OLAR ENERG

INTRODUCTION

• Energy is the ability to work, and 'solar' is a Latin word for the sun. So,
we can define solar energy as energy obtained from the sun.
• Nuclear fusion reactions in the sun give rise to electromagnetic radiation;
the Earth absorbs 45%.
• One of the basic uses of solar energy is photosynthesis.
• Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using
a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar
heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten
salt power plants, and artificial photosynthesis.
 Reasons for using Solar energy:-
Solar energy is a primary renewable energy source with the
potential to meet many of the world’s challenges.
1) Solar power is good for the environment
2) Combats climate change
3) Solar power causes less electricity loss
 Advantages of Using Solar Energy

 Renewable energy sources

available free of cost
 Clean and pollution-free

 The source does not deplete with

use
 Available naturally in every
consumer’s premises
 LIMITATIONS OF USING SOLAR ENERGY
1) Uneconomical
2) Weather Dependent
3) Solar Energy Storage is Expensive
4) Uses a lot of space
5) Still in the developmental stage
 APPLICATIONS OF SOLAR ENERGY
1) Solar domestic heating purposes.

2) Solar cooking.

3) Electricity generation.

4) Solar thermal power production.

5) Solar furnaces.

6) Solar greenhouses.

7) Driving force for batteries

Solar Radiation is radiant energy emitted by the sun, particularly
electromagnetic energy. About half of the radiation is in the visible short-wave
part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The other half is mostly in the near-
infrared part, with some in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. The radiation
reaching the earth is less than what enters the top of the atmosphere.
It has two categories :
1) Direct Radiation: Solar radiation that reaches the earth’s surface without
being diffused is called direct beam radiation.
2) Diffuse Radiation: As sunlight passes through the atmosphere, some of it is
absorbed, scattered, and reflected by air molecules, water vapor, clouds, dust,
and pollutants from power plants, forest fires, and volcanoes. This is called
diffused radiation.
Solar radiation is the most important weather variable that determines whether
a place experiences high temperatures or is predominantly cold.
The instruments used for measuring of solar radiation are the pyranometer
and the pyrheliometer. The duration of sunshine is calculated using a
sunshine recorder.
The energy radiated from the sun is electromagnetic waves reaching the planet
Earth in three spectral regions;
i) Ultraviolet 6.4 % ( ≤ 0.38 μm),
ii) Visible 48.0 % (0.38 μm < < 0.78 μm), and
iii) Infrared 45.6 % ( ≥ 0.78 μm) of total energy.
Due to the significant distance between the sun and the earth (1.495 × 108
km), the beam radiation received from the sun on the Earth is almost parallel.
• A pyranometer measures the global irradiance in watts per
square meter (W/m2).
• The global irradiance is the amount of solar energy per unit area
per unit of time, which comes from direct and diffuse solar
radiation.
• Direct radiation, or direct sunlight, travels straight from the sun
to the earth without interruption by clouds or atmospheric
particles. Diffuse radiation is the sunlight scattered by water
droplets, air molecules and reflected from buildings, trees, etc.
• The pyranometer sensor converts this global irradiance into
an electrical signal that can be measured.
Applications:
1. Solar energy sector
2. Agriculture
3. Meteorology and Climate Science
4. Building and Urban Planning
Thermopile
it uses a thermocouple to notice
dissimilarity in temperature between two
surfaces. These are hot (labeled active)
and cold (reference). The labeled active
surface is black in flat shape and
exposed to the atmosphere. The
reference surface depends on the
difficulty of the pyranometer because it
changes from a second control
thermopile to the covering of the
pyranometer itself.
Glass Dome
Glass dome in the pyrometer limits the response of spectral from 300 nm to 2800 nm from
180 degrees of view. It also protects the thermopile sensor from rain, wind, etc. This
construction of the second dome gives extra radiation protection among the inner dome &
sensor compared to a single dome because a second dome will reduce the instrument
offset.
Occultation Disc
The occultation disc is mainly used to measure the radiation of blocking beam &
diffuse radiation from the panel surface.
Pyranometer Working Principle

The working principle of the pyranometer mainly depends on the difference in

temperature measurement between two surfaces, such as dark and clear.
The black surface can absorb the solar radiation on the thermopile, whereas
the clear surface reproduces it, so less heat can be absorbed.

The thermopile plays a key role in measuring the temperature difference.

The potential difference formed within the thermopile is due to the temperature
gradient between the two surfaces. These are used to measure the sum of solar
radiation.

