OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF SOLAR

ELECTRICSYSTEMS (Professional Elective)

Subject Code 17EE832

OMSES UNIT 1
 UNIT Syllabus
• Solar Resource and Radiation: Solar resources, Quantifying solar radiation, The effect of the
• Earth’s atmosphere on solar radiation, Sun geometry, Geometry for installing solar arrays.
• PV Industry and Technology:Semiconductor devices,Mainstream technologies,
Monocrystalline
• silicon,Multicrystalline/polycrystalline silicon,Thin film solar cells,Contacts,Buying solar
• modules,Standards,Certifications,Warranties,Emerging technologies,Dye-sensitized solar
cells,Sliver cells, Heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer (HIT) photovoltaic cells, III-V
Semiconductors,Solar concentrators.
• PV Cells, Modules and Arrays:Characteristics of PV cells,Graphic representations of PV cell
• performance,Connecting PV cells to create a module,Specification sheets,Creating a string of
• modules,Creating an array,Photovoltaic array performance,Irradiance,Temperature,Shading.
 Sun and its energy are essential to life on
Earth.
Solar resources
 The sun is the source of almost all energy on our planet, either
directly as sunlight or indirectly as wind and waves.
 The coal reserves once living plants that gained their energy from
photosynthesis: the process by which sunlight, carbon dioxide and
water are converted to carbohydrates.
 The sun’s seemingly endless energy supply is driven by a process
known as nuclear fusion, where atoms of hydrogen combine to
form an atom of helium releasing a large amount of energy in the
process. The helium atom may then combine with other helium or
hydrogen atoms to release even more energy.
 The energy produced in the heart of the sun is emitted as
electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic radiation is emitted in
many useful forms including microwaves (as used in microwave
cooking), radio waves (used in telecommunications) and visible
light. Solar cell designers focus on capturing the energy carried in
visible light.
 Power and energy
The unit of electric power is the watt (W). Power in watts is equal
to the product of volts (V) x amperes (amps).
Power (watts) =voltage (volts) * current (amps); P =V * I
Kilowatts (kW) is the term used for large amounts of power; i.e.
1000 watts = 1kW
Energy is defined as the capacity to do work, or power, over time.

Energy (watt-hours) = power (watts) * time (hours); E = P * t

The solar radiation data unit commonly used is kWh/m2. This is the
amount of solar energy received by a square meter exposed to full sun
(1000W of solar radiation) for a period of one hour.

Example
A 60 watt light globe is left on for 12 hours. This light bulb will
consume 720Wh or 0.720kWh of energy:
60 watts *12 hours = 720Wh
Quantifying solar radiation
Radiation emitted from the sun is fairly consistent but there is
significant variation in the radiation received at the Earth’s surface.
This is caused by the Earth’s orbit (responsible for the seasons),
rotation on its own axis (responsible for night and day) and the albedo
of certain areas.
 Albedo: This is the amount of electromagnetic radiation that
reflects away, compared to the amount that gets absorbed.
The amount of solar energy received by an
area over a day is referred to as insolation
and can be measured in kWh/m2/day or
peak sun hours (PSH).
It is important to note that most
PV arrays are tilted at a certain angle
above the horizontal and the insolation on
the horizontal plane will differ from the
insolation on the tilted plane of the
array; data is often available for both the
horizontal and various tilt angles.
The effect of the Earth’s atmosphere
on solar radiation
The Earth’s atmosphere reflects a large amount of the radiation received from
the sun –protect life.
When solar radiation arrives at the top of the Earth’s atmosphere it has a peak
irradiance value of 1367W/m2 (this is known as the solar constant). By the time
solar radiation reaches the Earth’s surface it has a peak irradiance value of
approximately 1000W/m2. The difference between the solar constant and the
peak irradiance value at the Earth’s surface is due to the Earth’s albedo – the
amount of solar energy reflected from a surface on the Earth at that specific
location. Light is reflected from Earth in a variety of ways:
• Radiation is reflected off the atmosphere back into space.
• Radiation is reflected off clouds in the stratosphere.
• The Earth’s surface itself reflects sunlight.
The average portion of sunlight reflected from the Earth (the Earth’s albedo) is
30 per cent. Polar regions have very high albedo as the ice and snow reflect
most sunlight, while ocean areas have a low albedo because dark seawater
absorbs a lot of sunlight.
Irradiance is a combination of direct and diffuse radiation and will depend
on the albedo (reflected solar radiation) of that particular location.
That proportion of solar radiation which is scattered, absorbed or re-emitted
in the atmosphere is diffuse radiation.
On sunny day, scattered diffuse radiation will contribute only to 10
per cent of visible light, but on a cloudy day, much more scattering
(diffusing) of the solar radiation.
Greater the air mass, the higher the chance of light being reflected
or scattered, so there will be less solar radiation reaching the
Earth’s surface.
Air mass of 1.5 is the standard condition at which solar modules
are rated.
Air mass zero refers to air mass in space; air mass one
corresponds to conditions when the sun is directly overhead.
Regions outside the tropics will never experience air mass one,
as the sun is never directly overhead.
 Insolation varies widely depending on location and time of year

