PHOTOVOLTAIC

(SOLAR) PANEL
 Do you remember?
RWS PVS

Rain < Source > Sunlight

Roof <Collection> PV panel
Valves < Control > C/D Controller
Tank < Storage > Battery
Pipes <Transport> Wire
Appliances < Use > Appliances
(shower) (lamp)
Do you remember?
1. An electrical pressure?
Ans: voltage
2. Measured in ampere-hour or coulombs?
Ans: electrical volume
3. Total actual work that is done
Ans: Energy
4. Ability to do work
Ans: Power
5. Power depends on _____ and _____
Ans: flowrate(current) and pressure( voltage)
Do you remember?
6. If the flow rate doubles and the pressure triples,
what happens to the power?
2 × 3 = 6, The power goes up six times.

Example 1
A pump uses 10 A at 24 V. Its power
requirement in watts is:
10 A × 24 V = 240 W
Example 2
A light uses 1.5 A at 6 V. Its power
requirement is:
1.5 A × 12V = 9W
 What is PV panel?
 In a PV system, the part that
converts sunlight to electricity
is called a photovoltaic panel
(PV panel).
 It is expensive and very difficult
to make, but simple to use.
 All you have to do to make
electricity is to place it in the
sun.
 normally used for power
production in rural areas
 What is PV panel?
The Definition:
A collection of individual silicon cells that generate electricity from
sunlight.

The physics:
The photons (light particles) produce an electrical current as they
strike the surface of the thin silicon wafers.

The bright side:

Generating free power from the sun by converting sunlight to
electricity with –
no moving parts
zero emissions
no maintenance
 What is PV panel?
 Why we use PV panel?
 Ans: light is a renewable energy and it is free.

 What particular area/place that a PV panel is

widely used?
 Ans: remote areas/ island were transmission line
cannot reach.
 Panel Construction
 The cells may be round, square or some other
shape.
 Each cell produces about ½ volt, no matter what
its size.
 The amount of amperes a cell can produce does
depend on its size, with larger cells producing
more amperes.
 As each cell only produces about ½ volt, many
cells have to be connected in series to produce a
high enough voltage to charge a 12 V battery.
Panel Construction
 WHAT AFFECTS ELECTRICITY OUTPUT
Effect of Panel area
 Just as a large roof collects more water than a
small one, the larger the solar panel, the more
electricity is produced.
 If you double the amount of surface covered by
panels, the electricity output is doubled.
 WHAT AFFECTS ELECTRICITY OUTPUT
Effect of sun’s brightness
 The harder it rains, the more
water you obtain from a roof.
PV panels work the same
way with the sun.
 The more sunlight that falls
on the panel, the more
electricity is produced. If
there is shade on a panel,
the electricity output falls
greatly.
 WHAT AFFECTS ELECTRICITY OUTPUT
Effect of panel direction
 If you stand in a rainstorm
with a strong wind
blowing, the side of you
facing the wind gets
much wetter than the side
away from the wind.
 To get the most electricity
from a solar panel, it must
be facing the sun.
 WHAT AFFECTS ELECTRICITY OUTPUT
Effect of heat
 You work better if you are not too hot. Solar
panels also work best when kept cool.
 The hotter the panel, the less power it provides.
 GETTING THE MOST ELECTRICITY
FROM A PANEL

■ Make sure that the brightest sunlight falls on

the panel
 The brightest sun is where there is no shade.
 Solar panels lose most of their electricity output
when even a small part of the panel is in the
shade.
 It is very important that solar panels are placed
where the sun will shine on them from at least
09:00 to 15:00 without any shade at all.
 GETTING THE MOST ELECTRICITY
FROM A PANEL
 Always remember that the sun shifts its position
from north to south over the year as well as from
east to west during the day.
 In the tropics, the sun will be more in the northern
sky for the months around June and more in the
southern sky for the months around December.
 You must pay attention to trees and buildings both
to the north and south of the panel and make sure
they will not cause shade at any time of year.
 GETTING THE MOST ELECTRICITY
FROM A PANEL
Make sure that the panel faces the sun
 The location of the sun at noon depends on the time of
year and how far you are from the equator. The best
mounting for a solar panel is with a tilt towards the
equator equal to the latitude of the location.
 Thus a panel located at a site with a latitude of 12 degrees
north of the equator should be mounted with a tilt of 12
degrees facing towards the south. A panel located at a site
with a latitude of 18 degrees south of the equator would
be best mounted with a tilt of 18 degrees towards the
north.
 GETTING THE MOST ELECTRICITY
FROM A PANEL
Make sure that the panel faces the sun
 A panel mounted on the equator should have a tilt of 5
degrees towards any direction.
 A small tilt of 5 to 10 degrees is always needed to let rain
wash off any dirt from the panel.
 In the tropics when the latitude is less than 15 degrees,
you do not have to be highly accurate in pointing the panel
towards the equator.
 At latitudes higher than 15 degrees, the panel needs to be
carefully pointed towards the equator to get the best
power output.
 GETTING THE MOST ELECTRICITY
FROM A PANEL
Make sure that the panel faces the sun
 ARRAYS OF MORE THAN ONE PANEL
 Most people want more power than a single
solar PV panel can provide.
 To increase the power available, panels may be
joined together. Panels can be connected in two
ways:
series connections
parallel connections
series-parallel connection
Series-connected Panels ARRAYS OF MORE
THAN ONE PANEL
 When more voltage is
needed than a single panel
can provide, additional
panels are connected in
series.
 If one panel provides 12 V,
two in series will provide 12
+ 12 or 24 V.
 Three in series will provide
12 + 12 + 12 or 36 V. For
every 12 V panel connected
in series to other 12 V
panels, the voltage will
increase by another 12 V.
 ARRAYS OF MORE THAN ONE PANEL
Series-connected Panels
 The amount of amperes provided by panels in
series is the same as that provided by one panel
because the same electricity flows through all the
panels, as they are connected in one long line.
 Each panel increases the electrical pressure but
the flow stays the same as with one panel.
 As power in watts equals volts times amperes,
the power increases as panels are added.
Parallel-connected Panel ARRAYS OF MORE
THAN ONE PANEL
 When the voltage from a
single panel is the amount
needed but there is not
enough current, panels can
be connected in parallel.
 If one panel provides 2 A in
bright sunlight, two in parallel
will provide 2 + 2 or 4 A.
 For each of these 2 A panels
connected in parallel, an
extra 2 A will be produced in
bright sunlight.
 ARRAYS OF MORE
Parallel-connected Panel THAN ONE PANEL

