Solar Panel Area Research Articles

Design and performance simulation of a distributed aerobic composting system assisted by solar PV/T heat pump

In this study, a distributed aerobic composting system was proposed and simulated assisted by a solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) heat pump. The PV/T heat pump was adopted to provide the electrical energy and heat energy required by the aerobic composting system. In addition, the area of solar photovoltaic panels required for compost fermenter at different volumes was calculated, and the effects of ambient temperatures, wind speeds and solar radiation intensities on the performance exhibited by the hybrid system were investigated. As indicated from the result, when the temperature of the composting tank was maintained at 60 °C, the C/N ratio can be reduced to 11.5:1 and the GI can reach 101.7%, satisfied the compost maturity standard. Moreover, as the ambient temperature decreased, the heat loss of the composting system and the energy consumption of the hybrid system increased. The wind speed did not significantly impact the comprehensive performance exhibited by the system. Under the average solar radiation of 600 W/m2, a maximum of 10 m2 PV/T panels could be installed on the top of a standard container, and a maximum of 6000L of aerobic composting system could be installed within the container. Accordingly, the 6000L composting system coupling with PV/T heat pump could generate 85.64 kWh electricity in one period (10 days) without consuming energy.

Reconfiguration and Analysis of PV Array based on Particle Swarm Optimization of Solar Plant

Abstract The major shortcoming in the extraction of electrical energy occurs due to partial shading over a limited area of vast spread solar panels underpinning reduction of efficiency. A number of panels are interconnected in series and parallel to form a photovoltaic (PV) array for large power plants and a shadow over a single cell deteriorates overall performance. As a consequence, several peaks are added to the P-V curve causing hotspots in PV panels, degradation of the PV system, and collapse of tracking algorithms. In order to minimize such issues in PV panels, an effective optimization technique is developed by reconfiguring the panels which are capable of reaching the full global power point in a PV system under partial shading conditions. The study proposes particle swarm optimization (PSO) using PV characteristics of Quaid-e-Azam Solar Plant (QASP) in Punjab, Pakistan1. In PSO, electrical connections of PV modules are changed keeping their physical locations unaltered aiming to improve the performance of the PV system. After reconfiguration, the algorithm finds the best combination of PV modules by equalizing the row currents followed by the comparison of row current, voltages, and power of panels. The proposed PSO is proved to be an efficient method for reconfiguring PV modules in very less computational time by increasing the output power of shaded modules.

Solar Roof Top System Structure Analysis and Its Cost Optimization

Abstract: Nowadays the demand for clean, renewable energy sources is increasing. The use of renewable energy resource increasing rapidly. The structure plays an important role in stability of an entire solar mounting structure. The solar structure decide the life period of hole solar panel mounting system solar structure has to withstand different types of loading conditions and bear the weight of photo-voltaic panels. In this review paper, there is consideration about design and analysis and cost optimization of solar panel support structure by considering environmental effect like wind load, structural load and height of structure , material selection and also their properties . The analysis can be done by creating model in software and followed by analysis using different software to determine pressure distribution on the solar panel area and structure, then it can break and will be affect the power generation and also affect the life cycle of the hole solar panel mounting system. Keyword:-Solar panel, types of structures, wind load, structural Analysis, Cost Optimization.

Maximization of the output power of low concentrating photovoltaic systems by the application of reflecting mirrors

