Solar

• Energy
The most abundant renewable energy
source available is the solar energy
• The major sources from the sun is the
electromagnetic radiation reaching the
earth
• Of all the energy alternatives ,the solar
energy is most attractive
• It is available in plenty, it is non polluting
and available free of cost
• The solar power received by the earth is
about 1.8*1011 MW which is many times
greater than the present day consumption of
the world
• Thus solar energy can meet,if utilised
properly,all the present and future
energy requirements on the earth
• The problems associated with solar energy
is that,it is very dilute(solar radiation flux is
around 1kW/m2) and hence higher
collecting areas are required,which
increases the initial cost
• Another major problem is that its availability
varies with time due to day-night
cycle,change in solar inclination and weather
conditions
• Hence,the solar energy should be collected
and stored during day times and used
during night times
• The storage system being costly,it
increases the cost of the total system
 Advantages of Solar
1)It is non-polluting
energy
2)It is available in plenty and free of
cost 3)It is non-depletable,reliable
source
4)It is quite steady during day times compared
to wind and tidal sources of energy
5) It can be stored during day times and used
during night times
6)Maintenance cost of solar conversion systems
is almost nil
7)It is the most suitable energy source for
space technology
 Disadvantage
s
1) It is very dilute and not constant
2) It requires large collection systems,which
are generally expensive
3) Its installation requires large space area
4) Though its storage is possible,it is very
difficult and expensive process for
storing
5) Higher power development is not
possible,and are suitable only for
small power requirements
Solar Power
generation(Photovoltaic
conversion) Gri
d

Fig.a)Block diagram of Solar power

generation
Fig.b)Schematic arrangement of Solar Power
• Photovoltaic conversion is the direct
conversion of the solar energy into electrical
energy in a photovoltaic cell(PV cell)
• Such PV cells are called Solar cells
• These devices convert sunlight directly into
dc power without discharging waste
products
• Though the photovoltaic effect is exhibited
by many materials,the semiconductor
materials undergo the most useful
photovoltaic effect under the solar radiation
• The photovoltaic conversion basically involves
the release of free electrons by the action of
photons from the solar energy on the
semiconductor material
• These free electrons are made to flow
as electrical energy in a circuit to do
work
• The flow of current is achieved by the creation
of an electron-hole pair(a pair of opposite
charges) and flow through an external electric
circuit
• The block diagram of photo voltaic conversion is
shown in fig.a) and the schematic arrangement
of solar power generation is shown in fig.b)
• The solar panels(collection of solar cells) will
convert the solar energy into DC electrical
energy
• This DC electrical energy is stored in batteries
• The inverter will convert this DC power into
AC power
• This AC electrical energy can be utilised by
the local load or it can be fed to the utility
grid as shown in the block diagram
• Usually semiconductor materials are used
for solar cells
• Commonly used semiconductor materials are
silicon,germanium,cadmium sulphide and
gallium arsenide
• The conventional solar cell is 20*20 mm in
area and 0.25 to 0.35 mm thick which is
made of silicon.
 Advantages of PV
cells
• They need little maintenance
• They have long life
• Their energy source is unlimited
• They can be made from raw materials that
are available in huge quantities
 Disadvantages of PV
cells
• They produce very little power at very
high cost
• The output is not constant,it varies with
time of the day and the weather
• They are useful for special
applications,where the power required is
very small