Budapest University of Technology and Economics Department of Automation and Applied Informatics

Advanced Power Electronics

Laboratory Test No. 3

Study of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System

Based on the lectures of Dr. Rafael K. Jrdn

Last updated: 20 April, 2011.

Advanced Power Electronics

Laboratory Test No.3.: Study of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System

Table of Contents
1.1 1.2 1.3 Aim of the Measurement ................................................................................................. 0 Suggested Literature ........................................................................................................ 0 Theoretical Background .................................................................................................. 0 1.3.1 Introduction of Photovoltaic (PV) cells .................................................................... 0 1.3.2 Fundamentals of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) .................................... 1 1.3.3 Theoretical background of testing V-A and V-P characteristics ............................... 1 1.3.4 Fundamentals of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System ....................................... 2 1.4 Measurement tasks ............................................................................................................. 3 1.4.1 Investigation of the photovoltaic (PV) modules ....................................................... 3 1.4.2 Investigation of the operation of combined PV/Thermal System ............................. 6 1.5 Review Questions ............................................................................................................... 8

1.1 Aim of the Measurement

The aim of the measurement is to get familiar with photovoltaic modules, V-A and P-V characteristics of photovoltaic panels and the operation of combined PV/Thermal systems.

1.2 Suggested Literature

[1] Lecture Notes: Power Electronics & Motion Control II. [2] Antonio Luque, Steven Hegedus: Handbook of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering, John Wiley, 2005, Print ISBN: 9780471491965 [3] Jardan, Rafael K., Nagy, Istvan, Cid-Pastor Angel, Leyva Ramon, El Aroudi Abdelali, Martinez-Salamero, Luis: Photovoltaic / Thermal System for Stand-Alone Operation, IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics, ISIE07, Vigo, Spain

1.3 Theoretical Background

1.3.1 Introduction of Photovoltaic (PV) cells
The solar energy is directly converted into electrical energy by solar photovoltaic modules. The photovoltaic modules are made of silicon cells like in semiconductor devices. Solar cells consist of a silicon p-n junction fabricated in a thin layer of semiconductor. The operation of the solar cells is based on the phenomenon that free electrons and holes are created in the crystal structure of the doped silicon layers due to light irradiation and as the electrons and holes move in the structure, electric current is produced. The amount of energy from sunlight,

Fig. 1.3.1.1 Layout of a solar cell

Advanced Power Electronics

Laboratory Test No.3.: Study of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System

delivered by photons, is absorbed by a solar cell, determines its efficiency. A photon can be reflected, absorbed or it can pass through the semiconductor. Since only the photons that are absorbed contribute to the electrical energy, it is important to reduce the ratio of photons that pass through and that are reflected. An anti-reflective coating is usually applied to the surface of the solar cell to decrease the number of photons that are reflected, see Fig. 1.3.1.1

1.3.2 Fundamentals of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT)

Total power output of a solar PV module changes with the direction of sun, the level of solar irradiation and temperature. As it can be seen in P-V (power vs. output voltage, see in Fig. 1.3.2.1) curve of the solar cell, there is a well defined maximum point of the voltage vs. power curve. At that point the product of current and voltage is the highest. Knowing that the efficiency of the solar PV module is low, while their cost is high, it is desirable to operate the module at the peak power point, so this way the maximum power can harvested and delivered to the load under varying temperature and irradiation conditions, thus a MPP tracker is used for extracting the maximum power from the solar PV module. The MPPT algorithm finds the value of current and voltage at maximum output power, the MPP is usually found at a voltage level, corresponding to app. 80% of the no-load voltage. The block diagram of a typical MPPT arrangement is seen in Fig. 1.4.2.2. Using batteries in a PV system, energy can be stored, thus the system can be applied independent of the instantaneous solar radiation. To match the PV characteristics to that of the battery (LOAD), a DC/DC converter is connected between them, thus it serves as a kind of interface. The DC/DC converter is mostly a step up (Boost) or step down (Buck) type that serves the purpose of transferring power from the solar PV module to the load. By implementing an MPPT control algorithm, that keeps the input voltage, i.e. the PV panel voltage at the point, providing maximum output power, additionally the aim of better utilization of the PV panel is achieved.

