Questions tagged [photovoltaics]
Questions about solar applications that make use of the photovoltaic effect, especially solar panel and thin-film technologies.
55
questions
2
votes
0
answers
40
views
Are two solars panels more efficient than only one of twice the power output?
Is there any advantage to use two 50 W solar panels in parallels instead of one 100 W panel?
As we know, the effect of partial shadow on a solar panel can make the whole panel ineffective. We want to ...
- 21
1
vote
1
answer
77
views
Developing a solar powered traditional river boat [closed]
I am currently in Indonesia with fellow students working on a project to experiment and build an alternative energy source to propel boat with optimal efficiency and also to minimize the use of diesel ...
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
119
views
Pump capacity calculation
I have a borewell dug in my farm and the depth of the borewell is around 195 feet. I have applied for a Solar pump subsidy and I am about to get the equipment with following details:
4.7kW solar ...
0
votes
0
answers
9
views
Solar panel locaiton with plex-earth and virtocad
I need to use Plex-Earth and VirtoCad to solve a solar panel positioning problem. I am on BricsCad.
I have a kml for a boundary area.
How can I, using these softwares, get the following groudn mount ...
0
votes
1
answer
31
views
Beehive Exhaust Vent 🐝 Solar Panel + CPU fan
Here’s an easy question
(I believe, knowing nothing about this subject.)
SMALL WEATHER-PROOF SOLAR FAN
A 3 in. diameter fan, powered by a solar panel. It will be mounted horizontally, face up, over a ...
0
votes
0
answers
13
views
Fronius Gen24 5.0 inverter activates pv point and stops grid feed-in
I have a Fronius Symo GEN24 5.0 inverter and I experience a lot of activation of PV point some days and the same time the inverter stops the grid feed in.
(PV point activates when the public grid ...
- 101
0
votes
3
answers
42
views
Does a load on a charging solar system degrade the battery if the panels are producing more current than the load?
Let's say I have 1000 W worth of solar panels hooked to a 2 kWh battery system like the Anker 767. Let's also say that the panels are running at full clip and I have a 900 W load on the system.
Does ...
- 495
0
votes
2
answers
122
views
How can some clouds be removed from the sky?
I order to optimize output from a solar park I need to know how to remove clouds in the sky in an economically feasible way. Output improves tenfold without clouds. How can that be achieved? Weather ...
- 151
11
votes
6
answers
4k
views
Why isn't heatpump technology used for solar collector panels and boiler tanks?
All solar collector and boiler tank systems that I can find on the market use a liquid to circulate the heat between solar collector panels (or PVT panels) and boiler tanks. Is there a reason why they ...
- 265
0
votes
0
answers
16
views
Estimating the effective area and temperature coeffecient of a solar panel
I have a bunch of solar panels, each one is connected to an inverter.
For each solar panel I have two sensors, a wind and a west sensor.
From every inverter, I collect the power output.
The readings ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
13
views
Heat handling in BIPV System
In a BIPV System, how is the heat handled? I mean the cells absorb the solar radiation and along with that the heat. So how is this heat handled? I was reading that the conventional solar system is ...
0
votes
0
answers
42
views
Is it safe to leave a power bank connected all day to a 10 W solar panel (so with varying voltage and current)?
I have a 10W Solar panel with 5V USB output and a few power banks (the one I'm willing to risk for now is an older Li-ion one rated 3.7V/6000 mAh/22.2 Wh with microUSB-in 5V 1.9A max).
My question is ...
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
41
views
What could be the cause of these spikes in current when measuring it from a solar panel
I was measuring the current through a solar panel at different light intensities and I found that sometimes it caused large spikes in the current and I can't find a reason for this phenomenon. Is this ...
- 11
1
vote
4
answers
357
views
36V solar panel with a 12V battery, results in 12 watts a day?
So I bought a retired 175W solar panel 36.8V rated voltage, 4.9A rated amps. I hooked it up to a solar charge controller and a 12V battery. Normally the controller doesn't work cos the PV voltage is ...
- 111
0
votes
0
answers
90
views
Can a grid connected PV system deliver power backwards through the distribution transformer?
If there is no local load demand can a residential roof top grid connected PV system deliver power across distribution transformer [up to the higher voltage grid]?
Suppose my grid connected solar pv ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
61
views
Figuring out power requirements of pool heater elements powered directly by solar panels (panel efficiency & sun,evaporation, insulation, ), etc.)
EDIT 1:
firstly, thank you for the comments and the input
In this calculations the panels are already involved from the start as being the source (due to other connections to other systems when not ...