Solar energy is among the most commonly used sources of renewable energy since sun is available for a significant portion of the year in most parts of the world. Energy from sun can be harnessed through several technologies with continuous progress and development. Concentrated solar power systems apply mirrors or lenses as well as solar tracking systems for the concentration of a large solar radiation area into a tiny PV area. Due to high price of solar panels, several efficiency enhancement methods are being evaluated by researchers throughout the world. In this research, a form of solar technology, i.e. photovoltaic system, was applied to present developed low concentrator photovoltaic system (LCPVS) with cooling. This project aimed to determine how solar panel power output was changed by the application of mirrors to concentrate solar radiation; which they had concentration onto panel for increasing power output from 1 to 4 mirrors with the cooling system. In fact, the aim was to increase the output power by enhancing the amount of solar radiation which reaches the same surface area of solar panel via mirrors. Furthermore, application of mirrors saves PV area which is more economical. Also, the results were compared to a reference solar panel for determining how to increase the power output of a single panel (normal panel receiving solar radiation directly). The results showed that the value of the DC current (A) output of the four mirrors reflecting on the panel is three times greater than that of the reference panel, and the DC power (W) is almost three times greater than the reference panel's power.

Multi-energy-system design and experimental research of natural-energy-driven unmanned surface vehicle

Natural-energy-driven surface vehicle, which is abbreviated to NSV, is a new type of marine vehicle driven by marine natural energy. In this paper, a NSV, which absorbs wave, wind and solar energy as power input, is designed and developed. Firstly, the hull form of NSV is designed. Secondly, the multi-body dynamic model (MBD) of NSV is established. Thirdly, a method which simulates multi-body motion of NSV in ocean waves is raised by combining MBD and CFD, by which the optimum position of hydrofoil is determined and the effect of encounter angle between wave and NSV on thrust of hydrofoil is studied. Then the wind turbine is added to MBD to calculate the power of wind turbine and total resistance of NSV from flat water to the 4th sea state, by which the energy consumption of NSV is calculated and the area of solar panel is determined. It's found that the energy consumption is the largest when NSV sails in flat water compared with other sea states. Finally, NSV prototype is manufactured and ocean experiment is carried out. Through the ocean experiment, it is concluded that NSV's absorption of natural energy supplements its energy consumption.

Investigation of photovoltaic-hydrogen power system for a real house in Turkey: Hydrogen blending to natural gas effects on system design

In the study, the effects of hydrogen mixing studies at the rate of 20% to the natural gas system which is an ongoing study in Turkey, on the photovoltaic system (PV) is investigated using a real house consumption. Providing the annual electrical energy consumption (1936,83 kWh) and 20% of natural gas consumption (62,4 m3) of a real house with hydrogen is included in the study. A PV-hydrogen system is theoretically investigated to provide the energy required for hydrogen production from solar panels. Hydrogen blending effects on PV size, capacity usage, and carbon footprint are analyzed. Thus, the contribution was also made to the “green hydrogen” works and reduction of the carbon footprint of the house. It was found that the required hydrogen for electricity can be provided 52,5 m2 solar panel area and 14,28% increase in this area and installed power can provide an amount of hydrogen that need for 20% hydrogen blending to the natural gas system. The overall system capacity usage decreased when the system is used for 20% hydrogen blending to the natural gas system. The carbon footprint of the house was decreased by 67,5%. If the hydrogen has not been blended with 20% natural gas, this ratio would have been 59,2%.

High altitude long endurance of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ITB solar panel conceptual design

One of the factors for the long endurance of high altitude long endurance (HALE) of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that belong to Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia or called as HALE UAV ITB is the design of battery and solar panel. This paper discusses the method to calculate battery and solar panel requirements for HALE UAV ITB to fly for more than 24 hours at 20.000 feet. Several designs, configuration, and type of solar panels are analysed to fulfil HALE UAV ITB requirements. The variable compared is solar panel area, weight, and types. As a result, the use of Monocrystalline Silicone solar cell was found to be much more efficient than Polycrystalline Silicon, CIGS Thin Film, and Amorphous Silicon Thin Film with power generated per area of 224 Watt/m2 and power per weight of 436 Watt/kg. The minimum area required for a Monocrystalline Silicone type solar cell to generate power is 5.94 m2 with a total cell weight of 5.31 kg.

