UNIT 13 SOLAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

Structure
13.1 Introduction
Objectives
13.2 Solar Thermal Technologies
The Principle underlying Solar Thermal Technologies
Devices for Solar Thermal Applications
13.3 Solar Photovoltaic Technology
The Principle underlying Solar Photovoltaic Technologies
SPV Applications
13.4 Summary
13.5 Terminal Questions

13.1 INTRODUCTION
The Sun is a bountifbl source of energy providing us both'heat and light. The Earth
receives nearly 4000 trillion units (kwh) of energy,from the Sun on a daily basis. In
actual terms, this energy is approximately 100 times the total energy consumption of
the world per year. As you know, solar energy not only sustains life on the ~ a m u t
is also the source of almost all forms of energy used by human beings. It is available
in the form of fossil fuels as well as renewable energy sources like biomass and wind
energy. It is a pollution-free abundant energy resource that is freely available to
everyone. Most parts of India get a good amount of sunshine throughout the year.
Therefore, solar energy is a good candidate for fulfilling our energy needs. We can
use the energy in sunlight to warm and light our homes, heat our water, and provide
electricity to power our lights, stoves, refrigerators, and other appliances.
Solar energy is made available to us through a variety of processes such as solar
heating, solar water heating,photovoltaic energy (converting sunlight directly into
electricity), and solar thermal electric power (when the Sun's energy is concentrated,
to heat water and produce steam, which is used to produce electricity). It can be used
in stand alone systems or to supplement other systems. You may like to know how to
use these technologies in your own homes and surroundings. Therefore, in this unit we
acquaint you with the solar energy technologies, which are relevant in the SAARC
and the Indian context. In the next unit, we describe the biomass resources and
technologies.
0 bjectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
describe different solar energy technologies in use today;
discuss various applications of solar energy; and
prepare an action plan for using solar energy in your own context.

13.2 SOLAR THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES

The energy in the Sun is experienced by us in the form of light and heat. Sunlight is
generally used to produce electricity, while the heat in the Sun's energy finds use in
t
I water heating, space heating, crop drying, desalination and power generation. These
I applications are possible due to the advances in Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) and solar
iI thermal technologies. Although these technologies have high initial costs in
comparison with other sources of energy, their main advantages are that the fossil fuel
and electricity consumption is decreased leading to lower energy bills and reduced
I C 0 2 emissions. We now describe these technologies, beginning with solar thermal
technology and its various applications.
Energy, Sustainability and 13.2.1 The Principle underlying Solar Thermal Technologies
Environment
Have you ever been inside a closed vehicle on a sunny day? Did you experience the
warmth inside it? It was due to the energy in the Sun's rays. Can you think of some
commercial uses of this energy? We can dry tea leaves, spices, cardamom, fish and
several other commodities using solar energy. We can heat water both for bathing
purposes as well as for several applications in small and medium scale industries, e.g.,
in laundries, canteens, hospitals, hotels.
The solar thermal technologies utilise solar energy for heating water, space heating,
cooling, drying, water purification and power generation. Solar collectors are the
heart of most solar thermal energy systems. The collector absorbs the Sun's energy
and transfers it to a fluid or air, which gets heated up. Hot fluid or air is then used to
warm buildings, heat water, generate electricity, dry crops or cook food. Solar
collectors can be used for nearly any process that requires heat. The possible
applications of these technologies in different temperature ranges are given in Table
13.1.
Table 13.1: Solar thermal energy and its uses

Low grade thermal Water heating, air heating, drying, refrigeration, space
energy (below 100°C) heating, desalination, etc.

Medium grade thermal Cooking, steam generation for industrial applications,

energy (100-300°C) power generation, water pumping, etc.

