SOLAR TREE 2019-20

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

It is a form of renewable energy resource that is some measure competitive with fossil fuels.
Hydro power is the force of energy of moving water. It provides about 96% of the renewable
energy in the united state. Hydro electric power plants do not use any resources to create
electricity or they do not pollute the air. The sun is a hydrodynamic spherical body of extremely
hot ionized gases (plasma), generating energy by the process of the thermonuclear fusion. The
temperature of interior of sun is estimated at 8*10^6 k to 40*10^6 k, where energy is released
by fusion of hydrogen and helium.

Solar energy is available in abundance and considered as the easiest and cleanest means of
tapping the renewable energy. For direct conversion of solar radiation into usable form, the
routes are: solar thermal, solar photovoltaic and solar architecture. However the main problem
associated with tapping solar energy is the requirement to install large solar collectors requires
a very big space. To avoid this problem we can install a solar tree in spite of a no of solar panels
which require a very small space.

Solar tree is a revolutionary urban lighting concept that represents a perfect symbiosis between
pioneering design and cutting-edge eco-compatible technology. Solar Tree opens up new
prospects for urban lighting in that it satisfies today’s most pressing environmental, social,
cultural and aesthetic demands. The ability to combine innovative design with advanced
technology, along with an acute sensitivity to environmental concerns make Artemide the ideal
vehicle for the development of this project conceived by Ross Lovegrove with the collaboration
of Sharp Solar, the world’s leading manufacturer of solar cells.

Energy consumption in the world particularly in the highly populated countries like INDIA
has been growing at an higher rate .In all these alternatives solar energy has more advantages
for the mankind for example Solar Energy is free, useful and non polluting. Solar energy is
most advantageous for countries which was having very less space to produce energy
efficiently and having very large population like India. Solar energy is the conversion of
sunlight in to electricity using PHOTOVOLTAIC. In all these solar tree is the best option
.Therefore it should be implemented. Solar energy is easily available in very large amount in
India.

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WHAT IS A SOLAR TREE :

A solar tree is a decorative means of producing solar energy and also electricity. It uses multiple
no of solar panels which forms the shape of a tree. The panels are arranged in a tree fashion in
a tall tower/pole.

TREE stands for

T= TREE GENERATING

R=RENEWABLE

E=ENERGY and

E=ELECTRICITY

This is like a tree in structure and the panels are like leaves of the tree which produces energy.

SPIRALLING PHYLLATAXY :

It is a technique used in designing of solar tree. It provides the way to help the lower panels
from the shadow of upper ones, so that it can track maximum power from sun.

SOLAR TREE

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INTRODUCTION ABOUT SOLAR CELL

A solar cell (photovoltaic cell or photoelectric cell) is a solid state electrical device that converts
the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. The energy of light is
transmitted by photons-small packets or quantum of light. Electrical energy is stored in
electromagnetic fields, which in turn can make a current of electrons flow. Assemblies of solar
cells are used to make solar modules which are used to capture energy from sunlight. When
multiple modules are assembled together (such as prior to installation on a pole-mounted
tracker system), the resulting integrated group of modules all oriented in one plane is referred
as a solar panel. The electrical energy generated from solar modules, is an example of solar
energy. Photovoltaic is the field of technology and research related to the practical application
of photovoltaic cells in producing electricity from light, though it is often used specifically to
refer to the generation of electricity from sunlight. Cells are described as photovoltaic cells
when the light source is not necessarily sunlight. These are used for detecting light or other
electromagnetic radiation near the visible range

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CHAPTER - 2

WORKING PRINCIPLE

HOW SOLAR CELL WORKS

Solar cells, which largely are made from crystalline silicon work on the principle of
Photoelectric Effect that this semiconductor exhibits. Silicon in its purest form- Intrinsic
Silicon- is doped with a dopant impurity to yield Extrinsic Silicon of desired characteristic
(ptype or n-type Silicon).When p and n type silicon combine they result in formation of
potential barrier. Working of Solar cells can thus be based on two crystalline structure

• Intrinsic Silicon
• Extrinsic Silicon

Pure Silicon (Intrinsic) Crystalline Structure

Silicon has some special chemical properties, especially in its crystalline form. An atom of
silicon has 14 electrons, arranged in three different shells. The first two shells- which hold two
and eight electrons respectively- are completely full. The outer shell, however, is only half full
with just four electrons (Valence electrons). A silicon atom will always look for ways to fill up
its last shell, and to do this, it will share electrons with four nearby atoms. It's like each atom
holds hands with its neighbours except that in this case, each atom has four hands joined to
four neighbours. That's what forms the crystalline structure. The only problem is that pure
crystalline silicon is a poor conductor of electricity because none of its electrons are free to
move about, unlike the electrons in more optimum conductors like copper.

