Chapter Three

Solar photovoltaic PV and

Application

Eng.Miral alsherideh
Direct Solar Energy
• Solar Thermal Energy
• Solar Photovoltaic Power

Solar thermal energy can be used to provide building heating, process

heating, and (when part of a high temperature collection systems)
generate electricity.

Solar photovoltaic power is the use of photovoltaic materials and

devices to convert sunlight directly into electricity.
Utilization of solar energy
 WHAT IS PHOTOVOLTAICS?
 WHAT IS PHOTOVOLTAICS? Photovoltaics (PV) :

Technology that generates direct current (DC) from semiconductors when they are

illuminated by photons (sunlight). Or the conversion of solar energy directly into

electricity.

 Semiconductors:

Non-metallic materials, such as germanium and silicon, whose electrical characteristics

lie between those of conductors, which offer little resistance to the flow of electric

current, and insulators, which block the flow of current almost completely
 PV in Silicon: Basic Principles
 PV cells consist of a junction between two thin layers of dissimilar
semiconducting materials, knowing as p-type {positive) and n-type
{negative} semiconductors.

 n-type semiconductors are made from crystalline silicon that has

been doped with tiny quantities of an impurity (usually phosphorus)
in such a way that the doped material possesses a surplus of free
electrons .[n-type has an excess of free electrons]
 p-type semiconductors are also made from crystalline silicon , but are
doped with very small amounts of different impurity (usually boron) which
causes the material to have a defect of free electrons. These missing
electrons are called holes . [p-type contains more holes than conduction
electrons]

 p-n junction: We can create p-n junction by joining these dissimilar

semiconductors. This set up an electric filed in the region of the junction.
It will cause negatively charged particles to move in one direction, and
positively charged particles to move in the opposite direction.
 Sun light can be converted into electricity due to photovoltaic
effect. Sun light composed of photons (packets of energy).
These photons contain various amount of energy corresponding
to different wave lengths of light. When photons strike a solar
cell they may be reflected or absorbed or pass through the cell.
When solar radiation is absorbed in PN junction diode, electron-
hole pairs (EHP) are generated.
• Electron hole pair (EHP) generated in depletion layer-

Electrons of EHP will be repealed towards N side because of

electric field and holes of EHP will be repealed towards P side
because of electric field.
In this way there will be increase of positive charge at P side and
increase of negative charge at N side. This build up of positive
and negative charge causes a potential difference to appear
across the PN junction due to light falling on it. This generation of
photo voltage is known as photovoltaic effect.
 Performance analysis of photovoltaic
(PV) cell
 Short circuit current (ISC)
The short-circuit current is the current through the solar cell
when the voltage across the solar cell is zero. Usually written as
ISC, the short-circuit current is shown on the IV curve below.
 Open circuit voltage (VOC)-
The open-circuit voltage, VOC, is the maximum voltage
available from a solar cell, and this occurs at zero current. The
open-circuit voltage is shown on the IV curve below.
 Efficiency of solar cell

 Conversion efficiency of solar cell is defined as the ratio

of output power to incident optical power. For maximum
power output
Fill Factor (FF)
Example

 Calculate Fill factor, maximum power and cell efficiency with following parameters-

Voc= 0.24 volt, Isc= 10mAmp, Vm= 0.14 volt, Im= 6.5 mAmp., Intensity = 24 W/m2

, Area= 4 cm2
 What is the fill factor of a solar cell having maximum power P(max) = 1.5 W?
The open circuit voltage and short circuit current of the cell are V(oc) = .6 V
and I(sc) = 2.8 A, respectively.

 A solar cell with dimensions 12 cm x 12 cm is illuminated at standard test

conditions. The cell has the following external parameters: V(oc) = .8 V, I(sc) =
3 A, V(MPP) = .75 V, I(MPP) = 2.5 A. Calculate the fill factor and efficiency of
this solar cell.
Data Sheet of Module
When a PV panel receives solar radiation, it produces
power, the product of current and voltage. To find the
highest possible power output for a panel under a certain
set of conditions (amount of sunlight, temperature, etc.),
the resistance in the circuit can be changed systematically
by small increments, as shown in Table 1.
 In this example,

 Isc = 0.124 A, and open circuit voltage

 Voc = 6.407 V

 MPP can also be found as the point at which the product of

the current and voltage equal the greatest value. The power
calculation shows that the MPP has a voltage of VMPP = 4.934

 current of IMPP = 0.100 A, with the power, P = 0.491 W.