High grade thermal energy Power generation

(above 300°C)

We now discuss briefly some of the technologies and devices that make these
applications possible.
Solar Thermal Collectors
Solar collectors are used to collect solar radiation and transfer the energy to a fluid
passing in contact with it. These are mainly of two types:
non-concentrating or flat plate type, and
concentrating or focusing type collectors.
Flat-plate collectors, used for temperature ranges below 90°C, are the most common
collectors for residential water heating and space-heating installations. A typical flat-
plate collector is an insulated metal box with a glass or plastic cover called the glazing
and a dark-coloured absorber plate (Fig. 13 .la). The glazing can be transparent or
translucent. It allows the light to strike the absorber plate but reduces the amount of
heat that can escape the box. The sides and bottom of the collector are usually
insulated, further minimising heat loss.
The absorberplate is usually black because dark colours absorb more solar energy
than light colours. Sunlight passes through the glazing and strikes the absorber plate,
which heats up. The heat is transferred to the air or liquid passing through the flow
tubes. Absorber plates are often made of metal (usually copper or aluminium) because
they are both good heat conductors. Copper is more expensive, but is a better
conductor and is less prone to corrosion than aluminium. An absorber plate must have
high thermal conductivity to transfer the collected energy to the fluid or air with
minimum temperature loss. To obtain higher temperatures, the absorber is coated with
materials which absorb the radiation selectively. Thermal insulation, usually of glass
wool of 5-1 0 cm thickness is provided behind the absorber plate to reduce the heat
losses from the back side of the collector.
Flat-plate collectors fall into two basic categories: liquid heating collectors and air Solar ~ n e r g ~
Technologies
heating collectors.
In a liquid heating collector, solar energy heats a liquid as it flows through the tubes
in the absorber plate (Fig. 13. lb). For this type of collector, the flow tubes are attached
to the absorber plate so the heat absorbed by. the absorber plate is readily conducted to
the liquid. Glazed liquid collectors are used for heating household water and
ymetimes for space heating. Unglazed liquid collectors are commonly used to heat
water for swimming pools. Because these collectors need not withstand high
temperatures, they can use less expensive materials such as plastic or rubber.

\ ABSORBER
/ Y FLOWS
THROUGH THE
COOL FLUID IN WARM FLLllD
PLATE TUBES
OUT

Fig.13.1: Liquid heating collectors

In air heating collectors, an air stream is heated by the absorber plate. The back side
of the collector is heavily insulated with mineral wool. The use of air as the heat
transport medium removes both the freezing and corrosion problems normally
observed with liquids. The heated air can be put to direct use for space heating and
drying crops. However, large duct sizes and higher flow rates with increased pumping
power are needed for air in comparison to water as heat medium. In some solar air-
heating systems, fans on the absorber are used to increase air turbulence and improve
heat transfer. The disadvantage of this strategy is that it can also increase the amount
of power needed for fans and, thus, increase the costs of operating the system.
Concentrating Collectors
These types of collectors make use of parabolic mirrored surfaces to concentrate
solar energy on an absorber called a receiver (Fig: 13.2).

Fig.13.2: Schematic diagrams of different kinds of concentrating collectors: a) trough; b) dish and
c) tower
Energy, Sustainability and 13.2.2 Devices for Thei-ma1Applications
Environment
Solar thermal technology finds many uses in cooking, heating water, drying, space
heating and cooling, desalination, greenhouses and also power generation. We
describe some of these in this section.
Water Heating Systems
These are mainly of two types: collector coupled to a storage tank and collector
cum storage unit. In the former, heat is taken from the collector either by natural
convection or via a forced flow of fluid using an electrically operated pump. The
collector cum storage unit has three key components: front glazing, absorber sheet
and insulating storage tank. Sunlight passes through the front glazing and is
absorbed by the absorber which is thermally integrated with the storage tank
. containing the water. The typical capacity of different kinds of solar water heaters is
given in Table 13.2.
Table 13.2: Typical capacity of solar water heaters

Domestic systems : 1 0 E e s of hotwater per day

Commercial and
[Link] : 500-2,00,000 litres of hot water per day
(Hotels, hospitals, canteens, milk diaries,
textile mills and food processinp; industries)

Fig.13.3: Solar water heater used in a) homes; and b) commercial establishments

8
 Solar Energy
Solar Cookers Technologies
A solar cooker is made of a well insulated box. It is painted black on the inside and
covered by one or two transparent covers of glass. These covers allow solar radiation
to enter the box but do not allow the heat from the black absorbing plate to escape. In
this way, the temperature of the blackened plate inside the box rises and can go up to
140°C. The sides and bottom of the box are painted black to capture more heat. The
space between the inner and outer box is packed with glass wool. A mirror is used to
increase the solar radiation input on the absorber surface. The cooking containers are
made of aluminium or stainless steel. Another type of solar cooker uses a reflector
suitably designed to concentrate the solar radiation over a small area. This is capable
of attaining higher temperature and reducing cooking time.

