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UNIT II

Solar Energy
M.Tech. 1st Semester
By:
S. S. Joshi
Lecturer
Electrical Engg Dept.
SOT PDPU

Sun Earth Relationships

Solar Constant
The solar constant is defined as the total energy received
from the sun per unit time on a surface of unit area kept
perpendicular to the radiation, in space just outside the
earth's atmosphere when the earth is at its mean distance
from the sun.
Solar constant have approximately value is 1370 W/m2.

Solar Radiation at the Earths surface


The solar radiation that penetrates the earth's atmosphere
and reaches the surface differs in both amount and
character from the radiation at the top of the atmosphere.
In the 1st place, part of the radiation is reflected back into
the space, especially by clouds.
Further more the radiation entering the atmosphere is
partly absorbed by molecules in the air.
Oxygen and ozone(O3), formed from oxygen, absorb nearly
all the ultraviolet radiation and water vapor and carbon
dioxide absorb some of the energy in the infrared range.

Direct or Beam Radiation


Solar radiation that has not been absorbed or
scattered and reaches the ground directly
from the sun is called "direct(or Beam)
radiation".

Diffuse Radiation:
The diffuse radiation is that solar radiation received from the
sun after its direction has been changed by reflection and
scattering by the atmosphere.

Total or Global Radiation:


The total solar radiation received at any point on the earth's
surface is the sum of the direct and diffuse radiation.

Irradiance, W/m2 (G):


The rate at which radiant energy is incident
(occur) on a surface, per unit area of the
surface.
The symbol G is used for solar irradiance, with
appropriate subscripts for beam, diffuse or
total.

Elliptical orbit of earths


revolution
7% more radiation

Autumn
Summer

Winter
Spring

Irradiation, J/m2 :
The incident energy per unit area on a surface,
found by integration of irradiance over a
specified by time, usually an hour a day.
IRRADIANCE= POWER
(Wm2)
IRRADIATION= ENERGY
( Wh/m2)

Extraterrestrial radiation
Solar radiation incident on the outer atmosphere of the earth is
called extraterrestrial radiation.

A circle of constant longitude passing through a given place on the earth's


surface and the terrestrial poles.

Terrestrial radiation
Terrestrial radiation is heat that is radiated
from the earth, solar radiation is heat radiated
from the sun.

Beam radiation
Solar radiation along the line joining the
receiving point and the sun is called beam
radiation.

Important terms

Air mass:
A term called air mass (AM) is often used as a measure of
the distance traveled by beam radiation through the
atmosphere before it reaches a location on the earth's
surface. The air mass is the ratio of the path of the sun's
rays through the atmosphere to the length of path when the
sun is at zenith.
The zenith is an imaginary point directly "above" a
particular location, on the imaginary celestial sphere

Basic Earth-Sun angles


Earth's Equator:
It is an imaginary great circle normal to the earth's axis,
dividing the distance between the earth's poles along its
surface into two equal parts. The equator divides the earth
into two hemispheres called Northern and Southern
hemispheres.

Basic Earth-Sun angles


Meridian:
It is necessary to select some reference location on the earth for
helping in locating a particular position. An imaginary great circle
passing through the point and the two poles, intersecting the
equator at right angle is called prime meridian. The location through
which the prime meridian is passing is Greenwich (0o Longitude,
England.)

Longitude:
It is the angular distance of location, measured east or west
from the prime meridian. For example longitude of Bhopal
is 77o30' E.
Latitude:
It represents the angular location north or south of the
equator, north positive. The latitude of a point on the
surface of the earth is its angular distance north or south of
the equator measured from the center of the earth. Denoted
by

Declination angle ():


The declination is the
angular distance of
the sun's rays north
(or south) of the
equator. It is the
angle between a line
extending from the
center of the sun and
the center of the
earth
and
the
projection of this line
upon the earth's
equatorial plane.

Hour angle:
The hour angle is the angular distance between the meridian
of the observer and the meridian whose plane contains the
sun. The hour angle is zero at solar noon (when the sun
reaches its highest point in the sky) and increases by 15oevery
hour, morning negative, afternoon positive. The hour angle is
the angle through which the earth must turn to bring the
meridian of a point directly in Line with the sun's rays.

