium telluride (CdTe) cell is also a thin film cell requiring very little
material.
 Its band gap is close to the optimum value which can yield the maximum theoretical efficiency.
 Therefore, many efforts have been made towards the large-scale production of modules.
 A hetero junction is formed between a layer of p-type cadmium telluride, 3 to 5 μm thick, and n-type
cadmium sulphide, 0.05 to 0.08 μm thick.
 A 0.4 to 0.6 μm transparent layer of tin oxide, known as transparent conducting oxide (TCO), acts as
the front contact.
 Attempts are being made to set up production lines with capacities in the megawatt range since the
efficiency of the commercial modules is expected to increase further.
 Although there are some concerns about the toxic effects of cadmium, investigations have shown that
these issues can be handled effectively
Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide

 Rapid progress has also been made in the last few years with thin film multicrystalline cells made from
copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS).
 A schematic diagram of a typical CIGS cell is shown in Fig 1.
 The substrate on which the cell is based is sodalime glass. The back contact is a thin 1 μm film of
molybdenum.
 The junction is formed by chemical deposition of a thin 0.05 μm cadmium sulphide layer on a CIGS
film 2 μm to 4μm thick. Like CdTe, a heterojunction is formed.
 A thin layer of zinc oxide, which acts as a TCO, is deposited on the top in addition to an antireflection
coating.
 Unlike amorphous silicon, the properties of CIGS are stable. Several manufacturing processes have
been developed for increasing the cell efficiency.
 The highest value obtained is 14.7 per cent with a module area of 18 cm2.
Design and fabrication of photovoltaic cells
 The fabrication of photovoltaic cell involves three phases

 Crystal growth.
 Slice treatment.
 Formation into arrays or modules.
 The various techniques for silicon crystal growth are
 Czochralski technique
 Zone refining
a. Czochralski technique.
 This well-established crystal growth technique consists of dipping a small seed crystal into molten
material.
 The dopant (e.g. boron acceptors for p-type) added to the melt. Slowly the seed crystal is mechanically
pulled up with, a large crystal growing from the seed.
 The grown crystal is then sliced close to 300μm thick with highly accurate diamond saws. About 40
to 50% crystalline material is lost during this process, which represents most serious loss.
b. Zone refining
 Here the polycrystalline material is formed as a rod. A molten zone is passed along the rod by heating
with a radio frequency coil or with lasers.
 This process both purifies the material and forms a single crystal. The single crystal has to be sliced
and treated as for other techniques.
Slice treatment
 The 300 μm to 400 μm thick slices are then chemically etched.
 A very thin layer of n-type material is formed by diffusion of donors {e.g. phosphorus) for the top
surface.
 One method is to heat the slices to 1000°C in a vacuum chamber into which is passed P2O5.
 Photolithographic methods may be used to form the grid of electrical contacts.
 First Ti may be deposited to form a low resistance contact with the Si, then a very thin pd layer to
prevent chemical reaction of Ti with Ag; and then the final Ag deposit for the current carrying grid.
 Other methods depend on screen printing and electroplating.
 To complete the cell, electrical contacts, designed to cause minimum obstruction of sunlight (e.g.,
metal grids), are attached to the front and back of the semiconductor material.
 A transparent cover with an antireflection coating to reduce loss of solar radiation reflection is placed
infront of the cell, and the whole is encapsulated to provide protection from damage.
Modules and Arrays

 The individual cells, of size 10 cm * 10 cm, are then connected into modules of about 30 cells.
 Each module usually has three to five columns of cells in series.
 Such an arrangement produces an emf of about 15 V.
 The cells sandwiched in inert filler between a clear front cover (usually ultraviolet resistant plastic)
and a backing plate.
 The cover seal must be watertight under all conditions including thermal stress.
 The rear plate must be strong and yet present a low thermal resistance.
 Solar cell arrays are often assembled from a combination of individual modulus usually connected in
parallel.
 Each module is it a combination of cells in series.
 Each cell is a set of surface element connected in parallel.
 Maximum open circuit potentials of the modules are usually ~15 V, and maximum currents at the
nodule terminals are ~ 1.5 A.
 Commercial solar arrays can be expected to give trouble-free service so long as elementary abuse is
avoided. Life-times of at least 20 years are expected.
 The photo-voltaic cell based on this method has the efficiency of about 11 to 12%.
Efficiency of solar cell
Efficiency of solar cell and its limitation

 Solar cell efficiency refers to the portion of energy in the form of sunlight that can be converted
via photovoltaic into electricity.
 The efficiency of the solar cells used in a photovoltaic system, in combination with latitude and
climate, determines the annual energy output of the system.
 For example, a solar panel with 20% efficiency and an area of 1 m2 will produce 200 W at Standard
Test Conditions, but it can produce more when the sun is high in the sky and will produce less in
cloudy conditions and when the sun is low in the sky.
 In central Colorado, which receives annual insolation of 5.5 kWh/m2/day, such a panel can be expected
to produce 440 kWh of energy per year. However, in Michigan, which receives only
3.8 kWh/m2/day, annual energy yield will drop to 280 kWh for the same panel.
 At more northerly European latitudes, yields are significantly lower: 175 kWh annual energy yield in
southern England.
 Several factors affect a cell's conversion efficiency value, including its reflectance efficiency,
thermodynamic efficiency, charge carrier separation efficiency, and conduction efficiency values.
Because these parameters can be difficult to measure directly, other parameters are measured instead,
including quantum efficiency, VOC ratio, and fill factor.
 Reflectance losses are accounted for by the quantum efficiency value, as they affect "external quantum
efficiency." Recombination losses are accounted for by the quantum efficiency, VOC ratio, and fill
factor values.
 Resistive losses are predominantly accounted for by the fill factor value, but also contribute to the
quantum efficiency and VOC ratio values.
Limitation
 The first major limitation of silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells is that they are made from a material that
is rarely found in nature in the pure, elemental form needed. While there is no shortage of silicon in
the form of silicon dioxide (beach sand).
 Panels make large-scale installations very expensive, which is in part why you typically see them on
rooftops and big solar “farms.
 The third major limitation of conventional solar cells is their power conversion efficiency, which has
been stuck at 25 percent for 15 years.
Thermoelectric generator solar cell
 Recently there has been a renewable of interest in the possibility of using thermo-electric generation
as a means of directly converting incoming solar energy to electricity.
 Seebeck discovered in 1822 that heat applied to a junction of two metals produces electricity at
efficiencies around 1% or less.
 Today semi-conductor materials like lead telluride, zinc antimonide, bismuth telluride, germanium
silicide and a host of other compound semi-conductor materials produce power at 10% efficiency.
 Ternary compounds like silver-antimony telluride,lead-tin telluride and quartenary compounds like
the ones composed of bismuth, allurium, selenium and antimony (called nelelium) are promising ones.
 The only requirement is to concentrate solar energy on the thermoelectric generators.
 Seeback discovered that an electric current could be produced in a closed circuit compound of two
different conductors if one junction of the dissimilar materials was maintained at a difference from
that of the other junction.
 A device which converts heat energy (thermal energy) into electrical energy through semiconductor
or conductor is called thermoelectric generator.
 If the circuit is broken, an open circuit voltage appears across the terminals of break as shown in
Fig.The Seeback coefficient depends upon the choice of the materials and cannot be attributed to either
material above.
Application of Solar Energy in Space

 The use of solar energy for power spacecraft, was started in 1958 U.S. launched Vanguard 1, which
contained a small array of silicon solar cells to power its 5 mW back up transmitter.
 Russian also launched, in the same year, a satellite that was totally powered by solar cells. Thereafter
the demand for solar cells increased rapidly for space use.
 The selection of the best power system for a particular mission depends primarily on the power level
required and the length of the mission.
 If the mission is less than one day, power required may be of about 1 kW, then chemical storage
batteries are suitable.
 If the mission is between one day and one month in duration, power needed is more, may be of the
order of 100 kW, fuel cells would be the best choice.
 If the mission is more than a month, then the weight of the fuel for any system other than solar or
nuclear makes it prohibitive.
 Radioactive-isotopes thermoelectric generators are used for some systems going-away from the sun.
Photochemical solar cells
 Photochemical solar cells converts visible light into electricity.

 A photochemical solar cell that is based on the dye- sensitization of thin nanocrystalline films of TiO2
nanoparticles.
 A photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar cell is defined as a cell in which the irradiation by light of
appropriate frequency on an electrode in contact with a suitable electrolyte produces a change in the
electrode potential with respect to reference electrode (under open circuit conditions) or produces a
change in the current flowing in the galvanic cell containing the electrode (under short circuit
conditions).
 The photoelectrochemical conversion of energy is attractive because there is an opportunity of solar
energy storage in the form of fuel, which is easily transportable. A photoelectrochemical cell is
generally referred as a PEC cell.
What is DSSC?
 A dye‐ sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a low‐ cost solar cell belonging to the group of thin film solar
cells.
 First version of a dye solar cell, also known as the Gratzel cell, was invented by Michael Gratzel.
Components of DSSC
 Transparent conducting and counter conducting electrodes
 The nanostructured wide band gap semiconducting layer
 The dye molecules
 The electrolyte
How to make a DSSC?

 The anode is transparent like glass.
 Between the anode and the cathode is a mesh of Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles.
 The TiO2 nanoparticles are coated with a light absorbing dye that converts photons into electrons.
 An Electrolyte (Iodide) fills the spaces between the TiO2 nanoparticles.
 Put all these pieces together to have dye sensitized solar cell.
Parameters necessary for characterisation of pec solar cell :

 The performance of a photovoltaic or PEC device can be described by the following measurements:
(a) the short circuit current (b) the open circuit voltage (c) the maximum power (d) the fill factor (e)
the efficiency.
Mechanism of DSSC
 When a photon strikes a dye molecule, the energy from the photon is absorbed into the dye molecule.
The dye molecule enters an excited state and emits an electron.
 The emitted electron travels through the TiO2 nanoparticles until it reaches the anode.
 The dye molecule just emitted one of its own electron, it will start to decompose unless it receives
another electron to replace the one it lost.
 The dye coated TiO2 nanoparticles are immersed in the solution of iodide. The iodide is able to replace
the electrons lost by the dye molecules.
 The iodide molecules are oxidized into tri-iodide which will float around until it comes in contact with
the cathode.
 The tri-iodide recovers the missing electron from the cathode which reduces tri-iodide back to three
iodide molecules.
 The electron emitted from the dye flows from the anode to whatever is powered by DSSC and then
flow back into the cell through the cathode.
 The electrons from the cathode restores the electron needed by the iodide which restores the electron
needed by the dye molecules and the whole process starts over again.
Advantages
 Dye sensitized solar cells are the most efficient third- generation solar technology available & is greatly
used in applications like rooftop solar collectors.
 DSSCs work even in low-light conditions. Hence they are very popular under cloudy weather
conditions and non-direct sunlight.
 DSSCs are built up with only a thin layer of conductive plastic on the front side to allow radiation of
heat much easily.
 DSSCs are light weight and flexible.
 DSSCs are economical and easy to manufacture.
Disadvantages
 DSSCs are not considered as an option, for large-scale developments.
 The liquid electrolyte, which is not very stable at varying temperatures. The electrolyte can freeze at
low temperatures cutting power production and causing physical damage.
 Another major drawback is the electrolyte solution, which contains volatile organic solvents and must
be carefully sealed.
Battery storage with inverter system, Direct-coupled PV system
Battery storage with inverter system