A solar array powering a household in a German city would have

to be significantly larger than a solar array powering a household
with the same energy consumption in the Australian desert.
Locations far from the equator such as Poland receive a large
amount of irradiation during long summer days but very little
during winter when the days are very short.

This figure shows that areas around the equator (Kenya) receive significantly
more solar radiation than areas closer to the poles (Poland and Australia).
Solar radiation data is often available from the national meteorological
bureau or may be supplied by the solar module supplier. NASA provides web
data for most of the world and the European Commission Joint Research
Centre provides a free web tool, Photovoltaic Geographical Information
System (PVGIS), that estimates the daily output of a solar array in any
location in Europe or Africa.
Sun geometry
Because of the Earth’s orbit and rotation, the position of the sun
relative to a solar array is constantly changing. Designers use several
geometrical techniques to design an array that will capture the most
solar energy possible. The location of the sun is specified by two
angles which vary both daily and annually.
Horizon: the line at which the earth's surface and the sky appear
to meet.
 In the northern hemisphere solar arrays are normally installed to face south as
the sun is always in the southern sky and in the southern hemisphere solar arrays
normally face north.
 In regions between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at certain
times of year the sun will be in the southern sky for those in the southern
hemisphere and in the northern sky for those in the northern hemisphere.
 In summer the sun will always be higher in the sky than in winter due to the
natural tilt of the Earth.
 The longest and shortest days of the year are known respectively as the summer
and winter solstices and usually fall around 21 June and 21 December.

 The sun’s altitude is highest on the summer solstice and lowest on the winter
solstice.
 The midpoints between the two solstices are known as the equinoxes, normally
falling around 20 March and 23 September.
 These dates being useful in planning harvests and religious celebrations.
The sun’s path in the sky for any particular location can be depicted on a
two-dimensional surface in a sunpath diagram.
The sunpath diagram is composed of:
• azimuth angles, represented on the circumference of the diagram;
• altitude angles, represented by concentric circles;
• sunpath lines from east to west for different dates in the year;
• time of day lines crossing the sunpath lines;
• location information that refers to latitude.
Geometry for installing solar arrays
The position of a solar module is referred to as its orientation.

This orientation of the solar array is very important as it affects the amount of
sunlight hitting the array and hence the amount of power produced.

The orientation generally includes the direction the solar module is facing (i.e. due
south) and the tilt angle, which is the angle between the base of the solar module
and the horizontal.