2
votes
1
answer
358
views
How large would a solar panel array need to be in order to supply all the world's energy?
This story from 2016 claims that all the world's energy needs could be supplied by covering 1% of the Sahara in solar PV panels.
Was (is?) this true, and if not, how would you go about approximating ...
- 121
1
vote
0
answers
312
views
Charging a 2020 M1 Macbook Pro from a low-voltage solar array
I'm working on a small project to mount solar panels to a Macbook case which would allow it to charge/offset battery consumption.
I noticed that I was able to power the Macbook on public transport ...
- 111
1
vote
0
answers
49
views
Problem with relationship between shunt resistance and grain boundaries in a solar cell [closed]
Here is the correct answer from another stack website.
The higher shunt resistance means that higher the
polycrystalline lattice irregularity and many grain boundaries. This
means higher current ...
0
votes
1
answer
57
views
Safely Measuring Voltage from Solar Panels in an Experimental Research Field
I'm installing solar panels (not connected to the grid) in units out in a field for research we're doing that looks like this (this is an outdated image, but I can't find the updated one unfortunately)...
- 3
0
votes
1
answer
69
views
Can waste heat in specific environments be collected into photons and converted to electricity?
This question is a repeat of another post on the physics board
Here and here show the possibility to combine photons of lower energy to higher energy. Thinking of an application, it could be used to ...
- 101
0
votes
2
answers
190
views
Are cameras' CCDs just elaborate tiny solar cells?
While watching How It's Made episode on CCDs, this just springed to my mind... I always though of CCDs as of some kind of alien technology. Only now I realized that it's just an array of silica ...
0
votes
1
answer
57
views
explaining ohmic loss and understanding inverter efficiency curve
I'm trying to understand an efficiency curve from PVsyst, using this documentation
However, I'm not sure what this sentence means:
This production is penalized by an ohmic loss$^1$ of the internal ...
- 105
0
votes
1
answer
41
views
Explanation for photovoltaic circuit
My background is in Environmental Science, although I have recently been taught in the basics for energy engineering especially for solar panels.
I'm currently using PVsyst to build solar panels on a ...
- 105
0
votes
0
answers
38
views
Shadow flicker validation
I am currently trying to validate a shadow flickering algorithm against some data generated by Openwind. The goal of this validation is to have a code that we know that is correct and modify it to ...
2
votes
1
answer
308
views
How do I properly store lead-acid batteries?
I am working on an off-grid solar project, and I need to store the energy my solar panels produce in batteries. I will use sealed lead acid batteries because they require little maintenance and are ...
- 29
3
votes
0
answers
70
views
Any Idea of This China's "Transparent Concrete"?
I am currently make an attempt to make miniaturized version of this China's solar highway on my garage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK8FvzI3yDA
Just so i can re-evaluate the performance
However, I ...
3
votes
1
answer
165
views
Does this PID-like algorithm make any sense for a solar inverter?
The application
I want to implement the control of a photovoltaic inverter. The goal would be to keep the consumption of a microgrid (the power absorbed from the grid) to a constant value.
Notes:
I ...
- 81
0
votes
1
answer
94
views
Joining the negative PV wires of 3 solar arrays for 3 MPPT controllers in an inverter?
My Inverter has 3 MPPT inputs. For some design simplifications (Involving ATS), i would like the three arrays to have separate PV+ but join the PV- wires together at a bus-bar and take the Inverter ...
2
votes
1
answer
726
views
How do multiple enphase microinverters stay synced to the grid?
In a prior question it was established that any string or microinverter that is grid tied must put out sinusodial power. But there is also the task of being in sync with the grid. It seems from ...
- 21
0
votes
0
answers
39
views
How do I physically protect solar panels from snapping when dropped?
I am creating a system that I drop from 20m to the ground and I want it to be solar powered. Weight is an issue so I am trying to minimise it as much as I can. How can I ensure that the solar panels ...
1
vote
0
answers
76
views
Is it economical to use solar energy to manufacture solar panels?
Estimates of area needed to be covered by solar panels to power all of the US using only solar are about equal to a 100 mile by 100 mile tract of land. But solar panels have a lifespan of only a few ...
- 71
1
vote
1
answer
57
views
What's the name of this parameter?
$ P_m=P_n*{G\frac1{G_{STC}}}*[1-\gamma*(T_c-25)]$
This equation is applied on sollar cells. $ P_m$ is the mean power produced in 15 minutes, $P_n$ is the nominal power [W], G is the insolation [W/m2]...
user20096
0
votes
4
answers
38
views
What is the definition of Building integrated photovoltaics?