 To compensate for this outage problem, many people choose to have a grid-tied system with battery
backup. This method works the same as a grid tied system, except for the fact you have a battery bank
which will store electricity to use when the power goes out.
 The power from the solar panels comes into your house just like the previous method, but instead of
going straight to your home wiring, it goes to your battery bank via a charge controller.
 The charge controller will determine the state of your battery bank and charge the system and maintain
the full charge state before it will send any power to your house wiring.
 Once the batteries are charged, the rest of the power produced from your panels feeds the wiring in
your house while your battery bank sits on standby.
 At night when your solar panels aren't producing any power, the powers from the batteries begin
feeding electricity to the house through the converter.
 It will continue this way until the solar panels begin producing power again or until it depletes whatever
stored electricity it has.
 In the event of a power outage, the main power in your house will still go out. However, power that
is stored in the battery bank can be utilized using a modified sine or pure sine inverter.
 This usually won’t be enough electricity to power the entire house, but it can be wired to run your
emergency items such as lights, fans, small appliances, laptops and such.
 Of course the bigger the battery bank, and the larger the converters, the more appliances you'll be able
to run for longer periods of time.
Direct-coupled PV system
 In a direct-coupled PV system, the PV array is connected directly to the load. Therefore, the load can
operate only whenever there is solar radiation, so such a system has very limited applications.
 The schematic diagram of such a system is shown in Figure. A typical application of this type of system
is for water pumping, i.e., the system operates as long as sunshine is available, and instead of storing
electrical energy, water is usually stored.
Stand-alone applications
 Stand-alone PV systems are used in areas that are not easily accessible or have no access to an electric
grid. A stand-alone system is independent of the electricity grid, with the energy produced normally
being stored in batteries.
 A typical stand-alone system would consist of a PV module or modules, batteries, and a charge
controller.
 An inverter may also be included in the system to convert the direct current generated by the PV
modules to the alternating current form required by normal appliances.
 A schematic diagram of a stand-alone system is shown in Figure. As can be seen, the system can satisfy
both DC and AC loads simultaneously.
Grid-connected system, Hybrid-connected system
Grid-connected system
 Nowadays, it is usual practice to connect PV systems to the local electricity network.
 This means that, during the day, the electricity generated by the PV system can either be used
immediately (which is normal for systems installed in offices, other commercial buildings, and
industrial applications) or be sold to one of the electricity supply companies (which is more common
for domestic systems, where the occupier may be out during the day).
 In the evening, when the solar system is unable to provide the electricity required, power can be bought
back from the network.
 In effect, the grid is acting as an energy storage system, which means the PV system does not need to
include battery storage. A schematic diagram of a grid-connected system is shown in Figure.
Hybrid-connected system
 In the hybrid-connected system, more than one type of electricity generator is employed. The second
type of electricity generator can be renewable, such as a wind turbine, or conventional, such as a diesel
engine generator or the utility grid.
 The diesel engine generator can also be a renewable source of electricity when the diesel engine is fed
with biofuels. A schematic diagram of a hybrid-connected system is shown in Figure.
 Again, in this system, both DC and AC loads can be satisfied simultaneously.
Solar cells in terrestrial and space applications
Types of PV applications:
These are some of the most common PV applications:
Remote-site electrification:
 Photovoltaic systems can provide long-term power at sites far from utility grids. The loads include
lighting, small appliances, water pumps (including small circulators of solar water heating systems),
and communications equipment.
 In these applications, the load demand can vary from a few watts to tens of kilowatts. Usually, PV
systems are preferred to fuel generators, since they do not depend on a fuel supply, which can be
problematic, and they do avoid maintenance and environmental pollution problems.
Communications:
 Photovoltaics can provide reliable power for communication systems, especially in remote locations,
away from the utility grid. Examples include communication relay towers, travelers’ information
transmitters, cellular telephone transmitters, radio relay stations, emergency call units, and military
communication facilities. Such systems range in size from a few watts for callbox systems to several
kilowatts for relay stations.
 Obviously, these systems are stand-alone units in which PV-charged batteries provide a stable DC
voltage that meets the varying current demand. Practice has shown that such PV power systems can
operate reliably for a long time with little maintenance.
Remote monitoring:
 Because of their simplicity, reliability, and capacity for unattended operation, photovoltaic modules
are preferred in providing power at remote sites to sensors, data loggers, and associated meteorological
monitoring transmitters, irrigation control, and monitoring highway traffic.
 Most of these applications require less than 150 W and can be powered by a single photovoltaic
module. The batteries required are often located in the same weather-resistant enclosure as the data
acquisition or monitoring equipment.
 Vandalism may be a problem in some cases; however, mounting the modules on a tall pole may solve
the problem and avoid damage from other causes.
Water pumping:
 Stand-alone photovoltaic systems can meet the need for small to intermediate-size water-pumping
applications.
 These include irrigation, domestic use, village water supply, and livestock watering. Advantages of
using water pumps powered by photovoltaic systems include low maintenance, ease of installation,
and reliability. Most pumping systems do not use batteries but store the pumped water in holding tanks.
Charging vehicle batteries:

 When not in use, vehicle batteries self-discharge over time. This is a problem for organizations that
maintain a fleet of vehicles, such as the fire-fighting services.
 Photovoltaics battery chargers can help solve this problem by keeping the battery at a high state of
charge by providing a trickle charging current.
 In this application, the modules can be installed on the roof of a building or car park (also providing
shading) or on the vehicle itself. Another important application in this area is the use of PV modules
to charge the batteries of electric vehicles.
Building-integrated photovoltaics:
 BIPVs is a special application in which PVs are installed either in the fac¸ade or roof of a building and
are an integral part of the building structure, replacing in each case the particular building component.
 To avoid an increase in the thermal load of the building, usually a gap is created between the PV and
the building element (brick, slab, etc.), which is behind the PV, and in this gap, ambient air is circulated
so as to remove the produced heat.
 During wintertime, this air is directed into the building to cover part of the building load; during
summer, it is just rejected back to ambient at a higher temperature.
 A common example where these systems are installed is what is called zero-energy houses, where the
building is an energy-producing unit that satisfies all its own energy needs. In another application
related to buildings, PVs can be used as effective shading devices.
Semiconductors
 An atom consists of the nucleus and electrons that orbit the nucleus. According to
quantum mechanics, electrons of an isolated atom can have only specific discrete or quantized energy
levels.
 In elements that have electrons in multiple orbitals, the innermost electrons have the minimum
(maximum negative) energy and therefore require a large amount of energy to overcome the attraction
of the nucleus and become free.
 When atoms are brought close together, the electronic energy of individual atoms is altered and the
energy levels are grouped in energy bands.
 In some energy bands, electrons are allowed to exist, and in other bands electrons are forbidden. The
electrons at the outermost shell are the only ones that interact with other atoms.
 This is the highest normally filled band, which corresponds to the ground state of the valence electrons
in an atom and is called the valence band.
 The electrons in the valence band are loosely attached to the nucleus of the atom and therefore, may
attach more easily to a neighboring atom, giving that atom a negative charge and leaving the original
atom as a positive charged ion.
 Some electrons in the valence band may possess a lot of energy, which enables them to jump into a
higher band. These electrons are responsible for the conduction of electricity and heat, and this band
is called the conduction band.
 The difference in the energy of an electron in the valence band and the innermost shell of the
conduction band is called the band gap. A schematic representation of the energy band diagrams of
three types of materials is shown in Figure.
 Materials whose valence gap is full and whose conduction band is empty have very high band gaps
and are called insulators because no current can be carried by electrons in the filled band and the
energy gap is so large that, under ordinary circumstances, a valence electron cannot accept energy,
since the empty states in the conduction band are inaccessible to it. The band gap in these materials is
greater than 3 eV.
 Materials that have relatively empty valence bands and may have some electrons in the conduction
band are called conductors. In this case, the valence and the conduction bands overlap.
 The valence electrons are able to accept energy from an external field and move to an unoccupied
allowed state at slightly higher energy levels within the same band.
 Metals fall in this category, and the valence electrons in a metal can be easily emitted outside the
atomic structure and become free to conduct electricity.
 Materials with valence gaps partly filled have intermediate band gaps and are called semiconductors.
The band gap in these materials is smaller than 3 eV. They have the same band structure as the
insulators but their energy gap is much narrower.
Two types of semiconductors are:

 The pure ones, called intrinsic semiconductors.
 Those doped with small amounts of impurities, called extrinsic semiconductors.
 In intrinsic semiconductors, the valence electrons can easily be excited by thermal or optical means
and jump the narrow energy gap into the conduction band, where the electrons have no atomic bonding
and therefore are able to move freely through the crystal.
UNIT V
Solar power systems - Electrical power generation
 The solar thermal energy can be converted into mechanical power but the selection of the cycle and
working fluid used depend upon the temperature available with the collector.
 The conventional flat plate collector can provide the temp, upto 80° to 100°C, the parabolic collectors
provide 300°C to 400°C depending upon the concentration ratio (30 - 40) and the heliostat tower type
collectors provide above 500°C as it can give maximum concentration ratio even upto 1000
 According to the temperature available with the collector, the fluid should be selected. As per the
temp., the power generating systems are classified as
Solar Thermal Electric Conversion

 Introduction. In general, the conversion of solar energy into electricity by way of thermal (or heat)
energy. Heat can be converted directly into electrical energy by solar cell or thermionic or thermo-
electric methods, but these techniques may not be suitable for use with the sun-generated heat.
 The most practical thermal electric procedure for solar energy is to utilize the energy to heat a working
fluid (e.g., a gas, water or other volatile liquid).
 The heat energy is then converted into mechanical energy in a turbine and finally into electrical energy
by means of a conventional generator coupled to the turbine. This mechanical power production
system is called the solar thermal power production system.
 Solar thermal power generation employs power cycles which are broadly classified as low, medium
and high temperature cycles.
 Low temperature cycles generally use flat-plate collectors so that maximum temperatures are limited
to about 100°C.
 Medium temperature cycles work at maximum temperatures ranging from 150 to 300°C, while high
temperature cycles work at temperatures above 300°C.
 For the low and medium temperature ranges, the thermodynamic cycles preferred is the Rankine cycle.
For the high temperature range apart from the Rankine cycle, the Brayt.on and the Stirling cycles are
also being considered.
 For the efficient conversion of heat energy into mechanical energy and hence into electricity, the
working fluid should be supplied to the turbine at high temperature.
 To obtain such temperatures, above 175°C from solar energy requires the use of
focusing/concentrating collectors.
 Since these collectors concentrate direct solar radiation, but essentially no diffuse radiation, they would
be most effective in locations where there is ample sunshine.
 Two basic arrangements have been proposed for converting solar radiation into electrical energy: (1)
the central receiver system and (2) the distributed collector system.
 In the central receiver system, commonly known as the "power tower design, an array of sun-tracking
mirrors (heliostats) reflect solar radiation into a receiver mounted on top of a central tower.
 Solar energy absorbed in the central receiver is removed as heat by means of a heat transport fluid and
converted into electrical energy in a turbine-generator.
 Analysis of the two systems indicates that they may have different preferred applications. The energy
losses is transmission by radiation are less than in transport as a hot fluid.
 Hence, higher temperatures should be attainable at the turbine inlet receiver with the central receiver
design than if the same amount of fluid were transported from distributed collectors.
 On the other hand, the distributed collector design may be more suitable tor power plants of smaller
electrical capacity, perhaps less than 2 MW.
 The so-called total energy (or cogeneration) systems, intended to supply both electric power and heat
or process steam to an institution, small community, or industry, may fall into the later category.
 Results todate show solar energy to be quite competitive with other sources of energy if the solar tower
power plant, is about 100-200 MWe, with 3-6 hours thermal storage.
 Arizona Public Service Company has proposed building of a 60 MW solar power plant, with a 175 m
tall tower surrounded by 900q heliostats each of 35 in2 mirrors.
 At the central boiler a mixture 0f sodium chloride (60%) and potassium nitrate (40%) would be heated
to temperatures above 550°C and the molten salt mixture would h transferred to a storage tank,
followed by steam generation and turbine. The plant would have a potential to serve 3,70,000 barrels
of oil each year.
 The facets are mechanically shaped so that the reflected energy is focused. The heliostats are
altazimuth mounted and their movement is controlled by a computer.
 The heliostats array is capable of concentrating in excess of 5 million thermal watts of power under
optimum sun, heliostat and target conditions.
Thermal Electric Conversion Systems, Low Temperature Systems
Thermal Electric Conversion Systems

