TYPES OF ENERGY

Types of energy
The natural elements of the material world exist in forms that can be converted into usable
energy and are resources which society can obtained energy to produce heat, light, and motion
(among the many uses). According to their nature, the power plants can be classified into:

Primary : They are found in nature: wind, water, solar, wood, coal, oil, nuclear.

Secondary : Are those obtained from primary energy sources: electricity, gas.

Classified according to the energy reserves of the energy source used and the regeneration
capacity with:

renewable: When the energy source used is freely regenerated in a short period and there
are practically limitless reserves; An example is the solar energy that is the source of
energy from the sun, or the wind used as an energy resource. Renewable energies are:

o original solar

o natural wind (atmospheric flows)

o natural geothermal

o oceanic tidal

o natural waterfall (hydraulic flows)

o natural plant: paper, wood

o natural animal: wax, grease, pack animals and sources of mechanical energy

nonrenewable: They are coming from energy limited sources on Earth in quantity and,
therefore, are exhaustible. The non-renewable energy sources include, non-exclusively:

o fossil source: petroleum, natural gas, coal

o original mineral/chemical: uranium, shale gas

So, for example, shale gas is secondary non-renewable. Wind is a primary renewable.
The principle stated by Antoine Lavoisier on the conservation of matter applies to energy
development: "nothing is created." Thus any energy "production" is actually a recovery
transformation of the forms of energy whose origin is that of the universe.

Fossil fuels

The Moss Landing Power Plant burns natural gas to produce electricity in California.

Natural gas drilling rig in Texas.

Main articles: Fossil fuel and Peak oil

Fossil fuel (primary non-renewable fossil) sources burn coal or hydrocarbon fuels, which are the
remains of the decomposition of plants and animals. There are three main types of fossil fuels:
coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Another fossil fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), is
principally derived from the production of natural gas. Heat from burning fossil fuel is used
either directly for space heating and process heating, or converted to mechanical energy for
vehicles, industrial processes, or electrical power generation.

Fossil energy is from recovered fossils (like brown coal, hard coal, peat, natural gas and crude
oil) and are originated in degradated products of dead plants and animals. These fossil fuels are
based on the carbon cycle and thus allow stored (historic solar) energy to be recycled today. In
2005, 81% were of the world's energy needs met from fossil sources. Biomass is also derived
from wood and other organic wastes and modern remains. The technical development of fossil
fuels in the 18th and 19th Century set the stage for the Industrial Revolution.

Fossil fuels make up the bulk of the world's current primary energy sources. The technology and
infrastructure already exist for the use of fossil fuels. Petroleum energy density in terms of
volume (cubic space) and mass (weight) ranks currently above that of alternative energy sources
(or energy storage devices, like a battery). Fossil fuels are currently economical, and suitable for
decentralized energy use.

Dependence on fossil fuels from regions or countries creates energy security risks for dependent
countries. Oil dependence in particular has led to war, funding of radicals, monopolization, and
socio-political instability. Fossil fuels are non-renewable, un-sustainable resources, which will
eventually decline in production and become exhausted, with consequences to societies that
remain dependent on them. Fossil fuels are actually slowly forming continuously, but are being
consumed quicker than are formed. Extracting fuels becomes increasingly extreme as society
consumes the most accessible fuel deposits. Extraction in fuel mines get intensive and oil rigs
drill deeper (going further out to sea). Extraction of fossil fuels results in environmental
degradation, such as the strip mining and mountaintop removal of coal.

Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the efficiency of a process that converts
chemical potential energy contained in a carrier fuel into kinetic energy or work. The fuel
economy is the energy efficiency of a particular vehicle, is given as a ratio of distance travelled
per unit of fuel consumed. Weight-specific efficiency (efficiency per unit weight) may be stated
for freight, and passenger-specific efficiency (vehicle efficiency per passenger). The inefficient
atmospheric combustion (burning) of fossil fuels in vehicles, buildings, and power plants
contributes to urban heat islands.

Conventional production of oil has peaked, conservatively, between 2007 to 2010. In 2010, it
was estimated that an investment in non-renewable resources of $8 trillion would be required to
maintain current levels of production for 25 years. In 2010, governments subsidized fossil fuels
by an estimated $500 billion a year. Fossil fuels are also a source of greenhouse gas emissions,
leading to concerns about global warming if consumption is not reduced.

The combustion of fossil fuels leads to the release of pollution into the atmosphere. The fossil
fuels are mainly based on organic carbon compounds. They are according to the IPCC the causes
of the global warming. During the combustion with oxygen in the form of heat energy, carbon
dioxide released. Depending on the composition and purity of the fossil fuel also results in other
chemical compounds such as nitrogen oxides and soot and fine dust alternativey. Greenhouse gas
emissions result from fossil fuel-based electricity generation. Typical megawatt coal plant
produces billions of kilowatt hours per year. From this generation, the carbon dioxide, sulfur
dioxide, small airborne particles, nitrogen oxides (NOx) (ozone (smog)), carbon monoxide (CO),
hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOC), mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, other heavy
metals, and uranium traces are produced.

Nuclear
Fission

The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, a boiling water reactor. The reactors are located inside
the rectangular containment buildings towards the front of the cooling towers. The power station
produces 63 million units of electricity per day.

American nuclear powered ships,(top to bottom) cruisers USS Bainbridge, the USS Long Beach
and the USS Enterprise, the longest ever naval vessel, and the first nuclear-powered aircraft
carrier. Picture taken in 1964 during a record setting voyage of 26,540 nmi (49,190 km) around
the world in 65 days without refueling. Crew members are spelling out Einstein's mass-energy
equivalence formula E = mc2 on the flight deck.

The Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker NS Yamal on a joint scientific expedition with the NSF
in 1994.
Main article: Nuclear power

Nuclear power, or nuclear energy, is the use of exothermic nuclear processes, to generate useful
heat and electricity. The term includes nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion.
Presently the nuclear fission of elements in the actinide series of the periodic table produce the
vast majority of nuclear energy in the direct service of humankind, with nuclear decay processes,
primarily in the form of geothermal energy, and radioisotope thermoelectric generators, in niche
uses making up the rest. Nuclear (fission) power stations, excluding the contribution from naval
nuclear fission reactors, provided about 5.7% of the world's energy and 13% of the world's
electricity in 2012. In 2013, the IAEA report that there are 437 operational nuclear power
reactors, in 31 countries, although not every reactor is producing electricity. In addition, there are
approximately 140 naval vessels using nuclear propulsion in operation, powered by some 180
reactors. As of 2013, attaining a net energy gain from sustained nuclear fusion reactions,
excluding natural fusion power sources such as the Sun, remains an ongoing area of international
physics and engineering research. More than 60 years after the first attempts, commercial fusion
power production remains unlikely before 2050.

There is an ongoing debate about nuclear power. Proponents, such as the World Nuclear
Association, the IAEA and Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy contend that nuclear power is a
safe, sustainable energy source that reduces carbon emissions. Opponents, such as Greenpeace
International and NIRS, contend that nuclear power poses many threats to people and the
environment.

Nuclear power plant accidents include the Chernobyl disaster (1986), Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
disaster (2011), and the Three Mile Island accident (1979). There have also been some nuclear
submarine accidents. In terms of lives lost per unit of energy generated, analysis has determined
that nuclear power has caused less fatalities per unit of energy generated than the other major
sources of energy generation. Energy production from coal, petroleum, natural gas and
hydropower has caused a greater number of fatalities per unit of energy generated due to air
pollution and energy accident effects. However, the economic costs of nuclear power accidents is
high, and meltdowns can take decades to clean up. The human costs of evacuations of affected
populations and lost livelihoods is also significant.

Along with other sustainable energy sources, nuclear power is a low carbon power generation
method of producing electricity, with an analysis of the literature on its total life cycle emission
intensity finding that it is similar to other renewable sources in a comparison of greenhouse
gas(GHG) emissions per unit of energy generated. With this translating into, from the beginning
of nuclear power station commercialization in the 1970s, having prevented the emission of
approximately 64 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent(GtCO2-eq) greenhouse gases, gases
that would have otherwise resulted from the burning of fossil fuels in thermal power stations.

As of 2012, according to the IAEA, worldwide there were 68 civil nuclear power reactors under
construction in 15 countries, approximately 28 of which in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC),
with the most recent nuclear power reactor, as of May 2013, to be connected to the electrical
grid, occurring on February 17, 2013 in Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant in the PRC. In the
USA, two new Generation III reactors are under construction at Vogtle. U.S. nuclear industry
officials expect five new reactors to enter service by 2020, all at existing plants. In 2013, four
aging, uncompetitive, reactors were permanently closed.

Japan's 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, which occurred in a reactor design from the
1960s, prompted a rethink of nuclear safety and nuclear energy policy in many countries.
Germany decided to close all its reactors by 2022, and Italy has banned nuclear power.
Following Fukushima, in 2011 the International Energy Agency halved its estimate of additional
nuclear generating capacity to be built by 2035.

Fission economics

Main article: Economics of new nuclear power plants

The economics of new nuclear power plants is a controversial subject, since there are diverging
views on this topic, and multi-billion dollar investments ride on the choice of an energy source.
Nuclear power plants typically have high capital costs for building the plant, but low direct fuel
costs.

In recent years there has been a slowdown of electricity demand growth and financing has
become more difficult, which has an impact on large projects such as nuclear reactors, with very
large upfront costs and long project cycles which carry a large variety of risks. In Eastern
Europe, a number of long-established projects are struggling to find finance, notably Belene in
Bulgaria and the additional reactors at Cernavoda in Romania, and some potential backers have
pulled out. Where cheap gas is available and its future supply relatively secure, this also poses a
major problem for nuclear projects.

Analysis of the economics of nuclear power must take into account who bears the risks of future
uncertainties. To date all operating nuclear power plants were developed by state-owned or
regulated utility monopolies where many of the risks associated with construction costs,
operating performance, fuel price, and other factors were borne by consumers rather than
suppliers. Many countries have now liberalized the electricity market where these risks, and the
risk of cheaper competitors emerging before capital costs are recovered, are borne by plant
suppliers and operators rather than consumers, which leads to a significantly different evaluation
of the economics of new nuclear power plants.

Two of the four EPRs under construction (in Finland and France) are significantly behind
schedule and substantially over cost. Following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster,
costs are likely to go up for currently operating and new nuclear power plants, due to increased
requirements for on-site spent fuel management and elevated design basis threats.

Nuclear power debate

Main article: Nuclear power debate

The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the second worst nuclear incident, displaced
50,000 households after radioactive material leaked into the air, soil and sea. Radiation checks
led to bans on some shipments of vegetables and fish.

The nuclear power debate is about the controversy which has surrounded the deployment and use
of nuclear fission reactors to generate electricity from nuclear fuel for civilian purposes. The
debate about nuclear power peaked during the 1970s and 1980s, when it "reached an intensity
unprecedented in the history of technology controversies", in some countries.

Proponents of nuclear energy argue that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source which
reduces carbon emissions and can increase energy security if its use supplants a dependence on
imported fuels. Proponents advance the notion that nuclear power produces virtually no air
pollution, in contrast to the chief viable alternative of fossil fuel. Proponents also believe that
nuclear power is the only viable course to achieve energy independence for most Western
countries. They emphasize that the risks of storing waste are small and can be further reduced by
using the latest technology in newer reactors, and the operational safety record in the Western
world is excellent when compared to the other major kinds of power plants.

Opponents say that nuclear power poses numerous threats to people and the environment and
point to studies in the literature that question if it will ever be a sustainable energy source. These
threats include health risks and environmental damage from uranium mining, processing and
transport, the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation or sabotage, and the unsolved problem of
radioactive nuclear waste. They also contend that reactors themselves are enormously complex
machines where many things can and do go wrong, and there have been many serious nuclear
accidents. Critics do not believe that these risks can be reduced through new technology. They
argue that when all the energy-intensive stages of the nuclear fuel chain are considered, from
uranium mining to nuclear decommissioning, nuclear power is not a low-carbon electricity
source.

Fusion

Fusion power is only at the early experimental stage, but some hope it could eventually solve
many of the problems of fission power (the technology mentioned above). Despite research
having started in the 1950s, no commercial fusion reactor is expected before 2050. Many
technical problems remain unsolved. Proposed fusion reactors commonly use deuterium
(primary renewable chemical), an isotope of hydrogen, as fuel and in most current designs also
lithium. Assuming a fusion energy output equal to the current global output (and assuming that
this does not increase in the future), then the known current lithium reserves would last 3,000
years.[95]

See also: History of fusion research NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

