UNIT-III
Renewable Energy Systems(EECE3591)
Solar Radiation, Radiation Measurement
Solar Thermal Power Plant
Central Receiver Power Plants, Solar Ponds
Thermal Energy storage system with PCM
Solar Photovoltaic systems: Basic Principle of SPV conversion
Types of PV Systems- Types of Solar Cells
Photovoltaic cell concepts: Cell, module, array,
PV Module I-V Characteristics
Efficiency & Quality of the Cell
series and parallel connections
maximum power point tracking
Applications
1
SOLAR PV AND THERMAL
SYSTEMS
Introduction
• The basic principle behind both solar panel – solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal – is the
same. They absorb raw energy from the sun and use it to create usable energy.
• In solar PV systems this is through the creation of electricity, whereas thermal systems are
used directly for heating water or air.
• The amount of solar radiation on the earth surface can be instrumentally measured using
Pyrheliometer, Pyranometer, Photoelectric sunshine recorder and many instruments.
• Solar thermal power plants collect and concentrate sunlight to produce the high temperature
heat needed to generate electricity.
• Thermal energy storage (TES) is a technology that stocks thermal energy by heating or cooling a
storage medium so that the stored energy can be used at a later time for heating and cooling
applications and power generation.
• A photovoltaic module consists of multiple PV cells connected in series to provide a higher
voltage output. A photovoltaic array is a system composed of multiple PV modules. They can be
connected in one or more series circuits, which are connected to a combiner box to provide a
single direct-current output
Solar Radiation
Solar radiation, often called the solar resource, is a general term for the electromagnetic radiation
emitted by the sun.
The sun emits electromagnetic radiations as a black body having a surface temperature of about
6000 K. This is because of the nuclear reaction running in it, where the sun is converting hydrogen
into helium.
The radius of the sun amounts to 1.39 × 10^9 km. The total radiation power received from the sun
on a unit area perpendicular to the sun rays at the mean earth sun distance, termed an
astronomical unit, is called the solar constant (SC), where 1 astronomical unit = 1AU = 1.496 ×
10^11 m. The solar constant, on the other hand, is the amount of solar energy received per unit
area at the top of Earth's atmosphere, and its value is approximately 1367 W/m²
The Solar Constant (Isc)
• The total energy received from the sun, on a surface of unit area
kept perpendicular to solar radiation, when the earth is at its
mean distance from the sun.
• The value of the solar constant has been measured by various
investigators to range from 1350 to 1382 W/m2 . Arbitrarily
value of the solar constant is taken as 1367 W/m2.
• solar radiation passes through the atmosphere, it gets absorbed, scattered,
reflected, or transmitted.
• All these processes result in reduction of the energy flux density.
• The solar flux density is reduced by about 30% compared to extraterrestrial
radiation flux on a sunny day and is reduced by as much as 90% on a cloudy day.
The following main losses should be noted:
absorbed by particles and molecules in the atmosphere - 10-30%
reflected and scattered back to space - 2-11%
scattered to earth (direct radiation becomes diffuse) - 5-26%
Scattering is caused by interaction of the radiation with molecules, water
and dust particles in the air. The amount of light scattered depends on the
number of particles in the atmosphere, particle size and the total air mass
the radiation comes through.
Absorption occurs upon interaction of the radiation with certain molecules,
such as ozone (absorption of short-wave radiation - ultraviolet), water vapour,
and carbon dioxide (absorption of longwave radiation - infrared)
Insolation is the incident solar radiation onto some object. Specifically, it is a
measure of the solar energy that is incident on a specified area over a set
period.
Generally, insolation is expressed in two ways. One unit is kilowatt-hours per
square meter (kWh/m2 ) per day which represents the average amount of
energy hitting an area each day.
Another form is watts per square meter (W/m2 ) which represents the average
amount of power hitting an area over an entire year
Radiation Measurement
• The amount of solar radiation on the earth surface can be
instrumentally measured, There are two important types of
instruments to measure solar radiation:
• 1) Pyrheliometer
• 2) Pyranometer
Pyrheliometer
Pyranometer
Solar Thermal Power Plant
• Solar thermal power plant is a
combination of solar energy and thermal
energy. The sun‘s radiations is used as
fuel in the power plant. Solar energy is
converted into heat or thermal energy
which is further converted to mechanical
energy using turbine and electrical energy
using generators
Solar Thermal Power Plant Conti...