 In a solar thermal power production system the energy is first collected by using a solar pond, a flat
plant collector or a focussing collector.
 This energy is used to increase the internal energy or temperature of a fluid. This fluid may be directly
using in any of the common or known cycles such as Rankine, Brayton or Stirling or passes through a
heat exchanger to heat a secondary fluid (working fluid) which is being used in the cycle to produce
mechanical power from which electrical power can be produced easily.
Solar Power generating systems, are classified

 Low temperature generating systems,
 Medium temp, generating systems,
 High temperature generating systems.
Low Temperature Systems - Solar Power Plant
 The flat plate collector and solar pond are classified as low temperature collectors, because temperature
achieved is of the order of 60 to l00°C, with collection efficiency of 30 to 50%.
 It is not possible to generate steam with flat plate collector or solar pond, so this cannot be used directly
to run the prime mover. Therefore, some other organic fluid is used (Freon group etc.) which
evaporates at low temperature and high pressure by absorbing the heat from the heated water.
 The vapour formed can be used to run turbine or engine which may generate power, which will be
suffice to light the group of houses for rural areas and for irrigation purpose. Rankine cycle is one most
frequently employed cycles for solar thermal power production system.
SOLAR POWER PLANT

Principal
 Sun is the main source of energy.
 The energy received from the sun in the form of radiation is absorbed and transformed into heat energy.
The heat energy collected by solar collectors is used to produce steam which runs the turbine. The
turbine is coupled with generator to produce power.
solar energy Heat energy mechanical energy Electrical

energy
Device Energy conversion
Solar collector Solar radiation - heat energy (fluid)
Steam generator Heat energy (fluid) + fuel-heat energy steam

Turbine Heat energy - mechanical energy
Generator Mechanical energy - Electrical energy
 The solar power plant with a low temperature solar engine, using heated water in the flat plate collector
and butane as the working fluid. This system was developed in France for irrigation purpose.
Layout of solar Power Plant

 A low temperature solar engine, using heated water from flat- plate solar collector and butane as the
working fluid is shown in Fig., which is developed in France for lift irrigation.
 The system has array of flat-plate collectors to heat water upto nearly 70°C and in the heat exchanger,
the heat of water is used for boiling butane.
 The high pressure butane vapour runs a butane turbine which a hydraulic pump which pumps the water
from the well and used for irrigation.
 The exhaust butane vapour from butane turbine is condensed in a condenser with the help of water
which is pumped by the pump.
 This condensate is fed to the heat exchanger or butane boiler.
 In order to achieve electricity generation, a similar system is used but the water pump is replaced by a
generator.
Solar collector
 Flat plate collector, the radiation energy of the sun falls on a flat surface coated with black paint having
high absorbing capacity. It is placed facing the general direction of the sun.
 The materials used for the plate may be copper, steel or aluminium. Copper tube is provided in thermal
contact with the plate.
 Heat is transferred from the absorber plate to water which is circulated in the copper tube through the
flat plate collector. The temperature of the water to reach 80°c.(low temperature).
Butane boiler
 The water heated in flat plate collector to 80°c is used for boiling butane at high pressure in the butane
boiler. Boiling point of butane is 50°c.
Turbine
 The butane vapour generated at high pressure in the boiler is used to run the vapour turbine which
drives the electric generator.
Condenser and feed pump

 The vapour coming out of the turbine at low pressure is condensed in a condenser using water. The
condensed liquid is fed back to the butane boiler using feed pump.
Advantages
 Sun is essentially an infinite of energy. Therefore solar energy is a very large in exhaustible and
renewable source of energy and is freely available all over the world.
 It is environmentally very clear and is hence pollution free.
 It is best alternative for the rapid depletion of fossil fuels.
Disadvantages
 It is available in a dilute form and is at a low potential.
 Solar energy is not available at night or cloudy or rainy days.
Solar Pond Thermal Power Plant
 A solar pond thermal power plant functions by using the energy is stored in the lower convecting zone
of the solar pond.
 The hot water in the lower convicting zone is used as the heat source for the power plant.
 Hot water can be extracted from a solar pond without disturbing the concentration gradient by
installing the water outlet at the same height as the water inlet.
 An organic fluid having low boiling point is used as the working fluid.
 Thermal energy from the solar pond is used to drive a Rankine Cycle heat engine.
 Hot water the bottom level of the pond is pumped to the evaporator where the organic working fluid
is vaporized.
 The vapour flows under high pressure to the turbine and thereby expanding through the turbine wheel
and the electric generator linked to it.
 The vapour then travels to the condenser where cold water from the cooling tower condenses the
vapour back it to a liquid.
 The liquid is pumped back to the evaporator where the cycle is repeated.
Advantages
 Direct room temperature conversion of light to electricity through a simple solid state device is
possible
 Ability to function unattended for long periods as evidence in space programme
 Maintenance cost is low as they are easy to operate
 They do not create pollution
 They have a long effective life and highly reliable
Disadvantages
 Initial investment is very high
 Energy storage system is required because of no insolation at night
 Energy storage cost is also high
Application of Solar Energy

 Solar water heating, Solar distillation, Solar drying, Solar Green house, Solar photovoltaic
system, Solar heating and cooling, Solar pumping, Solar cooking.
Medium Temperature Systems With Concentrating Collectors
 Concentrating collectors use reflective surfaces to focus the sun's rays onto a receiver or absorber
where the solar energy heats a circulating fluid.
 The hot fluid can then be used directly for an industrial process, to power a turbine for mechanical
work, or to generate electricity.
 It consists of a parabolic cylinder reflector to concentrate sun light on to a collecting pipe within a
pyrex or glass envelop. Proper sun-tracking arrangement is made so that maximum sunlight is focussed
on the reflector.
 The line focus system, also called the trough system, uses concentrators in the form of long troughs of
cylindrical or parabolic cross-sections, which are lined with mirrors to collect and concentrate the sun's
radiation onto a focal linear conduit through which the primary coolant flows.
 The collector recieves maximum sun's rays at noon and the sun’s rays gets more inclined with respect
to their projected surface as the sun deviates from solar noon. They, therefore, usually operate in the
lower temperature ranges of about 90 to 315°C.
 A typical concentrating collector solar power plant is shown in fig.
 The five components of a complete parabolic trough system are

1. The concentrator with its support and drive system
2. The receiver
3. Thermal transport
4. Controls
5. Thermal storage (optional)
 Here the fluid flowing through the absorber will be oil in order to accommodate the higher temperature
that may be reached.
 The reflective surfaces focus the sun's rays onto a receiver or absorber where the solar energy heats a
circulating fluid.
 The hot fluid now passes into a heat exchanger where it transfers the heat to the water in order to
convert it to steam.
 This steam is used to run the turbine which in turn runs a generator to produce electricity.
 The exhaust steam from turbine is condensed in a condenser with the help of water which is pumped
by the pump. This condensate is fed to the heat exchanger through a pump.
High temperature system Central receiver power plaints
 The central receiver method of power generation is one where the sun light reflected from many
different reflectors is concentrated on a single heat exchanger placed on a high tower.
 Solar energy absorbed in the central receiver is removed as heat by means of a heat transport fluid and
converted into electrical energy in a turbine-generator.
 The central receiver system is preferable for the large scale generation of power for an electric utility.
 In this system as stated the incoming solar radiation is focused to a central receiver or a boiler mounted
on a tall tower using thousands of plane reflectors, which are steerable about two axes and are called
heliostats.
 The tower concept illustrated in Fig. A schematic view of an electric power plant making use of this
idea is shown in Fig.
 The mirrors are installed on the ground and are oriented so as to reflect the direct beam radiation into
an absorber or receiver (boiler) which is mounted on the top of a tower located near the centre of the
field of mirrors to produce high temperature.
 The factor makes it possible to position the boiler in the field view of all mirrors at all hours of the
day. Beam radiations incident on boiler absorbed by black pipes in which working fluid circulate and
is heated.
 The hot working fluid is allowed to drive a turbine a produce mechanical energy. The turbine which
is coupled to an alternator produces electrical energy. Thus this system can be subdivided into the
following sub-systems, namely
a) The field of oriented mirrors (heliostats),

b) The tower with the central receiver on top of it, i.e. receiver subsystem,
c) The heat-transport subsystem,
d) The heat storage or thermal storage subsystem
e) The heat conversion subsystem
a) The heliostats
 These are reflecting mirrors that are steerable so that they can reflect the sun's rays on the central
receiver at almost all times during the day light hours.
(b) Receiver subsystem

 The central receiver at the top of the tower has a heat absorbing surface (e.g., panels coated with a
heat-absorbing material) by which the heat-transport fluid is heated.
 Two basic tower receiver configurations are available; they are the Cavity and External receiver types.
 In the cavity type, pipes line the interior of the cavity; the solar radiation reflected by the heliostats
enters through an aperture at the bottom of the cavity.
 On the other hand, in the external receiver type the absorber surfaces are on the exterior of a roughly
cylindrical structure.
(c) Heat-transport subsystem
 This represents the fluid which flows through the pipes in contact with the absorber and the
thermodynamic cycles which the powerplant follows. Commonly, the Rankine and Brayton cycles,
are used for the sub-system that converts heat into electrical power.
 The most commonly used transport fluids are

a) Water.
b) Molten mixture of salts.

c) Gas (for gas turbine systems)
d) Oils.
(d) Thermal storage subsystem

 The purpose of the thermal /storage subsystem is to store solar heat energy absorbed in the receiver
for use at a later time.
 Storage of heat can be provided by
1. Fire-bricks,
2. Ceramic oxides (MgO),
3. Fused salts (NaN03) melts at 260°C,
4. Hitec, a fused salt mixture is stable upto 540°C,
5. Sulphur liquid between 113° and 444°C or
6. Metals such as mercury (liquid between - 39°C and 357°C),
7. Lithium - liquid between 180°C and 1400°C,
8. Sodium - liquid between 98°C and 880°C.
 The storage space must be well insulated against heat losses.