PMAX

VMPP

Fig. 1.3.2.1 Typical P-V characteristics of solar cell

1.3.3 Theoretical background of testing V-A and V-P characteristics

In order to determine the V-A characteristics of a given device, a number of working points should be defined by measurements, in order to plot a curve. There are various possibilities to obtain WP-s on the V-A characteristics of a PV panel. As the PV panel is an active device, it is not necessary to use voltage or current source in the load, WP-s can easily be set by connecting only a resistor to the output terminals of the panel. The V-A

Advanced Power Electronics

Laboratory Test No.3.: Study of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System

characteristics of a resistor is a straight line, starting from the origin, while the V-A characteristics of the PV panel is described by a non-linear relationship, i.e. a curve. A WP will be the common point (intersection) on the characteristics of the load and the PV panel. To get different WP-s, the value of resistance has to be varied. The cause of non-linearity is connected with the physical operation of the PV modules. The typical shape of the V-A characteristics is shown in Fig. 1.3.3.1. To draw this kind of curve relatively large number of points should be taken by measurements. There is a fairly linear part of the characteristics, where it is enough to take 2-3 points in other parts 5-10 points might be necessary to draw an accurate curve of the V-A characteristics. In Fig. 1.3.3.1 the basis of setting various WP-s on the PV characteristics is shown.
Is ISC RN . Is . . . R3 R2 R1 VOC Vs VMPP VOC Vs ISC IMPP PMAX

(a) (b) Fig. 1.3.3.1 Characteristics of PV cells/panels: (a) Working Points located on I-V curve (b) calculation of Fill Factor (FF), FF = VMPP IMPP / VOC ISC

1.3.4 Fundamentals of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System

The exploitation of solar energy can be achieved by photovoltaic cells to produce electric power directly and by solar thermal panels to generate heat power. The heat power can be applied directly e.g. for utility hot water service, the solar thermal panels can be economic as their construction is simple and their efficiency is quite high. However the cost of the PV cells is relatively high and the efficiency is moderate, resulting in long payback time. Even if the utilization of the solar energy is necessary only to generate electric power, it is worth considering the option of using thermal panels in combination with some heat / electric power conversion technology. The power generated by utilizing the solar energy absorbed by a given area of solar panel can be increased if the two technologies, photovoltaic and thermal cells, are combined so that the resulting unit will be capable of co-generation of heat and electric power. The two technologies together offer distinct advantages of cost savings at production, installation and by the reduced demand in roof or land area. The main disadvantage of the solution is that the efficiencies of both the PV and the thermal parts will be reduced as compared to the individual application A simplified diagram showing the basic layout is seen in Figure 1.3.4.1 and 1.4.2.2. The thermal part of the construction is built by using transparent plastic layers (PL) with cell inner walls where working medium (WM) is circulated. Beneath the plastic layers Silicon (Si) photovoltaic cell is fixed and hermetically insulated. The solar ray penetrates through the plastic layers and working medium, generating electric power in the solar cell. The heat power is absorbed partly in the WM and Si layer. Beneath the Si layer thermal insulation (TI) used. The construction is held by a case (0 and covered by a glass layer (GL) having a special

Advanced Power Electronics

Laboratory Test No.3.: Study of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System

filter coating to reduce the power loss caused by reflection. The combined Photovoltaic /Thermal panels (PV/T) are connected to a heat/electric energy conversion system that consists of a heat and electric management system and the unit can be connected to the utility mains (parallel mode of operation) or a group of loads (stand-alone mode of operation). In parallel mode of operation by adding a static switch, Uninterruptable Power Supply (called UPS) operation can also be realized by using energy storage devices, batteries.

Fig. 1.3.4.1 Construction of two different type of the combined PV/T panel

1.4 Measurement tasks

1.4.1 Investigation of the photovoltaic (PV) modules

The photovoltaic (PV) or combined PV/T panels should be irradiated by artificial light source for testing the performance of the solar panels. In our laboratory setup 4 pc. of 1500W halogen reflectors are used as shown in Fig. 1.4.2.1. SAFETY WARNINGS! HAZARDS OF BURNS AND ELECTRIC SHOCK!! During the operation the reflectors strict safety measures have to be followed as high power halogen lamps are very hot, they emit high intensity light and are supplied by high voltage. Thus do not touch the halogen lamps and avoid looking directly into the light sources!. The light sources are supplied by 3 x 400 V, do not touch any components that might be under voltage when the power is turned on! The photovoltaic panel integrated into PV/T module can be investigated by defining its I-V and P-V characteristics. by changing the temperature, the output power of the tested PV module can vary significantly. The decrease in output power can be defined by knowing the