The amount of sunlight hitting the array also varies with the time of day because
of the sun’s movement across the sky.
Solar modules should be installed so that as much radiation as possible is
collected. To achieve this, the solar modules should be installed facing either
true south (northern hemisphere location) or true north (southern hemisphere
location).
There will be some exceptions for installation depending on the local
environment (i.e. array’s installed in a valley in the southern hemisphere may
not necessarily face north). To point a module directly towards the sun at all
times would require a solar tracking frame to be installed. This can be
expensive, so it is not common practice for most PV applications.
 PV Industry and Technology
Semiconductor devices
Solar cells are made from semiconducting materials.
Semiconductors are materials that conduct electricity under certain
conditions, so they are neither insulators nor conductors.

Mainstream technologies
Silicon is the most widely used material in solar cell production; Silicon is extracted
from silicon dioxide (also known as quartzite); quartzite crystals are quarried and
refined to extract silicon for solar cell manufacture. Quartzite crystals are also a major
component of sand; however, regular sand is too impure to be used in this process.
Silicon is a versatile material: a metalloid, it exhibits many of the properties
of metals (i.e. it is lustrous and solid at room temperature) but also exhibitssome
properties of non-metals. There are several different types of silicon solar
cell: monocrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous silicon.
Monocrystalline silicon
These solar cells are produced from a single silicon seed crystal placed in a
crucible of molten silicon and drawn out slowly while rotating. In this manner
it is possible to produce a larger pure crystalline silicon ingot, which is then
sliced into thinner wafers.
Monocrystalline silicon solar cells are the most efficient and generally the most
expensive, although the higher initial cost may be justified by their increased
power output as they are highly efficient compared to other silicon technologies.

The highest recorded efficiency formonocrystalline silicon solar cells is 25 per

cent; commercially available solar cells are now being produced with efficiencies
of 22.5 per cent and finished modules with efficiencies of 19 per cent.
Multicrystalline/polycrystalline silicon
 Multicrystalline or polycrystalline silicon solar cells are manufactured by block
casting molten silicon.

 They are made from one composed of many small crystals, which grow in
random orientations as the molten material solidifies. This produces lower
efficiencies
 than monocrystalline cells; however, it is still a very popular technique because it
is easier and less expensive.

 Multicrystalline and monocrystalline silicon solar cells are those most commonly
used in PV arrays,

 Commercially available multicrystalline solar cells can now reach laboratory

efficiencies over 18 per cent, with the record for module efficiency being 17.84
per cent.
 Thin film solar cells
 Thin film solar cells are made from materials suitable for deposition
over large areas.
 They need only be about one micron thick, hence the name thin film
(a dot such as ‘.’ covers 615 microns and multicrystalline and
monocrystalline silicon solar cells are normally about 300 microns
thick).
 Increasing material prices and high worldwide demand for affordable
 photovoltaics have led to increasing interest in thin film solar cells.

 They are less expensive to manufacture than crystalline solar cells

 Thin film solar cell recorded efficiency is 20.1 per cent.

 Commercially available thin film modules are between 6 and 12 per cent
efficient.
 Thin film cells are being used more and more frequently in buildings
and are often used for gadgets such as solar-powered watches and
calculators.
 The most common materials are amorphous silicon (a-Si, still silicon but in a
different form), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium (gallium) diselenide
(CIS or CIGS).

 In amorphous silicon the molecules are randomly aligned instead of having a fixed
crystalline structure as seen in mono- and poly-silicon.

 CdTE, CIS and CIGS are all polycrystalline materials, their internal structure being
similar to that of polycrystalline silicon; however, they are very different materials.

 Thin film solar cells are well suited to high volume manufacturing; they are made
using the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process, where the material is
deposited onto large area materials, e.g. coated glass, flexible plastic or stainless
steel sheet.
Contacts
• A solar cell has electrical connections provided by metal conducting strips that
collect electrons produced in the cell and allow this current to flow through the
circuits. These metal strips are known as contacts and there are several different
contact technologies currently in use.
• The most common way to manufacture solar cells is by screen printing, where the
metal is simply printed onto the cell. This method is very reliable and is typically
applied to solar cells producing efficiencies of about 12–15 per cent.
Several factors need to be balanced when using screen printing:
 If there is too much space between the contacts, the cell will be less efficient.
 If the area covered by the contacts is too large, the cell will receive less sunlight and
produce less power.
 For the contacts to be effective, the top of the cell often needs to be treated in such a
way that its absorbance of high-energy blue light is reduced.
Another method used by manufacturers to achieve solar cell
efficiencies over 20 per cent is rear or back contacts.