Solar Chimney Power Plant
 Introduction: In many parts of the world, there is a growing awareness that some alternative energy
sources could have an important role to play in the production of electricity.
 However, only the solar energy represents totally non-polluting inexhaustible energy resource that can
be utilized economically to supply Man’s energy needs for all time.
Parts of the Solar Chimney

 Collector: The Collector is the part, which is used to absorb hot air. It is usually 5-6 meters high and
covers a very large area about thousands of m². There is no limitation for the surface area.
 The larger the area, the more energy generated from the chimney. Covering materials may be different,
such as; glass, plastic film or glazed collector. The most efficient one is glazed collector.
 It can convert up to 70% of irratiated solar energy into heat a typical annual average is 50%. Also,
with proper maintenance, its life span can easily be 60 years or more.
 Turbines are used to convert air to the mechanical energy. Turbines are placed horizontally in
chimney. In order to obtain maximum energy from the warmed air, turbines blades should cover all
the cross- sectional area of the chimney. To do this, one big turbine or a few small turbines should be
used in chimney.
 The chimney: The most important part of the plant is the chimney. It acts as a thermal engine. Longer
the chimneys height, the more the energy produced from the chimney.
 The efficiency of the chimney does not depend on the amount of the temperature rising, but depends
on the outside temperature. Thus, efficiency is directly proportional to the ratio between the height of
the chimney and the outside temperature.
 There are two types of different chimneys using for the plant. Free standing chimneys and guyed tubes.
The life span of a free standing chimney is longer than that of the guyed tubes.
 It lasts about a hundred years, while the guyed tubes’ is much shorter. Although, the efficiency is
proportional to the height of the chimney, there is a limitation in practice.
Working principles of Solar Chimney

 Solar chimney consists of large area of transparent covers which receive solar radiations.
 The cold air flows from the bottom of the chimney due to natural draught produced due to density
difference of high density surrounding cold air & low density hot air below the transparent covers
heated by the solar energy. It is called chimney draught.
 The flow rate of air depends on the draught produced due to density difference of cold and hot air and
the height of the chimney.
 Inside the chimney, turbines with electric generator, produce electricity. Fig. Schematic seen of the
solar chimney.
 Technology: Solar chimneys are large-scale power plants with an output of 5 to 200 MW each. A 100
MW plant will produce about 750 GWh/year. For that the glass roof has to be several kilometers in
diameter and the tube has to be as high as possible to achieve a large annual output.
Advantages:
 Solar chimney power stations are particularly suitable for generating electricity in deserts and sun-rich
wasteland. It provides electricity 24 hour a day from solar energy alone.
 No fuel is needed. It needs no cooling water and is suitable in extreme drying regions. It is particularly
reliable and a little trouble-prone compared with other power plants.
 The materials concrete, glass and steel necessary for the building of solar chimney power stations are
everywhere in sufficient quantities. No ecological harm and no consumption of resources.
Disadvantages:
 Some estimates say that the cost of generating electricity from a solar chimney is 5x more than from a
gas turbine.
 Although fuel is not required, solar chimneys have a very high capital cost.
 The structure itself is massive and requires a lot of engineering expertise and materials to construct.
Conclusion:
 Solar chimney power stations could make important contributions to the energy supplies in Africa,
Asia and Australia, because there is plenty of space and sunlight available there. It is very important
for the future, because our resources are limited, except our sun.
Solar energy process economics
Economic scenario of solar power.
 The solar industry's structure will rapidly evolve as solar reaches grid parity with conventional power
between 2016 and 2018. Solar will be seen more as a viable energy source, not just as an alternative
to other renewable sources but also to a significant proportion of conventional grid power.
 The testing and refinement of off-grid and rooftop solar models in the seed phase will help lead to the
explosive growth of this segment in the growth phase.
 Global prices for photovoltaic (PV) modules are dropping, reducing the overall cost of generating solar
power. In India, this led to a steep decline in the winning bids for JNNSM projects.
 With average prices of 15 to 17 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), solar costs in India are already among
the world’s lowest. Given overcapacity in the module industry, prices will likely continue falling over
the next four years before leveling off.
 By 2016, the cost of solar power could be as much as 15 percent lower than that of the most expensive
grid-connected conventional energy suppliers.
 The capacity of those suppliers alone, nearly 8 GW in conventional terms, corresponds to solar
equivalent generation capacity potential of 25 to 30 GW.
 Due to implementation challenges, however, it's unlikely that all of this potential will be realized by
2016. Grid parity will be an inflection point, leading to two major shifts in the solar market.
 First, thanks to favorable project economics, grid-connected capacity will rise at a much faster rate
than before, and second, regulations and policy measures will be refined to promote off-grid
generation.
 According to one estimates, the combination of electricity demand growth, fossil fuel cost and
availability challenges, and supportive environmental regulations could increase solar power capacity
to more than 50 GW by 2022.
 The market will see a significant change after 2016. Lower solar costs combined with rising prices of
grid power will convince off takers (including distribution companies, private firms using open access,
and firms putting up their own captive capacity) that solar power is economically viable.
 This shift will signal the start of the growth phase, during which grid-connected solar capacity will
rise rapidly to about 35 GW by 2020 as developers build capacity to meet both RPO requirements and
demand from off takers seeking cost-efficient alternatives to conventional power.
SOLAR POWER ENGINEERING - TWO MARKS
1. What is Solar Power?

 Generating electricity from the Sun is called solar power.
2. Definition of solar energy:

 Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using
photovoltaic (PV), indirectly using concentrated solar power, or a combination.
 Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area
of sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the
photovoltaic effect.
3. What are solar panels?

 Solar panels are devices that convert light into electricity. They are called "solar" panels because
most of the time, the most powerful source of light available is the Sun, called Sol by astronomers.
Some scientists call them photovoltaic which means, basically, "light-electricity."
4. What are the sources of energy?

 Electrical energy is produced from energy available in various forms in nature. The sources of
energy are The Sun, The wind, Water, Fuels, Nuclear energy
5. What are the limitations of conventional energy sources?

 Resources are limited some are seasonal
 Most of them emit harmful gases contributing to global warming
 Requires large areas
6. What are available energy sources for various power plants?

 Conventional energy sources or Non-renewable energy sources
 Non-conventional energy sources or Renewable energy sources
7. What are the major power limitations of conventional energy sources?

 Resources for power generation i.e, coal, gas etc., are limited
 The hydro power is seasonal and varies depending upon the rainfall in the catchment areas
 Submersion of land area due to raise in water level
 Centralized power generation and distribution of the same to long distances will result in high
losses.
 The energy conversion process from thermal power projects results in emission of greenhouse
gases.
8. List out the various conventional and non-conventional power plant:

 Types of conventional power plant: Hydro power plant, Steam power plant, Nuclear power plant,
Gas turbine power plant
9. Types of non-conventional power plant:

 Tidal power plant, Wind power plant, geothermal power plant, Solar power plant, Wave power
plant
10. What is concentration ratio?

 Concentration ratio is defined as the ratio between the aperture area and the receiver absorber area
of the collector.
11. Define Beam Radiation.

 The solar radiation received from the sun without having been scattered by the atmosphere. (Beam
radiation is often referred to as direct solar radiation to avoid confusion between subscripts for
direct and diffuse, we use the term beam radiation.)
12. Define Diffuse Radiation?

 The solar radiation received from the sun after its direction has been changed by scattering by the
atmosphere.
 (Diffuse radiation is referred to in some meteorological literature as sky radiation or solar sky
radiation the definition used here will distinguish the diffuse solar radiation from infrared radiation
emitted by the atmosphere.)
13. What is Total Solar Radiation?

 The sum of the beam and the diffuse solar radiation on a surface.4 (The most common
measurements of solar radiation are total radiation on a horizontal surface, often referred to as
global radiation on the surface.)
14. Define Irradiance, (W/m2).

 The rate at which radiant energy is incident on a surface per unit area of surface. The symbol G is
used for solar irradiance, with appropriate subscripts for beam, diffuse, or spectral radiation.
15. Define Irradiation or Radiant Exposure, (J/m2).

 The incident energy per unit area on a surface, found by integration of irradiance over a specified
time, usually an hour or a day.
16. Define Insolation.

 It is a term applying specifically to solar energy irradiation. The symbol H is used for insolation
for a day.
 The symbol I is used for insolation for an hour (or other period if specified). The symbols H and
I can represent beam, diffuse, or total and can be on surfaces of any orientation.
17. Define Radiosity or Radiant Exitance, (W/m2).

 The rate at which radiant energy leaves a surface per unit area by combined emission, reflection,
and transmission.
18. What is Emissive Power or Radiant Self-Exitance, (W/m2)?

 The rate at which radiant energy leaves a surface per unit area by emission only.
 Solar Time: Time based on the apparent angular motion
19. Define absorption.

 As solar radiation passes through the earth's atmosphere the short-wave ultraviolet rays are
absorbed by the ozone in the atmosphere and the long wave infra-red waves are absorbed by the
carbon dioxide and moisture in the atmosphere.
20. What is Scattering?

 As solar radiation passes through the earth's atmosphere. The components of the atmosphere, such
as water vapour .Hid dust, scatter a portion of the radiation. A portion of this scattered radiation
always reaches the earth's surface as diffuse radiation. Thus I lie radiation finally received at the
earth's surface consists partly of beam radiation and partly of diffuse radiation.
21. Define Pyrheliometer.

 A pyrheliometer is an instrument for measuring the intensity of direct solar radiation at normal
incidence, it can either be a primary standard instrument or a secondary instrument scaled by
reference to a primary instrument.
22. Define Pyranometer.

 A pyranometer is an instrument for the measurement of the solar radiation received from the whole
hemisphere. It is suitable for the measurement of the global or sky radiation usually on a horizontal
surface. Sometimes the term solarimeter is used instead of pyranometer. If shaded from the beam
radiation by a shade ring, it measures diffuse radiation.
23. Define Pyrgeometer.

 A pyrgeometer is an instrument for the measurement of terrestrial radiation only.
24. Define Pyradiometer.

 A pyradiometer is an instrument for the measurement of both solar and terrestrial radiation, i.e.
for net atmospheric radiation on a horizontal upward facing black surface at the ambient air
temperature
25. Write the three types of Pyrheliometers?

 Three pyrheliometers have been in wide-spread use to measure normal incident beam radiation:
 The Angstrom pyrheliometer
 The Abbot silver disc pyrheliometer
 Eppley pyrheliometer
26. What is meant by fuel cell?

 A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts the chemical energy of a fuel into electricity
without involving combustion cycle.
27. What are the types of fuel cell?

 Alkaline fuel cell
 Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
 Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells
 Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells
 Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
28. What are the purposes of energy storage?

 Increase system generation capacity
 Enable dispatch of cogeneration plants
 Shift energy purchases to low cost periods
 Increase system reliability
 Integration with other functions
29. What are the components of solar energy?

 Collector, Storage unit
30. What are the types of collectors used in solar power generation?
 Flat plate collectors(60°C), Focusing or concentrating collectors, Cylindrical parabolic
concentrator (100-200°C), Paraboloids, Mirror Arrays( <200°C)
31. List any four applications of solar collectors.

 Solar water heating, Solar space heating systems
 Solar refrigeration , Industrial process heat systems
32. List the four important solar systems.

 Low temperature cycles using flat plat collector or solar pond
 Power tower or central receiver system, Distributed collector system
 Concentrating collectors for medium and high temperature cycle
33. List the advantages of solar Energy.

 Solar energy is free from pollution
 They collect solar energy optically and transfer it to a single receiver, thus minimizing thermal-
energy transport requirements
 They typically achieve concentration ratios of 300 to 1500 and so are highly efficient both in
collecting energy and converting it to electricity.
 The plant requires little maintenance or help after setup.
 It is economical
34. List any four disadvantages of solar energy.

 Available in day time only
 Need storage facilities
 It needs a backup power plant
 Keeping back up plants hot includes an energy cost which includes coal burning.
35. What is the principle of solar generation?

 Solar energy the energy produced in the sun and collected on the earth. Energy from sun in the
form of heat and light is harnessed.
 Solar heating system uses the heat energy and solar electric system uses light energy (photovoltaic
cell) to generate electrical energy
36. Define air Mass (m).

 The ratio of the mass of atmosphere through which beam radiation passes to the mass it would
pass through if the sun were at the zenith (i.e., directly overhead).
 Thus at sea level m = 1 when the sun is at the zenith and m = 2 for a zenith angle θz of 60◦. For
zenith angles from 0◦ to 70◦ at sea level, to a close approximation,
m = 1/cos θz
37. Explain the two types of solar water heating systems are available.
 Direct or open loop systems, in which potable water is heated directly in the collector.
 Indirect or closed loop systems, in which potable water is heated indirectly by a heat transfer fluid
that is heated in the collector and passes through a heat exchanger to transfer its heat to the
domestic or service water.
 Systems differ also with respect to the way the heat transfer fluid is transported:
 Natural (or passive) systems.
 Forced circulation (or active) systems.
38. What is Greenhouse effect?

 The greenhouse effect is a natural process that warms the Earth’s surface. When the Sun’s energy
reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, some of it is reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed and
re-radiated by greenhouse gases.
 Greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and some
artificial chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). The absorbed energy warms the
atmosphere and the surface of the Earth.
 This process maintains the Earth’s temperature at around 33 degrees Celsius warmer than it would
otherwise be, allowing life on Earth to exist.
39. 36. What is the purpose of sunshine recorder?