However, the voltage generated from the thermopile is calculated with the
help of a potentiometer. The information on radiation needs to be included
through planimetry or an electronic integrator
A pyrheliometer is a device used to measure direct beam solar irradiance,
essentially consisting of a tube-like structure with a quartz window that
allows sunlight to pass through, hitting a black surface (absorber)
connected to a thermopile which converts the absorbed heat into an
electrical signal, allowing for the measurement of solar radiation intensity
in watts per square meter (W/m²) by recording the voltage produced; it
usually requires a tracking mechanism to maintain alignment with the sun
throughout the measurement process
Key components and working principle:

Quartz window: This transparent window filters out most non-solar radiation
while allowing the desired spectrum of sunlight to enter the instrument.

Black absorber: A blackened surface that efficiently absorbs the incoming

solar radiation, converting it into heat.

Thermopile: A series of thermocouples connected in series, where one junction

is attached to the black absorber and the other to a heat sink, generating a
voltage proportional to the temperature difference caused by the absorbed solar
radiation.

Housing and tracking mechanism: The pyrheliometer is typically housed in a

tube-like structure with a mechanism to point it towards the sun for accurate
measurements precisely
How it works:

1. Sunlight enters: Solar radiation passes through the quartz window and
reaches the black absorber.

2. Heat absorption: The black surface absorbs the incoming solar radiation,
causing its temperature to rise.

3. Thermoelectric effect: The temperature difference between the heated

absorber and the cooler heat sink creates a voltage across the thermopile.

4. Signal recording: This voltage is measured by a data logger, which is then

converted into the corresponding solar irradiance value (W/m²) using a
calibration factor.
 Solar Energy
Measurement
• The output of the sun is 2.8×1023KW.
• The energy reaching the earth is 1.5×1018KWH/year.
When light travels from outer space to Earth, solar energy is lost because
of the following reasons:
• Scattering: The rays collide with particles present in the atmosphere
• Absorption: Because of water vapor, there is absorption
• Cloud cover: The light rays are diffused because of clouds.
• Reflection: When the light rays hit the mountains present on the
earth’s surface, there is reflection.
• Climate: The latitude of the location, day (time in the year) also
affects the amount of solar energy received by the place.
 Insolation
It is a quantity indicating the amount of incident solar power on a
unit surface, commonly expressed in units of kW/m2
At the earth’s outer atmosphere, solar insolation on a 1m 2
surface oriented generally to the sun’s rays is called SOLAR
CONSTANT, and its value is 1.37 kW/m2 .
Due to atmospheric effects, the peak solar insolation incident on
a terrestrial surface generally normal to the sun at noon on a clear
day is 1 kW/m2.
A 1 kW/m2 solar insolation level is often called PEAK SUN.
Solar insolation is denoted by ' I '.
 Insolation

The graph shows the amount

of power present in different
wavelengths of radiation.
It can be seen from the graph
that 50% of solar energy is in
the form of thermal energy.

Solar PV captures the energy in the visible region. Solar thermal

captures energy in the infrared region.
 Irradiance
It is the amount of solar energy received on a unit surface
expressed in units of kWh/m2 .
Solar irradiance is integrated to time.
When solar irradiance data is represented on an average daily basis,
the value is often called PEAK SUN HOURS (PSH). It can be
thought of as the number of equivalent hours/day that solar
insolation is at its peak level of 1kW/m2.
The worldwide average daily value of solar irradiance on optimally
oriented surfaces is approximately 5 kWh/m2 or 5 PSH.
Solar irradiance is denoted by ' H '.
Knowing how much energy has reached the panel through all the
paths becomes essential.
There are several factors on which this energy is dependent.
They are as follows:
• Latitude and longitude of the geographical location
• Climatic conditions such as clouds, water vapor, etc.
• Time of the day
• Time of the year
• Angle of tilt
• Collector design
Classification of Solar Collector
In non-concentrating collectors, the
aperture area (i.e., the area that receives
the solar radiation) is roughly the same
as the absorber area (i.e., the area
absorbing the radiation).