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Impurity Silicon (Extrinsic): P-type and N-type Semiconductors

Extrinsic silicon in a solar cell has added impurity atoms purposefully mixed in with the silicon
atoms, maybe one for every million silicon atoms. Phosphorous has five electrons in its outer
shell. It bonds with its silicon neighbor atoms having valency of 4, but in a sense, the
phosphorous has one electron that doesn't have anyone to bond with. It doesn't form part of a
bond, but there is a positive proton in the phosphorous nucleus holding it in place. When energy
is added to pure silicon, in the form of heat, it causes a few electrons to break free of their
bonds and leave their atoms. A hole is left behind in each case. These electrons, called free
carriers, then wander randomly around the crystalline lattice looking for another hole to fall
into and carry an electrical current. In Phosphorous-doped Silicon, it takes a lot less energy to
knock loose one of "extra" phosphorous electrons because they aren't tied up in a bond with
any neighboring atoms. As a result, most of these electrons break free, and release a lot more
free carriers than in pure silicon. The process of adding impurities on purpose is called doping,
and when doped with phosphorous, the resulting silicon is called N-type ("n" for negative)
because of the prevalence of free electrons. N-type doped silicon is a much better conductor
than pure silicon. The other part of a typical solar cell is doped with the element boron, which
has only three electrons in its outer shell instead of four, to become P-type silicon. Instead of
having free electrons, P-type ("p" for positive) has free openings and carries the opposite
positive charge

Formation of Potential Barrier and Photoelectric Effect

The electric field is formed when the N-type and P-type silicon come into contact. Suddenly,
the free electrons on the N side combine the openings on the P side. Right at the junction, they
combine and form something of a barrier, making it harder and harder for electrons on the N
side to cross over to the P side (called POTENTIAL BARRIER). Eventually, equilibrium is
reached, and an electric field separating the two sides is set up. This electric field acts as a
diode, allowing (and even pushing) electrons to flow from the P side to the N side, but not the
other way around. It's like a hill -- electrons can easily go down the hill (to the N side), but
can't climb it (to the P side).

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CHAPTER- 3

WHY WE CALLED IT AS SOLAR TREE

As we know trees are present in nature and they can produce their own food material by the
process called PHOTOSYNTHESIS. It is the process by which the green plant collects energy
from sun and the water present in soil at the day time and can produces their own food material.
By this process they are indirectly providing food to the human society because we are
depending on the green plants for our food directly or indirectly.

Here we are considering the example for understanding about the solar tree. This is a tree in
which the stems connected acts as the branches of the tree and the solar panels are like the
leaves. Green leaves are producing food materials for human beings likewise this leaves are
producing energy for the society. So it is very appropriate to called it as a tree.

NATURAL TREE SOLAR TREE

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WHY IT IS NEEDED

Due to less land requirement:

It is the best option of energy generation because it requires very less land as compare to the
traditional PV system. Now a day’s land becomes the costliest commodity for the human
society because of high population growth. Example – To generate 2 MW power from a PV
module we requires 10 -12 acres of land for housing of panels only. But for the same amount
of energy we require only 0.10-0.12 acres of land in case of solar tree. So we require such a
plant which can generate maximum energy using minimum land.

Efficient energy generation:

It can generate energy very efficiently as compare to traditional system. Due to the technique
called spiraling phyllataxy its efficiency further increase. We can also use the technique called
“SPIRALLING PHYLLATAXY” to improve the efficiency of the plant. It can be applied in
street lightening system industrial power supply etc. It is much better than the traditional solar
PV system in area point of view and also more efficient. Though it is somehow costly but as
compare to all cost involve in traditional system it is more efficient.

It can collect energy from wind:

As the name suggest this is a device to generate energy from sun but it has some unique feature
to generate energy from wind. The stem are flexible so that they can rotate in any direction and
by shaking themselves they produce energy also from wind as in the case of a natural tree. The
unique technique is that flexible panels connected to the stem which can be rotated as our
desire. So that flexibility avoidance of wind pressure can be possible. Flexibility offers manual
rotating so that maximum power can be obtained.

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CHAPTER - 4

CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING OF SOLAR TREE

The solar tree consists of some important parts in its design. They are as follows:

➢ Solar panels
➢ Long tower
➢ LDEs
➢ Batteries
➢ Stems for connecting the panels

WORKING:

➢ Batteries are charged during the day time.

➢ LEDs are automatically switched on
➢ These are used to indicate how much charge/energy remain left
➢ Batteries are also used to store the energy so that we can use it at night and in cloudy
days when no sunlight is there.

LEDs

Light Emitting Diode (LED)

Light Emitting Diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are
used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting. Appearing
as practical electronic components in 1962, early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but

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modern versions are available across the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths, with
very high rightness.

Internal Description of LED

When a light-emitting diode is forward-biased (switched on), electrons are able to recombine
with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is
called electroluminescence and the color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the
photon) is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor. An LED is often small in area
(less than 1 mm2), and integrated optical components may be used to shape its radiation pattern.