 A sunshine recorder is a device that records the amount of sunshine at a given location. The results
provide information about the weather and climate as well as the temperature of a geographical
area.
 This information is useful in meteorology, science, agriculture, tourism, and other fields. It has also
been called a heliograph.
40. What are the advantages of PV cell?

 Clean energy. No combustion. No greenhouse gas emission from use.
 Inexhaustible and abundant “fuel” supply
 Available nearly everywhere, Well suited for distribution generation
 Technology exists today and is rapidly improving
 Generates electricity directly from sunlight
 No moving parts required. Power generation is silent. No noise or pollution.
41. What are the disadvantages of PV cell?

 Intermittent source. Not available at night or under clouds.
 Relatively high cost, especially with storage
 Requires inverter to produce AC current
 Requires storage or grid connection for continuous round-the-clock use
 Less available for heating demand (time of day and season)
 Exotic materials required in many thin-film systems
42. Mention the types of concentrating collectors.

 The principal types of concentrating collectors include: compound parabolic, parabolic trough,
fixed reflector moving receiver, fixed receiver moving reflector, Fresnel lens, and central receiver.
43. Write the the principal types of solar dryers.

 Solar cabinet dryer, Solar greenhouse dryers, Indirects sonars drayer.
44. Write the Applications of Solar ponds?

 Solar ponds can be used to provide energy for many different types of applications.
 The smaller ponds have been used mainly for space heating and cooling and domestic hot water
production.
 The larger ponds are proposed for industrial process heat, electric power generation, and
desalination.
45. What is Collector efficiency?

 Collector efficiency is defined as the ratio of the energy actually absorbed and transferred to the
heat-transport fluid by the collector (useful energy) to the energy incident on the collector.
46. What is Concentration ratio?

 Concentration ratio (CR) is defined as the ratio of the area of aperture of the system to the area of
the receiver. The aperture of the system is the projected area of the collector facing (normal) the
beam.
47. What is Temperature range?

 Temperature range is the range of temperature to which the heat-transport fluid is heated up by
the collector.
48. Define solar photovoltaic systems.

 Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems convert solar energy directly into electrical energy. The basic
conversion device used is known as a solar photovoltaic cell or a solar cell.
49. What are the applications of photovoltaics cell?

 The major uses of photovoltaics have been in space satellites, remote radio - communication
booster stations and marine warning lights.
 These are also increasingly being used for lighting, water pumping and medical refrigeration in
remote areas especially in developing countries.
50. Write the advantages of solar PV systems?

 It converts solar energy directly into electrical energy without going through the thermal-
mechanical link. It has no moving parts.
 A solar PV system can be located at the place of use and hence no or minimum distribution
network is required, as it is universally available.
 Solar PV systems are reliable, modular, durable and generally maintenance-free.
 These systems are quiet, compatible with almost all environments, respond instantaneously to
solar radiation and have an expected lifespan of 20 years or more.
51. Write the disadvantages of solar PV systems?

 The disadvantages such as given here:
 At present, the costs of solar cells are high, making them economically uncompetitive with other
conventional power sources.
 The efficiency of solar cells is low. As solar radiation density is also low, a large area of solar cell
modules are required to generate sufficient useful power.
 As solar energy is intermittent, some kind of electrical energy storage is required which makes
the whole system more expensive.
52. Write the advantages of solar PV systems?

 It has the following advantages over a liquid flat-plate collector:
 It is compact, simple in construction and requires little maintenance.
 The need to transfer thermal energy from the working fluid to another fluid is eliminated as air is
used directly as the working fluid. Corrosion is completely eliminated.
 Leakage of air from the duct is less severe.
 Possibility of freezing of working fluid is also eliminated.
 The pressure inside the collector does not become very high.
53. Write the disadvantages of solar PV systems?

 A large amount of fluid is to, be handled due to low density. As a result, the electrical power
required to blow the air through the system can be significant if the pressure drop is not kept
within prescribed limits,
 Heat transfer between the absorber plate and air is poor.
 There is less storage of thermal energy due to low heat capacity.
54. Define greenhouse.

 A greenhouse is an enclosure where proper environment is provided for growth and production
of crops, vegetable and flower plants under adverse climatic conditions.
55. What is heliostats?

 These are reflecting mirrors that are steerable so that they can reflect the sun's rays on the central
receiver at almost all times during the day light hours.
56. Define Zenith angle.

horizontal plane.
57. What is solar furnace?

 A solar furnace is an ideal tool to study the chemical, optical, electrical and thermodynamic
properties of the materials at high temperatures. It is basically an optical system in which solar
radiations are concentrated over a small area.
58. Mention the components of solar furnace.

 It has two main components: A concentrator.
 A single piece of a large-sized heliostat or a system of a large number of small heliostats.
59. Write the advantages of solar furnace?

 Used in limited to sunny days and that too for 4 – 5 hours only.
 Cost is high. Very high temperatures are obtained only over a very small area.
60. What is the difference between a pyreliometer and a pyranometer?

S.No Pyrheliometer Pyranometer
1 Pyrheliometer is an instrument that Pyranometer is a dome like structure that

measures direct sun’s energy. measures diffused sun energy
2 Pyrheliometer measures direct solar While Pyranometer measures global solar

irradiance. radiation.
61. List out the difference losses in flat plate collector.

 Conductive losses, Convective losses, Radiative losses
62. What is meant by greenhouse effect?

reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, some of it is reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed and
re-radiated by greenhouse gases.
artificial chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). The absorbed energy warms the
atmosphere and the surface of the Earth.
63. How to classify the solar air heaters?

 Non-porous Type solar air heater,
 Porous type solar air heater
64. What is meant by module and array?

 Modules: PV modules consist of PV cell circuits sealed in an environmentally protective laminate
and are the fundamental building block of PV systems
 Array: A PV array is the complete power-generating unit, consisting of any number of PV
modules and panels.
65. What is the reason for low efficiency of solar cell?

 The major that affect the output of a solar cell are load resistance, sunlight intensity (module
direction and tilt), cell temperature, shading, soiling, module mismatch, inverter conversion
losses and solar cell structure.
66. Define: Standalone type solar PV system.

 A simple standalone PV system is an automatic solar system that produces electrical power to
charge banks of batteries during the day for use at night when the suns energy is unavailable.
These PV modules are then combined into a single array to give the desired power output.
67. List out the various equipment’s used in the solar power generation system.
 The equipment’s used in the solar power generation system Solar Panel, Batteries, Controller and
Inverter
68. 1. What is solar radiation?

 Energy radiated from the sun in the form of electromagnetic waves, including visible and
ultraviolet light and infrared radiation.
69. 2. Differentiate between emittance and reflectance.

 Reflectivity refers to the total amount of incident energy that bounces off the surface. It is a surface
phenomenon, But in case of emissivity, the incident energy is first absorbed and then radiated.
70. List the types of solar collectors.

 Flat plat collector. Mirror strip collector
 Compound parabolic collector
71. Define peak power point.

 The voltage at which PV module can produce maximum power is called 'maximum power point.
72. How does solar water heating panel works?

 Solar water heating systems use solar panels, called collectors, fitted to your roof. These collect
heat from the sun and use it to heat up water which is stored in a hot water cylinder.
 A boiler or immersion heater can be used as a back-up to heat the water further to reach the
temperature you want.
73. What is solar absorption chiller and how does it work?

 Solar absorption chillers are one of the most effective and efficient ways to heat and cool buildings
using only the power of the sun.
 These chillers are powered by heat (hot water) which is supplied through evacuated tube
collectors.
 The solar collectors collect thermal energy from the sun and transfer it using a glycol-water
solution, along with a system of pipes, pumps and controllers.
74. Define photovoltaic effect.

 Solar photovoltaic (PV) system converts solar energy directly into electric energy. Solar
photovoltaic cell (or) solar cell is used as a basic conversion device. The photovoltaic effect is the
creation of voltage and electric current in a material upon exposure to light and is a physical and
chemical property/phenomenon.
75. What is the use of solar cell in space application?

 Space satellites. Marine warning lights.
 Remote radio communication booster stations
76. What are the advantages of concentrating collectors over flat plat collectors?
 Collects more radiation(energy), No fuel cost
 No pollution and global warming effects
77. What are the characteristics of solar central receiver system?

azimuth mounts can be used to reflect their incident direct solar radiation onto a common target.
78. Define Solar constant.

 The solar constant is defined as the quantity of solar energy (W/m²) at normal incidence outside
the atmosphere at the mean sun-earth distance. Its mean value is 1367.7 W/m².
79. Define total beam radiation.

 Total beam radiation is the radiation which produces a shadow when interrupted by an opaque
object (neither transparent nor translucent).
80. Define Acceptance angle of a concentrator.

 Acceptance angle is the maximum angle at which incoming sunlight can be captured by a solar
concentrator. Its value depends on the concentration of the optic and the refractive index in
which the receiver is immersed. Maximizing the acceptance angle of a concentrator is desirable
in practical systems and it may be achieved by using non imaging optics.
81. Define incidence angle.

 The angle of incidence is the angle between a ray incident on a surface and the line perpendicular
to the surface at the point of incidence, called the normal.
82. Differentiate between passive and active solar heating system.

 Active solar heating system uses outside energy and equipment like electricity and solar panels to
help capture and utilize the energy of the sun.
 Passive solar heating system doesn’t use any outside energy or require much special equipment,
but simply takes advantage of existing natural phenomena, like the direction of the sun or the
insulating properties of concrete.
83. Differentiate between n-type and p-type semi-conductors.
Sl.No N-type semiconductor P-type semiconductor
1 It is type extrinsic semiconductor. It also type of extrinsic semiconductor.

In N-type semiconductor, electrons are In P-type semiconductor, holes are majority
2. majority carriers and holes are minority carriers and electrons are minority carriers.
carriers.
It has Larger electron concentration and It has Larger hole concentration and less
3 less hole concentration. electron concentration.
4 Pentavalent impurities are added. Trivalent impurities are added.
5 It has donor energy levels very close to It has acceptor energy levels very close to
conduction band. valance band.
84. How does solar photovoltaic used to space applications?

 Solar panels on spacecraft are usually the sole source of power to run the sensors, active
heating and cooling, and communications. A battery stores this energy for use when the solar
panels are in shadow.
 The power is also used for spacecraft propulsion electric propulsion. Spacecraft were one
of the earliest applications of photovoltaic, starting with the silicon solar cells used on
the Vanguard 1 satellite, launched by the US.
 To increase the power generated per kilogram, typical spacecraft solar panels use high-cost, high-
efficiency, and close-packed rectangular multi-junction solar cells made of gallium
arsenide and other semiconductor materials.
85. What is the basic principle of solar drying?

 Solar dryers are devices that use solar energy to dry substances, especially food. There are two
general types of solar dryers: Direct and indirect.
 Direct solar dryers expose the substance to be dehydrated to direct sunlight. Historically, food
and clothing was dried in the sun by using lines, or laying the items on rocks or on top of tents.
86. Differentiate the flat plate collector and concentrating type collector.
Sl.No Flat Plate collector Concentrating type collector
1 It is less efficient solar collector It is the most powerful type of collector.
Maximum Temperature of fluid Fluid temperatures up to around 5000oC can be

2.
is 300oC achieved
It can be used in solar furnaces and solar power
3 It can be used in water heating.
plants
87. Differentiate the flat plate collector and parabolic collector.

 A typical flat-plate collector is a metal box with a glass or plastic cover (called glazing) on top
and a dark-colored absorber plate on the bottom.
 The sides and bottom of the collector are usually insulated to minimize heat loss.
 A parabolic trough is a type of solar thermal collector that is straight in one dimension and
curved as a parabola in the other two, lined with a polished metal mirror.
 The energy of sunlight which enters the mirror parallel to its plane of symmetry is focused along
the focal line, where objects are positioned that are intended to be heated.
88. What is collector efficiency?