Generally, for low and medium temperature ranges, Rankine cycle is preferred
whereas for high temperature range Brayton cycle is used.
The cycle operation and different components of the solar thermal power plant are
• Solar pond
• Solar energy collectors
• Working fluid
• Evaporator Boiler
• Turbine and Generator
• Condenser and Cooling tower
Solar Thermal Power Plant Conti...
• The working is very simple almost similar to any thermal power plant.
• Solar power plant also works on Rankine cycle and Brayton cycle as per the
requirements. With the help of construction, we can easily predict the cycle of operation
and working.
• Working fluid gains latent heat of vaporisation from the direct solar radiations or by
means of solar ponds in the evaporator boiling and converts it into vapour form.
• After that it runs the turbine which is connected to the generator.
• Then the turbine working fluid goes into the condenser and loses heat and again sends
back to the evaporator boiler with the help of pump.
• This whole cycle repeats continuously until the sun remains in the sky and radiation falls
on the earth surface.
Solar Thermal Power Plant Conti...
Advantages:
• Solar power plants work on solar energy which is available in abundant on the earth
surface at most of the places.
• Solar power plants produce negligible pollution as compared to thermal power plant.
• The energy produced is renewable energy with negligible cost.
• Quantity of water used in solar power plants is very less as compare to other power
plants.
Disadvantages:
• The major drawback is the availability of the sun. Sun‘s radiation of desired intensity is
not available whole day.
• For collecting the sun radiations at useful rate large area is required. Initial setup cost
of Solar plant is quite high.
Solar PONDS
Solar pond: The solar energy coming from the sun is firstly absorbed
by the solar pond. Solar pond is a reservoir of water where sun‘s rays
directly focus by using solar energy collectors. After that, solar energy
increases the internal energy and raises the temperature of solar pond.
The fluid in the solar pond may be directly used as the working fluid if its
temperature reaches up to evaporating temperature. The fluid from the
solar pond goes into cyclic process.
Principle of Solar Pond Due to the excessively high salt concentration, a plastic
liner or impermeable soil must be used to prevent infiltration into the nearby ground
water or soil.
The liner is a factor that increases the cost of a solar pond. A site where the soil is
naturally impermeable, such as the base of a natural pond or lake, or can be made
impermeable by compaction or other means, will allow considerably lower power
costs.
The optical transmission properties and related collection efficiency vary greatly and
depend on the following factors: i. Salt concentration. ii. The quantity of suspended
dust or other particles. iii. Surface impurities like leaves or debris, biological material
like bacteria and algae. iv. The type of salt.
• Applications of Solar Ponds:
• Power generation.
• Space heating and cooling.
• Crop drying.
• Desalination.
• Process heat.
• Limitations of Solar Ponds
• Sunny climate is required
• Need for large land area.
• Availability of salt.
• Availability of water.
Solar energy collectors
Solar energy collectors are the device used for collecting the solar radiations and focus the
solar radiations at particular location to transfer the heat energy into the solar ponds or fluid.
Solar collectors are classified as
1. Non concentrating type : i) Flat-Plate Collectors
ii) Evacuated-Tube Collector
2. Concentrating type : i) Parabolic trough collector.
ii) Power tower receiver.
iii) Parabolic dish collector.
iv) Fresnel lens collector.
Solar energy collectors
Generally, two types of collectors are used first is non-concentrating or flat plate type
solar collector which is used for low temperature applications and second is concentrating or
focusing type solar collector which are used for medium and high temperature applications.
Collectors make the solar energy more useful. Flat plate collectors are very simple,
the collecting area is equal to absorbing area where as focusing type collector have several
arrangements of mirrors and lenses for proper concentration of sun light. Due to this by using
focus type collectors we can capture 100 times solar radiation as compared to flat plate
collector keeping the area same. By using focusing type collector we can directly generate
medium pressure steam.
Non concentrating type
a)Flat-Plate Collectors
Flat-plate solar collectors are the most common ones. They consist of an absorber, a transparent
cover and insulation. The main use of the technology is usually in residential buildings where the
demand for hot water is big and affects bills. Commercial application of flat-plate collectors is usually
seen in car washes, laundromats, military laundry facilities or restaurants.
The parts of a flat plate collectors are
Black surface - absorbent of the incident solar energy
Glazing cover - a transparent layer that transmits radiation to the absorber, but prevents
radiative and convective heat loss from the surface
Tubes containing heating fluid to transfer the heat from the collector
Support structure to protect the components and hold them in place
Insulation covering sides and bottom of the collector to reduce heat losses
Flat-Plate Collectors ....
