Solar Energy

What is Solar Energy?

 What is Solar Energy?

 The most precise Solar Energy definition :

Energy from the sun.
There are two types of solar energy:
 Thermal Energy &
 Electric Energy
Thermal Energy: Thermal Energy is everywhere. It’s lights
up our days. It heats the earth, our bodies and our homes. It
dries our clothes . All for free!
Electric Energy: Electric Energy uses the power of the sun to
produce electricity through solar cells (Photovoltaic (PV)).
 Sun
 The Sun is the star located at the center of our planetary
system.
 It is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium.
 In the Sun's interior, a thermonuclear fusion reaction converts
the hydrogen into helium ,Releasing huge amounts of energy.
 The energy created by this reaction is converted into thermal
energy (heat).
 The solar heat energy travels through space in the form of
electromagnetic waves enabling the transfer of heat through a
process known as radiation.
 Diameter: 1.39E9 m (120 x greater than earth)
 Distance from earth = 1.495E11 m (93 million miles) ±
1.7%
 Center: Density≅ 100 x density of water and T>1E6 K
 Powered by hydrogen fusion
 Composed of layers. The outer layer is the photosphere
 Effective blackbody temperature of 5777 K
A simplified diagram of Earth’s energy
budget
 Why Solar Energy?
• World Energy Conservation predicted estimation about
the rate of utilization of energy resources shows that the
coal deposits will deplete within the next 200 to 300
years and petroleum deposits will deplete in next few
decades.
• The most advantage using Solar Energy is that this is
distributed over a wide geographical area, ensuring
that developing regions such as Ethiopian have access to
electricity generation at a stable cost for the long-term
future.
• The huge consumption of fossil fuels has caused visible
damage to the environment in various forms
Solar Radiation
 PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY CONVERSION
• Photovoltaic systems convert sunlight directly into
electricity.
• The conversion efficiency of a PV cell is the proportion of
sunlight energy that the cell converts into electrical energy.
• Solar cell is essentially a semiconductor device fabricated
in a manner which generates a voltage when solar
radiation falls on it.
• The cells convert the sunlight into electricity, which can be
used to run household appliances and lighting.
• A SOLAR CELL is a solid state electrical device that
converts energy of light directly into electricity by
Photoelectric Effect.
• When photons of light hit electrons in the silicon
lattice and provide energy to flow. Introducing
dopants such as boron and phosphorus into the
silicon lattice provides a direction for the electrons
to flow.
• Finally, electrons flowing from one cell into the
next cell in a module gain about 1/2 volt from
each cell.
PV CELLS,MODULES & ARRAYS
A PV System typically consists of 3 basic components

• PV cells - Electricity is generated by PV cells,

the smallest unit of a PV system.
• Modules - PV cells are wired together to form
modules.
• Arrays – Groups of panels make up an array.
Solar Panel-How it Work
Promoting use of PV technology to Provide Lighting in
Villages in the form of
 Types of collector used in solar power Installation

• Solar collectors transform solar radiation into

heat and transfer that heat to a medium (water,
fluid, or air).
• With the solar panels, the sun power is easily
tracked and they are utilized even for charging
the cell phone, dryer, fans, water heater, etc…
• Solar water heater is the popular product
which is employed in houses since many
years.
 Collectors In Solar Energy
• The collectors used in the solar is many types
and they are installed based on the
requirement and applications.
• The list of types are shown in the below lists.
 Flat plate collectors
• The flat plate collector with dark color and they
are very well insulated.
• Heat transfer fluid is made to go around the copper
and silicon tube.
• The plates used as the absorber , coated with
aluminum and copper to retain the heat.
• This plate has more life span and are inexpensive
compared to evacuated type.
 Evacuated Tube collectors
• This is made up of the insulated glass tubes and the
center is filled with the copper pipes.
• The water is allowed flow through the pipes which
is then heated by the sun power collected by the
collectors.
• This is the efficient type and expensive among all
the types of collectors used.
 SOLAR ENERGY STORAGE
• Solar energy is available only during the sunshine hours.
• The solar does not fully match the demand during night
time. As a result, energy storage is a must to meet the
consumer requirement. The storage is Lead acid battery
COMPONENTS OF SOLAR PV SYSTEM
• Solar Module :Converts sunlight directly into DC
electricity.
• Solar Charge Controller:
Regulates voltage and current from solar arrays.
Prevents battery from overcharging.
Controlled over discharges.
• Battery: Stores current electricity that produces from
solar arrays for using when sunlight is not visible, night
time or other purposes.
• Inverter: Converts DC power output of solar arrays into
AC for AC appliances.
 GENERAL APPLICATIONS OF SOLAR CELL

 Lighting
 Water Pumping
 Battery charge system
 Agriculture
 Cattle
 Health Centre etc
Practical Application of Solar Energy
 APPLICATION OF PV SYSTEMS