 Collector efficiency is expressed as the ratio of solar energy collected divided by the solar energy
available. Insolation is a term used to express the solar energy available.
89. What is an evacuated tube collector?

 Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors. Apricus ETC evacuated tube solar collectors convert energy
from the sun into usable heat in a solar water heating system.
 This energy can be used for domestic and commercial hot water heating, pool heating, space
heating or even air conditioning.
90. What is a concentrating collector?

 A concentrating solar collector is a solar collector that uses reflective surfaces to concentrate
sunlight onto a small area, where it is absorbed and converted to heat or, in the case of solar
photovoltaic (PV) devices, into electricity. Concentrators can increase the power flux of sunlight
hundreds of times.
91. What is Power Tower?

 Solar power towerA power tower is a big tower fenced by tracking mirrors called heliostats. They
align themselves in order to track the sunlight, collect it and transfer it to the top of the tower,
where the receiver is, the received heat is transferred to a power station below.
92. Differentiate the non-concentrating or concentrating.

 The difference between them is that concentrating collectors have a bigger interceptor than the
absorber, while the non-concentrating collectors have them both with same sizes.
93. What is black body and black body radiation?

 Black body: An object that absorbs all radiation falling on it, at all wavelengths.
 Black body radiation: When a black body is at a uniform temperature, its emission has a
characteristic frequency distribution that depends on the temperature. Its emission is called black-
body radiation.
94. Define insolation or solar irridiance.

 Insolation: The amount of solar radiation which strikes a particular area of Earth.
 Solar irradiance: The amount of solar energy that arrives at a specific area at a specific time
95. What are solar collectors?

 Solar collectors is a device that absorbs the incoming solar radiation, converts it into heat, and
transfers the heat to a fluid (usually air, water, or oil) flowing through the collector.

 Solar water heating, solar space heating and cooling, Refrigeration, industrial process heat,
Desalination
97. What is green house and how is C02 level maintained in it?
 A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse) is a structure with walls and roof made mainly of
transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are
grown, distribution of CO2 depends mainly on air movement within the greenhouse(s), as CO2
does not travel very far through diffusion.
98. Discuss the standalone type of PV systems.

 Stand Alone PV System is made up of a number of individual photovoltaic modules (or panels)
usually of 12 volts with power outputs of between 50 and 100+ watts each.
 These PV modules are then combined into a single array to give the desired power output.
99. What is solar pond?

 Solar pond is a pool of salt water heated by the sun and used either as a direct source of heat or to
provide power for an electric generator.
100. Define the fill factor.

 The Fill Factor (FF) is essentially a measure of quality of the solar cell. It is calculated by
comparing the maximum power to the theoretical power (PT) that would be output at both the
open circuit voltage and short circuit current together.
101. What is solar thermal power plant?

 Solar thermal power (electricity) generation systems collect and concentrate sunlight to produce
the high temperature heat needed to generate electricity.
102. What is solar chimneys?

 A solar chimney is a type of passive solar heating and cooling system that can be used to regulate
the temperature of a building as well as providing ventilation.
103. What is a semiconductor?

 The semiconductors are the type of material which electrical property lies between conductor and
insulator. Semiconductors act like insulator at very low temperature, as the temperature increases
conduction of semiconductor increases.
 Semiconductors in their natural state are poor conductors because a current requires a flow of
electrons, and semiconductors have their valence bands filled, preventing the entry flow of new
electrons.
104. Types of semiconductors are,

 Intrinsic semiconductor
 Extrinsic semiconductor
 P – type semiconductor
 N – type semiconductor
UNIVERSITY QUESTION PAPERS
5417139
B.Tech. DEGREE EXAMINATION, APRIL/MAY 2018
Seventh Semester / Mechanical Engineering
Elective: SOLAR POWER ENGINEERING
(From 2013-14 onwards)
Time : Three hours Maximum : 75 marks
PART A (10 x 2 = 20 marks)
Answer All questions.
PART B — (5 x 11 = 55 marks)
Answer ALL units choosing One question from each unit
UNIT I
11. (a) Estimate radiation falling on tilted surface.
(b) How is light absorbed in a semi-conductor?
Or
12. Explain about the direct and diffuse radiation.
UNIT II
13. Distinguish between flat plate and concentrating collectors.
Or
14. Explain about materials used for flat plate collectors.
UNIT III
15. Distinguish between winter and summer green house.
Or
16. Explain different types of solar pond with applications.
UNIT IV
17. With neat sketches explain the construction details of solar cells.
Or
18. Explain the term solar photo voltaic conversion. List its advantages and disadvantages.
UNIT V
19. With the help of a schematic diagram, explain the medium temperature solar plants and central
receiver power plants.
Or
20. Discuss the economic feasibility of harnessing solar energy.
5417139
B.Tech. DEGREE EXAMINATION, NOV/DEC 2017
Seventh Semester / Mechanical Engineering
Time: Three hours Maximum: 75
marks
Answer ALL questions.
1. What is solar radiation?
2. Differentiate between emittance and reflectance.
5. How does solar water heating panel work?
6. What is a solar absorption chiller and how does it work?
7. Define photo voltanic effect.
8. Write the use of solar cell in space applications.
PART B — (5 x 11 = 55 marks)
UNIT I
11. (a) Discuss four angles used to describe the solar radiation falling on a particular plane on the
earth's surface. (4)
(b) Name two instruments used-in solar radiation measurements and describe one instrument in
detail. (7)
Or
12. With the help of usual expression, explain the beam, diffuse and reflected solar radiation on the
tilted surfaces. (11).
UNIT II
13. (a) Explain transmissivity based on reflection and refraction in relation to flat plate solar collector
covers. (6)
(b) Write a short note on solar collector performance. (5)
Or
14. Describe the working principle for parabolic solar unit- and briefly highlight areas for possible
application. (11)
UNIT III
15. Explain the following:
(a) Solar water heating system. (6) (b) Greenhouse effect. (5)
Or
16. (a) Explain the solar cooling system. (4)
(b) What is a solar pond? What are the special arrangements made in solar pond to retain the heat
energy content in solar pond? (7)
UNIT IV
17. What is solar photovoltaic system? Explain the applications of PV systems. (11)
Or
18. (a) What do you mean by efficiency of solar cells? What are its limitations? (5)
(b) Enumerate the key differences between solar-cells used for terrestrial and space applications. (6)
UNIT V
19. Name the difference types of solar thermal power cycles and explain any one type with a neat
sketch.(11)
Or
20. (a) Write short note on solar chimneys. (4)
(b) Discuss on economic scenario of solar power. (7)
4418168
Eighth Semester Solar Power Engineering / Mechanical Engineering
SOLAR POWER UTILISATION
Time : Three hours Maximum : 75
marks
1. Define solar constant.
2. Define total beam radiation.
3. Define acceptance angle of a concentrator.
4. Define incidence angle.
5. Differentiate between passive and active solar heating system.
6. Draw a free diagram of absorption refrigeration system assisted by solar energy.
7. Differentiate between n-type and p-type semi-conductors.
8. How does solar photovoltaic used to space applications?
9. What is the basic principle of solar drying?
10. Differentiate the flat plat collector and parabolic collector.
PART B — (5 x 11 = 55 marks)
UNIT I
11. Calculate the declination angle, the zenith angle and azimuth angle of the sun at a place whose
latitude is 11°56'N (Pondicherry) on Oct 2 at 9.30 pm solar time.
Or
12. Draw the configuration of Perineometer and explain how it is used to measure global and diffuse
radiation.
UNIT II
13. Derive the one dimensional heat transfer analysis of single flat plate solar collector. Consider
(ambient to cover plate to absorber plate). Neglect the bottom and sides.
Or
14. What you understand by compound parabolic collector? List out its advantages over conventional
parabolic collector.
UNIT III
15. Describe a house heating system when water is used as a heat carrier from solar collector. What
are its advantages and disadvantages?
Or
16. Draw a neat diagram, describe the solar heating system when water heat storage system is used.
List out the advantages and disadvantages of this system.
UNIT IV
17. Write a short notes on Solar Photovoltaic System (SPS);
(a) Battery storage with inverter system (b) Grid — connected system.
Or
18. Discuss about the Fermi-Level.
UNIT V
19. Explain with neat sketch of solar timber drying.
Or
20. How to calculate the present worth factor for non-conventional energy systems?
4418168
Seventh/Eighth Semester - Mechanical Engineering
SOLAR POWER ENGINEERING / SOLAR POWER UTILIZATION
Time: Three hours Maximum: 75 marks
1. Define the term: Direct Radiation and Diffuse Radiation.
2. What are the instruments available to measure the solar radiation?
3. What is the main advantage of a flat - plate collector?
4. Mention the types of concentrating collectors.
5. Mention any four thermal applications of solar energy.
6. What is meant by solar pond?
7. List out merits of the photovoltaic cell.
8. Write some industrial applications of photovoltaic applications.
9. Write the various components used in the medium temperature power generation cycle using
cylindrical parabolic concentrating collectors.
10. Define the initial costs of solar systems.
PART B — (5 x 11 = 55 marks) Choosing ONE questions from each Unit.

