Solar Photovoltaics

Phenomenal Price Reduction of Solar

Photovoltaics
Phenomenal growth of installation of
Solar Photovoltaics
Mainly Due to massive production of
SPV in China
Basic Features of Solar pV
 pV systems have no fuel requirement in
remote areas diesel or kerosene fuel supplies
are erratic and often very expensive. The
recurrent costs of operating and maintaining
pV systems are small.

 pV systems are modular – A solar array is

composed of individual pV moduels so each
system can be sized to meet the particular
demand.
 pV systems can be used to improve quality
of life - for example the provision of lighting in a
rural school allows evening educational or
community activities. Refrigeration at a health
centre improves effectiveness of immunization
programmes.

 pV Systems are highly reliable – the

reliability of pV systems are significantly higher
that of diesel or any similar generators
 pV Systems are easy to maintain –
Operation and routine maintenance
requirements are simple.

 pV modules have long life – There is little

degradation in performance of over 15 yrs.

 pV systems provide national economic

benefits – Reliance on imported fuel such
as coal and oil is reduced.
 pV systems are environmentally begin –
There is no harmful pollution through the use
of a pV system.

 Pv systems are economically viable – On a

life cycle cost basis and taking into
consideration the higher reliability of PV
many small scale applications can be more
economically powered by PV than with
diesel systems or some other small
systems.
 Applications of Photovoltaics

 RURAL ELECTRIFICATION(EITHER GRID

CONNECTED OR OFF GRID)
 SOLAR HOME SYSTEMS (SHS)
 WATER PUMPING AND TREATMENT
SYSTEMS
 HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS
 COMMUNICATIONS
 MID SEA BUOYS
 CATHODIC PROTECTION
Stationary power station (Off grid or mini grid)

• grid )

Solar cell capacity: 3.4kW

Wind Power capacity: 1.8kW
Inverter capacity: 5kVA

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• Stationary power station (Grid connected )

Site: Funafuti Tuvalu

Installation: Feb. in 2008
Capacity: 40kW
Purpose: Grid connected power supply for fuel conservation
and CO2 reduction.
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Solar array

Solar array
Solar array

Controller

Light

Solar array

Storage battery
 • Roof top of school ,community-center building.
(For education and emergency power)

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 Roof top of residence ( Grid connected )

Owner can sell excess power to

power utility.

Most popular installation style

in Japan.
(Almost 85% PV in Japan )

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 Distant and independent power
supply ( Off grid )

Advertising sign beside highway

Relay station on top of mountain

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Solar Home Systems in remote locations

• Mountain lodge ( Off grid )