Fig.13.4 Solar cookers: box type and one that uses a reflector
,
Solar Dryers
These are used to dry agricultural produce for better preservation as micro-organisms
thrive in moist conditions. Solar dryers are of two types: passive (or radiative) and
forced convection dryers. In the former, a black surface covered by glass or
polythene sheets absorbs the solar radiation and raises the temperature inside the
I
chamber or a cabinet. The moisture from the drying matter is carried out by the
, exhaust air. In forced convection type dryers, a fan is used to create the air flow,
I
reducing the drying time by about 30%.

Fig.13.5: Solar dryers

 Energy, Sustainability and Passive cabinet dryers are used to dry fruits, cash crops, fish, etc. Larger systems are
Environment . needed for drying of tea, timber, tobacco. and food grains.

Solar Desalination
This process can be used to convert brackish or sea water into potable water. In the
distalation process, water is evaporated and condensed as pure water. This process
needs an energy input as heat, which can be supplied directly by solar energy. The
device is called solar still. In a glass roof type solar still, sunlight enters through the
glass cover. The heat causes water to evaporate. It then condenses on the inner side of
the cover. The water droplets flow downwards into the discharge troughs, while the
remaining brine is replaced with a new supply of salty water.

=
,
Fresh Water Trough
Support

Fig.13.6: Solar stills

I Space Heating and Cooling

Think about a sunny spot on the floor of your house on a cold day. That spot is warm
and nice, right? Now think of a building, which we want to keep warm during the cold
winter months. We can put to use solar passive building techniques for capturing and
absorbing solar energy. A passive solar home or building collects solaiheat through
large sized south-facing windows and traps it.
We can also cool buildings, which get sufficiently warm in the hot climatic regions.
The important task is to reduce the cooling load before using desert coolers and air
conditioners. For this purpose, we can use sun control films as well as single and
double glazed windows, overhangs and Venetian blinds. However, quite a few
buildings use too much of glass, which results in their overheating.
Solar film is also used to control the amount of heat entering the building. However, it
has a limited ability to prevent the incoming solar radiation. Electro-Chromic (EC)
window coatings are being used, though selectively, on the large glass facades of
multi-storeyed buildings. Applying a small voltage changes the colour of these
coatings. This prevents most of the heat from entering the building. Simultaneously
though, sunlight is allowed to enter.
In this way the dependence of a building on qificial lighting is reduced and the inside
temperature of a building remains lower than what it would earlier be.

I
You may wonder how the EC coating could be used during winters. This is done by
simply reversing the polarity of the voltage applied to the EC film. This decolorises
the coating, which allows both heat and light to enter the building. The small amount
of voltage may be applied through a normal battery. Lately, the SPV technology,
which is a part of the building envelope itself, is used to provide the voltage. This is
10
 one of the very few examples of solar PV and solar thermal technologies going hand Solar Energy
Technologies
in hand.
Two most common refrigeration techniques are vapour compression and absorption.
Both techniques can be adapted for use with solar energy. Some designs use flat plate Fresh air in
collectors while others use concentrating collectors.
Solar Greenhouses
Solar greenhouses make it possible to grow fruits, vegetables and flowers throughout
the year. A greenhouse is basically a structure covering the area under cultivation,
enveloped by glass or plastic sheets. Tt traps and retains solar energy and is more
useful in cold climates.

&~arvvall-, ' K ~ a n s e r v afan

~ unit
pane 1.
b 4

Frasl
air

Fig.13.7: ~ o A more
e uses of solar thermal technologies: a) solar greenhouse; b) solar wall; and its
c) schematic diagram

1 Solar Thermal Power Generation

Recall the basic principle of thermal power generation explained in Unit 3. This is
based on the absorption of heat to convert a heat conducting liquid into steam, which
moves a turbine to generate electricity. All three types of solar collectors (dish type,
trough type and tower type) are used to concentrate solar energy and generate steam.
They can operate in hybrid modes, in which fuel is burnt to supplement solar heat. In
addition, both trough and power tower systems can incorporate thermal storage which
allows system operation after sundown.