Flat-Plate Collectors
b)Evacuated-Tube Collector
• This is a type of a vacuum collector. Its absorber strip is placed in an evacuated
and pressure proof glass tube.
• The heat transfer fluid flows directly the absorber into a U-tube or in a tube-in-
tube system. The heat pipe collector integrates a special fluid, which evaporates
even at low temperatures, thus the steam rises in the individual heat pipes and
warms up the fluid in the main pipe, generating heat.
• The vacuum that surrounds the outside of the tubes greatly reduces the risk of
heat loss, therefore efficiency is greater than it is with flat-plate collectors.
Evacuated-Tube Collector
Concentrating type
i)Parabolic Trough Collector
It is a line focusing type collector. In this type of collector, the solar radiations falling on
the area of the parabolic reflector are concentrated at the focus of the parabola.
• When the reflector is manufactured in the form of a trough with the parabolic cross-
section, the solar radiations gets focused along a line. An absorber pipe is placed
along this line and a working fluid (usually synthetic oil or water) flows through it.
• When the focused solar radiations fall on the absorber pipe, it heats the fluid to a
high temperature. Then the heat absorbed by the working fluid is transferred to
water for producing steam.
• The focus of solar radiations changes with the change in sun‘s elevation. In order to
focus the solar radiations on the absorber pipe, either the trough or the collector
pipe is rotated continuously about the axis of the absorber pipe
Parabolic Trough Collector
Parabolic Trough Collector
ii)Power Tower Receiver
• In this collector, the receiver is located at the top of
the tower. It has many independently-moving flat
mirrors (heliostats) spread over a large area of ground
to focus the reflected solar radiations on the receiver.
• The heliostats are installed all around the central
tower. Each heliostat is rotated into two directions to
track the sun. The solar radiations reflected from
heliostats are absorbed by the receiver mounted on a
tower of about 500 m height. The tower supports a
bundle of vertical tubes containing the working fluid.
• The working fluid in the absorber receiver is converted
into the high-temperature steam of about 600oC –
700oC. This steam is supplied to a conventional steam
power plant coupled to an electric generator to
generate electric power
Power Tower Receiver
iii) Parabolic Dish Collector
• In these collectors, the receiver is placed at the focal point of the
concentrator. The solar beam radiations are focused at a point where the
receiver (absorber) is placed.
• The solar radiations are collected in the receiver.
• A small volume of fluid is heated in the receiver to a high temperature.
• This heat is used to run a prime mover coupled with a generator.
• A typical parabolic dish collector has a dish of 6 m diameter.
• This collector requires two-axis tracking. It can yield temperatures up to
3000⁰ C.
• Due to the limitations of size and the small quantity of fluid, dish type solar
collectors are suitable for only small power generation (up to few kW).
Parabolic Dish Collector
iv) Fresnel Lens Concentrating Collector
• In this collector, a Fresnel lens which consists of
fine, linear grooves on the surface of refracting
material of optical quality on one side and flat
on the other side is used.
• The angle of each groove is so designed that the
optical behaviour of the Fresnel lens is similar to
that of a common lens.
• The solar radiations which fall normally to the
lens are refracted by the lens and are focused on
a line where the absorber tube (receiver) is
placed to absorb solar radiations.
Fresnel Lens Concentrating Collector
• Advantages:
• Solar power plants work on solar energy which is available in
abundant on the earth surface at most of the places.
• Solar power plants produce negligible pollution as compared to
thermal power plant.
• The energy produced is renewable energy with negligible cost.
• Quantity of water used in solar power plants is very less as compare
to other power plants.
Central Receiver Power Plants
• Unlike linear concentrating systems (troughs), which reflect light onto a focal line, the
central receiver systems send concentrated light onto a remote central receiver.
• A typical example of such a system is a solar power tower system, which consists of
multiple tracking mirrors (heliostats) positioned in the field around a main external
receiver installed on a tower.
• Such systems are capable of reaching of much higher levels of concentration than linear
systems. Concentrated radiation is further used as heat to produce steam and convert it
to electricity (like in a regular power plant), or the generated thermal energy can be
stored in a molten salt storage.
Central Receiver Power Plants ...
Major sub-components of central receiver system
Heliostat field:
The heliostat field comprises a large heliostat, structure, and control/tracking. The heliostat
typically utilizes a mirror, which can be oriented throughout the day to redirect sunlight
along a fixed axis toward a stationary target or receiver.