This technology increases the working cell area, allows a simplified

automated production and the cell wiring is hidden from view.

The most efficient commercially available silicon solar cells use rear
contacts (18–23 per cent).

There is no metal on the front of the cell, which means the whole cell
is producing electricity.
 The highest efficiency silicon cells (25 per cent laboratory
efficiency) derive from another method known as buried contact
solar cells (BCSC).

 This method uses small laser grooves which are cut in the cell and
the metal is inserted into the groove.

 Buried contact and rear contact technologies are advantageous

because they solve many of the problems associated with screen
printing.

 Buried contacts cover very little surface area because most of the
contact is inside the groove. They don’t block the sunlight and the
contacts can be very close together because they are so thin.

 The sides of the grooves are treated instead of the top, so the PV
cell’s absorption of blue light is not affected.

 Rear contacts also eliminate many of these problems, because they

are located at the back of the cell, they do not shade the cell and so
the number of these cell contacts can be increased to improve cell
efficiency.
 Buying solar modules
 It is important to be able to ensure that the PV modules and the electrical installation are safe
and of good quality.

 Good system should not only physically last for the duration of the warranty but also work
effectively during that time. The modules, additional equipment, mounting frame and roof
must all last as long as the modules or be replaced during that time.

 Solar modules are sold with a lengthy manufacturer’s warranty, e.g. 25 years for 80 per cent
of output. The buyer needs to understand that if they are installing a product with such a
potentially long warranty, the structure (e.g. the building and roof itself) and other system
components need to last a similar length of time. For some equipment, i.e. the inverter, a
replacement may be planned over the life of the PV system.
Standards
The most common standards applicable to PV modules are:

 IEC 61215 Crystalline silicon terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules –Design qualification and
type approval.
 IEC 61646 Crystalline thin-film terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules – Design qualification
and type approval.
 IEC 61730 Photovoltaic (PV) module safety qualification – Requirements for construction
and requirements for testing.

These standards originate from the International Electrotechnical Commission: www.iec.ch.

In many countries a PV module must evidence compliance with either IEC 61215 or IEC 61646
(depending on whether it is thin film or crystalline silicon technology) and IEC 61730.
Certifications
Certifications generally ensure that modules adhere to all relevant standards in addition to
the specific photovoltaics standards

Examples : range from wind loading to salt mist corrosion resistance (IEC 61701).

The two most common certifications are:

 CE marking: The CE mark stands for conformité européenne. By using this mark the
manufacturer is declaring that their module complies with the essential requirements of
the relevant European Union health, safety and environmental protection legislation. The
CE marking is mandatory on modules sold and installed in the EU.

 Underwriters Laboratory (UL): The Underwriters Laboratory is a US-based testing

facility. Modules bearing a UL mark have been tested for compliance to IEC standards
and local standards (depending on the country code next to the UL mark).
Warranties
PV modules are typically supplied with three levels of product warranty:

 1-, 2- or 3-year warranty on the physical manufacture of the module itself, i.e. the frame,
encapsulant, glass, module junction box etc.;
 10–12 year warranty that the module will produce 90 per cent of its rated output;
 20–25 year warranty that the module will produce 80 per cent of its rated output.

 If any of these conditions are not met, the question of a warranty claim will depend on the
manufacturer’s published warranty and/or the commercial laws of the country where the
module was purchased.
 For example, if someone buys a module from overseas and imports it for sale or their own
use, then it is assumed that they understand that they have to send the module back to
where they purchased it to claim warranty.
 If an imported module is purchased from a ‘reseller’ of the product, i.e. not the
manufacturer itself or their agent, the reseller might have an arrangement with the
manufacturer that all warranties are handled by the manufacturer directly or, in some
countries, the importer is deemed to be the manufacturer, so all warranties rest with
them.
 Emerging technologies
Many new technologies are emerging.
Some build on existing knowledge and research while others
incorporate innovative new materials and techniques.