UNIT I
11. What is the function of Pyranometer? Explain the construction and working principle of
pyranometer.
Or
12. Write Short notes on: (3+4+4)
Beam Radiation, Diffuse Radiation, Reflected Radiation.
UNIT II
13. With a neat sketch, describe the working principle of liquid - flat plate collector.
Or
14. Explain the working principle of cylindrical parabolic concentrating collector with a neat sketch.
UNIT III
15. Explain anyone of the solar water heating systems with its working principle.
Or
16. With a neat sketch, explain the solar absorption refrigeration systems.
UNIT IV
17. Describe the working principle of a photovolatic solarcell.
Or
18. Explain the space - heating systems using the active methods.
UNIT IV
19. Explain the low temperature power generation cycle using liquid - flat - plate collector systems.
Or
20. Describe the solar power plant systems using the concepts of a solar - chimney.
4418168
Time: Three hours Maximum: 75
marks
1. What is meant by beam radiation?
2. Define surface azimuth angle.
3. Give the expression for transmissivity of cover system of a collector.
4. Name the different types of concentrating collectors.
5. What are the advantages of solar air heaters?
6. What is meant by solar pond?
7. Define solar cells.
8. Mention the major components in a satellite solar power station.
9. What are the classifications of solar power generation system?
10. What is the advantage of central receiver concept?
SECTION B — (5 x 11 = 55 marks)
Answer ALL questions, ONE from each Unit.
UNIT I
11. Discuss about solar radiation at earth's surface. Also explain about Pyroheliometer.
Or
12. Explain the construction and working of a Pyranometer with neat sketch.
UNIT II
13. Discuss in detail about the transmissivity of cover system based Reflection - Refraction.
Or
14. With neat sketch explain about flat plate collectors with plane reflectors.
UNIT III
15. Explain forced circulation solar water heating system with neat sketch.
Or
16. Discuss in detail about cabinet-type solar dryer with sketch.
UNIT IV
17. Draw the diagram of a simple silicon solar cell. Explain the I-V characteristics of the solar cell
with relevant curve.
Or
18. With neat sketch, Explain the use of solar cells in satellite solar power station,
UNIT V
19. Discuss in detail about the construction and working of a low temperature solar power
generation system by flat plate collector with neat sketch.
Or
20. Explain about central receiver system and also discuss how it is used in solar power station.
4418168
Time : Three hours Maximum : 75 marks
1. What is the difference between direct and diffuse radiation?
2. What is the purpose of sunshine recorder?
3. Define collector efficiency.
4. What are the advantages of solar central receiver collector?
5. What is greenhouse effect?
6. Name some industrial solar heating applications.
7. What is solar cell?
8. Name some solar PV cell space applications.
9. What are the advantages of solar power plant?
10. What are the limitations of solar energy?
PART B — (5 x 11 = 55 marks)
Choosing ONE questions from each Unit.
UNIT I
11. Explain the construction and working of pyranometer.
Or
12. Explain the solar geometry in detail.
UNIT II
13. Explain the construction and working of flat plate collector.
Or
14. Explain the construction and working of parabolic collector.
UNIT III
15. Explain the working of solar water heating system.
Or
16. Explain the working of solar LiBr vapor absorption refrigeration system.
UNIT IV
17. Explain the thermoelectric solar cell.
Or
18. Explain solar photochemical cells.
UNIT V
19. Explain the solar thermal power plant using solar pond with a neat diagram.
Or
20. Explain the construction and working of solar central receiver based power plant.
4418168
1. Define Solar Radiation.
2. Write the relationship between absorption and emittance.
3. What are factors influences the collector efficiency?
4. Write the advantages of parabolic collectors.
5. What are the different types of green house effect?
6. What is meant by solar cooling?
7. Write the principle of Photovoltaic cell.
8. List out the applications of solar cells in space research.
9. Write the principle of solar thermal power generation.
10. What is the importance of solar energy economics?
PART B — (5 x 11 = 55 marks)
UNIT I
11. Explain basic principles of the conversion of solar radiation into heat.
Or
12. Describe the physical characteristics of selective surfaces.
UNIT II
13. Explain the working principle of flat plate collectors with its application.
Or
14. Describe the performance of a cylindrical parabolic concentrator with neat sketch.
UNIT III
15. Explain the working principle of a typical solar water heater system by a natural circulation
method.
Or
16. Briefly write about the applications of a solar pond.
UNIT IV
17. Describe about the design and fabrication of photovoltaic cell.
Or
18. Explain the working principle of thermoelectric generator solar cell.
UNIT V
19. Describe the working of solar thermal power generation for a low temperature solar power plant
using flat plate collector.
Or
20. Explain the working principle of solar power generation using concentrating collector system?
4418168
B.Tech. DEGREE EXAMINATION, NOV/DEC 2015 (2009-12 batch)
1. Differentiate between beam and diffuse radiation.
2. Define solar Azimuth angle.
3. List the factors affecting performance of solar flat plate collectors.
4. Define the terms aperture and concentration ratio as applicable to concentrating collectors.
5. List the advantages of using air as the heat transfer fluid in solar water heating systems.
6. What are the limitations of solar thermal energy?
7. What are the two most commonly used solar cell materials? Why are they used?
8. What are the limitations of solar PV systems?
9. 9.What is a solar pond?
10. Roughly draw the layout of a flat plate collector based solar thermal power plant.
PART B — (5 x 11 = 55 marks)

UNIT II
11. (a) Explain the variation in solar radiation reaching the earth due to absorption scattering.(7)
(b) Write short note on sunshine recorder (4)
Or
12. What is the difference between a pyroheliometer and a pyranometer? Describe the working
Angstrom type pyroheliometer with a neat diagram.
UNIT II
13. (a) What are the main components of a flat pla collector? With a neat sketch explain function of
each.
(b) Describe the function of an air heater with a simple sketch.
Or
14. With neat sketches discuss the construction and working of the following line focusing type
collectors:
(a) Parabolic trough collector , (b) Mirror strip collector, (c) Fresnel lens collector.
UNIT III
15. (a) With a neat layout describe the working of forced circulation solar water heating system
with antifreeze. (7)
(b) Write a brief note on greenhouse effect and global warming. (4)
Or
16. Explain the working of a vapour absorption solar refrigeration system with a neat layout.
UNIT IV
17. Explain the working of a solar cell with a neat sketch. Also list the applications of solar
photovoltaic cell.
Or
18. Write short note on the following;
(a) PV cell materials (4)
(b) Thermoelectric generator solar cells (4)
(c) Solar cells for space application (3)
UNIT V
19. With a neat layout explain how electricity is generated from a solar pond based thermal power
plant and also list the merits and demerits.
Or
20. Write short note on the following :
(a) Solar chimney. (4)
(b) Working fluid for solar thermal power plants. (4)
(c) Central tower receiver. (3)
TWO MARKS - UNIVERSITY ASKED QUESTIONS

 Black body: An object that absorbs all radiation falling on it, at all wavelengths.
 Black body radiation: When a black body is at a uniform temperature, its emission has a
characteristic frequency distribution that depends on the temperature. Its emission is called black-
body radiation.

 Insolation: The amount of solar radiation which strikes a particular area of Earth.
 solar irradiance: The amount of solar energy that arrives at a specific area at a specific time

 Solar collectors is a device that absorbs the incoming solar radiation, converts it into heat, and
transfers the heat to a fluid (usually air, water, or oil) flowing through the collector.

 Solar water heating, solar space heating and cooling, Refrigeration, industrial process heat,
Desalination

 A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse) is a structure with walls and roof made mainly of transparent
material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown, distribution
of CO2 depends mainly on air movement within the greenhouse(s), as CO2 does not travel very far
through diffusion.

 Solar pond is a pool of salt water heated by the sun and used either as a direct source of heat or to
provide power for an electric generator.

 The Fill Factor (FF) is essentially a measure of quality of the solar cell. It is calculated by comparing
the maximum power to the theoretical power (PT) that would be output at both the open circuit
voltage and short circuit current together.

 Stand Alone PV System is made up of a number of individual photovoltaic modules (or panels)
usually of 12 volts with power outputs of between 50 and 100+ watts each. These PV modules are
then combined into a single array to give the desired power output.

 Solar thermal power (electricity) generation systems collect and concentrate sunlight to produce the
high temperature heat needed to generate electricity.

 A solar chimney is a type of passive solar heating and cooling system that can be used to regulate the
temperature of a building as well as providing ventilation.
11. What is solar radiation?

 Energy radiated from the sun in the form of electromagnetic waves, including visible and ultraviolet
light and infrared radiation.
12. Differentiate between emittance and reflectance.

 Reflectivity refers to the total amount of incident energy that bounces off the surface. It is a surface
phenomenon, But in case of emissivity, the incident energy is first absorbed and then radiated.

 Flat plat collector
 Mirror strip collector
 Compound parabolic collector
 The voltage at which PV module can produce maximum power is called 'maximum power point.
15. How does solar water heating panel works?

 Solar water heating systems use solar panels, called collectors, fitted to your roof. These collect heat
from the sun and use it to heat up water which is stored in a hot water cylinder. A boiler or immersion
heater can be used as a back-up to heat the water further to reach the temperature you want.
16. What is solar absorption chiller and how does it work?

 Solar absorption chillers are one of the most effective and efficient ways to heat and cool buildings
using only the power of the sun. These chillers are powered by heat (hot water) which is supplied
through evacuated tube collectors. The solar collectors collect thermal energy from the sun and
transfer it using a glycol-water solution, along with a system of pipes, pumps and controllers.
17. Define photovoltaic effect.

 Solar photovoltaic (PV) system converts solar energy directly into electric energy. Solar
photovoltaic cell (or) solar cell is used as a basic conversion device. The photovoltaic effect is the
creation of voltage and electric current in a material upon exposure to light and is a physical and
chemical property/phenomenon.
18. What is the use of solar cell in space application?

 Space satellites.
 Marine warning lights.
 Remote radio communication booster stations
 Collects more radiation(energy), No fuel cost
 No pollution and global warming effects
azimuth mounts can be used to reflect their incident direct solar radiation onto a common target.
21. Define Zenith angle.

horizontal plane.
22. What is the difference between a pyreliometer and a pyranometer?

S.No Pyrheliometer Pyranometer
1 Pyrheliometer is an instrument that Pyranometer is a dome like structure

measures direct sun’s energy. that measures diffused sun energy
2 Pyrheliometer measures direct solar While Pyranometer measures global
irradiance. solar radiation.
23. Draw the schematic cross section of a flat plate collector with parts.
24. List out the difference losses in flat plate collector.

 Conductive losses
 Convective losses
 Radiative losses
25. What is meant by greenhouse effect?

reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, some of it is reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed and re-
radiated by greenhouse gases.
artificial chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). The absorbed energy warms the atmosphere
and the surface of the Earth.
26. How to classify the solar air heaters?

 Non-porous Type solar air heater
 Porous type solar air heater
27. What is meant by module and array?

 Modules: PV modules consist of PV cell circuits sealed in an environmentally protective laminate
and are the fundamental building block of PV systems
 Array: A PV array is the complete power-generating unit, consisting of any number of PV modules
and panels.
28. What is the reason for low efficiency of solar cell?

 The major that affect the output of a solar cell are load resistance, sunlight intensity (module direction
and tilt), cell temperature, shading, soiling, module mismatch, inverter conversion losses and solar
cell structure.
29. Define: Standalone type solar PV system.

 A simple standalone PV system is an automatic solar system that produces electrical power to charge
banks of batteries during the day for use at night when the suns energy is unavailable. These PV
modules are then combined into a single array to give the desired power output.
30. List out the various equipment’s used in the solar power generation system.
 The equipment’s used in the solar power generation system Solar Panel, Batteries, Controller and
Inverter
 Distinguish between flat plate and concentrating collectors.