Storage:
• Central tower based systems typically use Molten salt, hot concrete storage, phase change
materials, saturated steam or pressurized air as storage media.
• Nitrate salt mixtures can be used as both a heat transfer fluid and a storage medium at
temperatures of up to 565°C.
Receivers/absorber and power block:
This includes the receivers, absorbers including heat collection elements, and Power Block.
The receiver, placed at the top of a tower, is located at a point where reflected energy from
the heliostats can be intercepted most efficiently. The receiver absorbs the energy being
reflected from the heliostat field and transfers it into a heat transfer fluid.
External Receivers:
These normally consist of panels of many small (20-56 mm) vertical tubes welded side by
side to approximate a cylinder. The bottoms and tops of the vertical tubes are connected to
headers that supply heat transfer fluid to the bottom of each tube and collect the heated
fluid from the top of the tubes.
Cavity Receivers:
In an attempt to reduce heat loss from the receiver, some designs propose to place the
flux absorbing surface inside of an insulated cavity, thereby reducing the convective heat
losses from the absorber.
Thermal Energy storage system with
PCM
• Phase change materials (PCMs) are materials that undergo the solid-liquid phase
transformation, more commonly known as the melting-solidification cycle, at a
temperature within the operating range of a selected thermal application.
• As a material changes phase from a solid to a liquid, it absorbs energy from its
surroundings while remaining at a constant or nearly constant temperature.
• The energy that is absorbed by the material acts to increase the energy of the
constituent atoms or molecules, increasing their vibrational state. At the melt
temperature the atomic bonds loosen and the materials transitions from a solid to a
liquid.
• A high temperature, high pressure heat transfer
fluid (HTF) circulates through the receiver pipes.
• Depending on the design of the system, the HTF
fluid may serve as the heat source in an evaporator,
creating steam which powers a stream turbine
which drives a generator, or the HTF may directly
vaporize as it passes through the solar field and then
pass straight through the turbine without an
intermediate heat exchanger (known as Direct
Steam Generation—DSG).
• In either design, during periods of high insolation, it
is possible to absorb more solar thermal energy into
the HTF than is necessary to power the turbine. This
excess solar thermal energy can be stored using
sensible or latent heat in storage tanks as shown in
below Fig.
Direct steam generation concentrating solar power plant with thermal energy storage
Domestic Solar Applications
• The receiver tubes are isolated within an enclosure
with a glass cover plate.
• The enclosure may be evacuated to prevent convective
losses. In many ways this is similar to the CSP solar
field, but without the concentrators.
• The lack of concentrators means that the HTF will not
reach the high temperatures characteristic of CSP.
• As such the fluid can‘t be used to create vapour and
drive a power system, but is hot enough to provide the
heat source for a domestic hot water tank.
• As with CSP, the effectiveness of the system is limited
to daylight hours, but the solar thermal system can be
designed to store extra heat using PCM in the storage
tanks for the overnight hours, greatly reducing
dependence on supplemental natural gas or electrical
heating.
Solar Photovoltaic systems:
Basic Principle of SPV conversion
• A photovoltaic (PV) cell is an energy
harvesting technology that converts solar
energy into useful electricity (DC) through
a process called the photovoltaic effect.
• It is made up of semiconductor materials
such as silicon, gallium arsenide and
cadmium telluride, etc. These cells vary in
size ranging from about 0.5 inches to 4
inches.
• There are different types of PV cells which
all use semiconductors to interact with
incoming photons from the Sun in order to
generate an electric current.
Photovoltaic cell concepts: Cell Layers of a PV Cell
• A photovoltaic cell is comprised of many layers of materials, each with a specific purpose.
• The most important layer of a photovoltaic cell is the specially treated semiconductor layer. It is
comprised of two distinct layers of p-type and n-type, and is what actually converts the Sun's energy
into useful electricity through a process called the photovoltaic effect.
• On either side of the semiconductor is a layer of conducting material which "collects" the electricity
produced. Note that the backside or shaded side of the cell can afford to be completely covered in the
conductor, whereas the front or illuminated side must use the conductors sparingly to avoid blocking
too much of the Sun's radiation from reaching the semiconductor.
• The final layer which is applied only to the illuminated side of the cell is the anti-reflection coating.