Inverter and controller

1.2kW system

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Technical Comparison of
off grid energy System
Off Grid Systems – Diesel Generators
Advantages
 Widespread Operating and maintenance
experience
 Moderate capital cost
 Easy to install
 Can be a combined power supply for additional
uses
Disadvantages
 Creates noise and fume pollution
 Requires a reliable fuel supply
 High running costs
 High maint. Costs
 Low operating efficiency
Automotive Battery Recharging
Advantages
 Low capital cost
 Easy to install
 Batteries locally available
Disadvantages
 Relies on transportation to charging
centres
 High charging fees often apply
 Short battery life times
Photo – Voltaics
 High reliability
 Low maintenance requirements
 Low running costs
 Suited to most locations
 Long life expectancy for main components
 Involves the introduction of a new and
poorly understood technology
 High capital cost
 Not physically robust so vulnerable to
damage
 Specialized batteries not widely available
Micro Hydro Systems
 Uses simple engineering principles hence widely
accepted technology
 Locally available skills only required for most
applications
 Robust machinery used
 Most village level and local technicians can do
maintenance
 Relatively high capital cost
 Generation depends on availability of water
 Control gear may require sophisticated components
 Conflicting water users may hinder total potential
unlisation
 Solar PV is a
very good substitute
for Kerosene lighting !
 Solar Phtovoltaic Technology
• Semi Conductor Physics
• The equivalent circuit of a solar cell
• The maximum power point of a cell
• The significance of the parallel resistor
• The significance of the series resistor
• The current and voltage relationship of a cell
• Solar Cell, Module and Arrays
• Series Connection and Parallel Connections
 Solar Phtovoltaic Technology Cont…
• Standard testing procedure of a module.
• Effects of Temperature on the produced power.
• Effects of shading and how to avoid ill effects of
shading in a module and in an array. – the
significance of a by-pass diode.
• The purpose of a Blocking Diode and its many
usages.
• Designing of Solar PV Systems.
• Grid Connected Solar Systems
 Semi-conductor Physics
• In an intrinsic semi-conductor valance band has four
electrons and hence only very few electrons can escape
to conduction band. EG = Energy gap energy required
for an electron to jump from
the valance band to conduction
band ~ 0.5 eV to 2.5 eV.
 Fermi Level
• Fermi Level Ef is the energy level at which an
electron has an equal probability of being either in
the valance band or the conduction band
• Hence in an intrinsic semiconductor
Fermi level lies exactly at the mid point
of the forbidden zone or the energy gap.
Fermi Level in a n type semi conductor
• Fermi level lies close to conduction band
Fermi Level in a p type semi conductor
• Fermi Level lies close to valance band
Compare the Band Gap with the Energy in the
Solar Radiation
Solar light wave length~ 0.3 μmto2.5μm
This corresponds to photon energy range
of 0.5 eV to 4.0 eV 1 eV= 1.6x10-19 J E= hν
Where ν=c/λ h= 6.626x10-34 J-s Plank’s
Constant
 When a n type and p type junction is
created in a semiconductor
• The energy level at each end of the
semiconductor and at the junction appears
like this:
 Initially electrons diffuse to p type and
holes diffuse to n type at the junction
This diffusion creates an electric field that
leads to a drift current Ie while the movement
of holes from p type and
electrons from n type
creates a current known
as the diffusion current Id
Due to the electric field at
thermal equilibrium Ie = Id
 Behavior under forward bias of a Diode
• When a diode if forward biased , an electric current
flows in the forward direction of the diode i.e. a
current pass through the diode from p type to n type
in the semiconductor
When a Diode if forward biased

E decreases Hence Ie decreases

Vb increases Id increases
 When a Diode if forward biased
• Vb Increases causing Id to increase and E decreases causing Ie to decrease hence
when a diode is forward biased a current passes through the diode
 Characteristic curve of a Diode
• I increases rapidly when a diode is forward
biased caused by excitation of electrons across
the n-p junction to gain enough energy from
the battery to jump to the valance band
 n-p junction under solar Insolation
• With the absorption of photon energy from the
light more electron – hole pairs are created in the
solar cell (n-p junction)
 What happens when a solar cell exposed to
light is connected externally
With the solar insolation a current flows from the solar cell depicting
I = IL-Id where IL is the current created by excitation of electrons in the
junction to flow out of the n side in the external circuit to combine
with holes created in the p type thus a current flows in the external
circuit from the p side to the n side. Due to this current , a
voltage is built up in the external
circuit forward biasing the diode
hence the diffusion current flows
in the opposite direction of the
current created by solar light
What Happens When the Solar Cell is Short
Circuited

Under Short Circuit conditions V=0 hence diffusion current Id becomes

zero. Hence the current flowing in the external circuit is the same current
produced in the solar cell due to solar light equal to the drift current
 Characteristic Curve of a solar cell
• At Short circuit V = 0 hence I = IL
• At Open Circuit No external current flows hence
Ie= Id
 The Equivalent circuit of a solar cell

• This is the simplified equivalent circuit of a solar cell however

the real solar cell should comprise of a series resistance
depicting the internal resistance of the cell and the contact
resistance and also a parallel resistance depicting the reverse
saturation current of the diode.
Example
A More Accurate Equivalent Circuit for a PV Cell The
Parallel Resistor
If a single cell in series is shaded
no current according to the simple
equivalent circuit should flow in
the entire string – however
though significant power loss
occur, in practice a current does in
fact flow in the string, suggesting
there is a parallel resistor of high
magnitude, hence the
representation of a parallel
resistor in the string.
This is known as the leakage
resistor. Rp
The equivalent circuit of a single cell
now becomes:
V‐I Characteristic of Full Equivalent
Circuit
 Cells Modules
and Arrays
In a module n Number of
cells are connected in
series usually n=36

In an Array many modules

are connected series and
/or parallel to obtain the
desired voltage and
current.
 PV Arrays