Performance Enhancement of Solar Photovoltaic Cell

This paper consists analysis on performance enhancement of solar photovoltaic cell by using reflecting and cooling system. The performance of PV (photovoltaic) module is strongly dependent on its surface temperature and solar radiation strikes on PV panel. It is necessary to study possible way for maintaining the appropriate temperature for solar panels and make system that will help to strikes maximum solar radiation on panel. High solar radiation and ambient temperature lead to an elevated photovoltaic cell operating temperature, which affects its lifespan and power output adversely. To enhance the electrical performance of the PV module we make one system which consists of two mirrors as a reflector placing beside solar panel and cooling system consists of pipe placed on upper area of solar panel. At time of sunrise and sunset low solar radiation is fall on solar panel, so reflecting system increase the intensity of solar radiation fall on solar panel. At noon time or afternoon the temperature of solar panel is increases it will decrease the efficiency of solar panel to minimize that cooling system is introduced that controlled the surface temperature.

Intelligence system for monitoring and governing the energy efficiency of solar panels to power LED luminaires

Developed in this work are the principles for creation of a system to control and governing the energy efficiency of solar panels providing power supply for LED luminaires. Realization of these principles allows the most efficient using the electric power generated by solar panels, to save in a real-time scale the data about system functions as well as provide a complex analysis of these data. Optimization of using the electric energy generated by solar panels will enable to determine the maximum possible power in each specific moment and to automatically tune its consumption. The complex data obtained with this system can be further used for not only statistical fixation of the produced and consumed electric energy in fact but also for prediction of the energy amount that will be generated by these solar panels in future. The analysis of results will enable to optimize the area of solar panels and more exactly determine parameters of electronic components both for illumination systems and designing solar photoelectric stations of various purposes.

Numerical Simulation of the Performance of a Solar Assisted Vapour Compression Refrigeration System

Research has established that a considerable part of the electrical energy produced globally is been consumed by refrigerators and air-conditioning systems. In this area of cooling technology, research is therefore being geared towards energy reduction in the cooling devices. In addition to this approach, alternative sources of energy such as renewable energy, like solar is also being explored in this area of refrigeration and cooling technology. Studies have also been conducted generally both experimentally and numerically to simulate the performance of Vapor Compression Refrigeration System (VCRS) under different conditions. However, experimental study is often seems to be expensive and time consuming to carry out due the function of many variables. This study was therefore designed to numerically simulate the performance assessment of a solar assisted VCRS. A numerical model of a solar assisted vapour compression refrigeration system was developed using standard solar energy and thermodynamics relations of the major components of solar assisted refrigerating system such as solar power system, compressor, condenser, evaporator and an expansion valve to determine refrigeration effect, compressor work, and the Coefficient Of Performance (COP). Standard data of R134a refrigerant was utilized in the modelling. The model was then simulated on MATLAB source code with a CoolProp installed packages via python under two different simulation cases. In the first case, the evaporating temperature was varied for all while the condensing temperature was kept constant and a reversed condition was investigated in the second case.The results showed that both the refrigerating effect and the COP of the system increase as the evaporating temperature increased while the compressor work and the panel area decreased. Further, the refrigerating effect and the COP of the system were decreased as the condensing temperature was increased while the compressor work and the panel area remained constant. The coefficient of performance at evaporating temperature of -17.2 shows 2.91 giving a deviation of -5.37% from the literature.The viability of a solar assisted vapour compression refrigeration system was established. The vapour compression refrigeration system compressor powered with solar energy will perform well when the solar panel (PV) area is large.