Advanced Power Electronics

Laboratory Test No.3.: Study of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System

characteristics of solar panels. The most significant I-V curve can be determined by applying following instruction: Measurement Tasks Assemble the circuit shown in Fig. 1.4.1.1. The R variable resistor have to be used to measure all the Working Points (WP), i.e. the voltage and current values in order to plot V-A and P-V characteristics. Two digital multimeter are used to measure the current and voltage of the actual WP. Before starting the measurement the open-circuit voltage (VOC) and short-circuit current (ISC) should be determined. The R1 variable resistor has to be connected to the circuit in series with solar module. The value of the resistance can be increased from 0 (short-circuit) to 100 . At first the range of resistance should be divided equally according to number of points. At each WP the actual current and voltage values should be recorded in table 1.4.1. The measured values should be plotted in Fig. 1.4.1 and 1.4.2 and Microsoft EXCEL. Using the same irradiation level, the measurement should be repeated by applying new step change in resistance, refining the characteristic curve.

Fig. 1.4.1.1 Proposed scheme of the measurement for defining the I-V characteristic curves

Advanced Power Electronics

Laboratory Test No.3.: Study of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System

I [A]

R []

U [V]

I [A]

P [W]

Irradiance

U [V] Fig. 1.4.1 I-V characteristic curve of PV panel (SIEMENS 50W), calculate the FF! P [W]

U [V] Fig. 1.4.2 Plot the typical P-V characteristic curve of PV panel (SIEMENS 50W)

Advanced Power Electronics

Laboratory Test No.3.: Study of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. ISC = IMPP = FF = [A] [A] VOC = VMPP = TPV =

1000 [W/m2]

[V] [V] [C]

Tablet. 1.4.1 Evaluation of the results

1.4.2 Investigation of the operation of combined PV/Thermal System

During the test of combined PV/T module the same SAFETY WARNINGS must be considered avoiding any dangerous burn or electric shock. The control cabinet and a solar panel with irradiation lamps are shown in Fig. 1.4.2.1.a and b respectively. The block diagram of the combined PV/T is shown in Fig. 1.4.2.2. The system can be divided into an electric and heat part, that are implemented in one system unit. The combined PV/T module is directly connected to a charge controller DC/DC converter. The task of the charge controller is to limit the battery Control Unit DC/AC Inverter

Charge Controller (DC/DC)

(a)

Switch Box
(b)

Advanced Power Electronics

Laboratory Test No.3.: Study of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System

Fig. 1.4.2.1 Combined PV/Thermal System: (a) Installed PV/T control unit (b) Photovoltaic module is irradiated by artificial light sources (4 pc. halogen reflectors)

voltage to a maximum level in case of surplus charge and disconnect the load to prevent deep discharge in case of deficiency in charge. The MPPT controller implemented in DC/DC converter ensure that solar panel is always operated at or around Maximum Power Point. The DC/AC inverter supplies power for a circulation pump of the heat part. The DC/AC converter is equipped with intelligent sensor and microcontroller units that are able to change the operation mode of inverter. Especially in case of island mode, the self-power consumption should be reduced. One way to achieve this goal is that the converters are operated in standby (sleeping) mode when the load is zero for a given time duration. The controller is a microcontroller unit that is equipped with different sensors and actuators, as shown in Fig. 1.4.2.3.a. The temperature, voltage, current and other parameters are monitored by the controller unit. The data can be transmitted to a local PC by RS232 port and can be processed and sent to a web-based server where all data are accessible via internet. The electrical part, containing charge controller, batteries and DC/AC inverter for supplying pump is seen in Fig. 1.4.2.3.b.

Fig. 1.4.2.2 Block diagram of the combined PV/Thermal system

(a) (b) Fig. 1.4.2.3 Web based monitoring system: (a) thermal part, containing two separate PV/T modules (b) Electrical part, containing charge controller, batteries and DC/AC inverter for supplying pump

Advanced Power Electronics

Laboratory Test No.3.: Study of Combined Photovoltaic/Thermal System

1.5 Review Questions

1. Describe the operation of solar cells! 2. What kind of cell arrangement is applied to get practical level of output power from PV modules? 3. How the efficiency of the PV cells is defined? What is the range of the efficiencies of the currently available PV panels? 4. What are the variables influencing the output power of the cells? 5. What is the role of the DC/DC converter in a PV systems? 6. Plot the typical Power vs. Voltage characteristics of a solar panel! 7. Sketch the physical arrangement of combined PV/T module! 8. What are the main advantages of applying PV/T modules? 9. What is magnitude of difference in the efficiency of a PV panel at temperatures 25C and 50 C? 10. How can be the self-power consumption of the combined PV/T systems minimized?