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Questions tagged [photovoltaics]

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Questions about solar applications that make use of the photovoltaic effect, especially solar panel and thin-film technologies.

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How to calculate how many solar panels can be connected to one inverter?

I am a bit confused about inverter specs, and most sources online seem to focus only on the power ratings. As far as I understand, if an inverter is rated at 100kW, and a solar panel is able to ...
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1answer
14 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 ...
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36 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 ...
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60 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 ...
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1answer
53 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]...
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4answers
31 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?
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1answer
55 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 ...
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1answer
34 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 ...
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52 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..
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42 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 ...
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66 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 ...
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61 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 ...
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64 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 ...
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2answers
30 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 ...
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1answer
18 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 ...
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1answer
231 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 ...
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2k 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 ...
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2answers
558 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?
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3answers
677 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 ...
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2answers
155 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 ...
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1answer
96 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 ...
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1answer
493 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 $FF$...
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1answer
1k views

How can I connect mismatched solar panels in parallel?

I have two solar panels, a Sanyo HIT 240HDE4 (35.5 V and 6.77 A at max power) and a Panasonic (SANYO) HIT VBHN245SJ25 (44.3 V and 5.54 A at max power). These panels are mismatched in both voltage and ...
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1answer
892 views

8W Solar panel high amperage low voltage

I have to put together a small solar system for a college project. I have solar cells with an output of 3.65A and 0.6V. Now if I paralel two groups of two cells connected in series I will double the ...
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1answer
377 views

Solar powered kettle - how much power for 1/2 litre

I want to create a solar powered kettle but first, I need to know how much power will be required. This means, I think, I'll need to know how much water I want to bring up to a certain temperature. ...
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4answers
3k views

Will more electricity be generated by using a lens to focus sunlight onto solar cells?

I have been wondering about this question for quite some time. Assuming an ideal case, the energy from photons hitting solar cells is converted into electric energy as described by the equation: $RI^...
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4answers
4k views

How would adding a wind deflector in front of roof-mounted solar panels affect drag on an RV?

I am mounting solar panels on top of a recreational vehicle (RV). To reduce drag, I was planning on building a small ramp in front of the panels to deflect wind before it hits the flat panel and ...
5
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2answers
756 views

Is the fill factor of a photo-voltaic cell constant?

An important factor in specifying the efficiency of photo-voltaic (PV) cells is called the fill factor (FF). It is defined as the ratio of the maximum power of the cell to the product of the open-...
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1answer
1k views

What are the technical differences between flexible and rigid solar panels?

During a recent search I discovered the existence of flexible solar panels. Besides the obvious differences of low weight and flexibility what are the high level technical differences between flexible ...
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3answers
644 views

Do solar cells age? Why, and how?

As I heard, the life expectancy of photovoltaic cells is normally some decades, as so. This is very long, regarding their high cost, it has significant (negative) effect on the total costs. Why do ...
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4answers
3k views

Are there different solar panels for recapturing energy from household lighting?

I have been investigating recapturing energy from house lighting using solar panels. Are there solar panels specifically designed to capture indoor lighting with a higher efficiency? If so, what are ...