The effect of tilt angle and orientation of solar surface on solar rooftop miniature system in Bengkulu University

The rooftop solar photovoltaic system is one of the potential methods vastly adopted to harness the abundant solar energy and to overcome land limitation. In our previous study, the rooftop solar energy potential has been investigated with a case study of buildings in the University of Bengkulu using drone technology. The estimation results of the study show that all buildings have the potential to be developed as the installation area of solar panels. Moreover, the optimum solar harvest is affected by the inclination of the rooftop. However, the results obtained were estimated power under ideal conditions. Therefore, in this research, the solar mapping potential results were examined using solar panels and current sensors. In the measurement system, the ability of the system to harvest solar energy was evaluated by placing a solar panel on miniature buildings. The placement of the solar panels was adjusted relative to the inclination and orientation of the building rooftop. This experiment was carried out for 24 h to obtain the optimum value for each tilt of the rooftop and orientation of the solar panel surface. The examination results show that the energy harvesting capacity of each solar panel is strongly influenced by the inclination of the rooftop and the orientation of the solar panel surface towards the sun. Solar panels with a smaller tilt angle are able to produce larger average power. Furthermore, the cloud coverage also affects the performance of solar panels in produce electricity.

The effect of bypass diode installation on partially covered solar panel output power

Shadow or partial shading is a bad phenomenon that affects the performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems in producing energy. Shadows can be caused by moving clouds, building shadows, tree shadows, bird droppings or dust covering the surface of solar panels. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of installing bypass diode on the output power of a partially closed solar panel based on three configurations of the solar module arrangement namely, a configuration without using bypass diode, two solar modules with one bypass diode, and one solar module with one bypass diode. Furthermore, the three configurations were tested with a shadow pattern scenario is 12.5% to 100% of solar panel area using Matlab software. The result shows the I-V and P-V characteristics when experiencing shading 12.5% - 100%. The peak power value or maximum power value of the one solar module configuration with one bypass diode is greater than the two solar module configuration with one bypass diode and the configuration without using a bypass diode. Different from shadow conditions 100% the effect of installing bypass diode on the configuration of two solar modules with one bypass diode and the configuration of one solar module with one bypass diode the resulting power is the same as the configuration without using a bypass diode, which is 179.2 W.

Geometric method for assessing the shadowing of objects in solar power engineering

This paper describes a geometric model for assessing the effective area of solar panels with regard to their shadowing when the object is illuminated by the solar flow from a given direction. Using energy methods, the flow density, the irradiation created by it, and the exposure in radiant or effective units of measurement were determined. Both physical and mathematical formulation of the problem of assessing the energy efficiency of solar panels using the method of geometric modeling are described. To evaluate energy efficiency, a voxel geometric model was selected that discretizes the computational space. A significant difference in the developed voxel geometric model is that it is multivalued, i.e. uses not a 2-digit, but a 4-digit code. Such ambiguity allows the decisive algorithm to quickly “figure out” the origin of the shadow source when calculating the total effective area of solar panels. The described software implementation of the geometric model, graphical shell, and model verification results can be used in the optimization system for designing spacecraft and other solar energy facilities.

Routing in Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks With Dual Alternative Batteries

This article considers an energy-harvesting wireless sensor network (EH-WSN) where nodes have a dual alternative battery system. We aim to design a routing protocol that transmits a given amount of data to a sink using the minimum number of time slots. To this end, we first formulate the routing problem as a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) and model the charging and discharging process at each node. Moreover, we also propose a distributed multiarmed bandit-based routing algorithm (MABRA), where each node learns the best next hop(s) to forward its data based on the battery and data information of its neighbors. We study how the number of nodes that generate data or sources, solar panel area, and path exploration probability impacts the end-to-end delays computed by MILP and MABRA. Numerical results show that the end-to-end delays computed by MILP increase with the number of sources. It, however, decreases if nodes use larger solar panels. Critically, nodes experience end-to-end delays that are 55% lower than the average end-to-end delay of a competing routing algorithm.