What is the definition of BIPV?
Building integrated photovoltaics emerged as a new way of reducing energy consumption. However, the question is how do these systems work?
2
votes
3
answers
134
views
Transferring energy generated by photovoltaic methods
One of the many challenges facing PV power generation is how to store surplus energy for night time demand. My question is this: since the sun is always shining somewhere on the planet, would it be ...
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
48
views
What is the purpose of the isolated subpanel terminal of a solar inverter?
In a grid-connected (utility-interactive) battery-based PV system, what is the purpose of the 'Isolated Subpanel' terminal of the inverter?
EDIT: Found this descriptive image and hence answered the ...
-1
votes
2
answers
64
views
what classes should I take so that I can perform research into finding catalysts to split water into oxygen and hydrogen? [closed]
I am a freshman student and I am very interested in using solar energy to break water into hydrogen and oxygen. So, I want to know which areas are important in this regard..
- 23
3
votes
2
answers
116
views
Rotating Multiple Solar Panels with One Motor
I am designing a system to have solar panels track the sun, but only with one axis of rotation that will tilt the panels from east to west.
I want to connect the panels together so that one motor ...
- 173
-1
votes
1
answer
76
views
Resistor to limit maximum voltage of solar panels
I have two 20W solar panels (each Voc = 22.3, Isc = 1.22) in series connected directly to an axial fan driven by an EC motor (rated voltage 48V). Here the maximum operating voltage when very sunny has ...
1
vote
2
answers
153
views
Solar panel actuator control
I'm looking to design a system that can control a solar panel through an electrical actuator for a range of motion of -45 to +45 degrees for maximum solar exposure. The panel will be mounted on a 10 ...
- 111
0
votes
2
answers
115
views
Working mechanism of photovoltic cells
In the textbook : Electric Power Principles, in Chapter 1
on the working of a pv cell :
The source current Is is the result of absorption of photons in
sunlight that cause separation of ...
- 117
2
votes
2
answers
38
views
Simulate Dust Layer on PV Cell?
Is it possible to simulate a layer of dust deposited on top of a PV cell in a controlled manner?
One potential method I had was to put a given weight of a particulate/powder (chalk powder, talcum ...
- 123
0
votes
1
answer
38
views
Is it possible to cook with low power PV systems (under 300 W)
This topic is slightly related to this one, with some extra details.
I would like to go off-grid and therefore buy a PV kit. I can see that the prices for PV systems with a power of +3kW are very ...
- 614
2
votes
1
answer
307
views
Design of Compound Elliptical Concentrator and Compound Parabolic Concentrator
What is the process in design a Compound Elliptical Concentrator and Compound Parabolic Concentrator if I wanted to achieve 100% optimal concentration ? Let's assume random numbers of: A light source ...
- 21
1
vote
2
answers
5k
views
Electrical flowchart in Microsoft Visio : issues
I am trying to recreate in Microsoft Visio a diagram of a photovoltaic power plant that would look like the one below.
But I have some issues for doing so, in particular :
I don't know how to ...
- 169
4
votes
2
answers
830
views
Can solar panels absorb heat for energy?
Solar panels can absorb sunlight and use it for energy, but can they absorb the heat that is generated from their use and use the heat for energy?
5
votes
4
answers
1k
views
How can I add roof-mounted solar panels to a van without making it unstable at highway speeds?
We have an extended Chevy express with a 24" high-top, on which we intend to install roof-mounted PV.
I'm really concerned with how to properly install the panels. We've selected six 100 W Renogy ...
- 151
5
votes
2
answers
194
views
Did I wire these solar panels correctly?
recently I bought 3 solar panels rated at 5V 200 mA each. I want to use them to charge a 5V battery bank to charge a phone. Thinking about the proper way to put them, I thought i can connect all in ...
- 115
1
vote
2
answers
145
views
How to digitalize a UV image (create an array of the light output at the pixel level)?
I would like to display an image onto a screen using a digital light projector and somehow record the amount of light the screen is receiving from each pixel.
I have thought about using a visible ...
- 265
2
votes
1
answer
925
views
How to get the maximum power point from I-V curve for Organic Photovoltaics (OPV)?
I am taking organic solar cell course on Coursera, and I have a question about I-V curve for a certain solar cell. The question asks for the solar cell characteristics such $V_{oc}$, $P_{max}$ and $FF$...