Solar Altitude angle:


The angle between the horizontal and line to the sun.
Denoted by S

Solar Zenith angle:


Angle between the vertical and line to the sun, i.e.
complement of the solar altitude angle
Denoted by Z

Solar Azimuth angle:


It is the angle between the projection of suns ray to the point
on the horizontal plane and line due south passing through
that point.
Value of azimuth angle is taken +ve when it is measured from
south towards west.
Denoted by S

Solar altitude angle

Surface azimuth angle:


The
deviation
of
the
projection on a horizontal
plane of the normal to the
surface from the local
meridian, with zero due
south, east negative and
west positive;
Denoted by ;

180o 180o

Slop or Tilt angle:


The angle between inclined slop and horizontal plane.
Denoted by

SOLAR THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES

Solar collector

Evacuated tube collector

Thermosyphon water heater

Forced circulation system

SWH- An Israil scene

Anticipated Savings from Solar Water


Heating Systems
It is estimated that about 15 billion units of
electricity could be conserved over a period
of 20 years @750 kwh/sq.m of collector area,
year through deployment 1 million sq meter
of collector area implying a life cycle savi
ng of over Rs.7,500 crore @ Rs.5/- per unit
of electricity (or Rs.75,000/ sq.m collector
area over a 20 year life cycle).

Anticipated Savingscontd
Furthermore, one million sq.m of collector
area is capable of providing a theoretical
maximum peak saving of 500 MW. 1 sq.m
collector solar area can save around 60 litres
of diesel per year or 900 litres over a 15 year
life cycle or Rs.27,000 worth of diesel
@Rs.30/litre. The payback period for such
systems is estimated at about 45 years.

A typical domestic SWH savings


Region

North

East

South

West

No of
Days
ElcY
saving
(Units)

200

200

250

250

950

850

1200

1300

Solar power plant- parabolic system

Solar Tower power generation

1.291 mirrored heliostats and a 54 story high


tower the World's largest solar power tower
plant located near Seville in Spain in now on line
generating 20 megawatts (MW) of electricity,
enough to supply 10,000 homes.

Solar Chimney

What is the area required for a solar PV


power plant, per MW? For solar CSP?

Area required fpr solar power generation


About 5 acres/ MW for solar PV (crystalline) and for 7-12
acres
for solar CSP (depending on the type of technology used)
Within solar PV, it is assumed at 4-5 acres for crystalline
silicon (c-Si) technology and 7-8 acres per MW for thin film
solar (a-Si or CdTe) technology.
In reality, it depends on other parameters like cost of land,
Ground Coverage Ratio (GCR) (to avoid inter array shading,
GCR can be 0.45 to 0.65 and generation will vary based on
GCR) and choice of sun tracking systems
(with sun trackers the land required will be about 6 acres per
MW for crystalline solar modules).

Cost of solar power plants


The capital investment for solar PV ranges from Rs
14 cr to 16 cr per MW depending on the technology.
The capital costs have come down significantly in
the last few years, and this cost is expected to
decrease further with technological advancements.
Capex for solar CSP is about Rs 12-13 crores MW,
but this is an approximate number, as the estimate
can differ widely based on the technology used.

Portable solar cooker

Concentrating cookers

Commy concentrating cooker

Worlds largest solar cooker at Shirdi

PV Cell
The physics of the PV cell is very similar to that
of the classical diode with a pn junction.
When the junction absorbs light, the energy of
absorbed photons is transferred to the electron
proton system of the material, creating charge
carriers that are separated at the junction.
The charge carriers may be electronion pairs in a
liquid electrolyte or electronhole pairs in a solid
semiconducting material.

PV effect converts the photon energy


into voltage across the PN junction

The charge carriers in the junction region create a


potential gradient, get accelerated under the
electric field, and circulate as current through an
external circuit.
The origin of the PV potential is the difference in
the chemical potential, called the Fermi level.
What is it?????

When they are joined, the junction approaches a new


thermodynamic equilibrium. Such equilibrium can be
achieved only when the Fermi level is equal in the
two materials.
This occurs by the flow of electrons from one
material to the other until a voltage difference is
established between them, which has a potential just
equal to the initial difference of the Fermi level.
This potential drives the photocurrent in the PV
circuit.

Basic construction of PV cell with


performance-enhancing features

SPV Technology

MODULE AND ARRAY

Merits of PV system
Use of clean, cheap., noiseless, safe, renewable energy to
produce electricity at the location of utilization.
Suitable for remote loads away from main electrical
network and at places where other fuels are scare and
costly. Cost of distribution lines can be eliminated.
Suitable for portable mobile loads eg radios, cars, buses,
space crafts etc.
Reliable service, long 15 years life.
Modest maintenance.

Limitations of PV system
Irregular, intermittent supply of solar energy.
Need for storage battries.
High capital cost (Rs/kW) due to larger number of PV
cell, low output power, low efficiency and high
technology involved.
Not economical for central power plants of MW rating
due to very large area of PV panels and very large energy
storage system.
Require storage batteries in large amount and diesel
generator sets in cloudy wheather.
Installed at roof tops only
Low efficiency.

