Lecture on Solar Energy

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  What is solar Energy?
 It is a green energy
 Works with solar panels which are eco-friendly electric
generators
 Solar panels generate free power from the sun by converting
sunlight to electricity with no moving parts, zero emissions,
and no maintenance. The solar panel, the first component of
an electric solar energy system, is a collection of individual
silicon cells that generate electricity from sunlight. The
photons (light particles) produce an electrical current as they
strike the surface of the thin silicon wafers

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  Types of Solar panels
 Monocrystalline solar panels
The most efficient and expensive solar panels are made with Monocrystalline cells. These
solar cells use very pure silicon and involve a complicated crystal growth process
 they have the highest output for a given surface area and can last as long as 25 years.
 Polycrystalline solar panels
 Often called Multi-crystalline, solar panels made with Polycrystalline cells are a little less
expensive & slightly less efficient than Monocrystalline cells because the cells are not
grown in single crystals but in a large block of many crystals.
 cells are sliced from a cast silicon block and have an appearance
of shattered glass. they have a lower efficiency but they
 have a similar life span to the monocrystalline types while
sometimes being a bit cheaper per watt
 Amorphous solar panels
 These are not really crystals, but a thin layer of silicon deposited on a base material such
as metal or glass to create the solar panel

4 Prepared by: Rustom Hannes (Elec. Eng) 28 November 2019

 Site survey for PV panels
Points to be considered in site selection:
 Shading and shadowing in solar panels
 Temperature and wind loading considerations
Types of solar array mountings
 fixed mounting
 Adjustable mounting
 Tracking

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 Mounting direction for PV panels
 most of the time orientation of the solar panels is done based on the study of the
maximum the panel can meet the sunlight
 in Eritrea typical orientation is around 15 to 30 degrees due south

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  Important element of Solar Energy System
 PV panels
 Batteries
 Charge Controller
 Inverter
 DC Cable

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 1. Solar Panels
Photovoltaic (PV) panels convert sunlight directly into electricity.
2. True Sine Wave Inverter 12, 24 and 48 Volt

True sine wave inverters

manufactured to exacting standards to produce clean AC power from a DC power
source. What level of quality? The AC output from a true sine wave inverter meets
or exceeds grid power specifications with very low harmonic distortion.

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 300 Watt 24 Volt DC to AC Inverter

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 3.Charge Controller

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 Why a Charge Controller is necessary?
 Since the brighter the sunlight, the more voltage the solar cells produce, the
excessive voltage could damage the batteries. A charge controller is used to maintain
the proper charging voltage on the batteries. As the input voltage from the solar
array rises, the charge controller regulates the charge to the batteries preventing any
over charging. Modern multi-stage charge controllers Most quality charge controller
units have what is known as a 3 stage charge cycle that goes like this :

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 Load analysis
A quick and easy load analysis can be done by looking at an electric bill.
You may find energy usage from 5 kWHour to 30kWHour per day,
depending on the type of electric appliances used. If you are
interested in lowering your electric bill, it will pay to look into more
efficient lights and appliances. If you are looking to meet all or most of
your needs with a solar electric system, you will almost certainly have
to eliminate huge loads like electric water heaters and ovens. Tools and
pumps are not a problem because they are not on for long periods of
time.

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 Solar Electrical System Sizing Information
 To begin sizing a solar electrical system, you need to determine your power
consumption demands
 Make a list of the appliances and/or loads you are going to run from your solar
electric system
 Find out how much power each item consumes while operating.
 Calculate your AC loads
 Calculate your DC loads

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Solar Battery Sizing Sheet
To Calculate Solar Battery Bank Sizing

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  The first decision you have to make is how much storage you would like your
battery bank to provide
 Often this is expressed as "days of autonomy" because it is based on the number
of days you expect your system
 you should also consider your usage pattern and the critical nature of your
application.

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 Solar Panel Wiring
In order to get the desired voltage and current solar panel
wiring system is very important

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 Thank you

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