‫ٱلر ۡح َم ٰـ ِن َّ‬

‫ٱلر ِح ِيم‬ ‫ِب ۡس ِم ٱ ِ‬

‫هلل َّ‬

‫ّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ْ‬

‫َو َجعَلنا ِس َرا ًجا وها ًجا‬

‫‪And We made Sun the source of‬‬

‫‪light & heat‬‬
photovoltaic system
 pv system
solar photovoltaic
 converts solar radiation directly into electricity
 pv system
photovoltaic system
solar
modules

electric charge
appliances controller

inventor

storage bank
batteries

video-1
 pv system
what is solar pv?
 photovoltaic (pv):
photo = light, voltaic = electricity
 photovoltaic effect is the conversion of
light into electricity
 solid-state: no moving parts!
 a single 1 cm2 cell produces about 1 Watt
at 0.5 V
 number of cells are wired together to
form a solar panel or 'module' that can
generates more Watts

solar cells produce DC current

 pv system
what is solar pv?
 pv cells are made of special materials called semiconductors
such as Silicon which is currently used most commonly
 when light strikes the cell, a certain portion of it is
absorbed within the semiconductor material
 this means that the energy of the absorbed light is
transferred to the semiconductor
 the energy knocks the loose electrons, allowing them to flow
freely and
 the flow of electrons is electric current
 pv system
what is solar pv?
 pv system
cells, modules & arrays
 the basic pv or solar cell produces only a small amount of
power
 to produce more power, cells can be interconnected to form
modules, which can in turn be connected into arrays to
produce yet more power
 because of this modularity, pv systems can be designed to
meet any electrical requirement, no matter how small or how
large
 pv system
current-voltage (I-V) curve
 voltage
 depends on pv material’s band gap (0.5 ev for silicon)
 decreases as temperature increases
 operating voltage determined by system voltage (battery)
 current
 depends on surface area and intensity of incident light

optimal voltage changes with sunlight and temperature

 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)
 Silicon (Si) are made up of individual atoms bonded together
in regular, periodic structure to form an arrangement
whereby each atom is surrounded by 8 atoms
 the number of electrons and protons is equal such that the
atom is overall electrically neutral

• each line connecting the

atoms represents an electron
being shared between the two
• two electrons being shared
are what form the covalent
bond
 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)
 semiconductors act as insulators at low temperatures & conductors
at higher temperatures
 conduction occurs at higher temperature because the electrons
surrounding the semiconductor atoms can break away from their
covalent bond and move freely about the lattice
 the conductive property of semiconductors forms the basis for
understanding how we can use these materials in electrical devices
 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)
 the band gap is the minimum amount of energy required for an
electron to break free of its bound state
 when the band gap energy is met, the electron is excited
into a free state and can therefore participate in
conduction
 the band gap determines how much energy is needed from the
sun for conduction as well as how much energy is generated
 a hole is created where the electron was formerly bound.
this hole also participates in conduction
 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)

band gap among insulators, semiconductors & conductors

 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)
 the term band gap refers to the energy difference between
the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band
 in the valence band electrons are tightly held in their
orbits by the nuclear forces of a single atom
 in the conduction band
electrons have enough
energy to move around
freely and are not tied to
any one atom
 in metal conductors, the
valence and conduction
bands overlap, so they do
not have a band gap
 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)
 a band gap between 1 to 1.7 ev makes an effective solar
semiconductor. in this range, electrons can be freed without
creating too much heat
 the entire spectrum of sunlight from infrared to ultraviolet
covers a range of about 0.5 ev to about 2.9 ev
 primary reason why solar cells are not 100% efficient is
because the semiconductors do not respond to the entire
spectrum of sunlight
 photons with energy less than silicon's band gap pass through
the cell and are not absorbed, which wastes about 18% of
incoming energy
 the energy content of photons above the band gap will be wasted
surplus re-emitted as heat or light. this accounts for an
additional loss of about 49%
 thus about 67% of the energy from the original sunlight is lost
or only 33% is usable for electricity in an ideal solar cell
 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)
 band gap animation;

http://pveducation.org/pvcdrom/pn-junction/band-gap

 effect of photon energy on emission of electrons;

http://pveducation.org/pvcdrom/pn-junction/absorption-of-light
 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)
 doping:
 an atom of Silicon has 14 electrons arranged in three
general electron shells. the first two shells closest to the
nucleus are full. the outer shell has four electrons and is
only half-full
 so, Silicon will and can share electrons with its neighbors
 pure crystalline Silicon is a poor
conductor as there are no extra
electrons free to move about
 because of this a solar cell is
constructed with Silicon mixed with
impurities; this is called doping the
silicon
 for example, Phosphorus atoms could be
mixed with the Silicon
 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)
 doping;
 Phosphorus has five electrons in its outer shell. it still
bonds with the Silicon atoms but now there is an extra
electron
 when Silicon is doped with Phosphorus, it is called an N-
type crystal as it has extra electrons (N for negative)
 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)
 doping;

 however, it is also possible to make P-type (positive) Silicon

but doping it with a substance having three electrons instead
of five. instead of using Phosphorus Born is used. Boron has
three electrons
 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)
 doping;
 pv system
solar cell material (semiconductor)
 P-N junction acts as a diode permitting electric current to
flow in one direction only
 at P-N junction, there are virtually no mobile charge carriers.
however, the electric field pulls electrons and holes in
opposing directions
 electrons are forced to flow from P-type silicon to N-type
 pv system
effect of temperature on solar cell
 solar cells are sensitive to temperature
 increase in temperature reduce the band gap of a
semiconductor, thereby effecting most of the semiconductor
material parameters
 the decrease in the band gap of a semiconductor with
increasing temperature can be viewed as increasing the
energy of the electrons in the material
 therefore increasing the temperature reduces the band gap
 pv system
effect of temperature on solar cell
 pv system
charge controller
 basic postulates:
 charge controller limits the rate at which electric
current is added to or drawn from electric batteries
 it prevents overcharging, which can reduce battery
performance or lifespan and may pose a safety risk
 it may prevent completely draining ("deep discharging") a
battery
 it restrict the flow of current in both directions and act
as diode
 pv system
storage bank
 battery:
 electricity storage device
 for solar pv applications deep cycle maintenance free
batteries are recommended
 deep-cycle battery is designed to be regularly deeply
discharged using most of its capacity
 a battery's capacity is the amount of electric charge it
can store
 pv system
power invertor
 basic postulates:
 power inverter or inverter is an electrical power
converter that changes direct current (DC) to alternating
current (AC)
 inverters are commonly used to supply AC power from DC
sources such as solar panels or batteries
 pv system
hybrid system
 pv system
operating and maintaining pv systems
 periodically module cleaning and inspection
 routine inspection and maintenance
 clean collector surfaces
 support structures
 inspection for loose wiring connections and corrosion
 as with any mechanical or electrical appliance, solar energy
systems require routine, periodic maintenance and from time
to time, components may need repair or replacement
 an efficient and long lasting system will depend on a
periodic check of system components and carrying out any
preventive maintenance as necessary
 in the event of a system malfunction, effective trouble
shooting and repair is necessary