INTRODUCTION
Sufficient, reliable sources of energy are a necessity for industrialized nations.
Energy is used for heating, cooking, transportation and manufacturing. Energy
can be generally classified as non-renewable and renewable. Over 85% of the
energy used in the world is from non-renewable supplies. Most developed
nations are dependent on non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels
(coal and oil) and nuclear power. These sources are called non-renewable
because they cannot be renewed or regenerated quickly enough to keep pace
with their use. Some sources of energy are renewable or potentially renewable.
Examples of renewable energy sources are: solar, geothermal, hydroelectric,
biomass, and wind. Renewable energy sources are more commonly by used in
developing nations.
Industrialized societies depend on non-renewable energy sources. Fossil fuels
are the most commonly used types of non-renewable energy. They were formed
when incompletely decomposed plant and animal matter was buried in the
earth's crust and converted into carbon-rich material that is useable as fuel. This
process occurred over millions of years. The three main types of fossil fuels are
coal, oil, and natural gas. Two other less-used sources of fossil fuels are oil
shales and tar sands.
COAL
Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the world with an estimated reserve of
one trillion metric tons. Most of the world's coal reserves exist in Eastern Europe
and Asia, but the United States also has considerable reserves. Coal formed
slowly over millions of years from the buried remains of ancient swamp plants.
During the formation of coal, carbonaceous matter was first compressed into a
spongy material called "peat," which is about 90% water. As the peat became
more deeply buried, the increased pressure and temperature turned it into coal.
Different types of coal resulted from differences in the pressure and temperature
that prevailed during formation. The softest coal (about 50% carbon), which also
has the lowest energy output, is called lignite. Lignite has the highest water
content (about 50%) and relatively low amounts of smog-causing sulfur. With
increasing temperature and pressure, lignite is transformed into bituminous coal
(about 85% carbon and 3% water). Anthracite (almost 100% carbon) is the
hardest coal and also produces the greatest energy when burned. Less than 1%
of the coal found in the United States is anthracite. Most of the coal found in the
United States is bituminous. Unfortunately, bituminous coal has the highest
sulfur content of all the coal types. When the coal is burned, the pollutant sulfur
dioxide is released into the atmosphere.
Coal mining creates several environmental problems. Coal is most cheaply
mined from near-surface deposits using strip mining techniques. Strip-mining
causes considerable environmental damage in the forms of erosion and habitat
destruction. Sub-surface mining of coal is less damaging to the surface
environment, but is much more hazardous for the miners due to tunnel collapses
and gas explosions. Currently, the world is consuming coal at a rate of about 5
billion metric tons per year. The main use of coal is for power generation,
because it is a relatively inexpensive way to produce power.
Coal is used to produce over 50% of the electricity in the United States. In
addition to electricity production, coal is sometimes used for heating and cooking
in less developed countries and in rural areas of developed countries. If
consumption continues at the same rate, the current reserves will last for more
than 200 years. The burning of coal results in significant atmospheric pollution.
The sulfur contained in coal forms sulfur dioxide when burned. Harmful nitrogen
oxides, heavy metals, and carbon dioxide are also released into the air during
coal burning. The harmful emissions can be reduced by installing scrubbers and
electrostatic precipitators in the smokestacks of power plants. The toxic ash
remaining after coal burning is also an environmental concern and is usually
disposed into landfills.
OIL
Crude oil or liquid petroleum, is a fossil fuel that is refined into many different
energy products (e.g., gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, heating oil). Oil forms
underground in rock such as shale, which is rich in organic materials. After the
oil forms, it migrates upward into porous reservoir rock such as sandstone or
limestone, where it can become trapped by an overlying impermeable cap rock.
Wells are drilled into these oil reservoirs to remove the gas and oil. Over 70
percent of oil fields are found near tectonic plate boundaries, because the
conditions there are conducive to oil formation.
Oil recovery can involve more than one stage. The primary stage involves
pumping oil from reservoirs under the normal reservoir pressure. About 25
percent of the oil in a reservoir can be removed during this stage. The secondary
recovery stage involves injecting hot water into the reservoir around the well.
This water forces the remaining oil toward the area of the well from which it can
be recovered. Sometimes a tertiary method of recovery is used in order to
remove as much oil as possible. This involves pumping steam, carbon dioxide
gas or nitrogen gas into the reservoir to force the remaining oil toward the well.
Tertiary recovery is very expensive and can cost up to half of the value of oil
removed. Carbon dioxide used in this method remains sequestered in the deep
reservoir, thus mitigating its potential greenhouse effect on the atmosphere. The
refining process required to convert crude oil into useable hydrocarbon
compounds involves boiling the crude and separating the gases in a process
known as fractional distillation. Besides its use as a source of energy, oil also
provides base material for plastics, provides asphalt for roads and is a source of
industrial chemicals.
Over 50 percent of the world's oil is found in the Middle East; sizeable additional
reserves occur in North America. Most known oil reserves are already being
exploited, and oil is being used at a rate that exceeds the rate of discovery of
new sources. If the consumption rate continues to increase and no significant
new sources are found, oil supplies may be exhausted in another 30 years or so.
Despite its limited supply, oil is a relatively inexpensive fuel source. It is a
preferred fuel source over coal. An equivalent amount of oil produces more
kilowatts of energy than coal. It also burns cleaner, producing about 50 percent
less sulfur dioxide.
Oil, however, does cause environmental problems. The burning of oil releases
atmospheric pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide
and carbon monoxide. These gases are smog-precursors that pollute the air and
greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Another environmental
issue associated with the use of oil is the impact of oil drilling. Substantial oil
reserves lie under the ocean. Oil spill accidents involving drilling platforms kill
marine organisms and birds. Some reserves such as those in northern Alaska
occur in wilderness areas. The building of roads, structures and pipelines to
support oil recovery operations can severely impact the wildlife in those natural
areas.
NATURAL GAS
Natural gas production is often a by-product of oil recovery, as the two
commonly share underground reservoirs. Natural gas is a mixture of gases, the
most common being methane (CH4). It also contains some ethane (C2H5),
propane (C3H8), and butane (C4H10). Natural gas is usually not contaminated
with sulfur and is therefore the cleanest burning fossil fuel. After recovery,
propane and butane are removed from the natural gas and made into liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG). LPG is shipped in special pressurized tanks as a fuel
source for areas not directly served by natural gas pipelines (e.g., rural
communities). The remaining natural gas is further refined to remove impurities
and water vapor, and then transported in pressurized pipelines. The United
States has over 300,000 miles of natural gas pipelines. Natural gas is highly
flammable and is odorless. The characteristic smell associated with natural gas
is actually that of minute quantities of a smelly sulfur compound (ethyl
mercaptan) which is added during refining to warn consumers of gas leaks.
The use of natural gas is growing rapidly. Besides being a clean burning fuel
source, natural gas is easy and inexpensive to transport once pipelines are in
place. In developed countries, natural gas is used primarily for heating, cooking,
and powering vehicles. It is also used in a process for making ammonia fertilizer.
The current estimate of natural gas reserves is about 100 million metric tons. At
current usage levels, this supply will last an estimated 100 years. Most of the
world's natural gas reserves are found in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
OIL SHALE AND TAR SANDS
Oil shale and tar sands are the least utilized fossil fuel sources. Oil shale is
sedimentary rock with very fine pores that contain kerogen, a carbon-based,
waxy substance. If shale is heated to 490 C, the kerogen vaporizes and can
then be condensed as shale oil, a thick viscous liquid. This shale oil is generally
further refined into usable oil products. Production of shale oil requires large
amounts of energy for mining and processing the shale. Indeed about a half
barrel of oil is required to extract every barrel of shale oil. Oil shale is plentiful,
with estimated reserves totaling 3 trillion barrels of recoverable shale oil. These
reserves alone could satisfy the world's oil needs for about 100 years.
Environmental problems associated with oil shale recovery include: large
amounts of water needed for processing, disposal of toxic waste water, and
disruption of large areas of surface lands.
Tar sand is a type of sedimentary rock that is impregnated with a very thick
crude oil. This thick crude does not flow easily and thus normal oil recovery
methods cannot be used to mine it. If tar sands are near the surface, they can be
mined directly. In order to extract the oil from deep-seated tar sands, however,
steam must be injected into the reservoir to make the oil flow better and push it
toward the recovery well. The energy cost for producing a barrel of tar sand is
similar to that for oil shale. The largest tar-sand deposit in the world is in Canada
and contains enough material (about 500 billion barrels) to supply the world with
oil for about 15 years. However, because of environmental concerns and high
production costs these tar sand fields are not being fully utilized.
NUCLEAR POWER
In most electric power plants, water is heated and converted into steam, which
drives a turbine-generator to produce electricity. Fossil-fueled power plants
produce heat by burning coal, oil, or natural gas. In a nuclear power plant, the
fission of uranium atoms in the reactor provides the heat to produce steam for
generating electricity.
Several commercial reactor designs are currently in use in the United States. The
most widely used design consists of a heavy steel pressure vessel surrounding a
reactor core. The reactor core contains the uranium fuel, which is formed into
cylindrical ceramic pellets and sealed in long metal tubes called fuel rods.
Thousands of fuel rods form the reactor core. Heat is produced in a nuclear
reactor when neutrons strike uranium atoms, causing them to split in a
continuous chain reaction. Control rods, which are made of a material such as
boron that absorbs neutrons, are placed among the fuel assemblies.
When the neutron-absorbing control rods are pulled out of the core, more
neutrons become available for fission and the chain reaction speeds up,
producing more heat. When they are inserted into the core, fewer neutrons are
available for fission, and the chain reaction slows or stops, reducing the heat
generated. Heat is removed from the reactor core area by water flowing through
it in a closed pressurized loop. The heat is transferred to a second water loop
through a heat exchanger. The water also serves to slow down, or "moderate"
the neutrons which is necessary for sustaining the fission reactions. The second
loop is kept at a lower pressure, allowing the water to boil and create steam,
which is used to power the turbine-generator and produce electricity.
Originally, nuclear energy was expected to be a clean and cheap source of
energy. Nuclear fission does not produce atmospheric pollution or greenhouse
gases and it proponents expected that nuclear energy would be cheaper and last
longer than fossil fuels. Unfortunately, because of construction cost overruns,
poor management, and numerous regulations, nuclear power ended up being
much more expensive than predicted. The nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island
in Pennsylvania and the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in the Ukraine raised concerns
about the safety of nuclear power. Furthermore, the problem of safely disposing
spent nuclear fuel remains unresolved. The United States has not built a new
nuclear facility in over twenty years, but with continued energy crises across the
country that situation may change.

Renewable sources
Main articles: Renewable energy and Renewable energy commercialization

The wind, sun, and biomass are three renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that comes from resources which are naturally
replenished on a human timescale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat.
Renewable energy replaces conventional fuels in four distinct areas: electricity generation, hot
water/space heating, motor fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy services.

About 16% of global final energy consumption presently comes from renewable resources, with
10% of all energy from traditional biomass, mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from
hydroelectricity. New renewables (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and
biofuels) account for another 3% and are growing rapidly. At the national level, at least 30
nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20% of energy
supply. National renewable energy markets are projected to continue to grow strongly in the
coming decade and beyond. Wind power, for example, is growing at the rate of 30% annually,
with a worldwide installed capacity of 282,482 megawatts (MW) at the end of 2012.

Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas, in contrast to other energy
sources, which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. Rapid deployment of
renewable energy and energy efficiency is resulting in significant energy security, climate change
mitigation, and economic benefits. In international public opinion surveys there is strong support
for promoting renewable sources such as solar power and wind power.

While many renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to
rural and remote areas and developing countries, where energy is often crucial in human
development. United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy
has the ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity.

Wind[edit]
See also: Wind power, List of onshore wind farms, and List of offshore wind farms

Wind power: worldwide installed capacity (c. May 2011)

See also: WWEA

Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm, at the entrance to the River Mersey in North West England.

Wind (primary renewable natural) power harnesses the power of the wind to propel the blades of
wind turbines. These turbines cause the rotation of magnets, which creates electricity. Wind
towers are usually built together on wind farms. Wind power is growing at the rate of 30%
annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of 282,482 megawatts (MW) at the end of 2012.
Energy production is more than 450 TWh, which is about 2.5% of worldwide electricity usage.
[106][107]

Wind power is widely used in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Several countries have
achieved relatively high levels of wind power penetration, such as 21% of stationary electricity
production in Denmark,[106] 18% in Portugal, 16% in Spain,[106] 14% in Ireland, and 9% in
Germany in 2010. By 2011, at times over 50% of electricity in Germany and Spain came from
wind and solar power. As of 2011, 83 countries around the world are using wind power on a
commercial basis.

Many of the largest operational onshore wind farms are located in the USA. As of 2012, the Alta
Wind Energy Center is the largest onshore wind farm in the world, with a capacity of 1020 MW
of power, followed by the Roscoe Wind Farm (781.5 MW). As of 2013, the 504 MW Greater
Gabbard wind farm in the UK is the largest offshore wind farm in the world, followed by the 367
MW Walney Wind Farm in the UK. Wind power produces minimal pollution that can
contaminate the environment, because there are no chemical processes involved in wind power
generation. Hence, there are no waste by-products, such as carbon dioxide. Power from the wind
does not contribute to global warming because it does not generate greenhouse gases. Wind
towers can be beneficial for people living permanently, or temporarily, in remote areas. It may be
difficult to transport electricity from a power plant to a far-away location and thus, wind towers
can be set up at the remote setting. Farming and grazing can still take place on land occupied by
wind turbines. Those utilizing wind power in a grid-tie configuration will have backup power in
the event of a power outage. Because of the ability of wind turbines to coexist within agricultural
fields, siting costs are frequently low.

Hydroelectricity

Main article: Hydroelectricity

The 22,500 MW Three Gorges Dam in the Peoples Republic of China, the largest hydroelectric
power station in the world.

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of

electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the
most widely used form of renewable energy, accounting for 16 percent of global electricity
generation 3,427 terawatt-hours of electricity production in 2010, and is expected to increase
about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years.

Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the Asia-Pacific region generating 32 percent of
global hydropower in 2010. China is the largest hydroelectricity producer, with 721 terawatt-
hours of production in 2010, representing around 17 percent of domestic electricity use. There
are now three hydroelectricity plants larger than 10 GW: the Three Gorges Dam in China, Itaipu
Dam across the Brazil/Paraguay border, and Guri Dam in Venezuela.

The cost of hydroelectricity is relatively low, making it a competitive source of renewable

electricity. The average cost of electricity from a hydro plant larger than 10 megawatts is 3 to 5
U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour. Hydro is also a flexible source of electricity since plants can be
ramped up and down very quickly to adapt to changing energy demands. However, damming
interrupts the flow of rivers and can harm local ecosystems, and building large dams and
reservoirs often involves displacing people and wildlife. Once a hydroelectric complex is
constructed, the project produces no direct waste, and has a considerably lower output level of
the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than fossil fuel powered energy plants.

Solar
Main articles: Solar energy and Photovoltaics

Part of the 354 MW SEGS solar complex in northern San Bernardino County, California.

The 150 MW Andasol Solar Power Station is a commercial parabolic trough solar thermal power
plant, located in Spain. The Andasol plant uses tanks of molten salt to store solar energy so that it
can continue generating electricity even when the sun isn't shining.

Photovoltaic SUDI shade is an autonomous and mobile station in France that provides energy for
electric vehicles using solar energy.

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving
technologies such as solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal electricity, solar
architecture and artificial photosynthesis.

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on
the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include the use
of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy. Passive solar
techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal
mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.
In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that "the development of affordable, inexhaustible
and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase
countries energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible and mostly import-
independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating
climate change, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global.
Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning
investments; they must be wisely spent and need to be widely shared".

Photovoltaics (PV) is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into
direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic
power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a
photovoltaic material. Materials presently used for photovoltaics include monocrystalline silicon,
polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium
selenide/sulfide. Due to the increased demand for renewable energy sources, the manufacturing
of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has advanced considerably in recent years.

Solar photovoltaics is a sustainable energy source. By the end of 2011, a total of 71.1 GWhad
been installed, sufficient to generate 85 TWh/year. And by end of 2012, the 100 GW installed
capacity milestone was achieved. Solar photovoltaics is now, after hydro and wind power, the
third most important renewable energy source in terms of globally installed capacity. More than
100 countries use solar PV. Installations may be ground-mounted (and sometimes integrated with
farming and grazing) or built into the roof or walls of a building (either building-integrated
photovoltaics or simply rooftop).

Driven by advances in technology and increases in manufacturing scale and sophistication, the
cost of photovoltaics has declined steadily since the first solar cells were manufactured, and the
levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from PV is competitive with conventional electricity sources
in an expanding list of geographic regions. Net metering and financial incentives, such as
preferential feed-in tariffs for solar-generated electricity, have supported solar PV installations in
many countries. With current technology, photovoltaics recoup the energy needed to manufacture
them in 3 to 4 years. Anticipated technology would reduce time needed to recoup the energy to 1
to 2 years.

Biofuels

A bus fueled by biodiesel

Information on pump regarding ethanol fuel blend up to 10%, California
Main articles: Biofuel and Sustainable biofuel

A biofuel is a fuel that contains energy from geologically recent carbon fixation. These fuels are
produced from living organisms. Examples of this carbon fixation occur in plants and
microalgae. These fuels are made by a biomass conversion (biomass refers to recently living
organisms, most often referring to plants or plant-derived materials). This biomass can be
converted to convenient energy containing substances in three different ways: thermal
conversion, chemical conversion, and biochemical conversion. This biomass conversion can
result in fuel in solid, liquid, or gas form. This new biomass can be used for biofuels. Biofuels
have increased in popularity because of rising oil prices and the need for energy security.

Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates produced in sugar or

starch crops such as corn or sugarcane. Cellulosic biomass, derived from non-food sources, such
as trees and grasses, is also being developed as a feedstock for ethanol production. Ethanol can
be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to
increase octane and improve vehicle emissions. Bioethanol is widely used in the USA and in
Brazil. Current plant design does not provide for converting the lignin portion of plant raw
materials to fuel components by fermentation.

Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils and animal fats. Biodiesel can be used as a fuel for
vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates,
carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. Biodiesel is produced from
oils or fats using transesterification and is the most common biofuel in Europe.

In 2010, worldwide biofuel production reached 105 billion liters (28 billion gallons US), up 17%
from 2009, and biofuels provided 2.7% of the world's fuels for road transport, a contribution
largely made up of ethanol and biodiesel. Global ethanol fuel production reached 86 billion liters
(23 billion gallons US) in 2010, with the United States and Brazil as the world's top producers,
accounting together for 90% of global production. The world's largest biodiesel producer is the
European Union, accounting for 53% of all biodiesel production in 2010. As of 2011, mandates
for blending biofuels exist in 31 countries at the national level and in 29 states or provinces. The
International Energy Agency has a goal for biofuels to meet more than a quarter of world
demand for transportation fuels by 2050 to reduce dependence on petroleum and coal.

Geothermal[edit]
Main article: Geothermal energy

Steam rising from the Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station in Iceland.

Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the
energy that determines the temperature of matter. The geothermal energy of the Earth's crust
originates from the original formation of the planet (20%) and from radioactive decay of
minerals (80%). The geothermal gradient, which is the difference in temperature between the
core of the planet and its surface, drives a continuous conduction of thermal energy in the form
of heat from the core to the surface. The adjective geothermal originates from the Greek roots
(ge), meaning earth, and (thermos), meaning hot.

Earth's internal heat is thermal energy generated from radioactive decay and continual heat loss
from Earth's formation. Temperatures at the core-mantle boundary may reach over 4000 C
(7,200 F). The high temperature and pressure in Earth's interior cause some rock to melt and
solid mantle to behave plastically, resulting in portions of mantle convecting upward since it is
lighter than the surrounding rock. Rock and water is heated in the crust, sometimes up to 370 C
(700 F).

From hot springs, geothermal energy has been used for bathing since Paleolithic times and for
space heating since ancient Roman times, but it is now better known for electricity generation.
Worldwide, 11,400 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power is online in 24 countries in 2012. An
additional 28 gigawatts of direct geothermal heating capacity is installed for district heating,
space heating, spas, industrial processes, desalination and agricultural applications in 2010.

Geothermal power is cost effective, reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly, but has
historically been limited to areas near tectonic plate boundaries. Recent technological advances
have dramatically expanded the range and size of viable resources, especially for applications
such as home heating, opening a potential for widespread exploitation. Geothermal wells release
greenhouse gases trapped deep within the earth, but these emissions are much lower per energy
unit than those of fossil fuels. As a result, geothermal power has the potential to help mitigate
global warming if widely deployed in place of fossil fuels.

The Earth's geothermal resources are theoretically more than adequate to supply humanity's
energy needs, but only a very small fraction may be profitably exploited. Drilling and
exploration for deep resources is very expensive. Forecasts for the future of geothermal power
depend on assumptions about technology, energy prices, subsidies, and interest rates. Pilot
programs like EWEB's customer opt in Green Power Program show that customers would be
willing to pay a little more for a renewable energy source like geothermal. But as a result of
government assisted research and industry experience, the cost of generating geothermal power
has decreased by 25% over the past two decades. In 2001, geothermal energy cost between two
and ten US cents per kWh.
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 A Preview on the Necessity of Solar Energy at Present Situation

There must be some limits to the ability of the earth to sustain a growing population.
Fortunately, population models suggest that the world's population will probably level out at
about two to three times the present numbers over the next hundred years. The question is
whether the earth's resources are sufficient to sustain that population at a high standard of
living for all. In this the key issue is energy.
Now-a-days, dealers of natural resources like fuel, coal etc. are facing a hard time to keep
pace with the increasing demand. At one hand, there are more cars or motor vehicles are
dominating the transport medium, on the other hand these cars are being dominated by the
fuel. As a result, the limited resources are being quashed by the producers and dealers to
satisfy this need which is leading us to an uncertain future with having the scarcity of fuel
and minerals. So, it is clear that present trends in energy consumption, especially oil,
cannot be sustained much longer. Again, in view of the possibility of global warming, these
resources are playing a negative role. Therefore, under this circumstances, it is quite
necessary to make a new exploration of natural resource of energy and power. But why
exploration when the resource is in front of our bear eye. It is effective, less expensive and
above all, it is an endless source of energy. With greatly improved energy efficiency, a
transition to this energy based economy capable of sustaining the anticipated growth in the
world economy, is possible. This effective source is Solar Energy.
1.2 What is Solar Energy?

