Photovoltaic System Fundamentals

What’s wrong with this picture?

• Pollution from burning fossil fuels leads to an increase in

greenhouse gases, acid rain, and the degradation of
public health.
 In 2005, the U.S.
emitted 2,513,609
metric tons of carbon
dioxide, 10,340 metric
tons of sulfur dioxide,
and 3,961 metric tons
of nitrogen oxides from
its power plants.
Advantages of Photovoltaics
• Modular and easily scalable
• No moving parts
• Reliable, proven technology
• Durable (last more than 50 years)
• Long Warranties
• Price Continues to Decrease
• No Operational Pollution
• Solar Energy is available
everywhere & free
• Varied Applications
 Disadvantages
• Cost - approximately
$.20/kwh without
incentives; about $.09/kwh
with incentives in NC
(assuming $4/watt and 65%
tax credit)
• Low efficiency compared
with solar thermal
• Require a lot of surface area
• Lack of experience and
knowledge
World Cumulative Capacity 2013 (MW)
 Factors Influencing Growth
• Falling Prices
• Strong Consumer Demand
• Available Financing
• Public Policies
– Feed in Tariffs (FITs)
– Renewable Portfolio
Standards (RPS)
– Rebates
– Tax Credits
World Cumulative Installed Capacity (GW) of Wind & PV

Source: Vital Signs. Worldwatch Institute, 2013

Leading PV Adopter Countries in 2013
Cumulative PV in 2013 by Country (MW & %)
UK; 2.9; 2%
Autralia; 3.3; 3%
Belgium; 3; 3%
France; 4.6; 4%

Spain; 5.6; 5%

Germany
Germany; 35.5; 30% China
USA; 12; 10% Italy
Japan
USA
Spain
Japan; 13.6; 12% France
Autralia
China; 18.3; 16% Belgium
UK

Italy; 17.6; 15%

 PV Growth Trends
• World installed capacity • China (11.3 GW), Japan (6.9
grew by 39% in 2013 (36.9 GW), US (4.75 GW)
GW) Germany(3.3 GW) & Italy
(1.5 GW) are leading
• 1% of world’s electricity adopters in 2013
(some countries are
producing as much a 8%) • $140.4 billion invested in
2012
• Annual worldwide growth
has averaged 50% per year • Over past 10 years world PV
over last 5 years
capacity grew from 10 GW
to 140,000 GW
• > 140,000 MW in 2014
Apple NC 20 MW – 100 acre Solar Farm
 Photovoltaic History
• 1839 Edmund
Becquerel - first
recognized the effect
 Early PV milestones
• 1839 – discovery of the
photovoltaic effect;
• 1873 – Willoughby Smith
discovers the photoconductivity of
selenium
• 1883 – Charles Fritts develops
first selenium cell (1% efficient)
• 1904 – Einstein published his
paper on the photoelectric effect
(along with a paper on his theory of
relativity)
• 1921 – Albert Einstein wins the
Nobel Prize for his theories (1904
paper) explaining the photoelectric
effect
 P-N Junction & 1st cells
• Russel Ohl – worked at
Bell Labs in 1930’s &
1940’s
• Discovered the P-N
junction in 1939
• Patented 1st modern
solar cell called a “Light
sensitive device”
 1953 - THE DREAM BECOMES REAL
 Gerald Pearson, Daryl
Chapin, and Calvin Fuller of
Bell Labs were the principle
discoverers of the silicon
solar cell called a “solar
battery”
 Dopants used to produce
6% efficient cells
 Silicon
• Makes up ¼ of earth’s crust; 8th most common element in
universe; 2nd most common (25%) on earth after oxygen
• Sand
• Amethyst
• Granite
• Quartz
• Flint
• Opal
• Asbestos
• Clay
Silicon
Silicon Ingot
PV cells
Photovoltaic Effect
Photovoltaic effect, process in which two dissimilar materials in close contact
produce an electrical voltage when struck by light or other radiant energy. Light
striking crystals such as silicon or germanium, in which electrons are usually not
free to move from atom to atom within the crystal, provides the energy needed
to free some electrons from their bound condition. Free electrons cross the
junction between two dissimilar crystals more easily in one direction than in the
other, giving one side of the junction a negative charge and, therefore, a negative
voltage with respect to the other side, just as one electrode of a battery has a
negative voltage with respect to the other. The photovoltaic effect can continue
to provide voltage and current as long as light continues to fall on the two
materials
 1956 - Searching for Applications