Fig.13.8: Solar thermal power plants with tower type and trough type collectors .
i
Energy, Sustainability and Solar thermal power systems have relatively high solar-to-electric conversion
Environment efficiencies. However, a variety of techno-economic reasons such as the following
affect its use:
Solar thermal power systems require direct-beam solar radiation, so their siting is
limited to relatively sunny, dry regions. Nonetheless, these resources are adequate
for solar thermal power systems to eventually contribute substantially to our
national electricity needs.
Since competitive solar thermal power plant costs require relatively large-scale
manufacturing, the major challenge is to realise adequate commercial sales to
permit development of that industrial capacity.
Development programmes are targeted at improving the economics through
demonstration of better technologies, cost-shared pilot plants, and development of
better manufacturing technologies.
Many businesses use solar water heating to preheat water before using another method
to heat it to boiling or for steam. We now present an example of such a use of solar
thermal energy in India.

Solar Water Heating System Utilisation in India

Solar water heating systems are becoming increasingly popular in India. There is a big
market demand for such systems in the industrial units, which find it a cheaper '
alternative in comparison with the conventional techniques for water heating.

One such large industrial unit is the Godavari Fertilisers and Chemicals located in the
southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a leading manufacturer of DAP and is
amongst the first few companies in India to have adopted a large capacity solar water
heating system.

The aim was two fold: To save valuable fossil fuels, and to contribute towards energy
consgrvation and environmental protection. The important technical features of this
system are given below.

Capacity of the system 1,20,000 litres per day at 80°C

Collector area 2610 m2
Total number of solar collectors 1305
Installation area 5520 m2
Service Pre-heating of boiler feed water from
ambient temperature

Key Benefits of the SWH System

Pre-heating of the boiler feed water.
Saving of conventional energy.
Modular design.
Simple controls.
Energy savings: 6.0 million kcallday.
Fuel oil savings: 2.72 lakh litres.
The hot water is supplied from the solar water heater at a fairly constant temperature
throughout the 24 hour cycle by a four-tank system designed by the manufacturer. The
system layout is modular in design and is integrated with simple effective conbols
both at the inlet and outlet of the syste.n.
 Solar Energy
Technologies
Explain the principle underlying solar thermal devices. What are the key components
of a solar thermal system?

Let us now discuss the solar photovoltaic technology.

13.3 SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY

In India, it is not possible to electrify each and every remote comer of any country by
SOLAR CELL
the grid due to the prohibitively high cost of extending the grid to such areas. This
brings into sharp focus the role of sunlight derived electricity. One of the most
interesting and aesthetically appealing applications of solar energy is the Solar
Photovoltaic (SPV) technology. Photo means light and voltaic stands for electricity.
So, SPV refers to sunlight derived electricity. Let us try to understand how this
transformation takes place.