Since all semiconductors are naturally reflective, reflection loss can be significant. The solution is to
use one or several layers of an anti-reflection coating (similar to those used for eyeglasses and
cameras) to reduce the amount of solar radiation that is reflected off the surface of the cell.
A diagram showing the photovoltaic effect
Photovoltaic Effect
• The photovoltaic effect is a process that generates voltage or electric current in a photovoltaic
cell when it is exposed to sunlight.
• These solar cells are composed of two different types of semiconductors—a p-type and an n-
type that are joined together to create a p-n junction.
• By joining these two types of semiconductors, an electric field is formed in the region of the
junction as electrons move to the positive p side and holes move to the negative n-side.
• This field causes negatively charged particles to move in one direction and positively charged
particles in the other direction.
• Light is composed of photons, which are simply small bundles of electromagnetic radiation or
energy. When light of a suitable wavelength is incident on these cells, energy from the photon is
transferred to an electron of the semiconducting material, causing it to jump to a higher energy
state known as the conduction band.
• In their excited state in the conduction band, these electrons are free to move through the
material, and it is this motion of the electron that creates an electric current in the cell.
Cell: A photovoltaic cell is the most basic unit of a solar PV system - solar cells can be
either monocrystalline or polycrystalline, and their key characteristic is that they
produce a voltage output when exposed to light.
It is important to note that although they are normally called "solar cells", they can
respond to any type of light. Each cell produces approximately 1/2 a volt and a solar
module can have any number of solar cells.
Module: A photovoltaic module consists of multiple PV cells connected in series to
provide a higher voltage output. PV modules are manufactured in standard sizes. A solar
module designed for charging a 12 volt battery will typically have 36 solar cells while the
typical residential grid connected system uses solar modules with 60 solar cells. For large
commercial and utility scale solar systems, solar modules will have typically 72 solar cells.
By increasing the number of solar cells the module voltage and wattage increases. The
term solar panel is sometimes used interchangeably with solar module. The main
difference is that some solar panels models are composed of multiple modules mounted
together.
Array: A photovoltaic array is a system composed of multiple PV modules. They can
be connected in one or more series circuits, which are connected to a combiner box
to provide a single direct current output. This output can be used to charge batteries,
power DC loads, or fed to an inverter to provide an AC voltage for home appliances or
exporting to the electric grid.
Operation of PV Systems
• Solar cells produce direct current (DC),
therefore they are only used for DC
equipment's.
• If alternating current (AC) is needed for AC
equipment or backup energy is needed,
solar photovoltaic systems require other
components in addition to solar modules.
• These components are specially designed to
integrate into solar PV system. The
components of solar photovoltaic system
are shown in the figure.
Operation of PV Systems ...
1. Solar or Photovoltaic Module is the essential component of any solar PV system that
converts sunlight directly into DC electricity.
2. Solar Charge Controller regulates voltage and current from solar arrays, charges the
battery, prevents battery from overcharging and also performs controlled over
discharges.
3. Battery stores the energy produced from solar arrays for using when sunlight is not
visible, nighttime or other purposes.
4. Inverter is a critical component of any solar PV system that converts DC power output
of solar arrays into AC for AC appliances.
5. Lightning protection prevents electrical equipment from damages caused by lightning
or induction of high voltage surge. It is required for the large size and critical solar PV
systems, which include efficient grounding.
Types of PV Systems
Photovoltaic power systems are generally classified according to their functional and
operational requirements, their component configurations, and how the equipment is
connected to other power sources and electrical loads.
The two principle classifications are grid-connected or utility-interactive systems and stand-
alone systems. Photovoltaic systems can be designed to provide DC and/or AC power service,
can operate interconnected with or independent of the utility grid, and can be connected
with other energy sources and energy storage systems
i)PV Direct System
• These are the simple most type of solar PV systems, with the fewest components; the Solar
Panels and the load. Because they don‘t have batteries and are not hooked up to the grid,
they only power the loads when the sun is shining. They are appropriate for a few
applications e.g. water pumping or attic ventilation fan.
ii)Solar Off Grid System
Also referred to as stand-alone systems, it is designed to be independent of the power grid.
Batteries are used to store energy when the sun is not available during cloudy days or at
night. This type of system will require regular attention to battery electrolyte levels and
terminal corrosion.