Concentrating collectors have a much

bigger aperture than absorber area
(additional mirrors focus sunlight on the
absorber) and only harvest the direct
component of sunlight.
Flat plate solar collectors (non-concentrating) are convenient, particularly for
space and service water heating where temperatures below about 90 °C are
adequate.
A flat plate can collect and absorb both direct and diffuse solar radiation. They
are consequently partially effective even on cloudy days without radiation.
Flat plate collectors are mainly divided into
 Liquid heating collector
 Air heating
 Evacuated tubular collector.
The majority of the flat plate collectors have five components :
 Transparent cover of glass, Teflon, marlex.
 Black end absorber plate is usually made of copper, aluminum, or steel.
 Tubes, channels, or passages in thermal contact with the absorber plate.
They are soldered, brazed, or clamped to the bottom of the absorber plate.
 Thermal insulation is usually made of foam, expanded polystyrene, or glass
wool, typically 5-10 cm thickness.
 The tight container is to enclose the above components.
As the solar radiation strikes a specially treated absorber plate, it is absorbed
and raises its temperature. This raised heat is transferred to the fluid, which is
circulated in the tube with the absorber. thermal insulator prevents heat loss
from the rear surface of the collector. The upper glass cover permits the entry
of solar radiation as it is transparent for incoming short wavelengths but is
mainly opaque to more prolonged infrared radiation reflected from the
absorber. The glass cover also prevents heat loss due to convection by keeping
the air stagnant. The glass cover may reflect around 15 % of incoming solar
radiation which can be reduced by applying anti-reflective coating on the
outer surface of the glass.
Solar Air Heater
When an air steam is heated by back side of the collector plate, fins attached to
the plate increase the contact surface. The backside of the collector is heavily
insulated with mineral wool or some other material. Basically, air heaters are
classified into the following two types
 Solar air heater with non-porous absorber
 Solar air heater with porous absorber
Solar Air Heater (Cont.)
In a non porous type, the air stream does not flow through the absorber plate.
In a porous type, the absorber include slit and expanded meyal, transpired
honeycomb and over-lapped glass plate absorber. The performance of air
heaters is improved by the following ways,
 Roughing the rear of the plate to promote turbulence and improve the
convective heat transfer coefficient, (or)
 Increasing the heat transfer surface by adding fins.
Evacuated Tubular Collector
Evacuated tube collectors are the most common solar thermal technology.
They make use of a glass tube to surround the absorber with high vacuum and
effectively resist atmospheric pressure. The vacuum that surrounds the
absorber greatly reduces convection and conduction heat loss, therefore
achieving greater energy conversion efficiency. The absorber can be either
metallic as in the case of flat plate collectors or being a second concentric glass
tube ("Sydney Tube").
Evacuated Tubular Collector (Cont. )
Heat transfer fluid can flow in and out each tube or being in contact with a heat
pipe reaching inside the tube.
For the later, heat pipes transfer heat to the fluid in a heat exchanger called a
"manifold“ placed transverse in respect to the tubes. The manifold is wrapped
in insulation (glass wool) and covered by a protective metal or plastic case also
used for fixing to supports.
Glass-metal evacuated tubes are made with flat or curved metal absorber
sheets same as those of flat plates. These sheets are joined to pipes or heat
pipes to make "fins" and placed inside a single borosilicate glass tube.
Evacuated Tubular Collector (Cont. )
An anti-reflective coating can be deposited on the inner and outer
surfaces of such tube to improve transparency. Both selective and
anti-reflective coating (inner tube surface) will not degrade until
the vacuum is lost. A high vacuum tight glass-metal seal is
however required at one or both sides of each evacuated tube.
This seal is cycled between ambient and fluid temperature each
day of collector operation and might lead to failures in time.
Glass-glass evacuated tubes are made with two borosilicate glass
tubes fused together at one or both ends (similar a vacuum bottle
or dewar flask). The absorber fin is placed
Evacuated Tubular Collector (Cont. )
The absorber fin is placed inside the inner tube at atmospheric
pressure. Glass-glass tubes have a very reliable seal,nbut the two
layers of glass reduce the amount of sunlight that reaches the
absorber. The selective coating can be deposited on the inner
borosilicate tube (high vacuum side) to avoid this, but heat has
then to flow through the poorly conducting glass thickness of the
inner tube in this case. Moreover, moisture may enter the non-
evacuated area inside the inner tube and cause absorber corrosion
in particularly when made from dissimilar materials (galvanic
corrosion).
Evacuated Tubular Collector (Cont. )
Advantages
 It does not require orientation towards the sun
 It requires a little maintenance
 Flat plate collectors are simpler than concentrating reflectors.
Disadvantages
 The temperature attained by the working fluid is low
 The construction is heavy in weight
 Conduction heat loss is more as the area is large
 Initial installation cost of the collector is more.
Solar Concentrating Collector (Focusing Type)
It is a device to collect solar energy with high intensity of solar
radiation on the energy absorbing surface. It is a special collector
modified by introducing a reflecting surface between solar
radiation and absorber.
It may classified as,
 Parabolic trough collector
 Minor strip reflector
 Fresnel lens collector
 Compound parabolic concentrator.
Parabolic Trough Collector
In this type of collector, the solar radiations falling on the area of
the parabolic reflector are concentrated at the focus of the
parabola.
When the reflector is manufactured in the form of a trough with
the parabaolic cross section, the solar radiations gets focused
along a line. An absorber pipe is placed along this line and a
working fluid water flows through it.
When the focused solar radiations fall on the absorber pipe, it
heats the fluid to a high temperature. Then the heat absorbed by
the working fluid is transferred to water for producing steam.
.
Parabolic Trough Collector
In this type of collector, the solar radiations falling on the area of
the parabolic reflector are concentrated at the focus of the
parabola.
When the reflector is manufactured in the form of a trough with
the parabaolic cross section, the solar radiations gets focused
along a line. An absorber pipe is placed along this line and a
working fluid water flows through it.
When the focused solar radiations fall on the absorber pipe, it
heats the fluid to a high temperature. Then the heat absorbed by
the working fluid is transferred to water for producing steam.
.
Parabolic Trough Collector (Cont…)
The focus of solar radiations changes with the change in sun’s
elevation. In order to focus the solar radiations on the absorber
pipe, either the trough or the collector pipe is rotated continuously
about the axis of the absorber pipe.
Mirror Strip Reflector
In this collector, a number of plane or slightly curved mirror strips
are mounted on a flat base. The angle of the individual mirrors is
arranged in such a way that they reflect solar radiation from a
specific direction on to the same focal line. The angle of the
mirrors must be adjusted to allow the change in the sun’s
elevation while the focal line remains in a fixed position.
Fresnel Lens Collector
In this collector, a Fresnel lens
which consists of fine, linear
grooves on the surface of
refracting material of optical
quality on one side and flat on The solar radiations which fall
the other side is used. The angle normally to the lens are
of each groove is so designed refracted by the lens and are
that the optical behavior of the focused on a line where the
fresnel lens is similar to that of a absorber tube (receiver) is
common lens. placed to absorb solar
radiations.
Fresnel Lens Collector
In this collector, a Fresnel lens
which consists of fine, linear
grooves on the surface of
refracting material of optical
quality on one side and flat on The solar radiations which fall
the other side is used. The angle normally to the lens are
of each groove is so designed refracted by the lens and are
that the optical behavior of the focused on a line where the
fresnel lens is similar to that of a absorber tube (receiver) is
common lens. placed to absorb solar
radiations.
Compound-Parabolic
Concentrator
It is a non-focusing type but the
radiation from many directions is
reflected towards the bottom of An advantage of this collector
the trough. Due to this the large is that it provides moderately
proportion of the solar radiation good concentration although
including diffuse radiation less than a focusing collector is
entering the trough opening is an east-west direction without
collected on a small area. adjustment for sun tracking
 Solar Heating
• No conversion equipment or complex collection required for domestic
heating
• Simple principle of black body principle (solar panels), flat plate
collectors are used.

