1

EE462L, Spring 2013

PV Arrays (Solar Panels)
2
Electrical Properties of a Solar Cell

n - type

p - type

V
+
I
Photons
Junction

External circuit
(e.g. , battery,
lights)
Isc

V
+
I
) 1 (
BV
e A

External circuit
(e.g. , battery,
lights)
) 1 (
BV
e A
0
5
0.0 0.6 Diode Volts
D
i
o
d
e

A
m
p
s


Diode current
) 1 (
BV
e A
) 1 ( =
BV
sc
e A I I
3
I-V Curve

V
I
I
sc
V
oc
I
m
V
m
, where A, B, and especially I
sc
vary with solar insolation

0
0
Increasing
solar insolation
m m
I V P =
max

Maximum
power point
) 1 ( =
BV
sc
e A I I
4
36 Cells in Series Make a 12V-Class Panel (Voc ~ 19V)

Two 12V-Class Panels in Series Make a 24V-Class Array (Voc ~ 38V)

9 cells x 4 cells is a
common configuration
5
( ) 1 00524 . 0 34 . 5 ) (
1777 . 0
=
V
e V I

PV Station 13, Bright Sun, Dec. 6, 2002
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
V(panel) - volts
I

-

a
m
p
s
I-V Curve

I
sc
V
oc
I
sc
P
max
at approx. 30V
P
max
~ 0.7 V
oc
I
sc
6
The Maximum Power Point

PV Station 13, Bright Sun, Dec. 6, 2002
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
140.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
V(panel) - volts
P
(
p
a
n
e
l
)

-

w
a
t
t
s
P=0 at short circuit P=0 at open circuit
Pmax
On a good solar day in Austin, you get about
1kWh per square meter of solar panels
(corresponds to about 150W rated)
7
Earths Poles
Magnetic poles: Created by Earths magnetic field
Can be located with a compass
They move along Earths surface!




Celestial poles: Created by Earths rotation.
They are two imaginary stationary points in the sky.
Important for PV system applications.
Geological Survey of Canada
8
Where is the Sun?

Figure 4. Sun Zenith and Azimuth Angles
West
North
(x axis)
Line perpendicular to
horizontal plane
East
(y axis)
Horizontal plane
Up (z axis)
zenith
sun
u
azimuth
sun
|
Note because of magnetic declination,
a compass in Austin points
approximately 6 east of north.
Series of equations to get zenith and azimuth angles see pp. 5-7 in lab doc.
9
Solar Noon
10
Sun Moves Throughout the Year
June 21
December 21
11
Sun Moves from Summer to Winter

Solar Zenith versus Azimuth at Austin
22nd Day of Jun, Jly, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
(Sun hrs/day. Jun=13.9,Jly=13.6,Aug=12.8,Sep=12.0,Oct=11.0,Nov=10.3,Dec=10.0)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
Azimuth (South = 180)
Z
e
n
i
t
h

(
D
e
g
r
e
e
s

f
r
o
m

V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l
)
Jun
Dec
Sep
12
Sun Moves From Winter to Summer

Solar Zenith versus Azimuth at Austin
22nd Day of Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun
(Sun hrs/day. Dec=10.0,Jan=10.3,Feb=11.0,Mar=12.0,Apr=12.8,May=13.6,Jun=13.9)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
Azimuth (South = 180)
Z
e
n
i
t
h