Novelty items such as toys

and radios run by solar cells
were First
 Late 1950s - Saved by the Space Race
The late Dr. Hans
Ziegler, the chief
advocate for powering
satellites with silicon
solar cells
 Vanguard I - first PV powered satellite
• Launched in 1958; 4th artificial
satellite
• solar panel: 0.1W, 100 cm²
• Vanguard's solar cells operated
for about seven years, while
conventional batteries used to
power another transmitter on
board Vanguard lasted only 20
days.
• Still orbiting; longest orbiting
artificial satellite
• $1000/watt
Early 1970s - The First Mass Earth Market
Solar cells power
navigation warning
lights and horns on
most off-shore gas and
oil rigs throughout the
world
 1970s - Captain Lomer's Saga

Lighthouses
 1974 - Working on the Railroad
The first solar-powered
crossing depicted in this
picture began operating
at Rex, Georgia in 1974
for the Southern
Railway (now the
Norfolk/Southern)
Late 1970s - Long Distance for Everyone
One of Telecom
Australia's (now Telstra)
many solar-powered
microwave repeaters,
whose installation
began in the late 1970s,
to provide Australians
living in remote areas
with high-quality
telecommunication
service
1970s - Father Verspieren Preaches the Solar Gospel

Water pumping for

people and livestock in
developing world
 1980s - Electrifying the Unelectrified
A common sight in
French Polynesia: solar
modules on thatched
roofs
 Current PV Applications

• Residential/commercial
grid-direct systems
• Utility scale “solar farm”
electricity production
• Telecommunications
• Water Pumping
• Off-grid (stand-alone)
• Satellites and space
stations
• Battery charging in myriad
applications
Types of Systems

1. DC direct
2. Battery charging
3. Hybrid systems
4. Grid-direct
5. Grid-tied with battery
backup
 DC-Direct System

PV Array –
DC energy production
DC-Direct Load

*Simple, Reliable *Load requires DC power

*No Sun, No Energy *Array and Load matched in power
*PV produces DC power (watts)
Direct PV Systems
Direct PV System
 Battery-Charging System (DC only)

*Loads operate at
night or in cloudy
weather
PV Array – *Battery bank can
DC Energy Production supply large surge
Charge Controller currents
*Charge controller
keeps battery
from
overcharging

Batteries - DC Energy Storage DC Load(s)

 Off-Grid System with AC loads

PV Array –
DC Energy Production
Charge Controller

Batteries - DC Energy Storage

AC Load(s)

Inverter/Charger DC Load(s)
 Charge Controller

DC Junction Box

Combiner Box
PV array Inverter

Battery
Hybrid (Off-Grid) Systems

Wind Turbine

Tower

PV Array (Optional)

DC
Source
Wind Center PV Charge DC - AC
Charge Inverter
Controller Controller Engine
Generator
(Optional)

System Controls
Not Shown

Battery Bank

DC 120/240 VAC
Loads Loads
Grid-Direct
 Grid-Direct
”Utility intertie”, “Grid-tie” PURPA: Utilities pay
or “Utility-interactive” “avoided costs” for PV
power generated and
 No batteries or charge “sold” to the grid.
controller. Utility grid acts
as power reserve. Buy all/sell all – different
rates
 Inverter automatically
shuts down with utility Net metering- meter spins
failure. backwards and forwards
Direct Grid Tie System
Residential/Commercial Grid-Direct
Utility Scale Solar Farms
 Grid-Tied with Battery Backup