Solar energy is radiant energy that is produced by sun. Everyday the sun radiates, or sends
out, an enormous amount of energy. The sun radiates more energy in one second than
people have used since the beginning of time!
Where does the energy come from that constantly is being radiated from the sun? It comes
from within the sun itself. Like other stars, the sun is a big ball of gases- mostly hydrogen
and helium atoms. The hydrogen atoms in the suns core combine to form helium and
generate energy in a process called nuclear fusion.
During nuclear fusion, the suns extremely high pressure and temperature causes hydrogen
atoms to come apart and their nuclei (the central cores of the atoms) to fuse to become one
helium atom. But the helium atom contains less mass than the four hydrogen atoms that
fused. Some matter is lost during nuclear fusion. The lost matter is emitted into space as
radiant energy.

It takes millions of years for the energy in the suns core to make its way to the solar
surface, and then just a little over eight minutes to travel the 93 million miles to earth. The
solar energy travels to the earth at a speed of 186,000 miles per second, the speed of light.
Only a small portion of the energy radiated by the sun into space strikes the earth, one part
in two billion. Yet this amount of energy is enormous. For instance, everyday enough energy
strikes the United States to supply the nations energy needs one and a half years!
Where does all the energy go? About 15 percent of the suns energy that hits the earth is
reflected back into space. Another 30 percent is used to evaporate water, which lifted into
the atmosphere, produces rainfall. Solar energy is also absorbed by plants, the land, and
the oceans. The rest could be used to supply our energy needs. 11

1.3 Distribution of Solar Energy

The solar energy is distributed throughout the earth by following way.

Fig 1.3.a: Distribution of Solar Energy
Fig 1.3.b: Graphical representation 12
1.4 Recent Research on Utilization of Solar Energy

Solar energy refers primarily to the use of solar radiation for practical ends. However, all
renewable energies, other than geothermal and tidal, derive their energy from the sun.
Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive or active depending on the
way they capture, convert and distribute sunlight. Active solar techniques use photovoltaic
panels, pumps, and fans to convert sunlight into useful outputs. Passive solar techniques
include selecting materials with favorable thermal properties, designing spaces that
naturally circulate air, and referencing the position of a building to the Sun. Active solar
technologies increase the supply of energy and are considered supply side technologies,
while passive solar technologies reduce the need for alternate resources and are generally
considered demand side technologies.
Now-a-days, solar technology is being used in so many aspects of our day to day lives such
as-
Architecture and urban planning
Agriculture and horticulture
Solar lighting
Solar thermal
Water treatment
Electrical generation
Solar vehicles etc.

1.5 Research Objective

Sunlight is now-a-days considered to be a source of energy which is implemented in various
day to day applications. Solar energy is being used to produce electricity through sunlight.
With the help of this technology we aim to make solar energy powered car. Preliminarily our
objective would be to implement our idea on a remote control toy car and afterwards with
help of this prototype we can extend our future work on building an actual car powered by
the solar energy which is both cost effective and of course environment friendly. We also
intend to solve the problem of voltage fluctuation due to the fact of cloud, earth movement,
sun movement etc. 13

Applications of solar technology

Average insolation showing land area (small black dots) required to replace the world primary
energy supply with solar electricity (18 TW is 568 Exajoule, EJ, per year). Insolation for most
people is from 150 to 300 W/m2 or 3.5 to 7.0 kWh/m2/day.

Solar energy refers primarily to the use of solar radiation for practical ends. However, all
renewable energies, other than geothermal and tidal, derive their energy from the sun.

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive or active depending on the way
they capture, convert and distribute sunlight. Active solar techniques use photovoltaic panels,
pumps, and fans to convert sunlight into useful outputs. Passive solar techniques include
selecting materials with favorable thermal properties, designing spaces that naturally circulate
air, and referencing the position of a building to the Sun. Active solar technologies increase the
supply of energy and are considered supply side technologies, while passive solar technologies
reduce the need for alternate resources and are generally considered demand side technologies.[18]

Architecture and urban planning

Main articles: Passive solar building design and Urban heat island

Darmstadt University of Technology in Germany won the 2007 Solar Decathlon in Washington,
D.C. with this passive house designed specifically for the humid and hot subtropical climate.[19]

Sunlight has influenced building design since the beginning of architectural history.[20] Advanced
solar architecture and urban planning methods were first employed by the Greeks and Chinese,
who oriented their buildings toward the south to provide light and warmth.[21]

The common features of passive solar architecture are orientation relative to the Sun, compact
proportion (a low surface area to volume ratio), selective shading (overhangs) and thermal mass.
[20]
When these features are tailored to the local climate and environment they can produce well-
lit spaces that stay in a comfortable temperature range. Socrates'Megaron House is a classic
example of passive solar design.[20] The most recent approaches to solar design use computer
modeling tying together solar lighting, heating and ventilation systems in an integrated solar
design package.[22]Active solar equipment such as pumps, fans and switchable windows can
complement passive design and improve system performance.

Urban heat islands (UHI) are metropolitan areas with higher temperatures than that of the
surrounding environment. The higher temperatures are a result of increased absorption of the
Solar light by urban materials such as asphalt and concrete, which have lower albedos and higher
heat capacities than those in the natural environment. A straightforward method of counteracting
the UHI effect is to paint buildings and roads white and plant trees. Using these methods, a
hypothetical "cool communities" program in Los Angeles has projected that urban temperatures
could be reduced by approximately 3 C at an estimated cost of US$1 billion, giving estimated
total annual benefits of US$530 million from reduced air-conditioning costs and healthcare
savings.[23]

Agriculture and horticulture

Greenhouses like these in the Westland municipality of the Netherlands grow vegetables, fruits
and flowers.

Agriculture and horticulture seek to optimize the capture of solar energy in order to optimize the
productivity of plants. Techniques such as timed planting cycles, tailored row orientation,
staggered heights between rows and the mixing of plant varieties can improve crop yields. While
sunlight is generally considered a plentiful resource, the exceptions highlight the importance of
solar energy to agriculture. During the short growing seasons of the Little Ice Age, French and
English farmers employed fruit walls to maximize the collection of solar energy. These walls
acted as thermal masses and accelerated ripening by keeping plants warm. Early fruit walls were
built perpendicular to the ground and facing south, but over time, sloping walls were developed
to make better use of sunlight. In 1699, Nicolas Fatio de Duillier even suggested using a tracking
mechanism which could pivot to follow the Sun. Applications of solar energy in agriculture aside
from growing crops include pumping water, drying crops, brooding chicks and drying chicken
manure. More recently the technology has been embraced by vinters, who use the energy
generated by solar panels to power grape presses.

Greenhouses convert solar light to heat, enabling year-round production and the growth (in
enclosed environments) of specialty crops and other plants not naturally suited to the local
climate. Primitive greenhouses were first used during Roman times to produce cucumbers year-
round for the Roman emperor Tiberius. The first modern greenhouses were built in Europe in the
16th century to keep exotic plants brought back from explorations abroad. Greenhouses remain
an important part of horticulture today, and plastic transparent materials have also been used to
similar effect in polytunnels and row covers.

Transport and reconnaissance

Main articles: Solar vehicle, Solar-charged vehicle, Electric boat, and Solar balloon
Australia hosts the World Solar Challenge where solar cars like the Nuna3 race through a
3,021 km (1,877 mi) course from Darwin to Adelaide.

Development of a solar-powered car has been an engineering goal since the 1980s. The World
Solar Challenge is a biannual solar-powered car race, where teams from universities and
enterprises compete over 3,021 kilometres (1,877 mi) across central Australia from Darwin to
Adelaide. In 1987, when it was founded, the winner's average speed was 67 kilometres per hour
(42 mph) and by 2007 the winner's average speed had improved to 90.87 kilometres per hour
(56.46 mph).[32] The North American Solar Challenge and the planned South African Solar
Challenge are comparable competitions that reflect an international interest in the engineering
and development of solar powered vehicles.

Some vehicles use solar panels for auxiliary power, such as for air conditioning, to keep the
interior cool, thus reducing fuel consumption.

In 1975, the first practical solar boat was constructed in England. By 1995, passenger boats
incorporating PV panels began appearing and are now used extensively. In 1996, Kenichi Horie
made the first solar powered crossing of the Pacific Ocean, and the sun21 catamaran made the
first solar powered crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the winter of 20062007. There are plans to
circumnavigate the globe in 2010.

Helios UAV in solar powered flight.

In 1974, the unmanned AstroFlight Sunrise plane made the first solar flight. On 29 April 1979,
the Solar Riser made the first flight in a solar-powered, fully controlled, man carrying flying
machine, reaching an altitude of 40 feet (12 m). In 1980, the Gossamer Penguin made the first
piloted flights powered solely by photovoltaics. This was quickly followed by the Solar
Challenger which crossed the English Channel in July 1981. In 1990 Eric Scott Raymond in 21
hops flew from California to North Carolina using solar power. Developments then turned back
to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with the Pathfinder (1997) and subsequent designs,
culminating in the Helios which set the altitude record for a non-rocket-propelled aircraft at
29,524 metres (96,864 ft) in 2001. The Zephyr, developed by BAE Systems, is the latest in a line
of record-breaking solar aircraft, making a 54-hour flight in 2007, and month-long flights are
envisioned by 2010.

A solar balloon is a black balloon that is filled with ordinary air. As sunlight shines on the
balloon, the air inside is heated and expands causing an upward buoyancy force, much like an
artificially heated hot air balloon. Some solar balloons are large enough for human flight, but
usage is generally limited to the toy market as the surface-area to payload-weight ratio is
relatively high.

Solar thermal

Main article: Solar thermal energy

Solar thermal technologies can be used for water heating, space heating, space cooling and
process heat generation.

Water heating

Main articles: Solar hot water and Solarcombisystem

Solar water heaters facing the Sun to maximize gain.

Solar hot water systems use sunlight to heat water. In low geographical latitudes (below
40 degrees) from 60 to 70% of the domestic hot water use with temperatures up to 60 C can be
provided by solar heating systems. The most common types of solar water heaters are evacuated
tube collectors (44%) and glazed flat plate collectors (34%) generally used for domestic hot
water; and unglazed plastic collectors (21%) used mainly to heat swimming pools.
As of 2007, the total installed capacity of solar hot water systems is approximately 154 GW.
China is the world leader in their deployment with 70 GW installed as of 2006 and a long term
goal of 210 GW by 2020. Israel and Cyprus are the per capita leaders in the use of solar hot
water systems with over 90% of homes using them. In the United States, Canada and Australia
heating swimming pools is the dominant application of solar hot water with an installed capacity
of 18 GW as of 2005.

Heating, cooling and ventilation

Main articles: Solar heating, Thermal mass, Solar chimney, and Solar air conditioning

Solar House #1 of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, built in 1939, used
Seasonal thermal energy storage for year-round heating.

In the United States, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems account for 30%
(4.65 EJ) of the energy used in commercial buildings and nearly 50% (10.1 EJ) of the energy
used in residential buildings. Solar heating, cooling and ventilation technologies can be used to
offset a portion of this energy.

Thermal mass is any material that can be used to store heatheat from the Sun in the case of
solar energy. Common thermal mass materials include stone, cement and water. Historically they
have been used in arid climates or warm temperate regions to keep buildings cool by absorbing
solar energy during the day and radiating stored heat to the cooler atmosphere at night. However
they can be used in cold temperate areas to maintain warmth as well. The size and placement of
thermal mass depend on several factors such as climate, daylighting and shading conditions.
When properly incorporated, thermal mass maintains space temperatures in a comfortable range
and reduces the need for auxiliary heating and cooling equipment.]

A solar chimney (or thermal chimney, in this context) is a passive solar ventilation system
composed of a vertical shaft connecting the interior and exterior of a building. As the chimney
warms, the air inside is heated causing an updraft that pulls air through the building.
Performance can be improved by using glazing and thermal mass materials in a way that mimics
greenhouses.

Deciduous trees and plants have been promoted as a means of controlling solar heating and
cooling. When planted on the southern side of a building, their leaves provide shade during the
summer, while the bare limbs allow light to pass during the winter. Since bare, leafless trees
shade 1/3 to 1/2 of incident solar radiation, there is a balance between the benefits of summer
shading and the corresponding loss of winter heating. In climates with significant heating loads,
deciduous trees should not be planted on the southern side of a building because they will
interfere with winter solar availability. They can, however, be used on the east and west sides to
provide a degree of summer shading without appreciably affecting winter solar gain.

Water treatment

Main articles: Solar still, Solar water disinfection, Solar desalination, and Solar Powered
Desalination Unit

Solar water disinfection in Indonesia

Small scale solar powered sewerage treatment plant.

Solar distillation can be used to make saline or brackish water potable. The first recorded
instance of this was by 16th-century Arab alchemists. A large-scale solar distillation project was
first constructed in 1872 in the Chilean mining town of Las Salinas. The plant, which had solar
collection area of 4,700 m2, could produce up to 22,700 L per day and operated for 40 years.
Individual still designs include single-slope, double-slope (or greenhouse type), vertical, conical,
inverted absorber, multi-wick, and multiple effect. These stills can operate in passive, active, or
hybrid modes. Double-slope stills are the most economical for decentralized domestic purposes,
while active multiple effect units are more suitable for large-scale applications.

Solar water disinfection (SODIS) involves exposing water-filled plastic polyethylene

terephthalate (PET) bottles to sunlight for several hours. Exposure times vary depending on
weather and climate from a minimum of six hours to two days during fully overcast conditions.
It is recommended by the World Health Organization as a viable method for household water
treatment and safe storage. Over two million people in developing countries use this method for
their daily drinking water.

Solar energy may be used in a water stabilisation pond to treat waste water without chemicals or
electricity. A further environmental advantage is that algae grow in such ponds and consume
carbon dioxide in photosynthesis, although algae may produce toxic chemicals that make the
water unusable.

Process heat

Main articles: Solar pond, Salt evaporation pond, and Solar furnace

Solar concentrating technologies such as parabolic dish, trough and Scheffler reflectors can
provide process heat for commercial and industrial applications. The first commercial system
was the Solar Total Energy Project (STEP) in Shenandoah, Georgia, USA where a field of 114
parabolic dishes provided 50% of the process heating, air conditioning and electrical
requirements for a clothing factory. This grid-connected cogeneration system provided 400 kW
of electricity plus thermal energy in the form of 401 kW steam and 468 kW chilled water, and
had a one hour peak load thermal storage.

Evaporation ponds are shallow pools that concentrate dissolved solids through evaporation. The
use of evaporation ponds to obtain salt from sea water is one of the oldest applications of solar
energy. Modern uses include concentrating brine solutions used in leach mining and removing
dissolved solids from waste streams.

Clothes lines, clotheshorses, and clothes racks dry clothes through evaporation by wind and
sunlight without consuming electricity or gas. In some states of the United States legislation
protects the "right to dry" clothes.

Unglazed transpired collectors (UTC) are perforated sun-facing walls used for preheating
ventilation air. UTCs can raise the incoming air temperature up to 22 C and deliver outlet
temperatures of 4560 C.[68] The short payback period of transpired collectors (3 to 12 years)
makes them a more cost-effective alternative than glazed collection systems. As of 2003, over 80
systems with a combined collector area of 35,000 m2 had been installed worldwide, including an
860 m2 collector in Costa Rica used for drying coffee beans and a 1,300 m2 collector in
Coimbatore, India used for drying marigolds.

Cooking

Main article: Solar cooker

The Solar Bowl in Auroville, India, concentrates sunlight on a movable receiver to produce
steam for cooking.

Solar cookers use sunlight for cooking, drying and pasteurization. They can be grouped into
three broad categories: box cookers, panel cookers and reflector cookers.[69] The simplest solar
cooker is the box cooker first built by Horace de Saussure in 1767.[70] A basic box cooker consists
of an insulated container with a transparent lid. It can be used effectively with partially overcast
skies and will typically reach temperatures of 90150 C.[71] Panel cookers use a reflective panel
to direct sunlight onto an insulated container and reach temperatures comparable to box cookers.
Reflector cookers use various concentrating geometries (dish, trough, Fresnel mirrors) to focus
light on a cooking container. These cookers reach temperatures of 315 C and above but require
direct light to function properly and must be repositioned to track the Sun.[72]

Electricity production

View of Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System from Yates Well Road, San Bernardino
County, California. The Clark Mountain Range can be seen in the distance.
Main article: Solar power

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics
(PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). CSP systems use lenses or mirrors and
tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. PV converts light into
electric current using the photoelectric effect.

Commercial CSP plants were first developed in the 1980s. Since 1985 the eventually 354 MW
SEGS CSP installation, in the Mojave Desert of California, is the largest solar power plant in the
world. Other large CSP plants include the 150 MW Solnova Solar Power Station and the 100
MW Andasol solar power station, both in Spain. The 250 MW Agua Caliente Solar Project, in
the United States, and the 221 MW Charanka Solar Park in India, are the worlds
largestphotovoltaic plants. Solar projects exceeding 1 GW are being developed, but most of the
deployed photovoltaics are in small rooftop arrays of less than 5 kW, which are grid connected
using net metering and/or a feed-in tariff.

Concentrated solar power

See also: Concentrated solar power

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a
large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a
conventional power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies exists; the most developed
are the parabolic trough, the concentrating linear fresnel reflector, the Stirling dish and the solar
power tower. Various techniques are used to track the Sun and focus light. In all of these systems
a working fluid is heated by the concentrated sunlight, and is then used for power generation or
energy storage.

Photovoltaics

Part of the SenftenbergSolarpark, a solar photovoltaic power plant located on former open-pit
mining areas close to the city of Senftenberg, in Eastern Germany. The 78 MW Phase 1 of the
plant was completed within three months.