Optical and electrical performance investigation of truncated 3X non-imaging low concentrating photovoltaic-thermal systems

Compound Parabolic Concentrators (CPC) have non-uniform distribution of flux when integrated to a Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) module. The non-uniform distribution of flux deteriorates the electrical and thermal performance of the solar panel. To reduce this effect, optimized homogenizers are integrated to CPC of concentration ratio 3X truncated to 2.5X and 2X. The study aims to demonstrate the effect of integration of homogenizer on the electrical performance of the system. Optical simulations carried out for full scale model (1 m × 2 m solar PVT panel area) with homogenizers, referred as Elongated Compound Parabolic Concentrators (ECPC), showed a reduction in the peak local concentration of 55% and 66% for the 2.5X and 2X cases at normal angle of incidence. Optically coupled electrical simulations are carried out, which are further validated using a scaled down prototype tested under solar simulator. The experimental results show peak electrical efficiency of 13.9% (2X) and 13.6% (2.5X) for CPC and 14.1% (2X) and 13.9% (2.5X) for ECPC. Further, benefits of homogenizer are evident near half acceptance angle, when improvement in electrical efficiency by ~23 ± 2% and ~37 ± 2% is observed for ECPC of concentration ratio 2X and 2.5X in comparison to CPCs of similar configuration. In addition, the effect of temperature on electrical performance has also been studied by conducting experiments for actively cooled and uncooled condition. A reduction in 10% electrical efficiency is reported for uncooled condition compared to actively cooled condition.

Uncertainty analysis on direct solar radiation pressure modelling for GPS IIR and Galileo FOC satellites

Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP) is one of the main perturbations that needs to be carefully considered for space missions requiring great precision in satellite’s orbit. The computation of SRP is related to both satellite’s geometry and surface material. SRP model is usually used in the estimation of satellite’s position in space. However, the quality of SRP model is not easy to be assessed in a straightforward way. In this study, we proposed an uncertainty analysis on satellite geometry and surface optical properties using GPS IIR and Galileo FOC spacecraft. We compared the SRP acceleration between simple box-wing and the detailed geometry model under the condition that the optical properties are set exactly the same. It showed that the average difference caused by satellite geometry is around 6.7% and 2% of the total SRP for GPS IIR and Galileo FOC. We also found that the irregular shape of satellites can be a source of the so-called “y-bias” in orbit modelling. In addition, the partial derivatives of SRP acceleration with respect to optical properties for complex satellite geometry are computed using ray tracing. The partials w.r.t optical properties on solar panels are larger than that on satellite bus due to the large area of solar panels. Furthermore, partials w.r.t reflectivity is about 10 times larger than that w.r.t specularity for both solar panels and satellite bus. For GPS IIR (mass 1100 kg) and Galileo FOC (mass 700 kg) satellites, if we require the uncertainty of SRP model be less than 0.1 nm·s-2, the standard deviation of optical properties has to be less than 0.001 on solar panels and 0.01 on satellite bus.

PRELIMINARY THERMAL CONTROL DESIGN ANALYSIS OF LAPAN SAR-MICROSATELLITE DEPLOYABLE SOLAR ARRAY PANEL USING ONE NODAL METHODE

LAPAN SAR-Microsatellite is the first LAPAN micro satellite being developed and planned to carry a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload. Different from optical satellites that have been developed, LAPAN SAR-Microsatellite requires a lot more power. Solar array panels are needed to generate solar radiation into electrical energy which is used by all of subsystem satellite as energy to turn on and turn off all of components. More larger the area of solar array panel, more greater to the energy obtanied. Therefore, the needed of deployable solar array panel is a must caused by the dimension of the main body structur (MBS) are not large enough. Solar cells will experience a decrease in efficiency if they experience excessive heat. If there is a decrease in efficiency in the solar cell, it will have an impact on the decrease in power produced. The purpose of this study is to conduct thermal design on solar panels to maintain temperature according to their working temperature. Calculations are carried out on the temperature of solar array panel with various optical properties in the upper and lower panel that best which will be use using one nodal analysis methode According to the calculation result from all of the designs passive thermal control system on this study show that Design-5 is the best thermal control design which can be used for LAPAN SAR-microsatellite deployable solar array panel which α=0.24 at the top and ε=0.9 at the bottom surface of solar array panel.