*Will operate when

grid fails.
*Provides back up
power to “essential
loads.”
*More expensive.
Grid Tie with Battery Backup
Photovoltaic Design and
Installation
Solar Modules
Solar Domestic Hot Water
Solar Domestic Hot Water
 Photovoltaic (PV) Hierarchy
• Cell < Module < Panel < Array
Inside a PV Cell
 Available Cell Technologies
• Single-crystal or Mono-crystalline Silicon

• Polycrystalline or Multi-crystalline Silicon

• Thin film
– Ex. Amorphous silicon or Cadmium Telluride
Monocrystalline Silicon Modules

• Most efficient
commercially available
module (11% - 14%)
• Most expensive to
produce
• Circular (square-round)
cell creates wasted space
on module
 Polycrystalline Silicon Modules

• Less expensive to make

than single crystalline
modules
• Cells slightly less efficient
than a single crystalline
(10% - 12%)
• Square shape cells fit into
module efficiently using
the entire space
 Amorphous Thin Film

• Most inexpensive
technology to produce
• Metal grid replaced with
transparent oxides
• Efficiency = 6 – 8 %
• Can be deposited on flexible
substrates
• Less susceptible to shading
problems
• Better performance in low
light conditions that with
crystalline modules
 Selecting the Correct Module
• Practical Criteria
– Size
– Voltage
– Availability
– Warranty
– Mounting Characteristics
– Cost (per watt)
PV Wiring
 Series Connections

• Loads/sources wired in series

– VOLTAGES ARE ADDITIVE

– CURRENT IS EQUAL
 Parallel Connections

• Loads/sources wired in parallel:

– VOLTAGE REMAINS CONSTANT

– CURRENTS ARE ADDITIVE
 Wiring Introduction

• Should wire in Parallel or

Series?
 Safety Equipment

• Disconnects • Overcurrent Protection

Solar Site & Mounting
 Site Selection – Panel Direction

• Face true
south
• Correct for
magnetic
declination
Altitude and Azimuth
 Solar Pathfinder
• An essential tool in finding a good site for
solar energy is the Solar Pathfinder
• Provides daily, monthly, and yearly solar
hours estimates
 Site Selection – Tilt Angle

Max performance is
achieved when panels
are perpendicular to the
sun’s rays

Year round tilt = latitude

Winter + 15 lat.
Summer – 15 lat.
 Solar Access
• Optimum Solar Window 9 am – 3 pm

• Array should have NO SHADING in this

window (or longer if possible)
 General Considerations
• Weather characteristics
– Wind intensity
– Estimated snowfall
• Site characteristics
– Corrosive salt water
– Animal interference
• Human factors
– Vandalism
– Theft protection
– Aesthetics
General Considerations Continued
• Loads and time of use
• Distance from power conditioning equipment
• Accessibility for maintenance
• Zoning codes
 Basic Mounting Options
• Fixed
– Roof, ground, pole
• Integrated
• Tracking
– Pole (active & passive)
 Pole Mount Considerations

• Ask manufacturer for wind loading

specification for your array
– Pole size
– Amount of concrete
– Etc.
• Array can be in close proximity to the house,
but doesn’t require roof penetrations
 Tracking Considerations
• Can increase system performance by:
– 15% in winter months
– 30% in summer months

• Adds additional costs to the array

 Passive Vs. Active

Active:
– Linear actuator motors
controlled by sensors
follow the sun
throughout the day
 Passive Vs. Active
Passive:
– Have no motors,
controls, or gears
– Use the changing weight
of a gaseous refrigerant
within a sealed frame
member to track the sun
 Roof Mount Considerations

• simple and cheap to

install
• offer no flexibility in
the orientation of
your solar panel
• can only support
small photovoltaic
units.
Building Integrated PV