13.3.1 The Principle underlying Solar Photovoltaic Technologies ELECTRONS

When sunlight falls on special cells called solar cells, electric voltage and current are Fig.13.9: Solar cell: Light
generated (see Fig. 13.9).These cells are made up of semi-conducting materials such entering a solar cell is
as silicon. Silicon is found in ordinary sand. However, it is first purified to the constituted of high
energy photons.
Electronic Grade (EG) before being processed as a solar cell device. The chips found These impart energy
in modem day computers and mobile phones are also made of electronic grade silicon. to the negatively and
However, EG silicon does not come cheap as the whole process of material refining is positively charged
quite energy intensive. Yet another grade of cheaper silicon is the solar grade, whose energy carriers in the
solar cell and they
purity lies in between that of the metallurgical grade and electronic grade silicon. move, generating
electric current
On the other hand, amorphous silicon (of glass like structure) is relatively less capable of powering
expensive to produce. It is possible to coat large areas of glass with a semi conducting some load.
material. There are a few more solar cell materials like Cadmium Telluride (CdTe),
Copper Indium Diselenide (CIS) and Gallium Arsenide (GaAs). Of these, GaAs is
ideally suited to space applications due to its higher tern~er'aturetolerance and
radiation resistance.
Normally, a single solar cell generates 1 watt of useful power and even more
depending on its conversion efficiency. Power thus generated is fed to the battery and
can be drawn when actually needed. You may be wondering if we can get more power
from a solar cell on a hot day. Actually solar cells work best at ambient temperature of
around 25°C. Higher temperatures reduce its power producing capacity.
PV System Technology
Modem SPV technology enables us to meet our power requirements in the rnilli- watt
to megawatt range. PV cells measuring between 100 mm to 125 mrn produce between
1-1.2 watts of power. Around 36 such cells are normally interconnected to form a
solar module (see Fig. 13.10). Today solar modules have power generating capacities
ranging between a few watts to about 400 watts or even more. The conversion .
efficiency of a solar cell ranges between 4- 16% depending on the cell technology
used. Just to give you an idea, the Earth receives about 1000 W of incident solar
radiation per square metre per day. This means that a solar cell of about 10%
efficiency will approximately produce about 100 W of power per square metre.
However, a slightly more efficient cell of about 12% efficiency will produce nearly
Fig.13.10: A solar module and
an array
An assembly of solar modules known as solar array is capable of meeting higher
power requirements, for example, the lighting needs of a small village. Another key
element of a PV system is the mechanical support structure to mount the modules and
incline these at an angle. This angle, known as the tilt angle, is either set equal to the
latitude of a place (or site) or within 10+5" of the given latitude.
Energy, Sustainability and Power produced by a solar module during the day is useful only if we have to run, say,
Environment a wat& pumping unit. However, if we want to operate a light at night, a battery is also
needed. This means that PV power can be stored in the battery for night time use. For
this purpose, a highly efficient charge controller is needed. The main function of this
device is to prevent the undercharging as well as the deep discharging of the battery.
Again, PV power is a Direct Current (DC) source of power, which can just run the DC
appliances. You may wonder what happens in the case of AC appliances. A well
designed PV system also includes an efficient inverter. The basic function of an
inverter is to convert the DC power into AC power to enable us to run AC appliances.
In this way, both the DC and AC appliances can be operated.
SPV systems suffer from a few limitations, e.g., the intermittent nature of sunlight,
availability of solar energy only during day time, (thus, storage facilities are required
for many applications) and high initial capital cost. Besides, economies of scale are
still not realised in large number of situations due to continued dependence on donor
aid programmes. Battery is still a weak link in a PV system. Moreover, recycling
facilities to prevent any contamination by toxic elements present in solar panels are
yet to become common.

13.3.2 SPV Applications

Solar PV technology can be used in the following modes depending on the site
characteristics as well as the load to be powered:

stand-alone (without connection to grid) such as in home lighting systems,

PV-Grid (connected to the grid) as in PV utility power plant, and
PV-hybrid (connected with another non-grid energy source), for example PV-
Wind system.
C

An important purpose of interfacing PV with the grid s u p p l ~is to provide back up at

the tail-end of a distribution network. In contrast, a hybrid system meets the objective
of using two naturally occumng renewable resources to the best possible extent. Also,
a village power supply depending on diesel, for example, can demonstrate a better
techno-economic viability when run in tandem with a P y system. We now describe
some widely used PV applications.
Use of PV for lighting is regarded as the best possible application. It removes the age
old darkness of rural and remote households providing them with good quality white
light. It relieves them of the smoky oil lamps and provides respite from the drudgery
of arranging kerosene oil on a recurring basis.
Solar Lanterns and Solar Street Lighting System
The solar lantern is a portable device akin to a commonly used emergency lamp. It has
a small maintenance free lead-acid battery which is charged by a small solar module.
Fig.13.11: Solar lanterns It also has a high frequency inverter to convert the DC power supply into AC. The
illumination is provided by a Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) for 2 to 3 hours every
day. This device provides cool white light and is an ideal replacement for the oil
lamps. Generally, this lamp runs fo; about 3-4 hours per day, which increases the
productive hours of the day, e.g., it enables school going students to study for a few
hours more.
The presence of a street lighting system can t u n the deserted streets of a developing
geographical region into lively places. These systems run between dusk to dawn and
are automatically switched on at night. A light sensing device in these systems
switches on the light as soon it senses darkness. Similarly, it cuts off the battery
supply from the lamp, when it senses light at dawn. Thus it economises power use in
the best possible manner.
 Solar Energy
Technologies