EQUIVALENT ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT

Rs = 0 (no series loss), and Rsh = (no leakage to ground)


Rs varies from 0.05 to 0.10 and Rsh from 200 to 300 .
The open-circuit voltage Voc of the cell is obtained when the load current is
zero, i.e., when I = 0, and is given by the following:
Voc = V + Irsh
The diode current is given by the classical diode current expression:
where
ID = the saturation current of the diode; Q = electron charge = 1.61019 C
A = curve-fitting constant, k = Boltzmann constant = 1.381023 J/K
T = Temperature on absolute scale K

Mathematical
Proof
Initially Ignore Rsh;
I L = I ph I d
I ph I 0 (e
I ph I 0 (e
ln(

qVd
kt

q (VL + RS I L )
kt

I ph I L
I0

VL =

1) = I L

VL + RS I L =

ln(

I ph I L
I0

ln(

I ph I L
I0

+ 1) RS I L

if open circuit => I L = 0

1) = I L

q (VL + RS I L )
+ 1) =
kt

kt

kt

+ 1)

VOC =

kt
q

ln(

I ph
I0

+ 1)

As Voc ln(Iph),
if Iph halfed Voc is not
reduced that much....

Mathematical
Proof

Including Rsh;
I L = I ph I d I sh
VD
1)
= IL
Rsh

I ph I 0 (e

AVD

I ph I 0 (e

A (VL + I L RS )

VL + I L RS
1)
= IL
Rsh

Current vs. voltage (I-V) characteristic of the PV


module in sunlight and in the dark

Power vs. voltage (P-V) characteristic of


the PV module in sunlight

I-V characteristic of a 22-W PV module at


full and half sun intensities

THE PV IV CURVE UNDER


STANDARD TEST CONDITIONS (STC)

The I V curve and power output for a


PV module

The maximum power point (MPP) corresponds to the biggest


rectangle that can fit beneath the I V curve. The fill factor (FF) is
the ratio of the area (power) at MPP to the area formed by a
rectangle with sides VOC and ISC.

Fill factors around 7075% for crystalline silicon solar modules


are typical, while for multi junction amorphous-Si modules, it is
closer to 5060%.

Physics of Shading

Effect of Shading
Consider the case when the bottom n 1 cells
still have full sun and still some how carry
their original current I so they will still produce
their original voltage Vn1. This means that
the output voltage of the entire module VSH
with one cell shaded will drop to,

Hot Spot Heating


If the operating current of the overall series string
approaches the short-circuit current of the "bad" cell,
the overall current becomes limited by the bad cell.

Example

Bypass Diodes for Shade Mitigation


Figure shows a typical situation.
In Fig. (a) a solar cell in full sun operating in
its normal range contributes about 0.5 V to the
voltage output of the module, but in the
equivalent circuit shown in (b) a shaded cell
experiences a drop as current is diverted
through the parallel and series resistances.

In full sun a cell may contribute around 0.5 V to the module


output; but when a cell is shaded, it can have a large voltage drop
across it

Need of bypass diode


The voltage drop problem in shaded cells could
be to corrected by adding a bypass diode across
each cell, as shown in Figure.
When a solar cell is in the sun, there is a voltage
rise across the cell so the bypass diode is cut off
and no current flows through itit is as if the
diode is not even there.
When the solar cell is shaded, however, the drop
that would occur if the cell conducted any current
would turn on the bypass diode, diverting the
current flow through that diode.

Mitigating the shade problem with a bypass diode.


In the sun (a), the bypass diode is cut off and all the normal
current goes through the solar cell. In shade (b), the bypass diode
conducts current around the shaded cell, allowing just the diode
drop of about 0.6 V to occur

How improved in I V curve

Showing the ability of bypass diodes to mitigate


shading when modules are charging a 65 V battery.
Without bypass diodes, a partially shaded module
constricts the current delivered to the load (b). With
bypass diodes, current is diverted around the shaded
module.

Blocking Diodes
Bypass diodes help current go around a shaded or
malfunctioning module within a string. This not only improves
the string performance, but also prevents hot spots from
developing in individual shaded cells.
When strings of modules are wired in parallel, a similar
problem may arise when one of the strings is not performing
well.
Instead of supplying current to the array, a malfunctioning or
shaded string can withdraw current from the rest of the array.
By placing blocking diodes (also called isolation diodes) at the
top of each string as shown in Fig., the reverse current drawn
by a shaded string can be prevented.

Blocking diodes prevent reverse current from flowing


down malfunctioning or shaded strings

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