SOLAR HEATING
SYSTEMS

ACTIVE HEATING PASSIVE HEATING

SYSTEMS SYSTEMS
 Active heating system

a) Active system uses one or more pumps

to circulate water and/or heating
fluid. This permits a much wider range
of system configurations.
b) Easily controlled and higher efficiency.
c) Features like safety functions, remote
access, informative displays, backup,
etc., make it expensive
 Passive Heating system

a) Relies on natural convection for circulation

b) Less expensive than active systems

c) More reliable and may last longer

Production Of Electricity
Photovoltaic cell

Solar trough collector

Photovoltaic Cells
 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

 Solar cells are described as photovoltaic, regardless of whether the source is

sunlight or artificial light. They are used as photodetectors (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:

I. The absorption of light, generating either electron-hole pairs or excitons.
II. The separation of charge carriers of opposite types.
III. The separate extraction of those carriers to an external circuit.
A conventional crystalline siliconsolar cell (as of
2005). Electrical contacts made from busbars (the
larger silver-colored strips) and fingers (the
smaller ones) are printed on the silicon wafer.
Solar Trough Collector
A parabolic trough is a type of solar thermal collector that is straight in one
dimension and curved as a parabola in the other two, lined with a polished
metal mirror. The energy of sunlight that enters the mirror parallel to its plane
of symmetry is focused along the focal line, where objects are positioned that
are intended to be heated.
 Solar energy applicability in the present world

Panda Solar Farm Datong, China 250Acre, 100MW Mega Project

4 MW horizontal single-axis tracker in Hybrid plant in Leh,
Vellakoil, Tamil Nadu Jammu and Kashmir

2,500 acres (10 sq kms)

Construction cost: ₹4,550 crore
5.5-6.0 kWh/m2 per day
648 MW
The price fell from 17.90 to 7.01
INR per unit
Advaanced Technologies in
Solar Energy Harnessing

AORA Solar came with this new concept of harnessing

the solar energy. It has begun the construction of this
solar-biogas power plant in Ethiopia. The concept is
inspired by the Sunflower, by creating the Solar Panel
that faces the Sun
 3D PRINTED SOLAR TREES

Solar energy from space –

Space-based Solar Power is the technique of collecting the
solar power in outer space and distributing it to Earth. Japan
Space Agency is working hard to develop technologies to
wirelessly transmit electricity.
Organic solar cells:-

i. Made of titanium dioxide instead of silicon.

ii. Silicon is a limited resource while tio2 is available in
plenty.
iii. Tio2 is cheaper and in also used in soaps.
iv. Organic solar cells can be made in normal
conditions of temperature and pressure while
normal solar cells require vacuum conditions for
manufacturing.
v. Effeciency is greater.