Fig.13.12: SPV in lighting applications

Solar Water Pumping System

Initial use of PV was in pumping drinking water. It was followed by agricultural and
related uses. The majority of PV pumping systems are essentially daytime
applications as they do not have battery support. Both the DC as well as the AC type
of pumping systems are being used at present. More recently, drip and sprinkler type
of irrigation systems have been added to the applications.
SPV for Buildings
SPV for buildings is a fast emerging application. SPV modules are now architecturally
integrated within the building envelope itself. Thus, the power requirement of a
,building is partly met by SPV technology. Besides, the conventional building material
is replaced by the SPV area to offset the cost to some extent. SPV cell manufacturers
are now producing cells of various aesthetically appealing colours in tune with the
upcoming demand of the architects. However, in technical terms, this translates into
some loss of power conversion efficiency. Amongst various solar cell technologies,
amorphous silicon is best suited for building use. This is due to its high degree of
material laying flexibility, but it has low conversion efficiency. Crystalline silicon
modules are preferred for this very reason.

Fig.13.13: SPV for buildings

Energy, Sustainability and SPV for Very L0.w Power Consumer Products
Environment
.-_
__. Amorphous silicon cells and telluride solar cells are used for very low power
applications in calculators, watches, toys, etc.
Miscellaneous SPV Applications
Commercial use of SPV technology is seen in the key sectors of telecommunication,
oil and gas, railways, defence, civil aviation and also in TV transmission. Battery
charging remains the significant use of SPV for a wide range of end-use applications
in many sectors. A common requirement in all these areas is system autonomy, which
is higher than usual. Autonomy refers to the excess charge in a battery, which can
safely provide back up for power needs of a given system for about 2-3 days during
cloudy weather. With-most of the above-mentioned sectors being quite critical, the
system is designed to take care of about 5-6 cloudy days at a stretch. Also, the
associated electronics is quite rugged in nature because it is deployed under hostilk
weather and terrain conditions. @

Hybrid Systems
By definition, hybrid refers to the use of two mutually exclusive energy sources in
tandem. A significant objective of such systems is to restrict the full use of one
energy source primarily with an eye on cost reduction. However, in few selected
cases, the purpose is to keep the load running, should any breakdown occur in the
conventional energy supply. For example, an SPV system may take care of a bare
minimum load if a diesel generator intended for a village community power supply
develops some problem.
Hybrid systems are also designed for locations having a fair mlx of two energy
resources. For example, a partially windy site may receive good sunshine too. So, it is
quite prudent to install a PV-Wind hybrid system in accordance with the site
characteristics and importantly, the load profile.

Fig.13.14: A hybrid system for water pumping

Solar systems have a fairly wide outreach in almost all SAARC countries.
Bangladesh, for example, has a large solar rural electrification project, which is
managed by rural cooperatives and societies. Similarly, Nepal has a successful
programme of solar home systems ably managed at the local level. India has a rich
experience in renewable energy technologies. We now take a close look at the solar
 energy development in India and also Bangladesh. But before studying further, you
may like to stop and consolidate what you have learnt so far.

SAQ 2
Explain the principle underlying solar photovoltaic systems. List the most commonly
used solar cell materials.

