Solar radiation at the Earth's surface: 1) The solar energy radiation or total solar radiation.
radiation. The instruments which are
received at the earth's surface depends on the time of day, the
time of year, local latitude and amount of cloud cover, amount of
atmospheric pollution etc.2) The ozone, water vapor and to some
extent other gases like (C02, NO2, CO, O2, and CH4) and
particulate matter, absorb all the ultraviolet solar radiation are
energy in the infrared range.3) This absorption of solar radiation
by the atmosphere increases internal energy and results in
narrowing of the band width.4) On the other hand, the presence
of all gaseous molecules and particulate matter or dust particles
in the atmosphere, scatters the radiation i.e., changes its
direction.5) The scattered radiation is redistributed in all the
direction a portion of which goes back in to the space and
remaining reaches the earth's surface as diffuse radiation. 6)Thus
the radiation finally reach the earth's surface consists partly of
beam radiation partly of diffuse radiation.7) It is obvious that the
solar radiation received at earth's surface is maximum when the
atmosphere is not covered or partly covered with cloud. However,
the mechanisms of absorption and scattering are similar under
the conditions of cloudless sky or atmosphere with clouds.
Solar Radiation Measurement : It is necessary to measure solar
radiation because of use of solar heating and cooling devices the
results of the measurements are used to predict the performance
of the devices. The is used for measurement of solar radiation
includes measurement of direct solar radiation and diffuse solar
commonly used for measuring the solar radiation
are .Pyrheliometer: An instrument which measures beam
radiation intensity as a function of incident angle Pyranometer:
An instrument used to measure total solar radiation.
Pyranometers: A pyranometer is an instrument used to measure
either global are diffuse radiation over a hemispherical field of
view It consists of a black surface, exposed to sun rays and thus
gets heated up. The temperature of black surface increases until
the rate of heat gain by solar radiation equals the rate of heat loss
by convention, and re-radiation. The black surfaces is also
attached with hot junctions of thermopile, while the cold junction
of the thermopile are made such that they do not receive solar
radiation. Diffuse: The instrument is provided with a semi-circular
shading ring at the centre of pyranometer which prevents beam
radiation to fall on instrument sensor, there by pyranometer
measures only diffuse component of radiation. The shading ring
is attached in such a way that its plane is parallel to the plane of
the path of the sun's daily movement across the sky and almost
all the time, the shading ring shades the sensor and two glass
domes of the instrument from direct sunshine.
Flat plate collectors: A flat plate collector is a non-concentrating
type of solar collector which is simple in design and requires little
maintenance. The absence of moving parts in the collector
makes the device more reliable. The flat plate collectors are
conveniently used in the temperature range 40°C to 100°C for
space and service water heating. The collectors are made in
rectangular panels, from about 1.7 to 2.9 Sq.m in area. These
collectors can collect and absorb both direct and diffuse solar
radiation. The collection efficiency is in the range of 30 to 50%
and is partially effective on cloudy days when there is no direct
solar radiation. The basic components of a liquid flat plate
collectors are i) absorber plate ii) Transparent cover iii) Tubes or
passages to carry fluid (mostly water) iv) Insulation v) Container
or casing.
Solar Pond: The purpose of solar pond is to collect and absorb
solar radiation energy and store this energy in the form of heat. It
combines solar energy collection and sensible heat storage. A
shallow solar pond is about 5 to 10 cm deep with a black bottom
to absorb solar radiation. The bed is made up of insulating
material to minimize heat loss to the ground. The solar radiation
enters the solar pond through a transparent fiber glass cover.1)A
surface convective zone, serves as a buffer zone between
environmental variations at the surface and conductive heat
transport from the layer below. This layer is known as upper
convective zone (UCZ). The thickness is small (10 to 20cms) and
has a low uniform concentration (close to zero) and fairly uniform
temperature (close to ambient air temperature).2) A stable non-
convective zone, keeps the two convective zones apart and
provides excellent insulation for the storage layer and reduces
heat loss in the upward direction. It is much thicker and more
than half the depth of the pond. As depth of this zone increases,
both temperature and salt concentration increases.3)A convective
or storage zone, at the bottom of the pond. This zone contains
higher salt concentration hot water and both concentration and
temperature are constant (high) in this zone. It serves the
purpose of heat collection and also act as a thermal storage
medium. [Temperature 850 to 95°C in summer and 50° to 60°C in
winter]( I - Surface or upper convective zone (UCZ) II - Non
convective or intermediate gradient zone III - Storage zone or
lower convective zone.
Photovoltaic conversion: Photovoltaic conversion means, direct
conversion of solar energy in to electrical energy ie conversion of
light or other electromagnetic radiation in to electricity. This direct
conversion of solar energy in to electric energy is achieved by
using solar cells or photovoltaic cells. These devices require little
maintenance, have no moving parts, their energy source is
unlimited and they work quite satisfactorily with beam or diffuse
radiation, but they are costly in comparison with the magnitude of
power generation.
 Focusing collectors: When high temperature (higher than 100 c)
is required, radiation is concentrated by using focusing or
concentrating collector. This collector collects solar energy with
high intensity and use reflectors or refractors. The main types of
focusing collectors are, 1. Parabolic trough collector 2. Paraboloid
concentrating collector 3. Flat plate collector with adjustable
Principle of working pv : As the sunlight falls on solar cells, mirrors4. Compound parabolic concentrator 5. Mirror strip
pairs of positive and negative charges (called electron hole pair) reflector In parabolic trough collector, the reflector appears as a
are created in the solar cell. The positive and negative charges trough with parabolic cross section. The sun rays coming from a
created are thus encouraged to drift to the front and back of the particular direction is intercepted over the area of the reflecting
solar cell. The back side of the solar cell is fully covered with a surface and is focused at the focus of the parabola. The solar
metallic contact, thus remove the charges to the electric load. radiation is focused along a line. The concentrator is in the shape
The metal fingers on the front side aids the collection of charges. of a cylindrical parabola, concentrates radiation on to its axis;
A power output of 0.5V will be developed by each individual solar where it is transferred to the fluid flowing through the absorber
cell. The modern solar cells consists of semiconductor materials tube.
and are based on single crystal silicon. When doped with
phosphorus, arsenic or antimony, the silicon becomes an N type
semiconductor. When silicon is doped with boron, aluminum,
indium or gallium, it results in P type semiconductor. These P
type and N type semiconductors are brought together to form PN
(or NP) junction.
Applications of solar photovoltaic system: 1 Used for weather
monitoring.2.Used in equipment‟s for railway signaling.3.Water
pumping sets to supply drinking water and water for micro
irrigation.4. Street lighting 5. Battery charging Advantages: 1. No
moving parts and no pollution 2. Solar cells have long life and are
highly reliable 3. No fuel consumption, as cells operates on solar
energy 4. Cells have high power to weight ratio, and hence more
suitable for space applications Str. 5. No sun tracking is required,
hence it is possible to operate cells in a wide range or
applications 6. Solar cells are more suitable for space
applications, as they work with less almost no attention.
Disadvantages 1. The cost is high 2. Because of day night cycle,
a necessity becomes to store the energy.