(
D
e
g
r
e
e
s

f
r
o
m

V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l
)
Dec
Jun
Mar
13
Panel Orientation is Important
June 21
December 21
March 21
September 21
Equator
Tropic of Cancer
Latitude 23.45
o
Tropic of Capricorn
Latitude -23.45
o
Austins Latitude: 30
o
23.45
o
23.45
o
30
o
Edge of
PV module
Earths surface
14
Panel Orientation is Important
tilt
panel
u
Line perpendicular to horizontal plane
tilt
panel
u
Horizontal plane
Figure 6. Panel Tilt Angle
Line perpendicular to panel surface
Edge of panel
Best all-year tilt = Latitude
Best winter tilt = Latitude + 15
Best summer tilt = Latitude 15
15
Solar Radiation Monitors
Rotating Shadowband Pyranometers
Measure GH and DH
NREL Sci Tec Two-Axis Tracker Measures
DN, GH, and DH
GH (Global Horizontal W/m
2
): Sensor points
straight up, sees entire sky, including sun disk
DH (Diffuse Horizontal W/m
2
): Once per
minute, band quickly swings over, shadow falls
on sensor. Then, sensor sees entire sky, less
sun disk.
DN (Direct Normal W/m
2
): Tracking device
points toward sun and sees only the sun disk
16
Keep Solar Radiation Monitor Lenses Clean!
17
Computing Incident Power
) cos(
) (
zenith
sun
est
DH GH
DH DN
u

+ =
Direct normal (DN), global horizontal (GH), and diffuse horizontal (DH), all
in W/m
2
, are the three important components of solar radiation. DN can be
estimated from GH and DH.
DH: Measured sky on
shadowed horizontal sensor
(excludes disk of sun)
GH: Measured sky on horizontal
sensor (includes disk of sun)
(GH DH): Est. disk of sun
component on horizontal
sensor
Est. disk of sun component on
sensor pointed toward sun
DN: Est. total sky on
sensor pointed
toward sun
18
Computing Incident Power, cont.
incident
|
The angle of incidence is the angle between the suns rays and a vector
normal to the panel surface (0 means that the suns rays are
perpendicular to the panel surface)
Series of equations to get angle of incidence see pp. 11-12 in lab doc.
19
Computing Incident Power, cont.
panel incident
zenith
sun
incident
A
DH GH
DH P -
(
(

+ = ) cos(
) cos(
) (
|
u
The incident solar radiation, in kW, on a panel surface is approximated by
About 14% is
converted to
electricity
Est. disk of sun component on
sensor pointed toward sun
Measured sky on shadowed
horizontal sensor (excludes
disk of sun)
Est. disk of sun component
on panel surface
Multiply by
surface area
Est. Watts on
panel surface
20
Panels Atop ENS

All panels atop ENS have azimuth angle = 190
o


View Facing Front of ENS Panels (i.e., looking toward north)
(Note areas shown are for individual panels, so for a pair, double the values shown)

Station 18
BP

Station 19
BP
Station 18
BP

Station 17
BP
Station 16
Solarex

Station 16
Solarex
Station 19
BP
Station 17
BP
Station 15
Solarex

Station 15
Solarex

Station 21
Photowatt

Station 21
Photowatt
Area of each
panel is 0.54m
2

Area of each
panel is 0.52m
2

Area of each
panel is 0.60m
2

Station 20
BP

Area of this
panel is 1.04m
2

80W each
150W
85W each
85W each
Disconnected
21
Weather Forecast
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/forecasts/graphical/sectors/southplains.php#tabs
22
Panel Pairs Connected to Power Lab
Voltage at
Panels
Voltage at
Lab Bench
Panel
Current
Use these two
23
Use a Variable Power Resistor to Sweep the
Panel I-V Curve
24
Record, Plot, and Visually Inspect the
I-V Data Points as You Take Them
Take the open circuit voltage reading
with no load connected
Adjust the power resistor, backing
down in integer volts in two volt steps
(e.g. 38V, 36V, 34V, ) until about
25V, while taking the current readings
At about 25V, continue to back
down in integer volts, but in five
volt steps, while taking the current
readings
Take the short circuit current and
panel voltage reading
Reminder - Hand plot as you
take your data points
25
PV Station Isc= 5.340E+00 I = Isc A(exp(BVpanel) 1)
A= 5.241E-03
B= 1.777E-01 di/dv R(v)
Vpanel Vload I I equation (I error)^2 Ppanel = VI P equation equation equation
39 0 -1.818E-02 0.00033 0.0 -0.7 -9.31E-04 1073.6
35 2.65 2.710E+00 0.003654 92.8 94.9 -9.31E-04 1073.6
30 4.3 4.262E+00 0.00148 129.0 127.8 -9.31E-04 1073.6
25 4.95 4.899E+00 0.002558 123.8 122.5 -9.31E-04 1073.6
20 5.15 5.162E+00 0.000138 103.0 103.2 -9.31E-04 1073.6
4 5.3 5.334E+00 0.001178 21.2 21.3 -9.31E-04 1073.6
0.009338
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
PV Station, Bright Sun
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
V(panel) - volts
I