 With parallel-connected panels, the voltage remains

the same as with one panel but the amperage
increases with each additional panel.
 As power in watts equals volts times amperes, the
power increases as panels are added.
 Note that for both series- and parallel-connected
panels, the power increases as the number of
panels is increased. Two panels in parallel produce
the same power as two panels in series, but the
voltage and amperage are different.
 ARRAYS OF MORE
Series-Parallel Panel
THAN ONE PANEL
 Solar PV systems to power refrigerators and other large
appliances often use a 24 V battery instead of a 12 V
battery. Some even use 48 V batteries. As solar panels are
almost always designed to charge 12 V batteries, two panels
have to be connected in series to charge a 24 V battery and
four panels have to be connected in series to charge a 48 V
battery.
 Often more amperes are needed than one panel can
provide, so panels have to be connected in parallel as well.
This combination of series and parallel connections can be
extended to as high a voltage as needed by adding more
panels in series and as high an amperage as needed by
adding more panels in parallel.
 CONNECTING PANELS WITH DIFFERENT
CHARACTERISTICS
Series connections
 If PV panels with different voltage and current
(amperage) characteristics are connected in series,
their voltages should be totaled just as when
identical panels are connected in series.
 So if one panel that produces 16 V and another that
produces 17 V under the same conditions are
connected in series, the resulting voltage is 16 + 17
= 33 V.
 CONNECTING PANELS WITH DIFFERENT
CHARACTERISTICS
Series connections
 However, the current available at maximum power will be
limited by the panel with the lowest ampere capacity.
 Series-connecting a panel that by itself can produce 2 A
with another that by itself can produce 3 A under the same
conditions will result in a current of just over 2 A from the
two panels. This means that to get the most out of series-
connected panels that are not the same, the closer their
ampere ratings match, the better the performance of the
pair will be.
 As amperes are determined by the size of the cells,
panels connected in series work best if the cells on both
panels are the same size.
 CONNECTING PANELS WITH DIFFERENT
CHARACTERISTICS
Parallel connections
 If PV panels with different voltage and current
characteristics are connected in parallel, their
currents should be totaled just as when identical
panels are connected in parallel.
 So if one panel produces 3 A and the other
produces 2 A, the two in parallel will produce 5 A.
 However, the voltage available at maximum power
from the parallel-connected panels will be limited by
the smaller of the two panel voltages
 CONNECTING PANELS WITH DIFFERENT
CHARACTERISTICS
Parallel connections
 Parallel-connecting a panel that produces 16 V with
one that produces 17 V under the same conditions
results in a voltage a little greater than that of the
16 V panel.
 Thus, to get the most out of parallel-connected
panels, they should have the same number of cells
and produce about the same voltage.
 MOUNTING PANELS
 Because solar panels are constantly exposed to wind
and weather, it is important that their mounting is
secure and resistant to corrosion or loosening.
 Mounting panels on a roof is usually cheaper than
mounting them on a pole.
 But if the roof is shaded or facing the wrong way, a
pole must be used.
 Pole mounting provides better cooling for the panels
than roof mounting. Pole-mounted panels usually
have to be placed further from the battery than panels
mounted on the roof, so will need larger wires to stop
too much power loss through the wiring.
 MOUNTING PANELS
 The poles should be tall enough to prevent people
from touching the bottom of the panels.
 Burying the wires is usually better than stringing
them overhead, but make sure they are designed
for underground use.
 The panels should be attached with stainless-steel
bolts or screws, not nails, which can loosen over
time. If the panels are mounted on a pole, it should
be set securely in the ground and anchored to a
building if possible.
Reference

 Wade, Herbert A.,Solar Photovoltaic Systems,Technical

Training Manual