NREL compilation of best research solar cell efficiencies from 1976 to present
Main article: Photovoltaics

A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a device that converts light into electric current using
the photoelectric effect. The first solar cell was constructed by Charles Fritts in the 1880s. In
1931 a German engineer, Dr Bruno Lange, developed a photo cell using silver selenide in place
of copper oxide. Although the prototype selenium cells converted less than 1% of incident light
into electricity, both Ernst Werner von Siemens and James Clerk Maxwell recognized the
importance of this discovery. Following the work of Russell Ohl in the 1940s, researchers Gerald
Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin created the silicon solar cell in 1954. These early solar
cells cost 286 USD/watt and reached efficiencies of 4.56%.By 2012 available efficiencies
exceed 20% and the maximum efficiency of research photovoltaics is over 40%.

Others

Besides concentrated solar power and photovoltaics, there are some other techniques used to
generated electricity using solar power. These include:

Dye-sensitized solar cells,

Luminescent solar concentrators (a type of concentrated photovoltaics or CPV

technology),

Biohybrid solar cells,

Photon Enhanced Thermionic Emission systems

Fuel production

Main articles: Solar chemical, Solar fuel, and Artificial photosynthesis

Solar chemical processes use solar energy to drive chemical reactions. These processes offset
energy that would otherwise come from a fossil fuel source and can also convert solar energy
into storable and transportable fuels. Solar induced chemical reactions can be divided into
thermochemical or photochemical. A variety of fuels can be produced by artificial
photosynthesis. The multielectron catalytic chemistry involved in making carbon-based fuels
(such as methanol) from reduction of carbon dioxide is challenging; a feasible alternative is
hydrogen production from protons, though use of water as the source of electrons (as plants do)
requires mastering the multielectron oxidation of two water molecules to molecular oxy

Solar inverter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Internal view of a solar inverter. Note the many large capacitors (blue cylinders), used to store
power briefly and improve the output waveform.

A solar inverter, or PV inverter, converts the variable direct current (DC) output of a
photovoltaic (PV) solar panel into a utility frequencyalternating current (AC) that can be fed into
a commercial electrical grid or used by a local, off-grid electrical network. It is a critical
component in a photovoltaic system, allowing the use of ordinary commercial appliances. Solar
inverters have special functions adapted for use with photovoltaic arrays, including maximum
power point tracking and anti-islanding protection.

Classification

Simplified schematics of a grid-connected residential photovoltaic power system[1]

Solar inverters may be classified into three broad types:[citation needed]

Stand-alone inverters, used in isolated systems where the inverter draws its DC energy
from batteries charged by photovoltaic arrays. Many stand-alone inverters also
incorporate integral battery chargers to replenish the battery from an AC source, when
available. Normally these do not interface in any way with the utility grid, and as such,
are not required to have anti-islanding protection.
 Grid-tie inverters, which match phase with a utility-supplied sine wave. Grid-tie
inverters are designed to shut down automatically upon loss of utility supply, for safety
reasons. They do not provide backup power during utility outages.

Battery backup inverters, are special inverters which are designed to draw energy from
a battery, manage the battery charge via an onboard charger, and export excess energy to
the utility grid. These inverters are capable of supplying AC energy to selected loads
during a utility outage, and are required to have anti-islanding protection.

Maximum power point tracking

Main article: Maximum power point tracker

Solar inverters use maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to get the maximum possible power
from the PV array.[2] Solar cells have a complex relationship between solar irradiation,
temperature and total resistance that produces a non-linear output efficiency known as the I-V
curve. It is the purpose of the MPPT system to sample the output of the cells and determine a
resistance (load) to obtain maximum power for any given environmental conditions.[3]

The fill factor, more commonly known by its abbreviation FF, is a parameter which, in
conjunction with the open circuit voltage and short circuit current of the panel, determines the
maximum power from a solar cell. Fill factor is defined as the ratio of the maximum power from
the solar cell to the product of Voc and Isc.[4]

There are three main types of MPPT algorithms: perturb-and-observe, incremental conductance
and constant voltage.[5] The first two methods are often referred to as hill climbing methods; they
rely on the curve of power plotted against voltage rising to the left of the maximum power point,
and falling on the right.[6]

Anti-islanding protection
Main article: Islanding

In the event of a power failure on the grid, it is generally required that any grid-tie inverters
attached to the grid turn off in a short period of time. This prevents the inverters from continuing
to feed power into small sections of the grid, known as "islands". Powered islands present a risk
to workers who may expect the area to be unpowered, but equally important is the issue that
without a grid signal to synchronize to, the power output of the inverters may drift from the
tolerances required by customer equipment connected within the island.

Detecting the presence or lack of a grid source would appear to be simple, and in the case of a
single inverter in any given possible physical island (between disconnects on the distribution
lines for instance) the chance that an inverter would fail to notice the loss of the grid is
effectively zero. However, if there are two inverters in a given island, things become
considerably more complex. It is possible that the signal from one can be interpreted as a grid
feed from the other, and vice versa, so both units continue operation. As they track each other's
output, the two can drift away from the limits imposed by the grid connections, say in voltage or
frequency.

There are a wide variety of methodologies used to detect an islanding condition. None of these
are considered fool-proof, and utility companies continue to impose limits on the number and
total power of solar power systems connected in any given area. However, many in-field tests
have failed to uncover any real-world islanding issues, and the issue remains contentious within
the industry.

Since 1999, the standard for anti-islanding protection in the United States has been UL 1741,
harmonized with IEEE 1547.[7] Any inverter which is listed to the UL 1741 standard may be
connected to a utility grid without the need for additional anti-islanding equipment, anywhere in
the United States or other countries where UL standards are accepted.[8]

Similar acceptance of the IEEE 1547 in Europe is also taking place, as most electrical utilities
will be providing or requiring units with this capability.[9]

Solar micro-inverters

A solar micro-inverter in the process of being installed. The ground wire is attached to the lug
and the panel's DC connections are attached to the cables on the lower right. The AC parallel
trunk cable runs at the top (just visible).
Main article: Solar micro-inverter

Solar micro-inverter is an inverter integrated to each solar panel module. The inverter converts
the output from each panel to alternating current They're designed to allow parallel connection of
multiple units connected in parallel.[10]

Each integrated module provides AC output and are connected together in parallel. This
arrangement provides easier installation, redundancy and more effective capture of energy when
they're partially shaded. As of 2010, they're mainly used for single phase applications and most
units in production relied exclusively on electrolytic capacitors for buffering and there is a
concern of long term reliability of these capacitors in each module.[11] A 2011 study at
Appalachian State University reports that individual integrated inverter setup yielded about 20%
more power in unshaded conditions and 27% more power in shaded conditions compared to
string connected setup using one inverter. Both setups used identical solar panels.[12]

Grid tied solar inverters

An industrial grid-tied solar inverter

A PV inverter installed in a porch

Solar grid-tie inverters are designed to quickly disconnect from the grid if the utility grid goes
down. This is an NEC requirement that ensures that in the event of a blackout, the grid tie
inverter will shut down to prevent the energy it produces from harming any line workers who are
sent to fix the power grid.

Grid-tie inverters that are available on the market today use a number of different technologies.
The inverters may use the newer high-frequency transformers, conventional low-frequency
transformers, or no transformer. Instead of converting direct current directly to 120 or 240 volts
AC, high-frequency transformers employ a computerized multi-step process that involves
converting the power to high-frequency AC and then back to DC and then to the final AC output
voltage.[13]

Historically, there has been concerns about having transformerless electrical systems feed into
the public utility grid. The concerns stem from the fact that there is a lack of galvanic isolation
between the DC and AC circuits, which could allow the passage of dangerous DC faults to be
transmitted to the AC side.[14] Since 2005, the NFPA's NEC allows transformerless (or non-
galvanically) inverters. The VDE 0126-1-1 and IEC 6210 also have been amended to allow and
define the safety mechanisms needed for such systems. Primarily, residual or ground current
detection is used to detect possible fault conditions. Also isolation tests are performed to insure
DC to AC separation.

Many solar inverters are designed to be connected to a utility grid, and will not operate when
they do not detect the presence of the grid. They contain special circuitry to precisely match the
voltage and frequency of the grid. See the Anti-Islanding section for more details.

Solar charge controller

A typical solar charge controller kit

See also: Charge controller

A charge controller may be used to power DC equipment with solar panels. The charge controller
provides a regulated DC output and stores excess energy in a battery as well as monitoring the
battery voltage to prevent under/over charging. More expensive units will also perform
maximum power point tracking. An inverter can be connected to the output of a charge controller
to drive AC loads.

Solar pumping inverters

Advanced solar pumping inverters convert DC voltage from the solar array into AC voltage to
drive submersible pumps directly without the need for batteries or other energy storage devices.
By utilizing MPPT (maximum power point tracking), solar pumping inverters regulate output
frequency to control speed of the pumps in order to save pump motor from damage

Solar energy has been in used by various ancient civilization since the beginning of human
civilizations. Some ancient buildings were build based on the availability of solar energy to
provide sunlight. However, the person who came up with the idea of using solar power to create
electrical energy was Alexandre Edmond Becquerel. This is why the discovery of solar energy,
as we know it today, is accredited to this French scientist.
 Alexandre Edmond
Becquerel built the worlds first photovoltaic panel at the young age of 19 and that was in the
year of 1839.

His father was a renowned French scientist

He was born on March 24th, 1820 in Pairs, France. He was the son of Antoine Csar Becquerel,
another renowned French scientist. Edmond Becquerel followed the footstep of his father and
continued his work and research. His main interests were on electricity, magnetism, optics and
solar spectrum. He joined as a professor at the Agronomic Institute in Versailles in 1849. He
received the chair of physics at the Conservatoire National des Arts etMetiers in 1853.

He invented the phosphoroscope

He had an active interest in the study of light. He researched on phosphorescence, photochemical

effects, the electric light and solar radiation. He was the first scientist to research these topics
extensively. He invented the phosphoroscope, a device which allowed periods between exposure
to a light source and the observation of the resulted affects.

He published two volumes of works

During 1867-1868, he published two volumes of works named La Lumire, ses causes et
seseffets. He also researched and published papers on various topics on electronics including
paramagnetic and diamagnetic properties of substances and Faradays law of electrolysis. In
1886, he was officially made a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He died on
May 11th, 1891.

SOLAR INVERTER PARTS

SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.1
Chapter 4.
SOLAR CELL
OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES
4.1 Basic operational principles
The working principle of all today solar cells is essentially the same. It is based on the
photovoltaic effect. In general, the photovoltaic effect means the generation of a potential
difference at the junction of two different materials in response to visible or other radiation.
The basic processes behind the photovoltaic effect are:
1. generation of the charge carriers due to the absorption of photons in the materials that
form a junction,
2. subsequent separation of the photo-generated charge carriers in the junction,
3. collection of the photo-generated charge carriers at the terminals of the junction.
In general, a solar cell structure consists of an absorber layer, in which the photons of
incident radiation are efficiently absorbed resulting in the creation of electron-hole pairs. In
order to separate the photo-generated electrons and holes from each other, the so-called
semipermeable membranes are attached to the both sides of the absorber 1. The important
requirement for the semi-permeable membranes is that they selectively allow only one type of
charge carrier to pass through.
A membrane that let electrons go through and blocks holes is a material, which has a
large conductivity for electrons and a small conductivity of holes. An example of such a
material is an n-type semiconductor, in which a large electron conductivity with respect to the
hole conductivity is caused namely by a large difference in electron and hole concentrations.
Electrons can easily flow through the n-type semiconductor while the transport of holes,
which are the minority carriers in such material, is due to the recombination processes very
limited. The opposite holds for electrons in a p-type semiconductor, which is an example of
the hole membrane.
In order to minimize the injection of holes from the absorber into the n-type
semiconductor an energy barrier should be introduced in the valence band, _EV, between the
n-type semiconductor and the absorber. Ideally, this can be achieved by choosing an n-type
semiconductor that has a larger band gap than that of the absorber and the energy difference is
located in the valence band of the two materials. Similarly, the injection of electrons from the
absorber into the p-type semiconductor could be suppressed by using a p-type semiconductor
with a larger band gap than that of the absorber and having the band off-set in the conduction
band, _EC, between the absorber and the p-type semiconductor. The requirement of having the
band off-set in the conduction band means that the electron affinity, e, of the p-type
semiconductor is smaller that the electron affinity of the absorber. The additional advantage
applying membrane materials with large band gaps is to allow almost all photons to be
transmitted and absorbed into the absorber.
The asymmetry in the electronic structure of the n-type and p-type semiconductors is
the basic requirement for the photovoltaic energy conversion. Figure 4.1 shows a schematic
band diagram of an illuminated idealized solar cell structure with an absorber and the semipermeable
membranes. The terminals or in other words electrodes of the solar cell are
attached to the membranes. We refer to the structure between the terminals as a junction and
the above described solar cell structure is denoted as a single junction solar cell. The quasi-
Fermi level for electrons, EFC, and the quasi-Fermi level for holes, EFV, are used to describe
the illuminated state of the solar cell. The energy difference between the quasi-Fermi levels is
a measure of efficient conversion of energy of radiation into electrochemical energy. The
illuminated solar cell is shown in Figure 4.1 at two conditions. The first is at the open-circuit
condition, when the terminals of the solar cell are not connected to each other and therefore no
electric current can flow through an external circuit. At this condition, a voltage difference can
be measured between the terminals of the solar cell. This voltage is denoted the open-circuit
voltage, Voc, and it is an important parameter that characterizes the performance of solar cells.
Figure 4.1b shows the band diagram of the solar cell in the short-circuit condition. In this
case the terminals of the solar cell are short circuited and a current flows through the external
circuit. This current is denoted as the short-circuit current, Isc. The Isc is also an important
parameter that characterizes the performance of solar cells.
4.2 The p-n junction
At present, the most frequent example of the above-described solar cell structure is
realized with crystalline silicon (c-Si). A typical c-Si solar cell structure is shown in Figure
3.1. A moderately-doped p-type c-Si with an acceptor concentration of 10 16 cm-3 is used as the
absorber. On the top side of the absorber a thin, less than 1 m thick, highly-doped n-type
layer is formed as the electron membrane. On the back side of the absorber a highly-doped ptype
serves as the hole membrane. At the interfaces between the c-Si p-type absorber and the
highly-doped n-type and p-type membranes, regions are formed with an internal electric field.
These regions are especially important for solar cells and are known as p-n junctions. The
presence of the internal electric field in the solar cell facilitates the separation of the photogenerated
electron-hole pairs. When the charge carriers are not separated from each other in a
relatively short time they will be annihilated in a process that is called recombination and thus
will not contribute to the energy conversion. The easiest way to separate charge carriers is to
place them in an electric field. In the electric field the carriers having opposite charge are
drifted from each other in opposite directions and can reach the electrodes of the solar cell.
The electrodes are the metal contacts that are attached to the membranes.
The p-n junction fabricated in the same semiconductor material such as c-Si is an
example of the p-n homojunction. There are also other types of a junction that result in the
formation of the internal electric field in the junction. The p-n junction that is formed by two
chemically different semiconductors is called the p-n heterojunction. In the p-i-n junctions, the
region of the internal electric field is extended by inserting an intrinsic, i, layer between the ptype
and the n-type layers. The i-layer behaves like a capacitor and it stretches the electric
field formed by the p-n junction across itself. Another type of the junction is a junction
between a metal and a semiconductor, MS junction. The Schottky barrier formed at the
metalsemiconductor
interface is a typical example of the MS junction.
4.2.1 Formation of a space-charge region in the p-n junction
Figure 4.2 shows schematically isolated pieces of a p-type and an n-type
semiconductor and their corresponding band diagrams. In both isolated pieces the charge
neutrality is maintained. In the n-type semiconductor the large concentration of negativelycharged
free electrons is compensated by positively-charged ionized donor atoms. In the ptype
semiconductor holes are the majority carriers and the positive charge of holes is
compensated by negatively-charged ionized acceptor atoms
n-type p-type
Figure 4.2. Schematic representation of an isolated p-type and n-type semiconductor and
corresponding band diagrams.
When a p-type and an n-type semiconductor are brought together, a very large
difference in electron concentration between n- and p-type semiconductors causes a diffusion
current of electrons from the n-type material across the metallurgical junction into the p-type
material. Similarly, the difference in hole concentration causes a diffusion current of holes
from the p- to the n-type material. Due to this diffusion process the region close to the
metallurgical junction becomes almost completely depleted of mobile charge carriers. The
gradual depletion of the charge carriers gives rise to a space charge created by the charge of
the ionized donor and acceptor atoms that is not compensated by the mobile charges any
more. This region of the space charge is called the space-charge region or depleted region
and is schematically illustrated in Figure 4.3. Regions outside the depletion region, in which
the charge neutrality is conserved, are denoted as the quasi-neutral regions.
Figure 4.3. Formation of a space-charge region, when n-type and p-type semiconductors are
brought together to form a junction. The colored part represents the space-charge region.
The space charge around the metallurgical junction results in the formation of an
internal electric field which forces the charge carriers to move in the opposite direction than
the concentration gradient. The diffusion currents continue to flow until the forces acting on
the charge carriers, namely the concentration gradient and the internal electrical field,
compensate each other. The driving force for the charge transport does not exist any more and
no net current flows through the p-n junction.
4.2.2 p-n junction under equilibrium
The p-n junction represents a system of charged particles in diffusive equilibrium in
which the electrochemical potential is constant and independent of position. The electrochemical
potential describes an average energy of electrons and is represented by the Fermi
energy. It means that under equilibrium conditions the Fermi level has constant position in the
band diagram of the p-n junction. Figure 4.4 shows the energy-band diagram of a p-n junction
under equilibrium. The distance between the Fermi level and the valence and/or conduction
bands does not change in the quasi-neutral regions and is the same as in the isolated n- and ptype
semiconductors. Inside the space-charge region, the conduction and valence bands are not
represented by straight horizontal lines any more but they are curved. This indicates the
presence of an electric field in this region. Due to the electric field a difference in the
electrostatic potential is created between the boundaries of the space-charge region. Across the
depletion region the changes in the carriers concentration are compensated by changes in the
electrostatic potential. The electrostatic-potential profile is included in Figure 4.4.
Figure 4.4. Energy-band diagram of the p-n junction. The electrostatic potential profile (red
curve) is also presented in the figure.
The concentration profile of charge carriers in a p-n junction is schematically
presented in Figure 4.5. In the quasi-neutral regions the concentration of electrons and holes is
the same as in the isolated doped semiconductors. In the space-charge region the
concentrations of majority charge carriers decrease very rapidly. This fact allows us to use the
assumption that the space-charge region is depleted of mobile charge carriers. This
assumption means that the charge of the mobile carriers represents a negligible contribution to
the total space charge in the depletion region. The space charge in this region is fully
determined by the ionized dopant atoms fixed in the lattice.
The presence of the internal electric field inside the p-n junction means that there is an
electrostatic potential difference, 0, across the space-charge region. We shall determine a
profile of the internal electric field and electrostatic potential in the p-n junction. First we
introduce an approximation, which simplifies the calculation of the electric field and
electrostatic-potential. This approximation (the depletion approximation) assumes that the
space-charge density, , is zero in the quasi-neutral regions and it is fully determined by the
concentration of ionized dopants in the depletion region. In the depletion region of the n-type
semiconductor it is the concentration of positively charged donor atoms, N D, which
determines the space charge in this region. In the p-type semiconductor, the concentration of
negatively charged acceptor atoms, NA, determines the space charge in the depletion region.
This is illustrated in Figure 4.6. Further, we assume that the p-n junction is a step junction; it
means that there is an abrupt change in doping at the metallurgical junction and the doping
concentration is uniform both in the p-type and the n-type semiconductors.
Figure 4.5. Concentrations profile of mobile charge carriers in a p-n junction under
equilibrium.
n-type Si p-type Si
Figure 4.6. a) Space-charge density (x); b) electric field (x); c) electrostatic potential (x)
across the depletion region of a p-n junction under equilibrium.
According to Figure 4.6 the position of the metallurgical junction is placed at zero, the
width of the space-charge region in the n-type material is denoted as ln and the width of the
space-charge region in the p-type material is denoted as lp. The space-charge density is
described by following equations:
ND and NA is the concentration of donor and acceptor atoms, respectively. Outside the spacecharge
region the space-charge density is zero. The electric field is can be calculated from the
Poisson s equation, which has the following form for one dimensional analysis:
In Eq. (4.4) is the electrostatic potential, is the electric field, is the space-charge density,
r is the semiconductor dielectric constant and 0 is the permittivity of the vacuum. For
crystalline Si r = 11.7 and the permittivity of the vacuum 0 = 8.854x10-14 F/cm. The electric
4.9
field profile can be found by integrating the space-charge density across the space-charge
region.
dx
r