Flat plate collectors Concentrating Type Collectors
Absorber area is large. Absorber area is small.
Concentration ratio is 1. Concentration ratio is high.
It is uses both beam and diffuse radiation. It is uses mainly beam radiation.
Application limited to low temperature High temperature application such as
uses suitable for all places as it can work power generation suitable where there are
in clear and cloudy days. more clear days in a year.
Simple in maintenance. Difficult in maintenance.
Low initial cost High initial cost
Not much maintenance is required Additional requirement for maintenance is
required
Reflecting surfaces require more material Reflecting surfaces require less material
Little or no antifreeze is required to protect
Antifreeze is required to protect absorber
absorber
Flat plate collector is not used for power Concentrating collector is used for power
generation generation
Temperature attainable with flat plate Temperature attainable with concentrator
collector is less, amount of heat stored is collector is high, amount of heat stored is
less. larger
Non uniform flux on absorber is there in
Flat plate collectors uniform flux is there
concentrating collectors
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS
This appendix presents the definitions of various terms used in solar engineering. A valuable source of
definitions which gives the solar energy vocabulary in three languages.
 Absorber: Component of a solar energy collector that collects and retains as much of the radiation
from the sun as possible. A heat transfer fluid flows through the absorber or conduits attached to the
absorber.
 Absorptance: The ratio of absorbed solar radiation to that of incident radiation. Absorptivity is the
property of absorbing radiation, possessed by all materials to varying extents.
 Absorption air conditioning: Achieves a cooling effect through the absorption–desorption process
without the requirement of large shaft work input.
 Air mass: The length of the path though the earth’s atmosphere traversed by direct solar radiation.
 Aperture: The opening through which radiation passes prior to absorption in a solar energy
collector.
 Auxiliary system: A system that provides a backup to the solar energy system during cloudy
periods or nighttime.
 Azimuth angle :The angle between the north–south line at a given location and the projection of the
sun–earth line in the horizontal plane.
 Battery: An electrical energy storage system using reversible chemical reactions.
 Beam radiation Radiation incident on a given plane and originating from a small solid angle
centered on the sun’s disk.
 Brayton cycle: A heat engine that uses the thermodynamic cycle used in jet (combustion turbine)
engines.
 Cadmium sulfide (Cds) : A yellow-orange chemical compound produced from cadmium metal. As
a semiconductor, Cds is always n-type.
 Capital cost: The cost of equipment, construction, land, and other items required to construct
a facility.
 Cavity receiver: A receiver in the form of a cavity where the solar radiation enters through one or
more openings (apertures) and is absorbed on the internal heat-absorbing surfaces.
 Collector: Any device that can be used to gather the sun’s radiation and convert it to a useful form
of energy.
 Collector efficiency: The ratio of the energy collected by a solar collector to the radiant energy
incident on the collector.
 Collector efficiency factor: The ratio of the energy delivered by a solar collector to the energy that
would be delivered if the entire absorber were at the average fluid temperature in the collector.
 Collector flow factor: The ratio of the energy delivered by a solar collector to the energy that would
be delivered if the average fluid temperature in the collector were equal to the fluid inlet temperature.
 Collector tilt angle: The angle at which the collector-aperture plane is tilted from the horizontal
plane.
 Concentration ratio: The ratio of aperture to receiver area of a solar energy collector.
 Concentrating collector: A solar collector that uses reflectors or lenses to redirect and concentrate
the solar radiation passing through the aperture onto an absorber.
 Cover plate transparent material used to cover a collector–absorber plate so that the solar energy
is trapped by the “greenhouse effect”.
 CPC collector: Compound parabolic concentrator, a non-imaging collector consisting of two
parabolas one facing the other.
 Declination: The angle subtended between the earth–sun line and the plane of the equator (north
positive).
 Diffuse radiation: Radiation from the sun scattered by the atmosphere that falls on a plane of
a given orientation.
 Direct radiation: Radiation from the sun received from a narrow solid-angle measured from a point
on the earth’s surface.
 Direct system: A solar heating system in which the heated water to be consumed by the user passes
directly through the collector.
 Efficiency: The ratio of the measure of a desired effect to the measure of the input effect, both
expressed in the same units.
 Emittance: The ratio of radiation emitted by a real surface to the radiation emitted by a perfect
radiator (blackbody) at the same temperature.
 Evacuated tube collector: A collector employing a glass tube with an evacuated space between the
tube and the absorber.
 Evaporator: A heat exchanger in which a fluid undergoes a liquid to vapor-phase change.
 Extraterrestrial radiation: Solar radiation received on a surface at the limit of the earth’s
atmosphere.
 Flat-plate collector: A stationary collector that can collect both direct and diffuse radiations and
can heat water or air. The two basic designs of water flat-plate collectors are the header and riser type
and the serpentine type.
 Fresnel collector: A concentrating collector that uses a Fresnel lens to focus solar radiation onto
a receiver.
 Geometric factor: A measure of the effective reduction of the aperture area of a concentrator due to
abnormal incidence effects. Glazing Glass, plastic, or other transparent material covering the collector
absorber surface.
 Global radiation: Hemispherical solar radiation received by a horizontal plane, i.e., the total of beam
and diffuse radiation.
 Greenhouse effect: A heat transfer effect where heat loss from the surfaces is controlled by
suppressing the convection loss, frequently incorrectly attributed to the suppression of radiation from
an enclosure.
 Heat exchanger Device: used to transfer heat between two fluid streams without mixing them.
 Heat pipe: A passive heat exchanger employing the principles of evaporation and condensation to
transfer heat at high levels of effectiveness.
 Heat pump: A device that transfers heat from a relatively low-temperature reservoir to one at
a higher temperature by the input of shaft work.
 Heat removal factor: The ratio of the energy delivered by a solar energy collector to the energy that
would be delivered if the entire absorber were at the fluid inlet temperature.
 Heliostat: A device to direct sunlight toward a fixed target.
 Hole: A vacant electron state in a valence band behaves like a positively charged electron.
 Hour angle: The angle between the sun projection on the equatorial plane at a given time and the
sun projection on the same plane at solar noon.
 Incident angle: The angle between the sun’s rays and a line normal to the irradiated surface.
Indirect system: A solar heating system in which a heat transfer fluid other than the water to be
consumed is circulated through the collector and, with a heat exchanger, transfers its heat to the water
to be consumed.
 Insolation: A term applying specifically to solar energy irradiation (J/m2).
 Integrated collector storage A solar heating system in which the solar energy collector also
functions as the storage device.
 Intercept factor: The ratio of the energy intercepted by the receiver to the energy reflected by the
focusing device.
 Irradiance (G): The rate at which radiant energy is incident on a surface per unit area of that
surface (W/m2).
 Irradiation: The incident energy per unit area on a surface found by integration of irradiance over
a specified time (usually, an hour or a day) (J/m2).
 Latitude: The angular distance north (þ) or south () of the equator, measured in degrees.
 Line focus collector: A concentrating collector that concentrates solar radiation in one plane,
producing a linear focus.
 Local solar time: System of astronomical time in which the sun always crosses the true north–south
meridian at 12 noon. This system of time differs from local clock time according to the longitude, time
zone, and equation of time.
 n-type Semiconductor: doped with impurities so as to have free electrons in the conduction band.
 Non-imaging collector: Concentrating collector that concentrates solar radiation onto a relatively
small receiver without creating an image of the sun on the receiver.
 Open-circuit voltage: Photovoltaic voltage developed on an open circuit, which is the maximum
available at a given irradiance.
 Optical efficiency: The ratio of the energy absorbed by the receiver to the energy incident on the
concentrator’s aperture. It is the maximum efficiency a collector can have.
 p-type Semiconductor: doped with impurities so as to have vacancies (holes) in the valence band.
 Parabola Curve formed by the locus of a point moving in a plane so that its distances from a fixed
point (focus) and a fixed straight line (directrix) are equal.
 Parabolic dish reflector: Paraboloidal dish, dual axis tracking, solar thermal concentrator that
focuses radiant energy onto an attached point focus receiver or engine-receiver unit.
 Parabolic trough collector: A paraboloidal trough (line focus collector), single-axis tracking, solar
thermal concentrator that focuses radiant energy onto an attached linear focus receiver.
Parasitic energy: Energy, usually electricity, consumed by pumps, fans, and controls in a solar
heating system.
 Passive system: Sysem using the sun’s energy without mechanical systems’ support.
 Payback period: Length of time required to recover the investment in a project by benefits accruing
from the investment.
 Photovoltaic effect The generation of an electromotive force when radiant energy falls on the
boundary between certain dissimilar substances in close contact.
 p–n junction Junction of dissimilar semiconductor materials, where electrons move from one type
to another under specific conditions.
 Point focus collector A concentrating collector that focuses solar radiation on a point.
 Present value: The value of a future cash flow discounted to the present.
 Radiation The emission or transfer of energy in the form of electromagnetic wave.
 Radiosity: The rate at which radiant energy leaves a surface per unit area by combined emission,
reflection, and transmission (W/m2).
 Rankine cycle: A closed-loop heat engine cycle using various components, including a working fluid
pumped under pressure to a boiler where heat is added, expanded in a turbine where work is generated,
and condensed in a condenser that rejects low-grade heat to the environment.
 Reflectance: The ratio of radiation reflected from a surface to that incident on the surface.
 Reflectivity: is the property of reflecting radiation, possessed by all materials to varying extents, called
the albedo in atmospheric references.
 Selective surface: A surface whose optical properties of reflectance, absorptance, transmittance, and
emittance are wavelength-dependent.
 Silicon cells: Photovoltaic cells made principally of silicon, which is a semiconductor.
 Solar altitude angle: The angle between the line joining the center of the solar disc to the point of
observation at any given instant and the horizontal plane through that point of observation.
 Solar collector: A device designed to absorb solar radiation and transfer the thermal energy so
produced to a fluid passing through it.
 Solar constant: The intensity of solar radiation outside the earth’s atmosphere, at the average earth–
sun distance, on a surface perpendicular to the sun’s rays.
 Solar distillation: Process in which the sun’s energy is utilized for the purification of sea, brackish, or
poor quality water. The greenhouse effect is utilized to trap heat to evaporate the liquid. The vapors
formed then condenses on the cover plate and can be collected for use.
 Solar energy: Energy, in the form of electromagnetic energy, emitted from the sun and generated by
means of a fusion reaction within the sun.
 Solar fraction: Energy supplied by the solar energy system divided by the total system load, i.e., the
part of the load covered by the solar energy system.
 Solar ponds: Ponds of stratified water that collect and retain heat. Convection normally present in
ponds is suppressed by imposing a stable density gradient of dissolved salts.
 Solar radiation: Radiant energy received from the sun both directly as beam component, diffusely by
scattering from the sky and reflection from the ground.
 Solar noon: Local time of day when the sun crosses the observer’s meridian.
 Solar simulator A device equipped with an artificial source of radiant energy simulating solar
radiation.
 Solar time: Time based on the apparent angular motion of the sun across the sky.
 Stagnation: The status of a collector or system when no heat is being removed by a heat transfer fluid.
 Sun path diagram: Diagram of solar altitude versus solar azimuth, showing the position of the sun as
a function of time for various dates of the year.
 Thermosiphon: The convective circulation of fluid occurring in a closed system wherein less-dense
warm-fluid rises, displaced by denser cooler fluid in the same fluid loop.
 Tracking system: The motors, gears, actuators, and controls necessary to maintain a device (usually
a concentrator) in a focus position, orientated with respect to the sun.
 Transmittance: The ratio of the radiant energy transmitted by a given material to the radiant energy
incident on a surface of that material, depends on the angle of incidence.
 Unglazed collector: A solar collector with no cover over the absorber.
 Zenith angle: Angular distance of the sun from the vertical

Spe Notes-1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Spe Notes-1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

SOLAR POWER ENGINEERING

Definition of solar energy:

Producing Electricity using Solar Energy

Advantages of Solar Energy

Radiation at the Earth’s surface

SOLAR RADIATION AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE (TERRESTRIAL RADIATION)

m = 1 When sun is at zenith, i.e. directly over head

Measurement of solar radiation - Sunshine recorder

Measurement of solar radiation – Pyrheliometer and its types

1. The Angstrom pyrheliometer

Abbot silver disk pyrheliometer:

Measurement of solar radiation – Pyranometer and its types

Thermopile sensor work:

 As a result, an e.m.f is generated, which is a measure of the global radiation.

Pyranometer schematic for the measurement of global radiation.

Solar radiation data geometry

It can be calculated as: ω = [Solar Time -12:00] (in hours) x 15 degrees

 In general, the angle of incidence can be expressed as,

SOLAR RADIATION DATA

 The time or time period of the measurements.

Solar radiation on tilted surfaces

SOLAR RADIATION ON TILTED SURFACE.

 This ratio is called the tilt factor for beam radiation.

Radiation on horizontal and tilted surface

 Conversion factor for diffuse radiation (Rd) is given by equation,

 p = 0.2 when there is no snow

 = 0.7 when there is a snow cover.

Relationship Between Absorption, Emittance And Reflectance

(radiation absorbed / radiation incident)

 A gray body is defined as a substance whose emissivity is independent of wavelength. In the

(actual radiation emitted / BB radiation)

Sun – Earth geometry

In mathematical terms it is:

Introduction to Flat plate collectors

There are basically two types of solar collectors:

FLAT PLATE COLLECTORS

What is liquid flat plate collector?

What is a concentrating collector?

Exploded view of a flat-plate collector and absorber details

The Main Components of a Flat-Plate Collector are:

Transmissivity of cover system

 The transmissivity τp is first calculated considering reflection alone.

 The transmissivity τα is then calculated considering absorption alone.

Performance Of A Flat Plate Collector

The cover reflectance (ρc)

Cover Transmittance (τc)

Cover Absorptance (αc)

Coefficient of cover Emissivit (εc)

Coefficient of Absorber Emissivity

Collector Efficiency Factor (F′)

Collector Flow Factor (F″)

Collector Heat Removal Factor (FR)

Collector Heat Loss Coefficient (UL)

Concentrating collectors - Flat plate collector with plane reflector

Concentrating Collector: Focusing Type

FLAT PLATE COLLECTOR WITH PLANE REFLECTOR

Flat-plate collector fitted with flat reflectors

Parabolic Trough Collector

Compound parabolic collectors

Compound parabolic collectors

 Simpler support structure

Mirror Strip Collector

Central receiver collector