Module 3: The Solar resource

The sun radiates energy uniformly in all directions in the form of electromagnetic waves.

Behaviour: When absorbed by a body, it increases its temperature. It provides the energy needed to sustain life
in our solar system. It is a clean, inexhaustible, abundantly and universally available renewable energy source.
Major drawbacks of solar energy are: it is available intermittently, uncertainly and not steadily and
continuously. However, it is more predictable than wind energy.

Solar energy can be utilized directly in two ways:

(i) by collecting the radiant heat and using it in a thermal system or
(ii) by collecting and converting it directly to electrical energy using Photovoltaic system.

The former is referred to as ‘Solar Thermal’ and the later as ‘Solar Photovoltaic’ (SPV) system.
Wind energy, Biomass energy, Tidal energy, Ocean wave energy etc are indirect forms of solar energy.
Use of solar energy using ancient time:
1. Warming the body during winters
2. drying of clothes, timber, food process
3. Production of salt.
4. agriculture process

 About Sun

1. largest member of the solar system

2. sphere of intensely hot gaseous matter with a diameter of 1.39 × 109 m
3. Average distance of 1.495 × 1011 m from the earth.
4. Temperature of sun core is estimated between 8 × 106 to 40 × 106 K.
5. The sun is a big natural fusion reactor. ( contain Helium and Hydrogen)

6. Lights with different wave length (in nanometre).

 About Earth

1. The earth may be considered as a sphere with a diameter of about 1.275 × 107 m.
2. The earth makes one rotation about its axis every 24 hours and completes a revolution about the sun in
a period of approximately 365.25 days.
3. Its axis is inclined at an angle of 23.5°.

As a result the length of days and nights keep changing.

4. The earth reflects about 30 per cent of the sunlight that fall on it. This is known as earth’s albedo.
The geometry of earth–sun relationship is shown in Fig.

 Solar radiation:

While passing through the atmosphere it is subjected to mechanisms of atmospheric absorption and scattering
depending on atmospheric conditions.

A fraction of scattered radiation is reflected back to space while remaining is directed downwards. Solar
radiation that reaches earth surface after passing through the earth’s atmosphere is known as Terrestrial
Radiation.
Types of solar radiation:

This is known as Solar Irradiation expressed as energy per unit time per unit area (i.e. W/m2). Energy received
on a given surface area in a given time is expressed in J/m2 or kWh/m2

Figure: Propagation of solar radiation through atmosphere

Why sky colour is blue??

 Solar Radiation Spectrum
 Energy available from radiation

Interview question- which light is responsible for working of solar cell ?

Solar Calculator (sac.gov.in)

Longitude /Latitude: Location :
72.54116 / 23.0343531959 Shri Panna Lala Patel Marg, Gujarat University, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Pin-380009 (India)

Do analysis for solar energy available and estimation for Rajasthan, Jammu, Gujarat(Kutch), Kolkata, Tamil
nadu. And your home.

Important terminology:
Photo voltaic effect: The photovoltaic effect is a process that generates voltage or electric current in
a photovoltaic cell when it is exposed to sunlight.

Solar cell: A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into
electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect.
Solar Panel: A solar panel is actually a collection of solar (or photovoltaic) cells, which can be used to
generate electricity through photovoltaic effect.

Solar irradiance: The solar radiation received from the sun per unit area on earth in a given time is called solar
irradiance.
Maximum power point: The maximum power point (MPP) is the point on the current-voltage (I-V) curve of a
solar module under illumination, where the product of current and voltage is maximum (Pmax, measured in
watts)

Open circuit voltage: Open-circuit voltage (VOC) is the maximum voltage a solar cell can provide to an
external circuit.
Short circuit current: The short-circuit current is the maximum current through the solar cell when the voltage
across the solar cell is zero (i.e., when the solar cell is short circuited). ( see above figure)
Fill factor: The Fill Factor (FF) is essentially a measure of quality of the solar cell. It is calculated by
comparing the maximum power to the theoretical power that would be output at both the open circuit voltage
and short circuit current together.

Efficiency: Cell efficiency refers to the portion of energy in the form of sunlight that can be converted via
photovoltaic into electricity. Efficiency is the ratio of the electrical power output P(out,) compared to the solar
power input, P(in), into the PV cell.
n(efficiency) = p(max)/p(input) also
n(efficiency) = p(max)/L*A , where L is the insolation of the cell in kw/m^2 (energy absorbed by cell for unit
area) and A is the area of the cell.
Solar constant: The total radiation energy received from the Sun per unit of time per unit of area on
a theoretical surface (considering atmospheric layer of earth) perpendicular to the Sun’s rays and
at Earth’s mean distance from the Sun.

Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI): DNI is the amount of solar radiation received per unit area by a surface that
is always held perpendicular (or normal) to the rays that come in a straight line from the direction of the sun at
its current position in the sky.

Diffuse Horizontal Irradiation (DHI): Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (DHI) is the amount of radiation received
per unit area by a surface that does not arrive on a direct path from the sun, but has been scattered by
molecules and particles in the atmosphere and comes equally from all directions.

Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI): GHI is acronym for Global Horizontal Irradiance which represents
the total amount of shortwave radiation received from above by a surface which is horizontal (parallel) to the
ground. GHI is the most important parameter for calculation of PV electricity . Both DHI & DNI are actually
components of GHI and mathematically,
Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) = Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI)* cos(solar zenith angle) + Diffused
Horizontal Irradiance (DHI)

Solar zenith angle : The angle between the sun's rays and the vertical direction of surface.
Factor affecting global irradiation:
1. Height of the sun in sky
2. Time of the day
3. Season of the year
4. Environment factor like clouds, dust, fog etc..

2. 34.2268° N(latitude), 77.5619° E(longitude)- self assessment

9.655 78.425
3. Latitude Longitude

24.756 93.944
4. Latitude Longitude
  Earth Sun angles : The sun angle is defined as the angle at which the sun strikes the Earth. It is
fairly straightforward definition, but it’s actually a complex phenomenon that dictates how much
heat energy the Earth receives at a particular time and place that affects everyone differently.
The reason we have seasons is because of the varying sun angle due to the earth’s 23.5° tilt on its axis.
As the earth rotates and orbits around the sun, different parts of the earth get exposed to different
amounts of sunlight throughout the year.

Elevation Angle: The elevation angle (used interchangeably with altitude angle) is the angular height of the
sun in the sky measured from the horizontal. The elevation is 0° at sunrise and 90° when the sun is directly
overhead. The elevation angle varies throughout the day.

HOW TO MEASURE SOLAR ANGLES | DEFINITIONS (youtube.com)

Tilt angle: slope angle at which solar panels are mounted to face the sun. This is very important angle to be
considered for controller design. Tilt angle of solar panel is to be set equal to latitude of the site in such a way
that solar panel generate maximum energy output throughout the year.

Tilt angle= (summer angle + Winter angle)/2- will give fixed angle (for roof top application)

Practically tilt angle also depend on safety of solar panel against wind pressure. So if in particular location if
wind pressure is high, tilt angle is advisable to keep <15. And some time intentionally kept around 10 for
natural cleaning of solar panel. So in that way different factor should consider for tilt angle selection.

Solar Panel Tilt Angle Calculator - Footprint Hero – give important data for controller design.

PV cell is available in this colour__________.

 Albedo:
How much percentage of incident solar radiation is converted into usable electricity?
It isn’t a great number; the most efficient solar panel converts around 23% of solar radiation into usable
electricity. This is the ideal value with assumption that panel is new; environment is in support like no cloud,
no dust, no water particles. But the average efficiency of a solar panel is around 15-18%.
Why efficiency is too low? In wind energy we get 40 to 50 % efficiency.
How can we increase the panel efficiency?
Albedo can help

Photovoltaic cells are used in solar panels to absorb the incident solar radiation. The solar panels not only
absorb the incident radiation, but they also reflect a significant percentage. The Albedo value denotes the ratio
between the reflected and incident radiation on a solar panel.
Albedo = Er/Eg,
Where , Er is reflected radiation and Eg is global horizontal irradiation (GHI)
The Albedo value is dependent on the characteristics of the material. Light-coloured materials such as silver
foil and white pebbles have a higher albedo that is high reflective capacity compared to others like grass or
dark body.
Value of Albedo:
An Albedo in PV cell with a 0 albedo signifies that its surface is entirely black and the body absorbs radiation
to its maximum capacity, On the other side the value of one means its highly reflective.

Factors Affecting Albedo in a PV cell

1. Solar elevation
2. Ageing:
The efficiency of Albedo in a PV cell decreases due to dust, dirt, and the effect of shading of the
panel. They affect the reflection and absorption capabilities of photovoltaic cells.
3. Rain:
The Albedo of solar panels increases during the summer season and decreases during Rainy season.
4. Cloud cover:
The effectiveness of Albedo is high when the sky is clear and sunny.

How to reduce Albedo effect:

1. If you make use of Albedo in a productive manner

2. Select proper material and colour
3. Use anti reflection coating.
 Solar radiation _India’s city

Charanka - Gujarat Solar Park #solarenergy #renewableenergy (youtube.com)

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