Dye-sensitized solar cells

• Dye solar cells are still technologically immature.

• At the atomic level they operate very differently from other solar cells and do not use
silicon.
• Dye solar cells use titanium dioxide (also used in toothpaste) and coloured dyes; they can
• be manufactured at a much lower cost than other solar cells and work better in low light.

• Dye solar cells are transparent and can be produced in many different colours, making
them ideal for architectural applications as windows.

• Dye solar cells also have potential in military applications as they can be made in
camouflage patterns.
• Currently the highest cell efficiency achieved in a laboratory is 12 per cent and cells with
an efficiency of 7 per cent are in production.

camouflage : the disguising (different appearance) of military

personnel, equipment, and installations by painting or covering
them to make them blend in with their surroundings.
Sliver cells
• Sliver cells were developed at the Australian National
University and are very thin monocrystalline silicon solar cells.
• They are unique as silicon cells because they are bifacial (they
can absorb light from both directions).
• Sliver technology has achieved cell efficiencies of over 19 per
cent and module efficiencies of 13.8 per cent.
• The technology is in its early stages of commercialization but
shows a lot of potential for applications in building-integrated
photovoltaics.
 Heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer
(HIT) photovoltaic cells
HIT modules use both crystalline silicon solar cells and amorphous
silicon thin film technology and have achieved module efficiencies
of 17 per cent and cell efficiencies of 22 per cent.

III-V Semiconductors
III-V or extrinsic semiconductor solar cells use an element from group III of the
periodic table and an element from group V, such as gallium arsenide which is commonly
used in space grade solar cells.
These solar cells are commonly multi-junction so they are in fact many layers of solar cells,
which will collect different colors of visible light.
They also frequently use advanced solar concentrator technology to maximize incoming solar
radiation.
Extrinsic semiconductor multi-junction solar cells are the most efficient and most expensive
technology on the market.
The highest recorded laboratory efficiency is 41.6 per cent and is held by Spectrolab Inc in
the US.
Due to their high cost, III-V semiconductor cells are normally used for space applications
such as satellites or other big-budget, high-performance, solarpowered devices such as solar
planes and solar racing cars .
Solar concentrators
Solar concentrators are used to increase the intensity of light hitting the cell so
that it will generate more electricity (the output power produced by a solar cell
is dependent on the intensity of light hitting that cell).

There are many different kinds of solar concentrators available for a variety of
applications, but the most common are lenses or reflective troughs used to focus
light.
Solar concentrators are advantageous because they increase the power
output so that the system requires fewer solar cells (solar cells are always the largest
cost when installing a system).

Many of these cells require a cooling system to perform well, as cell temperatures
can get very high.

Challenges to this technology involve developing concentrators that are sturdy and
reliable enough to survive decades in solar installations, sometimes in harsh
conditions such as desert, and to keep costs as low as possible.
PV Cells, Modules and Arrays
Characteristics of PV cells
Graphic representations of PV cell performance
An I-V curve tracks the PV cell’s performance
and highlights key features such as Voc, Isc and Pmax. A PV cell
will always operate along this curve, i.e. at a given voltage; the
current produced will always have the same value and vice
versa.
Connecting PV cells to create a module
PV cells of identical characteristics are wired together in series to create a
module.

In series, their voltages will add while the current remains constant, i.e.
the current of the module is equal to the current of one cell.
Power losses occur when a cell is underperforming. It may be damaged or more
commonly shaded.

The characteristics of cells are given on the manufacturer’s data sheet, freely
available on the manufacturer’s website; these are used to design a PV array.