 Example

The semitransparent and opaque PV modules are tested under

sun light in order to measure the module parameters. The
intensity of sun light is measured by solarimeter, which is 746
W/m2 and the area of each module is 0.61 m2 . The module
voltage, current and power is measured by multimeter under
variable load condition. These measurements are shown below
in observation tables
 Solar cell material

 The solar cells are made of various materials. Silicon is

the most commonly used material for solar cells. The
electrical properties of silicon depend on the type and
amount of dopants. Phosphorous and boron are most
widely used doner and accepter dopant respectively
 The choice of material depends upon the efficiency and
cost. In order to reduce the cost, the level of efficiency
should be high. The cost can be reduced by using thin
film technology.

 A variety of compound semiconductor are to be used to

manufacture thin film solar cell. These materials are CdS,
CdTe, InP, GaAs, ZnTe, AlSb (Aluminium Antimonide).
According to types of crystal, the solar cells are of three types

First is mono crystalline silicon cells (Maximum efficiency= 24%)

Second is poly crystalline silicon cells (Maximum efficiency= 17.8%)

Third is amorphous silicon cell (Maximum efficiency= 13%)

 Solar Cells, Solar Modules and Solar
Array
 Solar cell is basic unit of solar electricity generator. It is made
up of semiconductor material. When sun light falls on solar
cells, it produces electricity by photovoltaic effect. One solar
cell produces 0.5 Volt DC voltages.

 When solar cells are connected in series to produce high

voltage, it is called as solar module. The number of solar cells
in solar module is determined by the required voltage
 For series connection of two solar modules, the plus terminal of
one module is connected to the minus terminal of second module.
When two modules are connected in series then total output
voltage will be 24 Volt.
In the northern hemisphere, the general rule for solar
panel placement is, solar panels should face south (and
in the southern, north).
 Types of PV systems

 There are two main types of PV systems:

1. stand-alone (off grid).

2. grid-connected
Description of different components of
Installed PV System

1- PV modules
PV modules are mounted on an inclined structure. The
inclination of the system is kept at latitude of location to
receive maximum annual insolation.
2- Charge controller
This device regulates rates of flow of electricity from the PV
Array to the battery and the load. This controller keeps the
battery full charged without over charging it. When the load is
drawing power, the controller allows the charge to flow from the
PV Array into the battery, the load or both. When the controller
senses that the battery is fully charged, it reduces or stops the
flow of electricity from the PV Array.
3- Inverter
solar inverter or PV inverter is a critical component in a
photovoltaic system. It converts the variable DC output of the
solar panel into a utility frequency alternating current that can
be fed into the commercial electrical grid or used by a local,
off-grid electrical network.
4- Battery
A battery stores electricity produced by a solar electric system.
The energy storage capacity of a battery is measured in watt-h

5-A mounting structure

is used to fix the modules and to direct them towards the sun.
 Working of Installed PV System

PV Modules use light energy (photons) from the sun to

generate electricity through the photovoltaic effect. The
output of PV Array is given to the charge controller.
Charge controller regulates rates of flow of electricity from
the PV Array to the battery and the load. This controller
keeps the battery full charged without over charging it.
The output of charge controller is given to the Battery. This
stores electricity produced by a solar electric system. Now
the battery output is connected with inverter input. An
inverter converts the DC electricity from This AC output of
Inverter is now provided to the load connected with it.
 Grid connected solar power plants

 In grid connected system power is fed into the grid

during day time and taking power from the grid during
night. PV array supplies the current only when sun light
fall on it, Photovoltaic array produces DC power and this
must be converted into Ac power for local use and
feeding into grid so inverters are used along with PV
array.
 In case of low power availability from PV generator, the
local load can be fed from the grid.
Limitations of solar photovoltaic energy
conversion
 High initial cost
 Irregular supply of solar energy
 Require battery storage for supply power at night
 Low efficiency
 Require large area
 Do not generate power during cloudy season
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