Substituting the space-charge density with Eqs. (4.3a) and (4.3b) and using the following
boundary conditions:
the solution for the electric field is
At the metallurgical junction, x 0 , the electric field is continuous, which requires that the
following condition has to be fulfilled
A p D n N l N l (4.8)

Outside the space-charge region the material is electrically neutral and therefore the electric
field is zero there.
The profile of the electrostatic potential is calculated by integrating the electric field
throughout the space-charge region and applying the boundary conditions.
dx (4.9)
We define the zero electrostatic potential level at the outside edge of the p-type
semiconductor. Since we assume no potential drop across the quasi-neutral region the
electrostatic potential at the boundary of the space-charge region in the p-type material is also
zero
Using Eqs. 4.6a and 4.6b for describing the electric field in the n-type and p-type parts of the
space-charge region, respectively, and taking into account that at the metallurgical junction the
electrostatic potential is continuous, the solution for the electrostatic potential can be written
as:
Under equilibrium a difference in electrostatic potential, 0, develops across the space-charge
region. The electrostatic potential difference across the p-n junction is an important
characteristic of the junction and is denoted as the built-in potential or diffusion potential of
the p-n junction. We can calculate 0 as the difference between the electrostatic potential at
the edges of the space-charge region:
Using Eq. 4.11a we obtain for the built-in potential the following expression:
Another way to determine the built-in potential 0 is to use the energy-band diagram
presented in Figure 4.4.
Eq. (4.16) allows us to determine the built-in potential of a p-n junction from the standard
semiconductor parameters, such as doping concentrations and the intrinsic carrier
concentration. When knowing the built-in potential we can calculate the width of the space
charge region of the p-n junction in the thermal equilibrium. Substituting 0 using Eq. (4.16)
into Eq. (4.13) and taking the condition (4.7) into account, the resulting expressions for ln and
lp are obtained. The full derivation can be found for example in reference 2.
The total space-charge width, W, is the sum of the partial space-charge widths in the n-type
and p-type semiconductors and can be calculated using Eq. (4.18).
The space-charge region is not uniformly distributed in the n-type and p-type regions. The
widths of the space-charge region in the n-type and p-type semiconductor are determined by
the doping concentrations as illustrated by Eqs. (4.17a) and (4.17b), respectively. Knowing the
expressions for ln and lp we can determine the maximum value of the internal electric field,
which is at the metallurgical junction. By substituting lp expressed by Eq (4.17b) into Eq.
(4.7b) we obtain the expression for the maximum value of the internal electric field.
2 D.A. Neaman, Semiconductor Physics and devices: Basic Principles, McGraw-Hill, 2003.
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.12
EXAMPLE
A crystalline silicon wafer is doped with 1 1016 acceptor atoms per cubic centimetre. A 1 micrometer thick
emitter layer is formed at the surface of the wafer with a uniform concentration of 110 18 donors per cubic
centimetre. Assume a step p-n junction and that all doping atoms are ionized. The intrinsic carrier concentration
in silicon at 300 K is 1.51010 cm-3.
Lets calculate the electron and hole concentrations in the p-type and n-type quasi-neutral regions at thermal
equilibrium. We shall use Eqs. (4.1a,b) and Eqs. (4.2a,b) to calculate the charge carrier concentrations.
P-type region:
We can calculate the position of the Fermi energy in the quasi-neutral n-type and p-type regions, respectively,
using Eq. (3.18a). Lets assume that the reference energy level is the bottom of the conduction band, E c=0 eV.
N-type region:
The minus sign tells us that the Fermi energy is positioned below the E c.
The built-in voltage across the p-n junction is calculated using Eq. (4.16)
A typical thickness of c-Si wafer is 300 m. The depletion region is 0.3 m which represents 0.1% of the thickness
of the wafer. It is important to realize that almost the whole bulk of the wafer is a quasi-neutral region without the
internal electrical field.
The maximum electric field is at the metallurgical junction and is calculated from Eq. (4.19).
4.2.3 p-n junction under applied voltage
When an external voltage, Va, is applied to a p-n junction the potential difference
between the n-type and p-type regions will change and the electrostatic potential across the
space-charge region will become (0 - Va). Remember that under equilibrium the built-in
potential is negative in the p-type region with respect to the n-type region. When the applied
external voltage is negative with respect to the potential of the p-type region, the applied
voltage will increase the potential difference across the p-n junction. We refer to this situation
as p-n junction under reverse-bias voltage. The potential barrier across the junction is
increased under reverse-bias voltage, which results in a wider space-charge region. The band
diagram of the p-n junction under reverse-biased voltage is presented in Figure 4.7a. Under
external voltage the p-n junction is not under equilibrium any more and the concentrations of
electrons and holes are described by the quasi-Fermi energy for electrons, E FC, and the quasi-
Fermi energy holes, EFV, respectively. When the applied external voltage is positive with
respect to the potential of the p-type region, the applied voltage will decrease the potential
difference across the p-n junction. We refer to this situation as p-n junction under forwardbias
voltage. The band diagram of the p-n junction under forward-biased voltage is presented
in Figure 4.7b. The potential barrier across the junction is decreased under forward-bias
voltage and the space charge region becomes narrower. The balance between the forces
responsible for diffusion (concentration gradient) and drift (electric field) is disturbed. The
lowering of the electrostatic potential barrier leads to a higher concentration of minority
carriers at the edges of the space-charge region compared to the situation in equilibrium. This
process is referred to as minority-carrier injection. This gradient in concentration causes the
diffusion of the minority carriers from the edge into the bulk of the quasi-neutral region.
Figure 4.7: Energy band diagram and potential profile (in red colour) of a p-n junction under
a) reverse bias, and b) forward bias.
The diffusion of minority carriers into the quasi-neutral region causes a so-called
recombination current, Jrec, since the diffusing minority carriers recombine with the majority
carriers in the bulk. The recombination current is compensated by the so-called thermal
generation current, Jgen, which is caused by the drift of minority carriers, which are present in
the corresponding doped regions (electrons in the p-type region and holes in the n-type
region), across the junction. Both, the recombination and generation currents have
contributions from electrons and holes. When no voltage is applied to the p-n junction, the
situation inside the junction can be viewed as the balance between the recombination and
generation currents.
0 rec gen J J J for Va = 0 V (4.20)
It is assumed that when a moderate forward-bias voltage is applied to the junction the
recombination current increases with the Boltzmann factor ( qV kT a exp ) (the Boltzmann
approximation):
On the other hand, the generation current is almost independent of the potential barrier across
the junction and is determined by the availability of the thermally-generated minority carriers
in the doped regions.
0gen a gen a J V J V (4.22)
The external net-current density can be expressed as
where J0 is the saturation-current density of the p-n junction, given by
00 gen a J J V (4.24)
Eq. (4.23) is known as the Shockley equation that describes the current-voltage behavior of
an ideal p-n diode. It is a fundamental equation for microelectronics device physics. The
detailed derivation of the dark-current density of the p-n junction is carried out in the
Appendix 4.4.1 of Chapter 4. The saturation-current density is expressed by Eq. (4.25)
The saturation-current density depends in a complex way on the fundamental semiconductor
parameters. Ideally the saturation-current density should be as low as possible and this
requires an optimal and balanced design of the p-type and n-type semiconductor properties.
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.15
For example, an increase in the doping concentration decreases the diffusion length of the
minority carriers, which means that the optimal product of these two quantities requires a
delicate balance between these two properties.
The recombination of the majority carriers due to the diffusion of the injected minority
carriers into the bulk of the quasi-neutral regions results in a lowering of the concentration of
the majority carriers compared to the one under equilibrium. The drop in the concentration of
the majority carriers is balanced by the flow of the majority carriers from the electrodes into
the bulk. In this way the net current flows through the p-n junction under forward-bias
voltage. For high reverse-bias voltage, the Boltzmann factor in Eq. (4.23) becomes very small
and can be neglected. The net current density is given by
J V J0 a , (4.26)
and represents the flux of thermally generated minority carriers across the junction. The
current density-voltage (J-V) characteristic of an ideal p-n junction is schematically shown in
Figure 4.8.
Figure 4.8. J-V characteristic of a p-n junction; a) linear plot and b) semi-logarithmic plot.
4.2.4 p-n junction under illumination
When a p-n junction is illuminated the additional electron-hole pairs are generated in
the semiconductor. The concentration of minority carriers (electrons in the p-type region and
holes in the n-type region) strongly increases. This increase in the concentration of minority
carriers leads to the flow of the minority carriers across the depletion region into the qausineutral
regions. Electrons flow from the p-type into the n-type region and holes from the ntype
into the p-type region. The flow of the photo-generated carriers causes the so-called
photo-generation current, Jph, which adds to the thermal-generation current, Jgen. When no
external contact between the n-type and the p-type regions is established, which means that
the junction is in the open-circuit condition, no net current can flow inside the p-n junction. It
means that the current resulting from the flux of photo-generated and thermally-generated
carriers has to be balanced by the opposite recombination current. The recombination current
-J ln (J0) 0
Forward
bias
ln (J)
V
J
V
Reverse
bias
Slope q/kT
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.16
will increase through lowering of the electrostatic potential barrier across the depletion region.
This situation of the illuminated p-n junction under open-circuit condition using the band
diagram is presented in Figure 4.9a. The electrostatic-potential barrier across the junction is
lowered by an amount of Voc. We refer to Voc as the open-circuit voltage. Under nonequilibrium
conditions the concentrations of electrons and holes are described by the quasi-
Fermi energy levels. It is illustrated in Figure 4.9a that the electrochemical potential of
electrons, denoted by EFC, is higher in the n-type region than in the p-type region by an
amount of q Voc. This means that a voltmeter will measure a voltage difference of Voc between
the contacts of the p-n junction. Under illumination, when the n-type and p-type regions are
short circuited, the photo-generated current will also flow through the external circuit. This
situation is illustrated in Figure 4.9b. Under the short-circuit condition the electrostaticpotential
barrier is not changed, but from a strong variation of the quasi-Fermi levels inside
the depletion region one can determine that the current is flowing inside the semiconductor.
Figure 4.9. Energy band diagram and electrostatic-potential (in red colour) of an illuminated
p-n junction under the a) open-circuit and b) short-circuit conditions.
When a load is connected between the electrodes of the illuminated p-n junction, only
a fraction of the photo-generated current will flow through the external circuit. The electrochemical
potential difference between the n-type and p-type regions will be lowered by a
voltage drop over the load. This in turn lowers the electrostatic potential over the depletion
region which results in an increase of the recombination current. The net current flowing
through the load is determined as the sum of the photo- and thermal generation currents and
the recombination current (the superposition approximation). The voltage drop at the load can
be simulated by applying a forward-bias voltage to the junction, therefore Eqs. (4.23), which
describes the behaviour of the junction under applied voltage, is included to describe the net
current of the illuminated p-n junction:
ph
a
J
a rec a gen a ph

kT
qV
J J V J V J V J

exp 1 0 (4.27)
-q0
e
EFV
EFC
EC
EV
-q
0

E
-q (0-VOC)
e
EFC
-VOC
-q

E
EC
EV
0
-q VOC
EFV
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.17
The dark and illuminated J-V characteristics of the p-n junction are represented in
Figure 4.10. Note, that the superposition principle is reflected in Figure 4.10. The illuminated
J-V characteristic of the p-n junction is the same as the dark J-V characteristic, but it is shifted
down by the photo-generated current density Jph. The detailed derivation of the photogenerated
current density of the p-n junction is carried out in the Appendix 4.4.2 of Chapter 4
and its value under uniform generation rate, G, is
ph N P J q G L W L , (4.28)
where LN and LP is the minority-carrier-diffusion length for electrons and holes, respectively,
and W is the width of the depletion region. It means only carriers generated in the depletion
region and in the regions up to the minority-carrier-diffusion length from the depletion region
contribute to the photo-generated current. Eq. (4.28) is useful when designing the thickness of
a solar cell. The thickness of the absorber should not be thicker than the region from which
the carriers contribute to the photo-generated current.
Figure 4.10. J-V characteristics of a p-n junction in the dark and under illumination.
4.3 Solar cell external parameters
The main parameters that are used to characterize the performance of solar cells are
the peak power, Pmax, the short-circuit current density, Jsc, the open-circuit voltage, Voc, and
the fill factor, FF. These parameters are determined from the illuminated J-V characteristic as
illustrated in Figure 4.10. The conversion efficiency, , is determined from these parameters.
J
V
Jph
Jsc
Voc
Vmp
Jmp
Dark
Illuminated
Peak power
P P=JV
Pmax
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.18
Short-circuit current
The short-circuit current, Isc, is the current that flows through the external circuit when the
electrodes of the solar cell are short circuited. The short-circuit current of a solar cell depends
on the photon flux density incident on the solar cell, that is determined by the spectrum of the
incident light. For the standard solar cell measurements, the spectrum is standardized to the
AM1.5 spectrum. The Isc depends on the area of the solar cell. In order to remove the
dependence of the Isc on the solar cell area, the short-circuit current density is often used to
describe the maximum current delivered by a solar cell. The maximum current that the solar
cell can deliver strongly depends on the optical properties (absorption in the absorber layer
and total reflection) of the solar cell.
In the ideal case, Jsc is equal to the Jph as can be easily derived from Eq. (4.27). The Jph
can be approximated by Eq. (4.28), which shows that in case of ideal diode (for example no
surface recombination) and uniform generation, the critical material parameters that determine
the Jph are the diffusion lengths of minority carriers. Crystalline silicon solar cells can deliver
under an AM1.5 spectrum a maximum possible current density of 46 mA/cm 2. In laboratory c-
Si solar cells the measured Jsc is above 42 mA/cm2, and commercial solar cell have the Jsc
over 35 mA/cm2.
Open-circuit voltage
The open-circuit voltage is the voltage at which no current flows through the external circuit.
It is the maximum voltage that a solar cell can deliver. The Voc corresponds to the forward
bias voltage, at which the dark current compensates the photo-current. The Voc depends on the
photo-generated current density and can be calculated from Eq. (4.26) assuming that the net
current is zero.

ln 1
0J

J
q
kT
V ph
oc (4.29)

The above equation shows that Voc depends on the saturation current of the solar cell and the
photo-generated current. While Jph typically has a small variation, the key effect is the
saturation current, since this may vary by orders of magnitude. The saturation current density,
J0, depends on the recombination in the solar cell. Therefore, Voc is a measure of the amount
of recombination in the device. Laboratory crystalline silicon solar cells have o Voc of up to
720 mV under the standard AM1.5 conditions, while commercial solar cells typically have Voc
above 600 mV.
Fill factor
The fill factor is the ratio between the maximum power (Pmax = Jmp Vmp) generated by a solar
cell and the product of Voc and Jsc (see Figure 4.10).
sc oc
mp mp
JV
JV
FF (4.30)
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.19
In case that the solar cell behaves as an ideal diode the fill factor can be expressed as a
function of open-circuit voltage3.