Thermodynamic analysis of a hybrid energy system using geothermal and solar energy sources with thermal storage in a residential building

AbstractResidential buildings in Canada require remarkable heating loads in the winter. Many homeowners potentially consider more cost effective and environmentally‐benign solutions, including solar energy systems, in order to replace fossil fuels. However, this might not be efficient because many cities are exposed to minimum solar radiation resulting in large surface area of solar panels. Therefore, a hybrid energy system is designed to combine five photovoltaic thermal solar panels, a 300‐m geothermal loop, and 9463.53‐kg water of phase change material thermal battery storage for a residential building of 325 m2 total floor space in the city of Oshawa, Canada. The building has maximum heating and cooling loads of 13.8 and 8.7 kW, respectively. A thermodynamic analysis is applied to the system in January and the whole year. It was found that the solar panels can supply thermal energy and electrical power of 8 and 50 W, respectively, in January, while the geothermal and thermal storage energy can provide 16.8 and 9 kW over the year, respectively. The hybrid system requires an additional heating load of 1.85 kW from the furnace. The overall energetic and exergetic coefficient of performance of the system are estimated to be 54.58% and 3.34% in the winter and 42.6% and 4.47% in the summer, respectively.

How to disguise evolutionary traps created by solar panels

Photovoltaic panels are the most rapidly growing source of sustainable energy, but are also sources of polarized light pollution that can mislead aquatic insects into thinking they represent natural waterbodies. Aquatic insects are commonly attracted away from natural water bodies to lay their eggs upon solar panels where they fail to hatch, a phenomenon called an evolutionary trap. Previous work demonstrates that the addition of white, non-polarizing gridding with 2–20 mm line width to solar panels can effectively ‘disarm’ this type of evolutionary trap, rendering it less attractive to three families of aquatic insects. However, the geographic and taxonomic breadth of the efficacy may be limited, and the economic cost associated with reducing the black solar-active area of solar panels has not yet been quantified. We designed a field experiment to test whether line width or density is more important in reducing the maladaptive attraction of aquatic insects to simulated solar panels, and expanded the geographic and taxonomic breadth of testing this approach to disarming evolutionary traps. We found that line width could be manipulated to strongly reduce attraction by all taxa. The effective line width was between 1 and 5 mm, indicating that solar panel-induced evolutionary traps can be disarmed with a more modest reduction in solar-active area than was previously assumed. Interruption of attraction through the addition of non-polarizing surface patterns appears to be a fundamental aspect of aquatic insect interpretation of environmental polarized light signals that can be used to disguise evolutionary traps.

Comparative Study of Different Configuration Techniques to Address the Outcome of Partial Shading Conditions on Solar Photovoltaic System

As per energy and power productivity of a solar photovoltaic (SPV) system is evaluated, Partial Shading Conditions (PSC) play a significant role. Under PSC, the panels of a SPV modules receive various levels of solar irradiance, as a result power generation of a SPV system diminishes, and these losses in SPV panels may be decrease by changing the configuration of the panels in array/module. The panels may be configure in many different configuration such as Series(S), Parallel (P), Series Parallel (SP), Total Cross Tied (TCT), Bridge Linked (BL), and Honeycomb (HC) to improve the output energy and power efficiency. This work is aimed to present all the configuration that already been presented in literature and result of PSC on SPV systems are referenced and analyzed. There are four configuration 4×4 array of solar photovoltaic panels to be discussed in this paper. Four configuration are Series parallel (SP), total cross tied (TCT), bridge linked (BL), and honey comb (HC). Four simulated models were performed to decide to effect of shadow with 10 shading patterns. The simulated results shows as a power against voltage (PV) curves of 4×4 array of SPV under PSC for above mentioned configuration. The PV curve of the proposed configuration is enhanced the power efficiency and the minute and exact finding of global maximum peak is simpler. The test of the simulated modules and its theoretical results ensure the effective implementation of this techniques in hardware setup also. It is confront that this work will be a reference of useful and important information for researchers in Solar panel area. The work presented in this papers envisages to be a source.