-

a
m
p
s
Use the Excel Solver to Curve Fit Your Measurements
26
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Seconds
Voltage
Current
I - V
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
0 10 20 30 40
Power
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Seconds
Automated way to get I-V curve:
Suddenly connect panel to large
discharged C (like 5 or 10 of the DBR
Cs),
Capture I and V data points on a
scope, save to a floppy, and read the
file with Excel,
Replot I versus V,
Replot P versus time to get max P
27
Solar Radiation in Texas

AVERAGE DIRECT NORMAL INSOLATION MAP LEGEND
per YEAR COLOR
KEY
per day
(kWh/m
2
-day)
(MJ/m2) (quads/100 mi
2
)

<3.0 <3,940 <1.0

3.0 - 3.5 3,940 - 4,600 1.0 - 1.1

3.5 - 4.0 4,600 - 5,260 1.1 - 1.3

4.0 - 4.5 5,260 - 5,910 1.3 - 1.5

4.5 - 5.0 5,910 - 6,570 1.5 - 1.6

5.0 - 5.5 6,570 - 7,230 1.6 - 1.8

5.5 - 6.0 7,230 - 7,880 1.8 - 1.9

6.0 - 6.5 7,880 - 8,540 1.9 - 2.1

6.5 - 7.0 8,540 - 9,200 2.1 - 2.3

>7.0 >9,200 >2.3


28
29
Multiply by panel
efficiency, e.g. 0.14, to
get electrical output
30
clock noon
solar noon
31
Solar analysis of Sept. 25, 2006. Assume panels are at 30 tilt, 180 azimuth. Incident kWH on 1m
2
panel (approx.
150W rated) is 7.02kWH. Multiplying by 0.14 efficiency yields 0.98 kWH. That corresponds to about 6.6kWH per 1kW
rated of solar panels (1000*0.98/150). Thus, if a (non-air conditioned) house consumes 20 kWH per day, then about
3kW of panels are needed. Using $2.5 per W, which inflates to about $7.0 per W with mounting and electronics, then
the 3 kW of panels cost about $21K. Consider an average price of electricity for residential users of 11 cents/kWH (TX is
about average). So cost of electricity each day is about $2.1. Hence, it will take close to 3 years to pay the solar panels
32
In recent years, financial incentives have acted
like catalysts to increase PV power penetration
and to bring solar panels costs down
33
Other factors affecting PV use effectiveness and return of investment:
- Air conditioner impact
- PV panel orientation (SW is better during the summer because it
tends to maximize generation when air conditioner consumption is
maximum)
34
December 16 was a brilliant solar day here in Austin. Consider a PV installation that has 60 tilt,
and 225 azimuth (i.e., facing southwest). Use the following equation,
2
/ ) cos(
) cos(
) (
m W
DH GH
DH P
incident
zenith
sun
incident
(
(

+ = |
u
,

and the graphs on the following page to estimate

5a. the maximum incident solar power density on the panels (in W/m
2
), and

5b. the time at which the maximum occurs.
Practice Problem
35

Sun Zenith Angle (Top Curve), and Incident Angle on Panel (Bottom Curve), for Dec. 16
(Panel Tilt and Azimuth = 60 and 225 Degrees, Respectively)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 14 14.5 15 15.5 16 16.5 17
Hour of Day
D
e
g
r
e
e
s
Global Horizontal (Top Curve), and Diffuse Horizontal (Bottom Curve), for Dec. 16
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
650
11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 14 14.5 15 15.5 16 16.5 17
Hour of Day
W
a
t
t
s

P
e
r

S
q
u
a
r
e

M
e
t
e
r
Zenith
Incident
GH
DH