Internal description of LED

LEDs present many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy
consumption, longer lifetime, improved physical robustness, smaller size, and faster switching.
LEDs powerful enough for room lighting are relatively expensive and require more precise
current and heat management than compact fluorescent lamp sources of comparable output.

Light-emitting diodes are used in applications as diverse as aviation lighting, automotive

lighting, advertising, general lighting, and traffic signals. LEDs have allowed new text, video
displays, and sensors to be developed, while their high switching rates are also useful in really
beadvanced communications technology.

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CHAPTER - 5

WHY IT IS BETTER THAN A TRADITIONAL SYSTEM

India is a highly populated country, so we should take the advantage of such an energy which
requires a very less space to produce energy efficiently. In this case solar tree could be the best
one for us. It is much better than the traditional solar PV system in area point of view and also
more efficient. So this will be a very good option and should be implemented.

For the traditional system we require large size of land to generate a small amount of power.
It requires about 1% land as compare to the traditional system. Solar energy is available in
abundance and considered as the easiest and cleanest means of tapping the renewable energy.
For direct conversion of solar radiation into usable form, the routes are: solar thermal, solar
photovoltaic and solar architecture. However the main problem associated with tapping solar
energy is the requirement to install large solar collectors requires a very big space. To avoid
this problem we can install a solar tree in spite of a no of solar panels which require a very
small space.

Example – To generate 2 MW power from a pv module we requires 10 -12 acres of land for
housing of panels only but for the same amount of energy we require only 0.10-0.12 acres of
land in case of solar tree.

Traditional solar PV system Solar tree

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CHAPTER - 6

APPLICATIONS, ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

APPLICATION :

➢ Street light
➢ House supply
➢ Industrial power supply

ADVANTAGES :

➢ No air pollution
➢ We wouldn’t have to worry as much about future energy sources
➢ People in poor country would have access to electricity
➢ People can save money
➢ Land requirement is very less

DISADVANTAGES :

➢ Cost is high
➢ May cause hazards to the birds and insects
➢ Hazards to eyesight from solar reflectors

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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

➢ To fulfill the increasing energy demand the people and saving of land this project is
very successful one. This can provide electricity without any power cut problem. The
extra energy can be provided to the grid.
➢ Saving of land, this project is very successful one.
➢ Increases the efficiency of solar cell using nanowires.
➢ The main aim of this project is uplifting the public opinion on R E S.
➢ The Strawberry Tree, invented by the Serbian company Strawberry Energy is a
variation of the Solar Tree in that it is specifically designed to recharge mobile devices.
The company won the Sustainable Energy Week 2011” competition for its
revolutionary contribution.
➢ There is a distinction to be made between organically inspired solar trees and structures
which have been adopted to create energy efficient parking lots. Companies such as
General Electric have installed solar panels in car parking lots to collect solar energy
and protect vehicles from sun damage. These car sheltering solar devices differ from
artistic Solar Trees in that they have no organic aesthetic. In contrast to the field of solar
artwork, they would more appropriately be dubbed elevated solar panels.

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REFERENCES

• C. Bhuvaneswari, R. Rajeswari “Idea to Design a Solar Tree Using

Nanowire Solar” Cells in International Journal of Scientific and Research
Publications, Volume 3, Issue 12, December 20131 ISSN 2250-3153,
• Dr. Suwarna Torgal “Concept of Solar Power Tree” in International
Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology Vol.
3, Issue 4, April 2016.
• Deepak M. Patil, Santosh R. Madiwal “Design and Development of Solar
Tree For Domestic Applications” International Journal of Engineering
Sciences & Research Technology, August 2016 ISSN: 2277-9655,
• Projects. Solar Tree Foundation. N.p.Web. 20 Feb 2013. Solar Tree
Foundation Projects.
• Solar Tree Foundation accessed: Feb 20, 2013 Solar Tree Foundation site
Solar Tree. Artemide. N.p. Web. 20 Feb 2013. Artemide Brochure.
• TR Tooke CC Nicholas AV James et al "Tree structure influences on
rooftop-received solar radiation" Landsc Urban Plann., Vol. 102, no. 2, pp.
73-81, Aug. 2011.
• J.A. Jakubiec, C. F. Reinhart, "A method for predicting city-wide
electricity gains from photovoltaic panels based on LiDAR and GIS data
combined with hourly Daysim simulations," Sol. Energ., Vol. 93, pp. 127-
143, Jul. 2013.
• R. Berry, S. J Livesley, & L. Aye, "Tree canopy shade impacts on solar
irradiance received by building walls and their surface temperature," Build.
Environ, Vol. 69, pp. 91-100, Nov. 2013.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_tree
• Solar World Article on the Rams' solar projects
• http://envisionsolar.com/solar-tree-array/

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