1
ln 0.72

oc
oc oc
v
vv
FF , (4.31)
where oc oc V
kT
q
v is a normalized voltage. Eq. (4.31) is a good approximation of the ideal
value of FF for 10 oc v . The FF as a function of Voc is shown in Figure 4.11. The figure
shows that FF does not change drastically with a change in Voc. For a solar cell with a
particular absorber, large variations in Voc are not common. For example, at standard
illumination conditions, the difference between the maximum open-circuit voltage measured
for a silicon laboratory device and a typical commercial solar cell is about 120 mV, giving the
maximal FF of 0.85 and 0.83, respectively. However, the variation in maximum FF can be
significant for solar cells made from different materials. For example, a GaAs solar cell may
have a FF approaching 0.89.
0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
Voc [V]
Fill Factor
n=1
n=1.5
n=2
Figure 4.11. The FF as a function of Voc for a solar cell with ideal diode behaviour.
However, in practical solar cells the dark diode current Eq. (4.23) does not obey the
Boltzmann approximation. The non-ideal diode is approximated by introducing an ideality
factor, n, into the Boltzmann factor ( qV nkT a exp ). Figure 4.11 also demonstrates the
importance of the diode ideality factor when introduced into the normalized voltage
( v V q nkT oc oc ) in Eq. (4.31). The ideality factor is a measure of the junction quality and
3 M.A. Green, Solar Cells; Operating Principles, Technology and System Applications, Prentice-Hall, 1982.
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.20
the type of recombination in a solar cell. For the ideal junction where the recombination is
represented by the recombination of the minority carriers in the quasi-neutral regions the nfactor
has a value of 1. However, when other recombination mechanisms occur, the n factor
can have a value of 2. A high n value not only lowers the FF, but since it signals a high
recombination, it leads to a low Voc. Eq. (4.31) describes a maximum achievable FF. In
practice the FF is often lower due to the presence of parasitic resistive losses.
Conversion efficiency
The conversion efficiency is calculated as the ratio between the generated maximum power
and the incident power. The irradiance value, Pin, of 1000 W/m2 of AM1.5 spectrum has
become a standard for measuring the conversion efficiency of solar cells.
in
sc oc
in
mp mp
inP
J V FF
P
JV
P
P max (4.32)
Typical external parameters of a crystalline silicon solar cell as shown in Figure 3.1
are; Jsc of 35 mA/cm2, Voc up to 0.65 V and FF in the range 0.75 to 0.80. The conversion
efficiency lies in the range of 17 to 18%.
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.21
EXAMPLE
A crystalline silicon solar cell generates a photo-current density J ph = 35 mA/cm2. The wafer is doped with
11017 acceptor atoms per cubic centimeter and the emitter layer is formed with a uniform concentration of
11019 donors per cubic centimeter. The minority-carrier diffusion length in the p-type region and n-type region
is 50010-6 m and 1010-6 m, respectively.
The intrinsic carrier concentration in silicon at 300 K is 1.510 10 cm-3, the mobility of electrons in the p-type
region is n = 1000 cm2V-1s-1 and holes in the n-type region is p = 100 cm2V-1s-1.
Assume that the solar cell behaves as an ideal diode. Calculate the built-in voltage, open-circuit voltage and the
conversion efficiency of the cell.
Jph = 350 A/m2.
NA = 11017 cm-3 = 11023 m-3.
ND = 11019 cm-3 = 11025 m-3.
LN = 50010-6 m.
LP = 10 10-6 m.
DN =(kT/q) n = 0.0258 V 100010-4 m2V-1s-1 = 2.5810-3 m2s-1.
DP =(kT/q) p = 0.0258 V 10010-4 m2V-1s-1 = 0.25810-3 m2s-1.
Using Eq (4.16) we calculate the built-in voltage of the cell:

0 2 ln
i
AD
n
NN
q
kT
o = 0.0258 V ln((11023 m-311025 m-3)/ (1.51016)2 m-6) = 0.92 V
According to the assumption the solar cell behaves as an ideal diode, it means that the Shockley equation
describing the J-V characteristic is applicable. Using Eq. (4.25) we determine the saturation-current density:

PD
P
NA
N

iLN
D
LN
D
J qn2
0

J0 = (1.60210-19 C (1.51016)2 m-6)

[(2.5810-3 m2s-1/(50010-6 m 11023 m-3)) + (0.25810-3 m2s-1/(1010-6 m 11025 m-3))]=
3.61013 C m-6 [(5.1610-23 + 2.5810-24) m4s-1] = 1.9510-9 C s-1m-2 = 1.9510-9 Am-2
Using Eq. (4.29) we determine the open-circuit voltage:

ln 1
0J

J
q
kT
V ph
oc

Voc = 0.0258 V ln((350 Am-2/ 1.9510-9 Am-2) + 1) = 0.67 V

The fill factor of the cell can be calculated from Eq. (4.31). First we normalize the V oc.
voc= Voc /(kT/q)=0.67 V/0.0258 V = 26.8

1
ln 0.72

oc
oc oc

v
vv
FF
FF = (26.8 ln(26.8+0.72))/(26.8+1)=0.84
The conversion efficiency is determined using Eq. (4.32)
in
sc oc

P
J V FF
=(350 Am-2 0.67 V 0.84)/1000 W m-2= 0.197
=19.7%
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.22
4.4 Appendix
4.4.1 Derivation of J-V characteristic in dark
When an external voltage, Va, is applied to a p-n junction the potential difference
between the n-type and p-type regions will change and the electrostatic potential across the
space-charge region will become (0 - Va). Under the forward-bias condition an applied
external voltage decreases the electrostatic-potential difference across the p-n junction. The
concentration of the minority carriers at the edge of the space-charge region increases
exponentially with the applied forward-bias voltage but it is still much lower that the
concentration of the majority carriers (low-injection conditions). The concentration of the
majority carriers in the quasi-neutral regions do not change significantly under forward bias.
The concentration of charge carriers in a p-n junction under forward bias is schematically
presented in Figure 4.12.
Figure 4.12. Concentration profiles of mobile charge carriers in a p-n junction under forward
bias (blue line). Concentration profiles of carriers under thermal equilibrium are shown for
comparison (black line).
The concentrations of the minority carriers at the edges of the space-charge region,
electrons in the p-type semiconductor and holes in the n-type semiconductor after applying
forward-bias voltage are described by Eq. (4.33a) and Eq. (4.33b), respectively.
qV kT
N
n
n n qV kT a
A
i
pb p a exp exp
2
0 (4.33a)
n-type Si p-type Si
np0 = n2
i/NA
pp0 = NA
nn0 = ND
pn0 = n2
i/ND
ln(n)
ln(p)
Position
p p e nb n0
qV kT
n n e pa p0
qV kT
ba
x x
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.23
qV kT
N
n
p p qV kT a
D
i
na n a exp exp
2
0(4.33b)
Since it is assumed that there is no electric field in the quasi-neutral region the currentdensity
equations of carriers reduce to only diffusion terms and are not coupled by the electric
field. The current is based on the diffusive flows of carriers in the quasi-neutral regions and is
determined by the diffusion of the minority carriers. The minority-carriers concentration can
be calculated separately for both quasi-neutral regions. The electron-current density in the
quasi-neutral region of the p-type semiconductor and the hole-current density in the quasineutral
region of the n-type semiconductor are described by Eq. (4.34a) and Eq. (4.34b),
respectively.
dx
dn
J qDN N (4.34a)
dx
dp
J qDP P (4.34b)
The continuity equations (Eq. 3.54) for electrons and holes in steady-state (n/t = 0 and p/t
= 0) can be written as
0
1 N N
NR G
dx
dJ
q
(4.35a)
0
1 P P
PR G
dx
dJ
q
(4.35b)
Under low-injection conditions, a change in the concentration of the majority carriers due to
generation and recombination can be neglected. However, the recombination-generation rate
of minority carriers depends strongly on the injection and is proportional to the excess of
minority carriers at the edges of the depletion region. The recombination-generation rate of
electrons, RN, in the p-type semiconductor and holes, RP, in the n-type semiconductor is
described by Eq. (3.29a) and Eq. (3.29b), respectively,
n
N
n
R

(4.36a)
p
P
p
R

, (4.36b)
where n is the excess concentration of electrons in the p-type semiconductor with respect to
the equilibrium concentration np0 and n is the electrons (minority carriers) lifetime and p is
the excess concentration of holes in the n-type semiconductor with respect to the equilibrium
concentration pn0 and p is the holes (minority carriers) lifetime. n and p are given by Eq.
(4.37a) and Eq. (4.37b), respectively,
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.24
pp0 n n x n (4.37a)
n n0 p p x p (4.37b)
Combining Eq. (4.35a) with Eq. (4.34a) and Eq. (4.36a) results in Eq. (4.38a) that describes
the diffusion of electrons in the p-type semiconductor, while combining Eq. (4.35b) with Eq.
(4.34b) and Eq. (4.36b) results in Eq. (4.38b) that describes the diffusion of holes in the n-type
semiconductor

N
n
p
N G
n
dx
dnx
D
2
2
(4.38a)

P
p
n
PG
p
dx
dpx
D
2
2
(4.38b)
Substituting np(x) from Eq. (4.37a) and pn(x) from Eq. (4.37b) into Eq. (4.38a) and Eq.
(4.38b), respectively, knowing that 2 0
0

d 2n dx p , 2 0
0
d 2 p dx n and in dark GN = GP = 0,
Eqs. (4.38a) and Eq. (4.38b) simplify to
NnD
n
dx
dn

2
2
(4.39a)
PpD
p
dx
dp

2
2
(4.39b)
The electron-concentration profile in the quasi-neutral region of the p-type semiconductor is
given by the general solution to Eq. (4.39a):

NNL

x
B
L
x
n x Aexp exp (4.40a)
where N N n L D (Eq. (3.30a)) is the electron minority-carrier diffusion length. The starting
point of the x axis is defined at the edge of the depletion region in the p-type semiconductor
and denoted as a (see Figure 4.12). The infinite thickness of the p-type semiconductor is
assumed (approximation of the infinite thickness). The constants A and B can be determined
from the boundary conditions:
1. At x 0, n n qV kT pa p a exp 0 ,
2. np is finite at x , therefore A 0.
Using the boundary conditions the solution for the concentration profile of electrons in the ptype
quasi-neutral region is
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.25

N
a
pppL
x
kT
qV
n x n n exp 1 exp 0 0 , (4.41a)
The hole concentration profile in the quasi-neutral region of the n-type semiconductor is given
by the general solution to Eq. (4.39b):

PPL

x
B
L
x
p x A exp exp (4.40b)
where P P p L D (Eq. (3.30b)) is the hole minority-carrier diffusion length. The starting
point of the xaxis ( xx ) is defined at the edge of the depletion region in the n-type
semiconductor and denoted as b (see Figure 4.12). The infinite thickness of the n-type
semiconductor is assumed (approximation of the infinite thickness). The constants Aand B
can be determined from the boundary conditions:
1. At x0, p p qV kT nb n a exp 0 ,
2. pn is finite at x, therefore A0 .
The concentration profile of holes in the quasi-neutral region of the n-type semiconductor is
described by Eq. (4.41b).

P
a
nnn L
x
kT
qV
p x p p exp 1 exp 0 0 (4.41b)
When substituting the corresponding concentration profiles of minority carriers (Eq. (4.41))
into Eq. (4.34) one obtains for the current densities:

N
a
N
Np
N L
x
kT
qV
L
qD n
J x exp 1 exp 0 (4.42a)

P
a
P
Pn
P L
x
kT
qV
L
qD p
J x 0 exp 1 exp (4.42b)
Under assumption that the effect of recombination and thermal generation of carriers in the
depletion region can be neglected, which means that the electron and hole current densities are
essentially constant across the depletion region, one can write for the current densities at the
edges of the depletion region

exp 1 0
0 0 kT
qV
L
qD n
JJa
N
Np
NxNx (4.43a)
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.26

0 exp 1
0 0 kT
qV
L
qD p
JJa
P
Pn
PxPx(4.43b)
The total current density flowing through the p-n junction at the steady state is constant
across the device therefore we can determine the total current density as the sum of the
electron and hole current densities at the edges of the depletion region:

0 0 exp 1
0 0 kT
qV
L
qD p
L
qD n
JVJJa
P
Pn
N
Np
aNxPx(4.44)
Using Eq. (4.2b) and Eq. (4.1b), Eq. (4.44) can be rewritten as


exp 1 0 kT
qV
JVJa
a (4.45)

where J0 is the saturation-current density of the p-n junction which is given by Eq. (4.46)

PD
Pi
NA
Ni
LN
qD n
LN
qD n
J
22
0(4.46)
Eq. (4.45) is known as the Shockley equation that describes the current-voltage behaviour of
an ideal p-n diode. It is a fundamental equation for microelectronics device physics.
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.27
4.4.2 Derivation of J-V characteristic under illumination
When a p-n junction is illuminated the additional electron-hole pairs are generated
through the junction. In case of moderate illumination the concentration of majority carriers
does not change significantly while the concentration of minority carriers (electrons in the ptype
region and holes in the n-type region) will strongly increase. In the following section it is
assumed that the photo-generation rate, G, is uniform throughout the p-n junction (uniform
generation-rate approximation). This assumption reflects a situation when the device is
illuminated with a long-wavelength light which is weakly absorbed by the semiconductor. The
concentration of charge carriers in a p-n junction with uniform photo-generation rate is
schematically presented in Figure 4.13.
Figure 4.13: Concentration profiles of mobile charge carriers in an illuminated p-n junction
with uniform generation rate G (orange line). Concentration profiles of charge carriers under
equilibrium conditions are shown for comparison (black line).
Eqs. (4.38) describe the steady-state situation for minority carriers when the junction is
illuminated. In this case the generation rate is not zero and the equation can be rewritten to
NnND
G
D
n
dx
d n
2
2
(4.47a)
PpPD

G
D
p
dx
d p
2
2
(4.47b)
Under the assumption that N G D and P G D are constant, the general solution to Eq. (4.47)
is
n-type Si p-type Si
np0 = n2
i/NA
pp0 = NA
nn0 = ND
pn0 = n2
i/ND
ln(n)
ln(p)
Position
ba
Gn Gp
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.28

NN
nL
x
D
L
x
n x GC exp exp (4.48a)

PP
pL
x
D
L
x
p x GC exp exp (4.48b)
The constants in the Eqs. (4.48) can be determined from the same boundary conditions as
were used in the analysis of the p-n junction in dark. The particular solution for the
concentration profile of electrons in the quasi-neutral region of the p-type semiconductor and
holes in the quasi-neutral region of the n-type semiconductor is described by Eq. (4.49a) and
Eq. (4.49b), respectively.

N
ppnpn L
x
G
kT
qV
n x n G n exp 1 exp 0 0 (4.49a)

P
nnpnp L
x
G
kT
qV
p x p G p exp 1 exp 0 0 (4.49b)
When substituting the corresponding concentration profiles of minority carriers (Eq. (4.49))
into Eq. (4.34) one obtains for the current densities:

N
N
NN
Np
N L
x
qGL
L
x
kT
qV
L
qD n
J x exp 1 exp exp 0 (4.50a)

P
P
PP
Pn
P L
x
qGL
L
x
kT
qV
L
qD p
J x 0 exp 1 exp exp (4.50b)
In case of ideal p-n junction the effect of recombination in the depletion region was neglected.
However, the contribution of photo-generated charge carriers to the current in the depletion
region has to be taken into account. The contribution of optical generation from the depletion
region to the current density is given by
J q Gdx qGW
W

Nx

0
0 (4.51a)
J q Gdx qGW
W

Px

0
0(4.51b)
The total current density flowing through the p-n junction in the steady state is constant across
the junction therefore we can determine the total current density as the sum of the electron and
hole current densities at the edges of the depletion region (the superposition approximation):
SOLAR CELLS Chapter 4. Solar Cell Operational Principles
4.29
qGL L W
kT
qV
L
qD p
L
qD n
J V J J NP
a
P
Pn
N
Np
aNxPx

0 0 exp 1
0 0 (4.52)

Eq. (4.52) can be rewritten as

ph
a
aJ
kT
qV
J V J

exp 1 0 , (4.53)
where Jph is the photo-current expressed by Eq. 4.28
ph N P J qG L W L
A number of approximations have been made in order to derive the analytical
expressions for the current-voltage characteristics of an ideal p-n junction in dark and under
illumination. The approximations are summarized below:
The depletion-region approximation
The Boltzmann approximation
Low-injection conditions
The superposition principle
Infinite thickness of doped regions
Uniform generation rate
The derived expressions describe the behaviour of an ideal p-n junction and help to
understand the basic processes behind the operation of the p-n junction, but they do not fully
and correctly describe practical p-n junctions. For example, the thickness of a p-n junction is
limited, which means that the recombination at the surface of the doped regions has to be
taken into account. The thinner a p-n junction is, the more important the surface
recombination becomes. The surface recombination modifies the value of the saturationcurrent
density. Further it was assumed that there are no recombination-generation processes
in the depletion region. However, in real p-n junctions, the recombination in the depletion
region represents a substantial loss mechanism. These and other losses in a solar cell are
discussed in Chapter 5.

