Solar Energy: .And It's Many Uses

Solar Energy
.and its many uses
SOLAR ENERGY
A FEW FACTS Every day the earth receives thousands of times more energy from the sun than is consumed in all other resources. If a 140x140 mile parcel of land in Arizona was covered with solar cells, the electricity needs of the entire United States could be met. The sunlight falling on a typical house can provide from 1/3 to 1/2 of the heating needs of that house. Today solar energy accounts for only 1% of the total renewable energy consumed in the United States
Characteristics of Isolation
Isolation is the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth. Also called Incident Solar Radiation. The suns energy is created from the fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium nuclei. Components of Solar Radiation: Direct radiation Diffuse radiation Reflect radiation
SOLAR HEATING TODAY

Used mostly for heating pools and domestic hot water (DHW) Two types of solar heating systems:
Active Solar Heating System Passive Solar Heating System
ACTIVE SOLAR HEATING SYSTEM

A system that uses water or air that the sun has heated and is then circulated by a fan or pump. Three Types:
Flat Plate Collectors Batch Water Heaters Thermosiphon
FLAT PLATE COLLECTORS

A thin flat metal plate is used to absorb the suns radiation. Tubes carry water into the absorber plate where it is heated by the sun and sent to a pump or fan into storage and distributed from there to the living space.
BATCH WATER HEATERS

Pre-heats water using the sun by having a black tank inside an isolated box with a glass cover. Solar energy is absorbed within the box to heat the water. The water outflow is sent into a conventional water heater for further heating. They are also called BreadBox heaters.
THERMOSIPHEN
This method places the storage tank above the solar collector. Cold water is put into the bottom of the storage tank where it is circulated through a flat plate collector and pumped back into the top of the storage tank. The heated water can then be taken from the top and used.
PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS

The house itself acts as the solar collector and storage facility. No pumps or fans are used. This system makes use of the materials of the house to store and absorb heat. Three Types:
Direct-Gain Indirect-Gain Attached Greenhouse
DIRECT-GAIN
Large south facing windows that let in the sunlight. Thermal mass is used to absorb the radiation. At night the absorbed heat is radiated back into the living space.
INDIRECT-GAIN
Collects and stores the solar energy in one part of the house and use natural heat transfer to distribute heat to the rest of the house. Popular method is to use a Trombe Wall which is a massive black masonry that acts as a solar collector and a heat storage medium.
ATTACHED GREENHOUSE
Uses a combination of Direct and Indirect-Gain systems that use water drums and a masonry floor as heat storage in the attached greenhouse. Thermosiphoning can use direct-gain from the flow of air created by the difference in pressure between the less dense warmer air of the room and the cooler air near the ground.
THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE

Solar energy heating systems must be able to store energy for night time use and for cloudy days. Different materials absorb different amounts of heat. Depending on the weather and the amount of thermal energy stored will determine how long a house can continue to be heated by the stored solar energy. Phase-change material can be used to add additional heat to the living space.
4 types of PV cells
Selective Emitter Cell (SEC) Emitter wrap- through cells (EWC) Thin Film Photovoltaic Single Crystal Silicon Cells
Single-Crystal Silicon Cell Construction

The majority of PV cells in use are the single-crystal silicon type. Silica (SiO2) is the compound used to make the cells. It is first refined and purified, then melted down and re-solidified so that it can be arranged in perfect wafers for electric conduction. These wafers are very thin. The wafers then have either Phosphorous or Boron added to make each wafer either a negative type layer or a positive type layer respectively. Used together these two types treated of crystalline silicon form the p-n junction which is the heart of the solar electrical reaction. Many of these types of cells are joined together to make arrays, the size of each array is dependant upon the amount of sunlight in a given area.
How Does A Cell Become A Module?

A solar cell is the basic building block of a PV system. A typical cell produces .5 to 1V of electricity. Solar cells are combined together to become modules or if large enough, known as an array. A structure to point the modules towards the sun is necessary, as well as electricity converters, which convert DC power to AC. All of these components allow the system to power a water pump, appliances, commercial sites, or even a whole community.
Production
Combinations of haz and non-haz materials + High temperatures = high environmental cost Cost decline as companies depend more on solar for production of cells/modules
Pros and Cons of Solar Electricity

Expensive to produce because of the high cost of semi- conducting materials, which could be avoided by reducing manufacturing costs. The PV Manufacturing Research and Development Project focuses on increasing manufacturing capacity so that the cost of manufacturing will decrease. They aim to achieve break even costs. However, solar energy contributes positively to the nations energy security because it is produced domestically, reducing reliance on energy imports. The industry is still relatively new and extremely hi tech allowing for the creation of more jobs in the American market. The government has many incentives program which vary from state to state, but they exist to encourage investment in forms of alternative energy. Does not require the transportation of hazardous materials across country. Sunlight is a free abundant source!
Life
Average 20-30 years Efficiency decrease 1% a year. Research on manufacturing and output efficiency and recycling ongoing. Payback or energy break even - 15 years.
Stand-Alone PV Systems
Stand-alone PV systems are designed to operate independent of the electric utility grid Supply DC and/or AC electrical loads The simplest type of stand-alone PV system is a direct-coupled system, where the DC output of a PV module or array is directly connected to a DC load Since there are no batteries involved in direct load systems, stand-alone PV systems are suitable for such processes as heating and pumping water, ventilation fans, etcAlthough they can only work in the day. Stand-Alone systems may also power AC loads such as batteries. Like the AC adapter which powers your laptop.

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Solar Energy: .And It's Many Uses

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Solar Energy

.and its many uses

SOLAR HEATING TODAY

ACTIVE SOLAR HEATING SYSTEM

FLAT PLATE COLLECTORS

BATCH WATER HEATERS

PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS

THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE

Single-Crystal Silicon Cell Construction

How Does A Cell Become A Module?

Pros and Cons of Solar Electricity

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