• Independence from the utility grid
• Not subject to the terms/policies of the utility company
• Rate increases, blackouts, or brownouts do not apply
• In remote areas, it is cost effective than extending a grid
• Encourages energy efficiency
• Batteries require maintenance and has limited life
• More components means more complexity
• Batteries decrease system efficiency
• It is more expensive than a grid-direct system
• When the batteries are fully charged, potential power from the PV array is
not utilized If the PV system fails, back-up electricity is required to run load
• Most off-grid systems use a backup generator for non-sunny days.
• They are expensive, noisy, dirty, and require fuel and regular maintenance
Solar Off Grid System ...
iii)Solar Grid Tied System without Battery backup
• These are most common type of PV systems. They are also known as on-grid, grid-tied,
grid intertied, or grid-direct systems.
• They generate solar electricity and route it to the loads and to the grid, offsetting some
of electricity usage. System components comprises of the PV array and inverter.
• Grid connected system is similar to regular electric powered system except that some or
all of the electricity 18 comes from the sun. The drawback of these battery less systems
is that they provide no outage protection when the utility grid fails, these systems
cannot operate.
Solar Grid Tied System without Battery backup ...
• grid-tied-system
• Increased design flexibility because the system does not have to power all of the home‘s
loads
• It is less expensive compared to stand-alone or grid-tied with battery backup systems
• It requires the least amount of maintenance
• If the system produces more than the loads need, then the extra energy is exchanged
with the grid
• Grid-direct systems have a higher efficiency because batteries are not part of the system
Higher voltage means smaller wire size
• Electricity costs are fixed for the life of your system
• There is no power to the home when the grid goes down
• Paperwork requirements for interconnection, incentives, and rebates
Solar Grid Tied System without Battery backup ...
iv)Solar Grid Tied with Battery Backup System ...
This type is very similar to an off-grid system in design and components, but adds the utility
grid, which reduces the need for the system to provide all the energy all the time.
• grid-tied-with-battery-backup
• Designated loads have power when the grid goes down
• If the system produces more than the home needs, then the extra energy is sold back to the
utility not lost as in a stand-alone systems after the batteries get full on a sunny day
Batteries require maintenance
• Requires rewiring circuits from main service panel to a separate subpanel
• More components mean more complexity
• Batteries decrease system performance because of their efficiency losses
• More expensive than a grid-direct system
• Typically only provides modest backup – usually not all of the loads are backed up Requires
paperwork for interconnection, incentives, and rebates
Solar Grid Tied with Battery Backup System ...
v) Hybrid system
Hybrid system tries to combine multiple sources of power to maximize availability of power.
It may source energy from sun, wind or diesel generator and back it up with battery
• Multiple sources of generation allows for complementary sources and backup. For
instance, when it is sunny out the PV array will charge the battery; if it is cloudy and
windy, a wind turbine can charge the batteries.
• Array size and battery bank capacity can typically be reduced and not having to
oversize for periods of no sun
• More complex system design and installation
• Multiple power sources can increase upfront expenses
• Wind turbines and generators require regular maintenance.
Hybrid system ...
Types of Solar Cells
1. Mono-crystalline Silicon – also known as single-crystal silicon
2. Poly-crystalline Silicon – also known as multi-crystal silicon
3. Thin Film Silicon
Mono-crystalline
Poly-crystalline
Thin Film Solar Cell
PV Module I-V Characteristics
Solar Panel I-V Characteristic
Curves ...
Solar Array Parameters
• VOC = open-circuit voltage
• ISC = short-circuit current
• MPP = maximum power point
• FF = fill factor
• % eff = percent efficiency
Factors affecting conversion
efficiency
• Wavelength
• Recombination
• Temperature
• Reflection
Increasing efficiency of solar cell
• "single-crystal" cells
• Gallium Arsenide
• Multiple layers of semiconductor material called p-n junctions
• concentrated photovoltaics
Series and parallel connections
Maximum power point tracking
MPPT solar charge controller
• A MPPT solar charge controller is the charge controller embedded
with MPPT algorithm to maximize the amount of current going into
the battery from PV module.
• Boost converters
• Buck Converters
Main features of MPPT solar charge
controller
• used to correct for detecting the variations in the current-voltage
characteristics
• extract maximum power from PV module
• PV module with a higher voltage output than operating voltage of
battery system
• it reduces the wire size needed while retaining full output of PV
module
• it can be applied to use with more energy sources
Applications
• Residential Application
• Industrial Application
• Remote Application
• Transportation
• Pool heating
• Solar Green Houses
• Solar Cooking
• Solar Drying of Agricultural and Animal Products
• Solar-pumping
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