SOLAR ENERGY

Solar energy is an important, clean, cheap and

abundantly available renewable energy. It is
received on Earth in cyclic, intermittent and dilute
form with very low power density 0 to 1 kW/m2.
Solar energy received on the ground level is
affected by atmospheric clarity, degree of latitude,
etc. For design purpose, the variation of available
solar power, the optimum tilt angle of solar flat
plate collectors, the location and orientation of the
heliostats should be calculated
Solar energy is radiant heat and light from the sun
that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving
technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaic,
solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten salt
power plants and artificial photosynthesis. It is an
important source of renewable energy and its
technologies are broadly characterized as either
passive or active solar energy depending on how
they capture and distribute solar energy or convert
it into solar power.
Active solar techniques include the use of
photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power
and solar water heating to harness the energy.
Passive solar techniques include orienting a
building to the Sun, selecting materials with
favourable thermal mass or light-dispersing
properties, and designing spaces that naturally
circulate air.
 Beam and Diffuse Radiation
Solar radiation that penetrates the earth’s
atmosphere and reaches the earth differs in both
amount and character.
1. Part of radiation is reflected back by clouds.
2. Some are absorbed by the molecules in the air.
(oxygen and ozone absorb nearly all the ultraviolet
radiation. Water vapor and CO2 absorb some of
the energy in infra red range.
3. Some gets scattered by droplets in clouds and
by dust particles
 Beam and Diffuse Radiation
Solar radiation (not absorbed or scattered) that
reaches the ground directly from is called “Direct
or Beam radiation”. It produces a shadow when
interrupted by an opaque object.
Diffuse radiation is that solar radiation received
from the sun after its direction has been changed
by reflection and scattering by the atmosphere.
The total solar radiation received at any point on
The earth’s surface is the sum of the direct and
diffuse radiation. It is referred to as INSOLATION at
that point. Insolation is thus defined as the total
solar radiation energy received on a horizontal
surface of unit area on ground in unit time.
It depends upon location of earth’s surface, the
altitude (changes with date and time of the day)of
the sun in the sky, geographic latitude at which
observations are made, rate of arrival of solar
radiation
Beam and Diffuse Radiation
Beam and Diffuse Radiation
Absorption and scattering
 Solar radiations while passing through the earth’s
atmosphere are subjected to the mechanism of
atmospheric absorption and scattering. A fraction of the
radiation reaching the earth’s surface is reflected back
into the atmosphere and is subjected to these
atmospheric phenomenon again, the remainder is
absorbed by the earth’s surface. Absorption occurs due
to the presence of water vapor and ozone in the
atmosphere and other particulate matter. The scattered
radiation redistributed in all directions, some going back
into space and some reaching the earth surface.
Solar Electric Power Generation
 Solar Cell
• A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electrical device
that converts the energy of light directly into
electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a
physical and chemical phenomenon. It is a form of
photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical
characteristics, such as current, voltage, or resistance,
vary when exposed to light. Individual solar cell
devices can be combined to form modules, otherwise
known as solar panels. In basic terms a single junction
silicon solar cell can produce a maximum open-circuit
voltage of approximately 0.5 to 0.6 volts
• Solar cells are described as being photovoltaic, irrespective
of whether the source is sunlight or an artificial light. They
are used as a photodetector (for example infrared detectors
), detecting light or other electromagnetic radiation near
the visible range, or measuring light intensity. The operation
of a photovoltaic (PV) cell requires three basic attributes:
• The absorption of light, generating either electron-hole
pairs or excitons.
• The separation of charge carriers of opposite types.
• The separate extraction of those carriers to an external
circuit.
 Working of Solar Cells
Photons in sunlight hit the solar panel and are absorbed by
semiconducting materials, such as silicon.
Electrons are excited from their current molecular/atomic orbital.
Once excited an electron can either dissipate the energy as heat and
return to its orbital or travel through the cell until it reaches an
electrode. Current flows through the material to cancel the potential
and this electricity is captured. The chemical bonds of the material
are vital for this process to work, and usually silicon is used in two
layers, one layer being doped with boron, the other phosphorus.
These layers have different chemical electric charges and
subsequently both drive and direct the current of electrons.[1]
An array of solar cells converts solar energy into a usable amount of
direct current (DC) electricity.
An inverter can convert the power to alternating current (AC).
 A solar cell is made of two types of semiconductors,
called p-type and n-type silicon. The p-type silicon is
produced by adding atoms—such as boron or gallium—that
have one less electron in their outer energy level than does
silicon. Because boron has one less electron than is
required to form the bonds with the surrounding silicon
atoms, an electron vacancy or “hole” is created.
The n-type silicon is made by including atoms that have one
more electron in their outer level than does silicon, such as
phosphorus. Phosphorus has five electrons in its outer
energy level, not four. It bonds with its silicon neighbor
atoms, but one electron is not involved in bonding. Instead,
it is free to move inside the silicon structure.
 A solar cell consists of a layer of p-type silicon
placed next to a layer of n-type silicon. In the n-
type layer, there is an excess of electrons, and in
the p-type layer, there is an excess of positively
charged holes (which are vacancies due to the lack
of valence electrons). Near the junction of the two
layers, the electrons on one side of the junction (n-
type layer) move into the holes on the other side
of the junction (p-type layer). This creates an area
around the junction, called the depletion zone, in
which the electrons fill the holes
 When all the holes are filled with electrons
in the depletion zone, the p-type side of the
depletion zone (where holes were initially
present) now contains negatively charged ions,
and the n-type side of the depletion zone (where
electrons were present) now contains positively
charged ions. The presence of these oppositely
charged ions creates an internal electric field that
prevents electrons in the n-type layer to fill holes
in the p-type layer.
 When sunlight strikes a solar cell, electrons in the
silicon are ejected, which results in the formation of
“holes”—the vacancies left behind by the escaping
electrons. If this happens in the electric field, the field
will move electrons to the n-type layer and holes to
the p-type layer. If you connect the n-type and p-type
layers with a metallic wire, the electrons will travel
from the n-type layer to the p-type layer by crossing
the depletion zone and then go through the external
wire back of the n-type layer, creating a flow of
electricity.
Application of Solar Energy
 Some of the major application of solar
energy are as follows:
(a) Solar water heating
(b) Solar pumping
(c) Solar Pond
 Solar Water Heating
A solar water heating unit comprises a blackened
flat plate metal collector with an associated metal tubing
facing the general direction of the sun. The plate collector
has a transparent glass cover above and a layer of thermal
insulation beneath it. The metal tubing of the collector is
connected by a pipe to an insulated tank that stores hot
water during cloudy days. The collector absorbs solar
radiations and transfers the heat to the water circulating
through the tubing either by gravity or by a pump. This hot
water is supplied to the storage tank via the associated
metal tubing. This system of water heating is commonly
used in hotels, guest houses, tourist bungalows, hospitals,
canteens as well as domestic and industrial units.
 Solar-pumping