Modules can be connected in They also can be connected in

series to increase the terminal parallel to increase the output
voltage current
General Arrangement of Arrays
In PV Arrays
 Please also note:
There is a reason, however, to prefer the
wiring of strings in parallel , If an entire string
is removed from service for some reason, the
array can still deliver whatever voltage is
needed by the load, though the current is
diminished, which is not the case when a
parallel group of modules is removed.
 Impacts of Temperature and level of
Insolation on the Characteristic curves
 Impacts of Temperature and level of
Insolation on the Characteristic curves
• The Short Circuit Current is directly
proportional to the Insolation
• The Open Circuit Voltage and the Maximum
Power drops due to rise in Temperature.
NOCT – Normal Operating Cell Temperature ;
the effect of Cell Temperature
• NOCT is the Temperature of the cell at a solar
insolation of 0.8 kW/m², with the Ambient
Temperature of 20°C with a wind speed of 1m/s.
• This is specified by the manufacturer.
• For other operating conditions the cell temperature
can be derived from:
Where S is the insolation in kW/m²
In general for each degree rise in cell temperature Voc
by about 0.37% and Power drops by about 0.5%
Example: Effect of cell temperature rise on the power
of a module
July 01 2017
Shading of a cell of a module – The output of a
module can drop drastically even if one cell is
shaded
I-V Characteristics with one cell shaded
The output of the module with one cell
shaded will be:

The cumulative voltage of the un-shaded

cells will be:

Hence :

The Drop in voltage due to shading of

one cell therefore will be:

Since Rp>>Rs
Cont…
I-V Curve under shading
• It is seen though each cell produce about 0.5 V
once shaded the drop in the voltage across this
cell would be close to 30 times or 14 V in the
above example.
• Hence a bypass diode across the cell mitigates
this. – However it is not customary to include by-
pass diodes in each cell rather one by-pass diode
is connected either across the module or groups
of cells are added.
In PV Arrays bypass Diodes will start conducting when the
voltage in the un-shaded cells less than the shaded cells
Potovoltaic Arrays with by-pass Diodes to
overcome the effects of shading
 The Blocking Diode
• When strings of modules are connected in parallel, and if any one
of such module is shaded , the rest of the modules supply current
to this module once again creating hot spots to avoi this it is very
common to connect a blocking diode in each module.
 PV System sizing
• Depends on :
- Location
- Size and efficiency of modules
- Demand
- Whether stand alone system or grid
connected system etc.
Typical Grid Connected SHS or sometimes
known as Net – metering systems
Simple Stand – Alone systems
Solar array

Solar array
Solar array

Controller

Light

Solar array

Storage battery
Highly Reliable sophisticated stand-Alone
system
Determination of a operating point of a PV panel
depends on the characteristics (I-V relationship) of the load
 Loading of a PV Module with a variable Resistor

This circuit can be used to plot the I-V Curve of a PV module at a

given insolation level.
Please Note the Maximum Power is delivered at a resistance equal
to : Vm/Im
This point is known as the Maximum Power Point of the Module and
the modules are rated at this value
Solar Module Operating Under a fixed
Resistive Load will not deliver the
Maximum Power at the respective
insolation level
Charging and Discharging of a battery using
a normal PV module and a self regulating
PV Module th Self regulating module
operates closer to the Maximum Power
Point of the Module.
 Maximum Power Point Tracker
• The purpose of the Maximum Power Point
Tracker is to keep the PV module operating at the
Maximum Power point or Rated Power of the
module while matching the load Characteristic to
be also kept at its optimal operating point.
• This is not an easy task and in practice it can only
operate closer to the maximum power point.
• MPPT is a DC-DC Converter
Comparison of MPPT Vs. different loads
 Summary of Lecture
• We reviewed the generalised equivalent circuit of a
solar cell
• We traced the arrangement of an array from modules
and how a module is arranged from a cluster of cells –
add in series voltage increases, add in parallel – current
increases
• Standard testing procedure of a module.
• Maximum Power Point, Fill Factor, Effects of
Temperature on the produced power.
• Effects of shading and how to avoid ill effects of shading
in a module and in an array. – the significance of a by-
pass diode.
• The purpose of a Blocking Diode and its many usages.