1|Page
World Focus 1412 CC: Reg No: 2007 / 000484 / 23.
31 Bright Street. Ph: 021 851 7713.
Somerset West. Fax: 086 502 2249.
7130. E-mail: info@solarflex.co.za.
The following is a collection of general information on solar panels and their installations if
you have not worked with any solar panels it will help you to get familiar with what will be
required.
--------------------------------
Acknowledgements:
The following information is mostly from an American Tutorial Website, with some
modifications for
the South African recreational market - more info at:
http://www.freesunpower.com
Please note:
Some information refers to Fahrenheit temperatures and not Celsius, as well as feet and
not
metres.
The following refers to general solar power applications, for the 12v applications inverters
are not a prerequisite.
Inverters are only required when it is necessary to power 220volt appliances.
Standard 4x4 or yachting applications require lower quantities of power, the main criteria
being:
How many watts or amps per hour do I need to get the job done?
Disclaimer:
The following is a guideline only please ask your nearest professional installer or qualified
electrician for specifics when installing Solar Panels, either for recreational or home power
puposes.
1. Components.
The Solar Panel.
Charge Controller.
Inverter.
Batteries.
2. Batteries.
Gel, Flooded or AGM.
3. Wiring Info.
4. Wiring of Batteries.
Parallel.
Series.
Series and Parallel.
5. Charge Controller.
6. Terms and Definitions.
7. Inverters.
8. Nice but not essential.
9. 12, 24, 48 Volt Battery Banks.
2|Page
1. Components.
The first component needed is one or more Solar Panels. They supply the
electricity and charge the batteries.
The 3 Basic types of Solar Panels.
1. 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. Long silicon rods are produced which are cut into slices of .2 to .4
mm thick discs or wafers which are then processed into individual cells that are wired
together in the solar panel.
2. 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.
This is what gives them that striking shattered glass appearance. Like Monocrystalline cells,
they are also then sliced into wafers to produce the individual cells that make up the solar
panel.
3. 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. These
Amorphous solar panels are much cheaper, but their energy efficiency is also much less so
more square footage is required to produce the same amount of power as the
Monocrystalline or Polycrystalline type of solar panel. Amorphous solar panels can even be
made into long sheets of roofing material to cover large areas of a south facing roof surface.
Charge Controller.
A Charge Controller is needed to prevent overcharging of the
batteries. Proper charging will prevent damage and increase the
life and performance of the batteries.
Inverters.
The Power Inverter is the heart of the system. It makes 220
volts AC from the 12 volts DC stored in the batteries. It can
also charge the batteries if connected to a generator or the AC
line.
For 12v applications an inverter is not required.
An inverter should only be required when it is necessary to
convert the 12v input to power a 220v standard application.
3|Page
Batteries.
Last are the storage Batteries. They store the
electrical power in the form of a chemical reaction.
Without storage you would only have power when
the sun is shining or the generator is running.
To summarize, there are four basic components: the Solar Panels, a Charge Controller, a
Power Inverter, and the Storage Batteries. You will of course need the proper wires &
cables to connect everything and a meter to keep an eye on things would be nice.
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2. Batteries info:
Storage Batteries : the fuel tank of your solar power system
Without batteries to store energy you would only have power when the sun was
shining or the generator was running. This tutorial describes the 4 basic types of
batteries & provides some good tips on the care & feeding of your batteries to
maximize their performance and life.
RV or Marine type deep cycle batteries are basically for boats & campers and
are suitable for only very small systems. They can be used but do not really
have the capacity for continuous service with many charge/discharge cycles for
many years. Regular or Car type batteries should not be used at all because
they cannot be discharged very much without internal damage. A very popular
battery for small systems is the Golf Cart battery. They are somewhat more
expensive than deep cycle recreational batteries but are probably the least
expensive choice for a small system on a budget.
Industrial strength : Flooded, Gel, and AGM sealed batteries
The next 3 types are the heavier industrial type batteries. They are all also
considered Deep Cycle and are usually Lead Acid types with much thicker
internal plates that can withstand many deep discharge cycles. These next 3 are
all designed for alternative energy systems.
2) These are Lead acid batteries that have caps to add water. Many
manufacturers make these types for Solar Energy use. Trojan, Surrette, and
Deka are probably the most well known. They are reasonably priced and work
well for many years. All flooded batteries release gas when charged and should
not be used indoors. If installed in an enclosure, a venting system should be
used to vent out the gases which can be explosive.
3) Not to be confused with maintenance free batteries, sealed gel batteries have
no vents and will not release gas during the charging process like flooded
batteries do. Venting is therefore not required and they can be used indoors.
This is a big advantage because it allows the batteries to maintain a more
4|Page
constant temperature and perform better.
4) Absorbed Glass Mat batteries are in my opinion the best available for Solar
Power use. A woven glass mat is used between the plates to hold the
electrolyte. They are leak/spill proof, do not out gas when charging, and have
superior performance. They have all the advantages of the sealed gel types and
are higher quality, maintain voltage better, self discharge slower, and last
longer. The Sun Xtender series by Concorde Battery is an excellent example of
AGM batteries. They are more expensive, but you usually get what you pay for.
You will find this type of battery used in airplanes, hospitals, and remote
telephone/cell tower installations.
Industrial strength : Flooded, Gel, and AGM sealed batteries
As a technician, I used to say that if you are not
comfortable, then neither is your equipment. I was mostly
referring to temperature and humidity. In fact battery
capacity ratings are usually specified at 77 degrees F. As
batteries get colder their voltage drops and performance
suffers. This is one major reason I prefer AGM batteries
because they can be stored indoors where the temperatures
vary less.
Another important thing to consider is how deeply you discharge your batteries.
This is known as the DOD (depth of discharge). In other words, how low you let
the voltage drop before the next charge cycle. Most battery ratings talk about
50% or so, but they will last longer if you keep them as fully charged as
possible. I like the 70% range. Lead acid batteries like to be fully charged. They
will last much longer if you do not discharge them too deeply. This is known as
shallow cycling and greatly extends their life. However, they can withstand
discharges down to 20% or so, but I wouldn't do it too often.
How to determine how charged your batteries are:
Determining the percentage of battery charge from meter readings is discussed
in more detail under Meters and Monitors. A common voltmeter and this voltage
chart will give you a good idea of the SOC (state of charge) of your batteries.
Wiring diagrams for multiple batteries:
Another more advanced tutorial Battery Wiring Diagrams covers the various
configurations for wiring multiple batteries together to obtain increased current
capacity (power) and also different voltage configurations.
Overall, a good economical choice for a small to medium size system would
probably be the Trojan L-16 flooded type batteries. I still recommend AGM if
you can afford the up-front investment. For good quality batteries, you will end
up paying about $115 to $160 for every 100 AmpHours of battery capacity at
12 volts.
5|Page
3. Wiring Info.
Correct wire sizes are essential
To connect the components of a Solar Energy System, you will need to use
correct wire sizes to ensure low loss of energy and to prevent overheating and
possible damage or even fire. Below is a chart showing the required wire size for
wire lengths to connect the solar panels to the Charge Controller. Use these
numbers for a 12 volt system to achieve a 3% or less voltage drop.
The top row represents the Wire gauge size, the left column
the number of amps the solar panels are rated at, and the
grid cells show the distances in feet between the Solar Panels
and the Charge Controller.
For example: If you have 3 solar panels rated at 6 amps each, mounted 30 feet
from the Charge Controller, then you would move down the chart to 18 amps (3
panels * 6 amps), and across to 32.5 (closest to 30), and then up the chart to
#4. You would need at least #4 gauge wire (awg) to move 18 amps 30 feet with
a minimum voltage drop of 3% or less, an acceptable loss. If you can't find the
exact numbers, choose either a larger gauge wire (smaller number) or select a
distance longer than your actual distance.
Wire chart for connecting 12 Volt solar panels to the Charge Controller
This chart shows wire distances for a 3% voltage drop or less. These distances
are calculated for a 12 volt system. Multiply distances by 2 for a 24 volt system.
Multiply distances by 4 for a 48 volt system.
Total Amps = Down Column
Wire Gauge = Top Column across.
Distances in table in feet.
#12 #10 #8 #6 #4 #3 #2 #1 #1/0 #2/0
4
22.7 36.3 57.8 91.6 146 184 232 292 369 465
6
15.2 24.2 38.6 61.1 97.4 122 155 195 246 310
8
11.4 18.2 28.9 45.8 73.1 91.8 116 146 184 233
10
9.1 14.5 23.1 36.7 58.4 73.5 92.8 117 148 186
12
7.6 12.1 19.3 30.6 48.7 61.2 77.3 97.4 123 155
14
6.5 10.4 16.5 26.2 41.7 52.5 66.3 83.5 105 133
16
5.7 9.1 14.5 22.9 36.5 45.9 58.0 73.0 92.0 116
18
5.1 8.1 12.9 20.4 32.5 40.8 51.6 64.9 81.9 103
20
4.6 7.3 11.6 18.3 29.2 36.7 46.4 58.4 73.8 93.1
25
3.6 5.8 9.3 14.7 23.4 29.4 37.1 46.8 59.1 74.5
30
3.1 4.8 7.7 12.2 19.5 24.5 30.9 38.9 49.2 62.1
35
2.6 4.2 6.6 10.5 16.7 20.9 26.5 33.4 42.2 53.2
40
2.3 3.6 5.8 9.2 14.6 18.4 23.2 29.2 36.9 46.5
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Connecting the Charge Controller
After you connect the Solar Panels to the input terminals of the Charge
Controller using the above chart, you can use the same size wire to connect the
Charge Controller output to the batteries since these wires will carry no more
current than the solar panel wires and will probably be located pretty close to
the batteries anyway.
Connecting the Power Inverter
The Power Inverter is next. Both the Power Inverter and the Batteries require
the largest wires in the system. During operation, the AC produced by the
Power Inverter draws considerable amps from the batteries. Not only are very
large wires required, but they should not exceed 6 feet in length to reach the
batteries. These wires are like the large battery cables in cars. Use the largest
size possible. An AC appliance drawing 10 amps (like a microwave or vacuum
cleaner) will require 100 amps at 12 volts DC. Even large cables will get warm.
Don't skimp here.
Connecting the Batteries
The batteries are last. They will also
require very large cables like the large
battery cables in cars. The full current to
the loads and also the full charging
current flow thru the entire battery
bank. Connect all the batteries with large
high quality cables. Check out the
Battery Wiring Diagrams tutorial for
examples of Series and Parallel wiring
techniques that allow the use of battery
voltages of 2, 4, 6, or 12 volts. Our new
Battery Bank Designer tool will show you
how to connect the batteries for these
various voltage systems.
4. Options of Wiring Batteries.
Battery wiring diagrams
The following diagrams illustrate how to get increased current
(more power) by using parallel wiring and how to increase
voltage levels by using series wiring. You can do both using
series and parallel wiring in combinations.
7|Page
Use parallel wiring to increase current (power).
This diagram shows a simple
parallel circuit to increase
current or power. Assume that
we are using 12 volt batteries.
The power of all 3 batteries add
to give us the effect of a
battery 3 times as powerful but
the voltage stays the same at
12 volts. Parallel wiring
increases current but the
voltage does not change. This is
the wiring used when jump
starting a car for example.
Use series wiring to increase voltage
This diagram shows a simple series circuit to increase the
battery voltage level. Assume that we are using really big 4 volt
industrial batteries.
The voltage of all 3 batteries
add to give us the effect of a
battery 3 times the voltage or
in this case a very large 12 volt
battery. In this circuit the
current is the same as the
current in just 1 of the
batteries. But since the 4 volt
industrial batteries are very
large, we have in effect created
a huge 12 volt battery.
Use series & parallel wiring in combination
This diagram shows a combination series and parallel circuit to
increase both the battery current and voltage level at the same
time. Assume this time we are using 12 volt batteries.
The left to right series
connection add the two 12 volt
batteries to make 24 volts.
And, since we did this 3 times
and then connected each group
of 2 (now 24 volts) in parallel
we end up with one very large
24 volt battery. It has twice the
voltage of a single 12 volt
battery and 3 times the current
or power because all 3 groups
are wired in parallel.
The sky's the limit
So, using series wiring, you can build up the voltage to the level
you need and using parallel wiring you can increase the current
or power. For example, you could setup a 24 volt battery bank
by connecting two 12 batteries together in series or create a 48
volt battery bank by connecting four 12 volt batteries in series.
8|Page
Then just repeat this until you get the power you want and put
all those now 24 or 48 volt groups in parallel. Batteries for solar
power systems are available in 2, 4, 6, and 12 volts, so any
combination of voltage and power is possible.
5. Charge Controller.
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 :
1) During the Bulk phase of the charge cycle, the voltage
gradually rises to the Bulk level (usually 14.4 to 14.6
volts) while the batteries draw maximum current. When
Bulk level voltage is reached the absorption stage
begins.
2) During this phase the voltage is maintained at Bulk voltage
level for a specified time (usually an hour) while the current
gradually tapers off as the batteries charge up.
3) After the absorption time passes the voltage is lowered to
float level (usually 13.4 to 13.7 volts) and the batteries draw a
small maintenance current until the next cycle.
The relationship between the current and the voltage during the 3
phases of the charge cycle can be shown visually by the graph below.
9|Page
MPPT Maximum Power Point Tracking
Most multi-stage charge controllers are Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
types. I would recommend using one of at least this design. The newer
Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) controllers are even better.
They match the output of the solar panels to the battery voltage to
insure maximum charge (amps). For example: even though your solar
panel is rated at 100 watts, you won't get the full 100 watts unless the
battery is at optimum voltage. The Power/Watts is always equal to
Volts times Amps or P=E*I (see Ohm's law for more info). With a
regular charge controller, if your batteries are low at say 12.4 volts,
then your 100 watt solar panel rated at 6 amps at 16.5 volts (6 amps
times 16.5 volts = 100 watts) will only charge at 6 amps times 12.4
volts or just 75 watts. You just lost 25% of your capacity! The MPPT
controller compensates for the lower battery voltage by delivering
closer to 8 amps into the 12.4 volt battery maintaining the full power
of the 100 watt solar panel! 100 watts = 12.4 volts times 8 amps =
100 (P=E*I).
The Charge Controller is installed between the Solar Panel array and
the Batteries where it automatically maintains the charge on the
batteries using the 3 stage charge cycle just decribed. The Power
Inverter can also charge the batteries if it is connected to the AC utility
grid or in the case of a stand alone system, your own AC Generator.
6. Terms and definitions.
Voltage : is the electromotive force (pressure) applied to an
electrical circuit measured in volts (E).
Current : is the flow of electrons in an electrical circuit
measured in amperes (I).
Resistance : is the opposition to the flow of electrons in an
10 | P a g e
electrical circuit measured in ohms (R).
Power : is the product of the voltage times the current in an
electrical circuit measured in watts (P).
In its simplest form, Ohm's law states that the current in an
electrical circuit is directly proportional to the applied voltage
and the resistance of the circuit. The 3 most common
mathematical expressions are:
E=I*R
I=E/R
R=E/I
Also, the power can be expressed as P=E*I and with a little
algebra we can combined these expressions and derive P=E /
R
So what does all this mean? Well, for one thing it becomes
clear that an appliance (load) that draws 1 amp (ampere) of
current at 120 volts will draw 10 times as much current at 12
volts (1/10 the voltage) or 10 amps. Since P=E*I then 120
volts times 1 amp = 120 watts. Also, 12 volts times 10 amps =
120 watts. So you can see that the power remains the same.
As the Voltage goes down, the Amperage increases to maintain
the power which will be determined by the 3rd factor,
resistance.
Ok, now let's say you have a nice 1200 watt hairdryer. Well,
that would work out to 10 amps at 120 volts. But, when your
power inverter uses the 12 volts supplied from your batteries,
the amperage goes up to 100 amps to produce the same 1200
watts! (P=E*I). This means that even the very large cables
connecting your batteries to the inverter will get warm. This is
why it becomes impractical or impossible to run say, a 4000
watt electric clothes dryer. Even if you had large enough wires
to handle the required 333 or so amps, your batteries would
not last long.
It is true that the cables will not get as warm if the current can
be reduced by increasing the voltage by using a 24 volt battery
system or even a 48 volt battery system. This still will not
change the amount of power that your batteries must supply.
The 12 basic formulas for Ohm's Law can be expressed
as follows :
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1. Voltage = the
Square Root of
Power *
Resistance
2. Voltage =
Power / Current
3. Voltage =
Current *
Resistance
4. Resistance =
Voltage /
Current
5. Resistance =
Power / Current
squared
6. Resistance =
Voltage
squared /
Power
7. Current =
Voltage /
Resistance
8. Current = the
Square Root of
Power /
Resistance
9. Current =
Power / Voltage
10. Power =
Voltage *
Current
11. Power = the
Current
squared *
Resistance
12. Power = the
Voltage
squared /
Resistance
You will primarily be interested in just formula number 10 :
P=E*I (watts = volts * amps). With this single formula, you
can determine the wattage a device uses by multiplying the
Voltage in Volts times the Current in Amps.
The upshot of all this is twofold:
1) You will need to replace electric appliances that need large
amounts of power with gas (natural or LP) or other alternatives.
This would usually be anything that uses 1500 watts or more.
All appliances that are UL rated will have their power
consumption in watts listed on a placard or label near the AC
cord.
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2) When you find the wattage listing you can divide by 120 to
get the number of amps the appliance will require. Multiply this
number by 10 for a 12 volt system to determine the number of
amps that will be drawn from the batteries. For a 24 volt
system, multiply by 5. For a 48 volt system multiply by 2.5.
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7. Inverters.
The Power Inverter
Unless you plan on using battery
power for everything, you will
need a Power Inverter. Since the
majority of modern conveniences
all run on 120 volts AC, the Power
Inverter will be the heart of your
Solar Energy System. It not only
converts the low voltage DC to the
120 volts AC that runs most
appliances, but also can charge
the batteries if connected to the
utility grid or a AC Generator as in
the case of a totally independent
stand-alone solar power system.
Square Wave power inverters :
This is the least expensive and least desirable type. The square
wave it produces is inefficient and is hard on many types of
equipment. These inverters are usually fairly inexpensive, 500
watts or less, and use an automotive cigarette lighter plug-in.
Don't even consider one of these types of power inverters for a
home system.
Modified Sine Wave power inverters :
This is probably the most popular and economical type of power
inverter. It produces an AC waveform somewhere between a
square wave and a pure sine wave. Modified Sine Wave
inverters, sometimes called Quasi-Sine Wave inverters are not
real expensive and work well in all but the most demanding
applications and even most computers work well with a Modified
Sine Wave inverter. However, there are exceptions. Some
appliances that use motor speed controls or that use timers
may not work quite right with a Modified Sine Wave inverter.
And since more and more consumer products are using speed
controls & timers, I would only recommend this type of inverter
for smaller installations such as a camping cabin.
True Sine Wave power inverters :
A True Sine Wave power inverter produces the closest to a pure
sine wave of all power inverters and in many cases produces
cleaner power than the utility company itself. It will run
practically any type of AC equipment and is also the most
expensive. Many True Sine Wave power inverters are computer
controlled and will automatically turn on and off as AC loads ask
13 | P a g e
for service. I believe they are well worth the extra cost. I use a
True Sine Wave power inverter myself and find that its
automatic capabilities makes it seem more like Utility Company
power. The Xantrex 2500 watt power inverter I use has a
search feature and checks every couple of seconds for anything
that wants AC, then it powers up automatically. You just flick on
a light switch (or whatever) and it works. When you turn off the
light or the refrigerator kicks off for example, the power
inverter shuts down to save battery power.
While the Modified Sine Wave inverter (sometimes called a
Quasi Sine Wave inverter) is nearly half the price of a True Sine
Wave inverter, I would still recommend using a True Sine Wave
inverter if you want to supply automatic power to a normal
home using a wide variety of electrical devices. Also, most
appliances run more efficiently and use less power with a True
Sine Wave inverter as opposed to a Modified Sine Wave power
inverter.
Input voltages. Should I use a 12, 24, or 48 volt inverter?
The main consideration when deciding on the input voltage
(from your battery bank) of your Inverter is the distance
between your solar panel array and your battery bank. The
higher the voltage, the lower the current and the smaller the
(expensive) cables need to be. Of course, when you decide on a
system voltage, the Solar Panels, Inverter, and Battery Bank all
need to use the same voltage. More detailed information on
voltage & current is explained in the tutorial on Power & Watts.
To help decide on which voltage to use, check out our Wire Size
Calculator which can tell you what size wire is needed to
connect the solar panels to your equipment area. You can try all
3 different voltages to see the change that it can make in wire
size.
Power Inverter considerations
The Power Inverter is connected directly to the batteries and
the main AC breaker panel to supply power from the batteries
to the loads (appliances). Check out Wires & Cables for more
info on the necessary wire size for installing one or use our new
Wire Size Calculator. The Power Inverter converts the low
voltage DC to 120 volts AC. Power Inverters are available for
use on 12, 24, or 48 volt battery bank configurations. Most
Power Inverters can also charge the batteries if connected to
the AC line. Alternatively, the AC line input could be your own
AC Generator in the case of a stand-alone solar power system.
When using a AC Generator to charge the batteries, the Power
Inverter transfers the AC Generator power to the loads via a
relay. This way the AC Generator not only charges the batteries
but also supplies your AC power while it is running. If your
Generator is at least 5000 watts, you can charge your batteries
and have extra AC power at the same time.
What kind of wires or cables will I need to hook all this
stuff together?
The Wires & Cables tutorial covers this question and provides a
handy chart to calculate the required wire sizes based on the
voltage of your system and the distances between components.
14 | P a g e
Also, our new Wire Size Calculator tool will calculate wires sizes
for you.
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8. Nice but not essential.
Monitoring battery voltage and system performance
It is important to know the state of your system.Specifically, you need to keep close watch
on the SOC (state of charge) of your batteries. By not allowing your batteries to discharge
below a certain point you can greatly improve their performance and extend their life.
Monitoring the Voltage and Current readings in your system will tell you how full your
batteries are and
how fast they are charging or
discharging. All this can be
monitored with one or more
meters. I like to have one
meter continously display the
Solar Panels charging current
and a multi-function display
for Voltage, AmpHours, and
other functions.
A short electronics lesson
Voltage : is the equivalent of the water pressure in a water
pipe.
Current : is the equivalent of the rate of water flowing in a
water pipe.
Power : is the amount of water flowing thru the pipe based on
the water pressure AND the rate of flow.
Check out the Watts & Power tutorial for more details on
voltage, current, and power.
How do I interpret all these voltage readings?
So, you can measure your battery Voltage to determine how
charged they are. And you can measure the Current the see the
rate of charge or discharge (how fast the batteries are gaining
or losing power). Use the chart below to interpret your battery
voltage readings.
This chart will allow you to get a pretty good idea of how
charged the batteries are. They must not be charging or
discharging for these voltages to be correct. Also, it should be
at least 1 or 2 hours since they were. A good time to check is
early in the morning before charging starts or any appliances
are turned on. This will tell you the SOC (state of charge) or
simply put, how full they are.
15 | P a g e
Battery Voltage Chart
% of Full Charge Voltage
100 % charged 12.7 volts
90 % charged 12.6 volts
80 % charged 12.5 volts
70 % charged 12.3 volts
60 % charged 12.2 volts
50 % charged 12.1 volts
40 % charged 12.0 volts
30 % charged 11.9 volts
20 % charged 11.8 volts
10 % charged 11.7 volts
completely
discharged
11.6 volts or
less
Remember, this measurement is most accurate after the
batteries have been at rest at least 1 hour, and neither charging
nor discharging.
So how much can I expect to pay for a multi-function
monitor?
Trace (now Xantrex) makes several nice monitors and so do a
number of others. Tri-Metric model 2020 is the one I chose but
they all have similar functions. You can measure battery
voltage, charge/discharge current, percentage of full charge,
days since last full charge and many other useful functions.
Expect to pay $150 to $200 for a good multi-function monitor.
9. 12 volt battery bank.
24 volt battery bank.
16 | P a g e
48 volt battery bank.
Typical d

