GURU NANAK DEV ENGINEERING COLLEGE MAILOOR, BIDAR

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

ACADEMIC YEAR 2020-2021

Seminar on :

“TRANSPARENT  SOLAR PANELS”

By :
PREMKUMAR (3GN17ME055)

Under Guidance of [Prof. RAJENDRA MOGRE]

 Contents :
 Introduction
 Solar Energy Options
 Application of solar energy used today
 Environmental effect on solar power
 Principles of Operation of Solar Photovoltaics
 Solar panels description
 Construction of solar modules
 Performance, Aging and benefits of panels
 Advantages, Disadvantages and Applications
Introduction

 Sun is the primary source of Energy.

 Some of it is utilized in photosynthesis which is essential for sustenance of life on
earth.
 The chemical and Biological conversion of organic material to liquid solid and
gaseous fuels.
 Conversion of solar energy to Electricity.
 The solar cell receives the solar energy. The solar cells operate on the principle of
photovoltaic effect, by using solar cells.
Energy Scenerio :
Drastic changes in energy conversion system are anticipated due to

shortage of conventional fuels.

The creation of new source of perennial environmentally acceptable, low

cost electrical energy as a replacement for energy from rapidly depleting

resources of fossil fuels is the fundamental need for the survival of

mankind.
Solar Energy Options :
 Solar energy has the greatest potential of all the sources of renewable
energy.
 Solar Energy can be a major source of power. Its potential is 178 billion
MW which is about 20,000 times the worlds demand.
 Consequently the energy collected with the sun is shining must be
stored for use during periods when it is not available.
 Photovoltaic cell is an alternate device used for power generation which
converts suns radiation directly into electrical power. Thus power
generated can be stored and utilized.
Application of solar energy which are are most
success today are :
Heating and cooling of residential buildings
 Solar drying of agriculture and animal products
 Solar distillation on a small community scale
 Salt production by evaporation of seawater or inland brines
 Solar engines for water pumping
 Food refrigeration
 Bioconversion and wind energy, which are indirect source of solar
energy
 Solar electric power generation.
 Environmental effect on solar power :

Air Pollution : This can be caused by chemical reactants used in storage or

organic fluids for heat transport.

Land Use : Solar plants require large land and the collection field produce
shading not normally present over large areas.

Noise and Thermal Effect : The thermal effects of solar plants are minimal.
Actually these systems eliminate local thermal pollution associated with fossil fuel
combustion.
 Principles of Operation of Solar Photovoltaics :
The solar energy can be directly converted into electrical energy by means
of photovoltaic effect, i.e. conversion of light into electricity.

The energy conversion devices which are used to convert sunlight to

electricity by use of the photovoltaic effect are called solar cells.

Photovoltaic cells capture solar energy and convert it directly to electrical

current by separating electrons from their parent atoms.
Photo Voltaic Effect On Semiconductors :

Semi conductors are materials which are neither conductors nor

insulators.

The photo voltaic effect can be observed in nature in a variety of

materials but semiconductors has shown best performance.

Once these electrons are created, there must be an electric field

to induce these higher energy electrons to flow out of the
semiconductor to do useful work.
 Purification And
Reformation into Wafers :
The purification process basically involves high temperature melting
of the sand and simultaneous reduction in the presence of hydrogen.
To reform this silicon into a single crystal and then cut the crystal
into a single crystal and then cut the crystal into individual wafers.
Electrical contacts are applied to the two surfaces, an anti-reflection
coating is added to the entire surface and the entire cell is then sealed
with protective skin.
Antireflective Coating :
Antireflective coating (arc) is an important part of a solar cell since the
bare silicon has a reflection coefficient of 0.33 to 0.54 in the spectral
range of 0.35 to1.1 cm.

Arcs are produced on the solar cell by vacuum evaporation process and
the coatings which are tried are SiO2, SiO, Al2O3, TiO2, Ta2O5 and
Si3N4.

A single optimal layer of ARC can reduce the reflection to 10 percent

and two layers can reduce the reflection up to 3 percent in desired range
of wavelengths.
Solar panels description:
A solar panel (also solar module, photovoltaic module or photovoltaic
panel) is a packaged, connected assembly of photovoltaic cells.

Each panel is rated by its DC output power under standard test

conditions, and typically ranges from 100 to 320 watts.