In solar pumping, the power

generated by solar-energy is utilized for pumping
water for irrigation purposes. The requirement for
water pumping is greatest in the hot summer
months which coincide with the increased solar
radiations during this period and so this method is
most appropriate for irrigation purpose. During
periods of inclement weather when solar radiations
are low then the requirement for water pump­ing is
also relatively less as the transpiration losses from
the crops are also low.
The system operates on power generated using
solar PV (photovoltaic) system. The photovoltaic
array converts the solar energy into electricity,
which is used for running the motor pump set. The
pumping system draws water from the open well,
bore well, stream, pond, canal etc. The system
requires a shadow-free area for installation of the
Solar panel.
 Solar Pond

A solar pond is a pool of saltwater which collects

and stores solar thermal energy. The saltwater
naturally forms a vertical salinity gradient also
known as a “halocline", in which low-salinity
water floats on top of high-salinity water. The
layers of salt solutions increase in concentration
(and therefore density) with depth. Below a
certain depth, the solution has a uniformly high
salt concentration.
When the sun's rays contact the bottom of a shallow pool, they
heat the water adjacent to the bottom. When water at the bottom
of the pool is heated, it becomes less dense than the cooler water
above it, and convection begins. Solar ponds heat water by
impeding this convection. Salt is added to the water until the
lower layers of water become completely saturated. High-salinity
water at the bottom of the pond does not mix readily with the
low-salinity water above it, so when the bottom layer of water is
heated, convection occurs separately in the bottom and top layers,
with only mild mixing between the two. This greatly reduces heat
loss, and allows for the high-salinity water to get up to 90 °C while
maintaining 30 °C low-salinity water. This hot, salty water can then
be pumped away for use in electricity generation, through a
turbine or as a source of thermal energy.
A solar pond has three zones. The top zone is the surface zone, or
UCZ (Upper Convective Zone), which is at atmospheric temperature
and has little salt content. The bottom zone is very hot, 70°– 85° C,
and is very salty. It is this zone that collects and stores solar energy in
the form of heat, and is, therefore, known as the storage zone or LCZ
(Lower Convective Zone). Separating these two zones is the
important gradient zone or NCZ (Non-Convective Zone). Here the salt
content increases as depth increases, thereby creating a salinity or
density gradient. If we consider a particular layer in this zone, water
of that layer cannot rise, as the layer of water above has less salt
content and is, therefore, lighter. Similarly, the water from this layer
cannot fall as the water layer below has a higher salt content and is,
therefore, heavier. This gradient zone acts as a transparent insulator
permitting sunlight to reach the bottom zone but also entrapping it
there. The trapped (solar) energy is then withdrawn from the pond in
the form of hot brine from the storage zone.