Solar PV power systems are categories into

Three classes.
• Standalone
• PV hybrid
• Grid connected
 Solar Energy Advantages
Saves you money
• After the initial investment has been recovered, the energy
from the sun is practically FREE.
• Financial incentives are available form the government that
will reduce your cost.
Environment friendly
• It's not affected by the supply and demand of fuel and is
therefore not subjected to the ever-increasing price of
gasoline.
• Solar Energy is clean, renewable (unlike gas, oil and coal),
sustainable and helping to protect our environment.
Low/ No maintenance
• Solar Energy systems are virtually
maintenance free.
• Once installed, there are no recurring costs.
They operate silently, have no moving parts,
do not release offensive smells and do not
require you to add any fuel. More solar panels
can easily be added in the future when your
family's needs grow.
 Solar Energy-Main Drawbacks
• The initial cost is High ,because of the high cost of
the semi-conducting materials used.
• Solar panels require quite a large area for
installation to achieve a good level of efficiency.
• The efficiency of the system also relies on the
location of the sun.
• The production of solar energy is influenced by the
presence of clouds or pollution in the air.
• No solar energy will be produced during night
time.
 SOLAR SYSTEM DESIGN

A. Steps to solve for designing a solar power system

1. Figure out the input power to the inverter when load is on to decide how
many inverter are needed
2. Figure out the amperage the charge controller provides to the inverter to
decide how many charge controller are needed.
3. Calculate how much energy the load consumes in KWH per day
4. Calculate how many solar panel you will needed in a certain location
5. Calculate how many batteries you will needed for the system to work
without sunlight for a certain of days
Use this useful formula
• Power (watts) = Current (Amps) X Voltage (volts)
• Energy (kWh)=Power (kW) X Time (hours)
• Voltage Drop (volts) = Current (amps) X Resistance (ohms)
• Efficiency of inverter =Output power/Input power
 B. Step to install solar panel at any site
1.Which direction should solar panel face ?
 North hemisphere-solar panel to South direction , West?
 South hemisphere – solar panel to North direction ,East ?
2. In which angle should you install solar panel?
 It is based on the latitude of your location
 The angle is called tilt angle .
 If your latitude is below 25°, use the latitude times 0.87.
 If your latitude is between 25° and 50°, use the latitude, times 0.76 plus 3.1
degrees.
3. How to mount your solar panels?
 Identify the distance b/n two pedestal
Solar panel Distance b/n 2 pedestal
 100w 1000mm
 150w 1400mm
 250w 1600mm
4. How to connect solar panel in series /parallel
 How many solar panel required to install 1kw ?
 Answer: kWh stands for kilowatt-hour. 1 unit of electricity implies 1 kW
Latitude of Addis Ababa
Latitude of Mekele
How to convert Wind into Electricity ?
 When wind strikes an object, it exerts a force in an attempt
to move it out of the way. In this case some of the winds’
energy is transferred to the object.
 Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the
wind into mechanical power.
 This mechanical power can be used for specific
tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water)
or a generator can convert this mechanical power
into electricity.
 A wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Why?
 The energy in the wind turns two or three
propeller-like blades around a rotor.
 The rotor is connected to the main shaft which spins
a generator to create electricity.
 Wind turbines are mounted on a tower at 30 meters
or more.
A Wind Turbine
 Power available in the wind
Wind has kinetic energy: Energy of motion
KE = ½ M * u^2
The mass of air per second (M) traveling though a hoop is the area of
the hoop (A) multiplied by speed of the wind per second (u)
multiplied the density of air (D)
M = AuD
Density of air = 1.2929 kilograms/m
 Area of the hoop (A) is radius (r) squared
A = П r^2
 The power in the wind is proportional to the
wind speed cubed; the general formula for power
in the wind is:

where P is the power available in watts,

ᵨ is the density of air (which is approximately
A is the cross-section
V is the instantaneous free-stream wind velocity
 Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages:
 No pollution.
 Lowest prices renewable resources
 Don’t produce atmospheric emissions.
Disadvantages:
 Depending on how energetic a wind site
 Wind energy cannot be stored
 Wind resource development may uses for large land
 Sometimes birds have been killed by flying into the
rotors
 Turbines: Two Types
 Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines
 Vertical Axis Wind Turbines
 Vertical Axis Advantages
 Can place generator on ground

 You don’t need a yaw mechanism for wind

angle
 Disadvantages
 Lower wind speeds at ground level

 Less efficiency

 Requires a “push”
 Horizontal Advantages
 Higher wind speeds

 Great efficiency

 Disadvantages
 Angle of turbine is relevant

 Difficult access to generator for repairs

 Betz’s law
 Betz’s law indicates the theoretical maximum power
that can be extracted from the wind
 According to betz’s law no turbine can capture more
than 59.3% of the kinetic energy of wind.
 The factor 0.593 is know as Betz coefficient.
 In reality, turbines cannot reach the Betz limit, and
common efficiencies are in the 35-45% range
 If a diffuser is used to collect additional wind flow
directed to turbine more energy can be extracted.
END