A photovoltaic system typically includes an array of solar panels, an

inverter, and sometimes a battery and or solar tracker and
interconnection wiring.
 Construction :
The majority of modules use wafer-based crystalline silicon
cells or thin-film cells based on cadmium telluride or silicon.

Electrical connections are made in series to achieve a desired output

voltage and/or in parallel to provide a desired current capability.

Cells must also be protected from mechanical damage and moisture.

Some recent solar panel designs include concentrators in which light is

focused by lenses or mirrors onto an array of smaller cells.
Efficiencies :

Depending on construction, photovoltaic panels can produce electricity

from a range of frequencies of light.

Hence much of the incident sunlight energy is wasted by solar panels,

and they can give far higher efficiencies if illuminated with
monochromatic light.

Currently the best achieved sunlight conversion rate (solar panel

efficiency) is around 17.4% in new commercial products typically lower
than the efficiencies of their cells in isolation.
Thin film modules/panels:

Third generation solar cells are advanced thin-film cells. They produce
high-efficiency conversion at low cost.

In rigid thin film modules, the cell and the module are manufactured.

Flexible thin film cells and modules are created on the same
production line by depositing the photoactive layer and other necessary
layers on a flexible substrate.
Module performance and Aging:

Module performance is generally rated under standard test conditions (STC):

irradiance of 1,000 W/m², solar spectrum of AM 1.5 and module temperature at

25°C.

panels, which could measure approximately 1x2 meters or 2x4 feet, will be rated

from as low as 75 Watts to as high as 350 Watts, depending on their efficiency.

Many crystalline silicon module manufacturers offer a warranty that guarantees

electrical production for 10 years at 90% of rated power output and 25 years at

80%.
 Production :

In 2010, 15.9 GW of solar PV system installations were completed, with solar
PV pricing survey and market research company PVinsights reporting growth
of 117.8% in solar PV installation on a year-on-year basis.

With over 100% year-on-year growth in PV system installation, PV module

makers dramatically increased their shipments of solar panels in 2010.

According to PVinsights, five of the top ten PV module companies in 2010

are GW players.
Recycling:

Most parts of a solar module can be recycled including up to 95% of

certain semiconductor materials or the glass as well as large amounts of
ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

Non-silicon based modules: they require specific recycling technologies

such as the use of chemical baths in order to separate the different
semiconductor materials.

This recycling process is designed to recover up to 90% of the glass and

95% of the semiconductor materials contained.
Top 10 Producers of Solar panels:
Suntech

First Solar
Sharp Solar
Yingli

Trina Solar
Canadian Solar
Hanwha Solarone
Sunpower

Renewable Energy Corporation

Solarworld
 Transparent Solar Panels benefits :

Over the past few years, the U.S. has already become a growing
player in the solar energy industry.

Seeing through solar.

Improving cost-benefit picture.

Extremely Thin.
Advantages :

No green house gases.

Infinite Free Energy

Decentralization of power

Solar cells directly convert the solar radiation into electricity using
photovoltaic effect without going through a thermal process.

Solar cells are quiet, benign, and compatible with almost all environments,
respond instantaneously with solar radiation and have an expected life time
of 20 or more years.
Disadvantages :

Solar doesn’t work at night.

Solar Inefficiency

Storing Solar

Solar panels are bulky

One of the biggest disadvantages of solar energy – COST

Applications of Transparent solar panels :

Solar Cell as a window.

Glass walls as protection.

Transparent glass in showrooms.

Mobile screens.

Roof of cars, Buses and Trains etc.

 Conclusion :

The need for energy is growing. Therefore solar energy is a hot item the last few years.
Solar panels made of silicon are however still quite expensive.

AfshinHadipour found a way to make semi-transparent solar cells made of plastic which
can function as a window at the same time. Moreover he developed a way to increase the
effectiveness of the plastic solar cells.
 References :
[1].Nancy W.Stauffer, Spring 2013 issue of Energy Futures, the magazine of the MIT Energy
Initiative.

[2]. Alaa A.F. Husain, Science Direct, Volume 94, pages 779- 791, October 2018

[3]. Xinyuan Xia, Journal of Materials Chemistry 20(39): 8478- 8482, September 2010

[4]. Jamie Lendino, Extreme Tech, April 2015

[5]. Alaa Husain, Pertanika Journal of Science and Technology 25(S)(2017):225-234, February
2017

[6]. Fraunhofer- Gesellschaft, Transparent Solar Cells, 2009

THANK YOU