Designers should always contact the manufacturer to make sure the data sheet
on their website is current.
Specification sheets
• PV modules purchased from reputable manufacturers should come with
specification sheets (also known as data sheets).
• A data sheet includes important technical information required to design and
install a PV array.
• It may also be useful for a consumer to look at the data sheet when comparing
different modules as it provides basic information about efficiency, rated power
and physical size.
Creating a string of modules
 A string comprises a number of PV modules connected in series.

 The electrical characteristics of PV modules connected in series to form a string are the same
as PV cells connected in series to form a module.

 The output voltage of the string will be the sum of the output voltages of all the modules and
the output current of the string will be the lowest output current of any module.

 In Modules connected in parallel, the current output of the modules will add instead of the
voltage. The output voltage is that of a single module.
 Creating an array
 Array designers will connect PV modules using a combination of
series and parallel to produce the output current and voltage
suitable to a market application.
 Modules are typically connected in series to form a string and
these strings are connected in parallel to form an array.

• PV arrays produce DC power while the mains require AC power.

An inverter is required to convert the DC solar power to AC power
 Photovoltaic array performance
The performance of a PV array is affected by a variety of factors: the
most significant of these are
Temperature, irradiance and shading

Irradiance
The amount of solar radiation (sunlight) hitting the cell will largely determine
its power output.
The output of a PV array can be estimated using performance data provided
by the manufacturer on the data sheet. All arrays have a rated peak power
output, i.e. an array can be described as a 1.5kWp array – meaning that PV is
installed to provide a 1.5kW peak of power. This output has been determined
by the manufacturer using standard test conditions. Using this information and
local solar insolation data, it is possible to estimate the output of an array.
The PV array produced 12kWh for that day (before any power loss factors
are accounted for). There will be varying insolation data available on a monthly
basis, so the whole year’s output from the PV array can be estimated from the
monthly data. However it is important to note that this technique is never used
in practice because a PV system will rarely experience STC.
Temperature
 Solar radiation hitting the modules not only produce electricity, it also heats up the
modules.

 The temperature of a PV module may reach 70°C on a sunny day.

 As temperature increases, the open-circuit voltage decreases rapidly while the short-
circuit current increases slowly.

 Power output is also decrease as well.

 When designing systems, engineers will often use the following approximation
(depending on local design codes and guidelines):

cell temperature = ambient temperature + 25°C

As hot temperatures harmfully affect power output, output from a PV array has
to be calculated taking the temperature effects into consideration.

The cold temperatures can increase the power output due to the voltage
increase.

The installation of a PV array can directly affect the operating temperature of

the array itself.

When an array is installed flush to a roof surface – meaning that there is limited
air flow across the back of the modules to moderate the module temperature.
This can have a doubly negative affect because the roof itself will give off heat,
and the module will retain heat on the underside, so forced ventilation across the
roof surface and behind the modules is often necessary.
 Shading
PV cells require sunlight in order to produce electricity. If a cell receives
no sunlight due to shading it will not produce any power.
Even the small shadow can reduce the amount of electricity a module
produces.
A small shaded area can, under certain circumstances reduce module
output by 80–90 per cent as well as affecting the rest of the array
Cells in modules are normally connected in series, so when one or several cells
are shaded, the current output of the module will be reduced. If the module is
part of an array, then the current output of the array will also be reduced. This
will also occur if a cell is damaged and unable to produce power.

Shading of the array can lead to irreversible damage. Hot spot heating
occurs when a cell is shaded such that its power output is reduced and most of
the current being produced by the other unshaded cells is forced through that
one cell causing it to heat up. This often leads to cell damage (cracking) and
can also damage the glass encapsulation.
It is difficult to prevent shading. However, diodes can be used to diminish
temporary shading (i.e. leaves that may have fallen on the array). When a cell
is shaded or damaged, a diode can be used to give current another path to
follow. It will skip the damaged or shaded cell completely and have minimum
impact on the power output of the array. This kind of diode is referred to as a
bypass diode and manufacturers typically install one, two or three bypass
diodes per module.