D. Installation
D.1 Location
The location of the Solar Inverter must be chosen by the following criteria:
Protection from unauthorized handling.
Dry dust free room, no condensation, no rodents.
Never install directly over the battery and never in a cabinet together with
the
batteries.
Keep ventilation holes free. The ventilation of the Solar Inverter is designed
in such
a way that it will work most efficiently when mounted vertically.
In mobile installation it is important to keep vibrations to a minimum.
D.2 Rear Panel
Connections / Front side
A Battery +/- Battery cables.
B SOLAR +/- Connections for Solar modules.
C AUX1 contact Connecting terminal for Auxiliary contact 1.
D AUX2 contact Connecting terminal for Auxiliary contact 2.
E BTS (Battery temp. sensor) Connecting terminal for Temperature sensor.
11
F EXT AC IN Connecting terminal for AC input.
G AC OUT Connecting terminal for AC output.
D.3 Cabling / wiring
When making connections to the Solar Inverter you must ensure that all
connections are carried out in a clean and correct manner and under no
circumstances that a cable is connected to a wrong terminal.
Connecting the Solar Inverter must be carried out in the following order.
D.3.1 Pre-installation settings
Before you start with the wiring of the Solar Inverter you must set the type of
battery. If sealed-gel batteries are used then you must set the parameter P-
04
( Equalization charging ) is Disable .. In case of normal lead-acid batteries,
these
can handle a higher equalizing charge, the P-04 can be set to Enable ,
D.3.2 Connection to battery
Prepare the batteries for connection. Prepare battery cables, if necessary
press
on cable tabs/shoes. Connect the red cable to the Battery positive
fuse/circuit
breaker and the black cable to battery Minus (-) Take care when connecting
the
second cable to the battery, as a spark is produced, this is caused for a short
time
due to high current flowing in the Solar Inverter to charge the capacitors.
This is
another reason to install a battery fuse/circuit breaker. For this reason follow
strictly
the safety measures described in this manual.
DO NOT INSERT THE BATTERY FUSE AT THIS STAGE.
D.3.3 Connection to the AC OUTPUT.
The AC output must be connected to the screw terminal AC OUTPUT. For this,
use a 3-core cable with a conductor cross section of 2,5mm. Connections
are
marked as follows OUT / N=Neutral, GND=Earth, OUT / L=Live or
Active.
Caution: High voltage can be at the AC output, ensure the Solar Inverter is
not connected when making AC connections.
D.3.4 Connection to the AC INPUT
The AC input supply from the electricity grid or from a generator must be
connected
to the screw terminals AC INPUT. For this use a 3-core cable with a conductor
cross section of 2,5mm. Connections are marked as follows IN /
N=Neutral,
GND=Earth, IN / L=Live or Active.
12
D.3.5 Connect the Solar modules: SOLAR IN +/-
Solar modules are connected on these terminals. Under no circumstances
should
any other energy source i.e. wind generator be connected to these terminals.
Depending on the power of the modules, the cable cross section should be
2.5 up
to 6mm. Before connecting it is necessary to check with a Voltmeter that
the
voltage of the Module meets the following values:
Power Master PM 1500SL 12 / PM 3000SL 12 17-25V / 30A
Power Master PM 1500SL 24 / PM 3000SL 24 34-45V / 30A.
D.3.6 Connection to Aux1 & AUX2:
On these three terminals, it is a potential free change-over contact capable
of
switching a maximum current and voltage of 16A/250V ac. The multi-
display
on the front of Solar Inverter can show the status of these contacts.
D.3.7 Connection to Remote control unit ( optional ):
The Remote control unit of Solar Inverter RCC-A is connected in the Remote
control of front panel with a RJ11 / 6 connector. The Remote Control can be
plugged IN at any time. Push in the connector, without forcing it, until you
hear
the click. Now the connector is locked in place. The same applies to the
plug at
the Remote control unit. The length of the cable for the Remote control
should not
exceed 15m, it comes standard with 3m cable.
D.3.8 Connection to Temperature Sensor (Optional):
To connect the battery temperature sensor we recommend using a wing nut
style
battery terminal to allow multiple lugs from the positive pole of the battery.
Use the diagram below as a guide for connecting both the sensor and the
positive
battery lead. Always ensure that the positive cable/lug is underneath the
temperature sensor cable/lug. This will ensure safe operation of both the
inverter
and battery bank.
13

.What is the difference between solar inverter and

regular power inverter?
Abhishek Jain January 21, 2014

Power inverters or home UPS have been in

use in India since quite some time. Thanks to frequent power cuts, home UPS or
power inverterindustry has done well in India. But with increasing interest in solarpower
and solar panels many people are thinking of using Solar Power to charge the batteries
to save electricity drawn from the grid. Having heard of solar inverter, many people
wonder if their existing inverter system is useful or not. In past, we at Bijli Bachao have
got this question many times: what is the difference between solar inverter and regular
inverter? With this article we would try to answer the question.

What is an inverter?
A power inverter or invert is a device that converts Direct Current (or DC) to Alternating
Current (or AC) using transformers, switching and control circuits. And this is the basic
function of any inverter: be it solar or regular inverter. A home UPS or home inverter
take the DC power from the batteries and convert it to AC power used by appliances. A
solar inverter also does the same if it is an Off Grid solar power system. In case of
Grid Connected the DC power is from the solar panels and AC power is given to the
grid. (To know more about Off Grid and Grid Connected solar power system, read
our article: Solar electric, solar thermal, power generation, inverters, grid, off-grid:
clearing the cobweb).

Working of a Home UPS/Inverter

A regular home UPS/inverter system has a system of inverter and batteries that is
connected to the home power connection. When the power is coming from the grid, the
UPS/inverter system charges the batteries using the power coming from the grid. When
the power is off, the inverter takes the DC power from the batteries and converts it into
AC used by appliances. There is an automated switch in the system that senses if the
grid is not supplying power and switches the UPS into battery mode.

Working of a Off Grid Solar Powered system

An off grid solar powered system has an assembly of solar panels, charge controller,
batteries and inverter as shown in the image below. The batteries are charged using
solar panels and the inverter has the same function of converting DC to AC. It can also
have an automated switch to sense if grid is not supplying power that can change the
power source of the connected home from grid to batteries. Depending on the need the
system can be designed to: 1) To completely rely on solar power 2) Charge the batteries
from solar power when sun is available and from the grid when it is not.

An existing home UPS or Inverter system can be converted to be used with an off grid
powered system by just adding a switch which can control the change source: solar or
grid (based on availability).

Having said that, to answer the question posed in the title of this article: there is not
much difference between a solar inverter used in off grid system and a regular inverter.

Working of a Grid Connected Solar Power System

A grid connected solar power system additionally supplies excess electricity to the grid.
People go for this kind of system when they feel that they have enough space to install
solar powered system and they can sell the extra electricity generated back to the
electricity distribution company. The structure of a grid-connected system is shown
below:
The purpose of the inverter in this kind of system is also to convert DC (generated from
Solar Panel) to AC. But it additionally needs a MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking)
feature to be built in it. Because the voltage generated by Solar Panel varies depending
on the temperature and availability of sun (more on this on our article: Solar Glossary
photovoltaic, panels, modules, cells, voltage, watt and current), MPPT enables solar
inverters t draw maximum power from the solar panels. The solar inverter used for grid-
connected solution also includes an anti-islanding functionality to prevent risks to grid in
case there is power failure in the grid.

Conclusion
The basic purpose of any inverter is to convert DC power to AC power be it solar
inverter or regular inverter. Depending on the situation and setup one may need some
additional features, which can be implemented in existing home UPS/inverters through
simple modifications.

Consolidated Home Inspections, Ltd

Source: InterNACHI
Page 1 of 2
Disadvantages of Solar Energy
While the considerable advantages offered by solar energy move some
proponents to ignore the budding technologys comparatively minor
flaws, these imperfections must be acknowledged, lest their
resolutions be stalled. We should take an honest look at the systems

disadvantages and seek to refine solar energy systems into a truly

environmentally friendly alternative. The most significant complaints
with solar energy are:
Solar systems rely on the steady absorption of sunlight --
particularly, subatomic particles called photons -- which can
be easily deterred. The following factors limit the availability of sunlight:
o latitude. Although solar power is an option almost anywhere on the planet in at least
some
capacity, efficacy falls sharply as distance from the equator increases. Residents of
Vancouver,
Canada, and St. Petersburg, Russia, for instance, are at a significant solar disadvantage.
o clouds. Clouds diminish the power of solar panels, especially in habitually foggy or
overcast
regions. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, "[T]he solar resource
during
foggy or low-cloud conditions is approximately 10% of the value under clear-sky conditions."
Solar
arrays in Denver, Colorado, would rarely be obscured by clouds, as that city experiences
only 30 to
40 overcast days per year. Hilo, Hawaii, despite its proximity to the equator, receives rain an
average of 277 days per year, which might make it a poor choice for solar-power generation.
o night. The Earth itself is a rather large obstruction, and it acts nightly to disturb the flow
of
photons to helplessly immobile solar arrays.
size. To power an entire building, a large solar array is required. Its unfortunate that
photovoltaic
technology is still in its infancy but, for now, we must build
large arrays to compensate for the inefficiencies of single
panels. A bulky mechanical orientation system may also be

required to turn the panels as they follow the sun across the
sky. Batteries, too, can take up a fair amount of space.
panel deterioration. Like anything else left out in the sun, solar
panels gradually become damaged by ultraviolet radiation.
Rain, snow, dirt, temperature fluctuations, hail and wind also
pose serious hazards.
cost. The number of solar array panels needed to capture
energy for an entire home typically costs tens of thousands of
dollars, making the electricity they produce cost substantially more than that provided by
conventional
power sources. Solar proponents quickly point out the considerable local and state
government subsidies
and tax credits, which essentially divert the financial burden to taxpayers. Another
consideration is that
the expansive battery banks needed for solar arrays are typically not covered under the
warranty for the
panels themselves. They also dont last nearly as long as the panels, and it may cost $100
or more for each
battery's replacement. Solar panels, however, are getting more affordable and efficient as
the technology
develops, perhaps to the point where un-subsidized solar power will be more affordable than
conventional
coal, gas, nuclear or hydroelectric energy sources.
Consolidated Home Inspections, Ltd
Source: InterNACHI
Page 2 of 2
environmental pollutants. A few of the more notorious substances contained in panels and
associated
equipment include:
o cadmium. When sealed inside solar
panels, cadmium is harmless. If leaked
from the panel, cadmium can inflict
serious environmental damage. Panels
must be disposed of with extreme care
in order to keep this carcinogenic

substance from leeching into soil and

water.
o lead. Batteries, specifically deep-cycle,
lead-acid batteries, are required by
solar arrays to ensure a constant
supply of electricity. They contain lead
and sulfuric acid, which are both highly
toxic, especially to marine creatures.
Lead has been found to cause a
number of impairments in children, including developmental disabilities. However, most of
the
material in dead batteries is recoverable if the batteries are recycled, as long as consumers
make
the effort.
roof considerations. Solar arrays are often installed on building roofs to make use of the
large, empty,
sunny space. As a consequence, repairs to the underlying roof become quite tricky and
often require
disassembly of the solar installation before even routine roof maintenance can be
performed. Its good
practice to perform needed roof work before the initial installation of a solar system to
prevent future
headaches.
appearance. Like it or not, solar arrays speak loudly, and neighbors and passersby will take
notice of the
systems. Many homeowners are understandably reluctant to install a large solar array on an
otherwise
attractive tile roof. This issue is being addressed through the development of photovoltaic
shingles,
windows, and other technologies that blend more seamlessly with existing roof surfaces.
In summary, residential solar power has some aesthetic, economic and technical drawbacks,
but many of them
can be overcome by planning and responsible maintenance.