Solar Photovoltaic System Utilisation in India

Until recently, Kurnaldhi, a small hamlet deep inside the forest area of the Pauri
Garhwal region in the state of Uttaranchal, was so remote that it defied identification.
It is an extremely backward village with no electrification and a large number of
economically and socially deprived people. The village has clusters of mud and
thatched hutrnents. Today, this village boasts of a solar light connection in each
household much to the delight and comfort of the villagers. Nearly the whole village
sits glued to a solar powered television set every evening for about 2-3 hours. Solar
street lights have vastly facilitated movement in the pitch-dark conditions at night
during emergencies. These lights operate from dusk to dawn. The routine care of the
solar plant is being handled by a village youth trained specially for the purpose. The
key technical specifications of the plant are given in Table 13.3.
Table 13.3: Key specifications

Cell Technology Used Single Crystal Silicon

PV Module Capacity 30 Wp
PV Plant Capacity 5.04 kWp
Battery Rating 2V, 600 Ah
Battery Type Tubular Plate Lead Acid Battery
System Design Voltage 96 V
Number of Indoor Lighting Connections 60
Number of Outdoor Lighting Connections 15

Key benefits
Smoky kerosene lamps are no longer in use thus offering a health benefit too.
Risk of fire due to such lamps is eliminated.
Children get to read under the cool white light of solar lamps,
Women folk find it convenient to do some hand embroidery work at night.
Movement is possible in the village cluster after sunset.
Solar PV Utilisation in Bangladesh
Solar PV has made some inroads in Bangladesh. Concerted efforts by NGOs are
underway on the part of the government organisations, private companies and
individuals to popularise the use of various solar energy products and systems. For
,' example, SPV technology is being used to meet the electricity demand of remote areas
for households, markets, cytlone shelters, health centres, railway Signals, gas-pipe
I lihes and many other applications.
I
Solar house systems (SHSs) have been deployed in a sizable number. However, there
are many un-electrified remote area health centres, which are still waiting to get a PV
connection for vaccine refrigeration. Similarly, out of about 1,000 cyclone shelters,
about 20 are PV borne and the number of PV grid systems and water pumping
systems can be counted on finger tips. Very recently, Bangladesh Railways has
introduced PV signalling on an experimental basis at some crossings and railway
Energy, Sumtninrbility and stations. Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL) has also introduced PV for
Environment surveillance of gas-pipeline at selected places.
The solar electrification programme is marching ahead successfully. Under a focused
initiative of Rural Electrification Board (REB) in 1997-1999, nearly 806 consumers of
two river islands were connected to solar electricity through PV installed capacity of
62 KW power. Two non-governmental organisations, Grameen Shakti and
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), took the initiative of
countrywide dissemination of SHSs.
Solar electrification has by now become a major part of the rural electrification
programme of the country. A programme entitled "Rural Electrification and
Renewable Energy Development (RERED) Programme" is being implemented since
2002. Under this programme, two government organisations IDCOL and REB are
entrusted with the responsibility of installing about 64,000 SHSs with the cooperation
of NGOs and rural electrification cooperatives, respectively. Until July 2004, more
than 23,000 SHSs had been installed by IDCOL. BPDB has recently completed a
programme of implementing 900 SHSs. Thus a cumulative total of about 37,000 SHSs
with a total capacity of about 2.5 MW have been installed so far in the country. The
current rate of installation is about 2500 systems per month.
With this overview of the power of solar energy in this unit, we summarise its
contents.

13.4 SUMMARY
Solar energy is an unending source of energy. It can be converted into heat as
well as electricity. It has many uses ranging from cooking, lighting, crop drying,
space heating and cooling to production of electricity. There are two main
categories of solar energy technology: Solar thermal and solar photovoltaic.
Solar collector is the basic device used in the solar thermal technology. It traps
solar energy and transfers it to the fluid or air in its immediate contact, which gets
heated up. This heat is used for many applications.
Solar cells are the basic devices in the SPV technology used for converting
sunlight into electricity. They are made of materials like crystalline silicon,
amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, etc.
SPV systems are mostly used for indoor and outdoor lighting, water pumping,
telecommunication, refrigeration and signalling etc. PV for buildings is a fast
emerging area, wherein the solar modules are architecturally integrated into the
building envelope.
Solar desalination systems are well suited for meeting the potable drinking water
requirements of remote communities.

13.5 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. Describe the main applications of solar thermal technology. What are the
advantages and limitations of using this technology?
2. What are the key components of a solar photovoltaic system?
3. Describe the applications of solar photovoltaics.
4. Which of your own needs can be met by using solar energy? Make a list of the
useful solar technologies in your conditions. Prepare an action plan for using solar
energy in your home or in your community.