PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS

EFFICIENCY

INVESTIGATION BACKGROUND

Juan José Portillo Villacorta

juanjosepv@outlook.com
7TH GRADE
ESCUELA CRISTIANA OASIS
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PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL EFFICIENCY

OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
I. SOLAR ENERGY
II. PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR POWER
III. PHOTOVOLTAICS CELLS
IV. EFFICIENCY OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL
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In 90 minutes, enough sunlight strikes the earth to provide

the energy for one year to the entire planet. Solar Energy is
abundant and this document is about how we can take advantage
of photovoltaic solar energy to produce energy.

Solar power is energy from the sun; this energy can be

captured and converted into electrical energy.

Humanity has used solar energy for different purposes. At the

beginning of the 20th century, scientists began researching
ways to use solar energy as the solar water heater that was
used before World War II. With the energy crisis of the 70's,
efforts were made in the United States and the world to
improve solar technology to generate electricity and heating
water and buildings.

The Phovoltaic Solar Power is the energy created by

converting light energy of the sun to produce Electricity
through semiconductor plates. These systems are called
Photovoltaic Solar Panels.

The photovoltaic (PV) effect is the physical phenomenon

responsible to convert light to electricity.

The first person to discover this effect in 1839 was French

scientist Edmond Becquerel.

The history of photovoltaics solar power is much more recent,

and since the XIX century, humans have only known about the
principle of photovoltaics.

The first silicon solar cell was created at Bell Telephone

Laboratories in 1954. In the 1960’s many Japanese companies
started producing cheaper, higher efficiency cells, and many
of these companies are still leaders in the market today.
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The Photovoltaic Solar energy has many uses as solar

electricity, photovoltaic cooling, photovoltaic solar
lighting, water pumping, etc. It is also use in calculators,
watches, flashlights.
Take look at the many different pros and cons of solar energy
Advantages of PV Energy
• Reliability: In difficult conditions the system has been
shown to work
• Durability: Most modules are guaranteed for 25 years
• Low maintenance cost
• No fuel cost
• Reduced sound pollution

Disadvantages of PV Energy
• Initial Cost: The cost of a solar power system generally
has to be an investment that will be paid in time
• Change of nature in solar radiation
 Large surface are required
 Only day time functionality

Photovoltaic Cell or solar cell is a device that converts

solar light into electricity using the photovoltaic effect.
The process of making electricity begins when the silicon
atoms absorbing some light. The light’s energy knocks some
electrons out of the atoms. The electrons flow between the
two layers. The flow makes an electric current. The current
can leave the cell through the metal contacts and be used.
When light hits a solar cell, much of its energy is wasted.
Some light bounces off or passes through the cell. Some is
turned into heat. Only light with the right colors, is
absorbed and then turned into electricity.
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The Photovoltaic cells are made of a type of material known

as a semiconductor.

Photovoltaic Array or Solar Panels

The maximum useful voltage generated by a solar cell is 0.5
vol. This is not very high potential, and not many devices
can operate on such small voltage.
Solar Cells can be connected in series, which is called Solar
Array or Solar Panel. The more cells you link together, the
more electricity you make.
Solar panel arrays can be made by connecting a set of panels
in series and/or parallel in order to provide the necessary
energy. The electrical current supplied by a solar panel
varies proportionally to the solar radiation. This will vary
according to climatological conditions, the hour of the day,
and the time of the year.
Solar cell is measured in terms of its efficiency at turning
sunlight into electricity. Much of the light energy is
reflected or absorbed by the material that makes up the cell.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Cédric Philibert
Solar Energy Perspectives,
OECD/IEA, 2011
IEA Publications, 9, rue de la Fédération, 75739 Paris Cedex
15
Printed in Luxembourg by Imprimerie Centrale, November 2011

Richard J. Komp, PhD

Practical Photovoltaics, Electricity from Solar Cells,
AATEC PUBLICATIONS, 1982

Aden B. Meinel y Margorie P. Meinel

Applied Solar Energy an Introduction,
Addison-Wesley Publiser (Sd) (1982

Department of Energy, US Government,

Basic Photovoltaics Principles and Methods,
Printed by Superintendent of Documents
U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, DC 20402
1982

Web Pages
SITIOSOLAR,S.L. “La historia de la energía solar
fotovoltaica” 2013
http://www.sitiosolar.com/la-historia-de-la-energia-solar-
fotovoltaica/
(Accessed, March 17, 2017)

Christiana Honsberg and Stuart Bowden

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“Solar Energy”
http://pveducation.org/pvcdrom/introduction/solar-energy
(Accessed, March 16, 2017)

Gil Knier
“How do Photovoltaics Work?”
https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-
nasa/2002/solarcells/
(Accessed, March 10, 2017)

Karl W. Böer
“Solar Cells”
http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Ru-Sp/Solar-Cells.html