EE 394J-10 Distributed Generation Technologies

EE 394J-10
Distributed Generation Technologies

Fall 2012

2 Alexis Kwasinski, 2012
Photovoltaic (PV) modules are made by connecting several PV cells. PV
arrays are made by connecting several PV modules.

Although the sun will eventually die as a white dwarf star in about 4.5 Billion
years, solar power can be considered a renewable source of energy because
we can expect that for the next couple of billion years the sun will still radiate
power without making the Earth inhabitable.

Solar power is radiated through space.

Solar power is generated by nuclear fusion.

Light propagation can be represented through waves or through particles
(dual representation).

To represent electricity production in PV cells, the particle (photon)
representation is used

Photovoltaic modules
Photons are created at the center or the Sun. It takes an average of 10 million
years for the photons to emerge (they collide many times in the Sun interior).
Then it takes 8 minutes for a photon to reach the Earth.

Fusion reactions:
Step 1:
(

represents an atom of deuterium = an hydrogen isotope
formed by a proton and a neutron, a positron (p
+
) or antielectron is
an electron with a positive charge, a neutrino n
0
are very low mass-
no charge elementary particles).
This reaction requires extreme temperatures and pressures to bring
two protons so close (< 10
-15
m) that the repulsion force between
them disappears.
Step 2:
where represent a photon.
Step 3.1:
Step 3.2:
where is tritium an hydrogen isotope formed by 2 neutrons and
a proton
p e
+
+ +
1 1 2 0
1 1 1
H H D p n
+
+ + +
2
1
D
1
3
T
2 1 3
1 1 2
D H He + +
Photons Journey into Electricity
2 2 3 3 0
1 1 1 2
or D D T p He n
+
+ + +
Fusion reactions (continue):
Step 4.1:
Step 4.2:
The overall reaction is:

This reaction releases 26 MeV

All photons are created equal. So why photons leaving the sun have different
energy (as indicated by their different frequency in the dual wave model)?

The emitted photons have high energy. This energy is mostly lost in collisions
with atoms as the photons leave the sun.

This reaction can only occur due to the high pressure generated by the mass
contraction at the Sun s center.

The Sun is mostly composed of hydrogen (73 %) and Helium (25 %). These
proportions are changing. Eventually the sun will start the fusion process of
heavier elements.
3 3 4 1 1
2 2 2 1 1
He He He H H + + +
1 4 1 0
1 2 1
6 2 2 2 6 H e He H n
+ + + +
3 3 4 0
1 1 2
2 T T He n + +
Ideal radiation of energy is described by the black body radiation.
Black bodies radiate energy at different wavelengths as indicated by

The Sun closely behaves like a black body at a temperature T=5800 K (the
Suns surface temperature)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:EffectiveTemperature_300dpi_e.png
Total blackbody radiation rate
(area under the curve):

E=AT
4

For the Sun it equals 1.37 kW/m
2

Wavelength for the maximum:

For the Sun it approximately
equals 0.5 m
8
14400
5
3.74 10
1
T
E
e
=
| |
|
\ .
4
E A T o =
max
2898
( ) m
T
=
Finally, the photons reach the Earth.
US Solar Insolation Map: NREL
The incident power has 3 components depending on the final photons path.
Reflected radiation
Direct-beam radiation
Diffuse radiation
Direct-beam radiation:
The extraterrestrial solar insolation is given by

This is the solar insolation before entering the Earths atmosphere. In
the equation, SC is the solar constant an equals 1.37 kW/m
2
and n is
the day number (January 1 is day #1). The day number takes into
consideration that the Earth-Sun distance changes through the year.

The solar insolation is attenuated as it passes through the atmosphere.
The portion that reaches the earths surface.

where A and k are constants and m is the air mass ratio that takes into
account that the suns beam path length through the atmosphere changes
with the sun relative position with respect to the earth surface at the
location where the analysis is made.

2
0
360
(SC) 1 0.034cos (W/m )
365
n
I
(
| |
= +
|
(
\ .

km
B
I Ae
=

Figure 4. Sun Zenith and Azimuth Angles
West
North
(x axis)
Line perpendicular to
horizontal plane
East
(y axis)
Horizontal plane
Up (z axis)
zenith
sun
u
azimuth
sun
|
Note because of magnetic declination,
a compass in Austin points
approximately 6 east of north.
Suns location terms
Magnetic vs. celestial poles:
Magnetic poles:
Created by Earths magnetic field
Can be located with a compass
They move along Earths surface!

Celestial poles:
Created by Earths rotation.
They are two imaginary stationary
points in the sky.
Important for PV system applications.

Geological Survey of Canada

Solar Zenith versus Azimuth at Austin
22nd Day of Jun, Jly, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
(Sun hrs/day. Jun=13.9,Jly=13.6,Aug=12.8,Sep=12.0,Oct=11.0,Nov=10.3,Dec=10.0)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
Azimuth (South = 180)
Z
e
n
i
t
h

(
D
e
g
r
e
e
s

f
r
o
m

V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l
)
NOON
1 PM
3 PM
Jun
Dec
Sep
Suns position in the sky throughout the day and during an entire year.
The direct-beam insolation I
BC
depends on the PV module orientation with
respect to the sun. If the PV module is fixed, this insolation will change in a
deterministic way throughout the day and the year:
if the incident angle is given by
cos cos cos( )sin sin cos
S
C
u | | = E+ E
Then, the direct-beam
insolation is
cos
BC B
I I u =
June 21
December 21
March 21
September 21
Equator
Tropic of Cancer
Latitude 23.45
o
Tropic of Capricorn
Latitude -23.45
o
Austins Latitude: 30
o
23.45
o
23.45
o
30
o
Edge of
PV module
(for incidence
angle
calculation)
Earths surface
(for air mass ratio
calculation)
Impact of the suns position for the calculation of the direct-beam radiation
with respect to the incidence angle and the air mass ratio
Assuming that the diffuse radiation does not depends on the suns position in
a clear sky, then it is modeled using the following equation:\

where C is the sky diffuse factor which can be obtained from ASHRAE. This is
another deterministic value.

The reflected radiation can be calculated by considering the reflectance of
the surface in front of the PV module:

This is another deterministic value.

The total radiation rate on a PV module is, therefore, given by
1 cos
2
DC B
I CI
+ E
| |
=
|
\ .
1 cos
(sin )
2
RC B
I I C |
E
| |
= +
|
\ .
C BC DC RC
I I I I = + +
After a long journey, photons are converted into electricity in semiconductors:

Whenever a photon with enough energy hits an atom, an electron may jump
the energy gap into the conduction band. Once in the conduction band the
electron is free to move in an electric circuit.
If the circuit is open or if the load requires less current (charge per time) than
the one being produced, the free electrons will eventually decay again.
Since it is assumed a continuous slow varying incident solar energy, electrons
are freed at a constant rate. Hence, a constant voltage is produced.

Atoms energy model:

Photons energy is quantized. The energy of a photon with a wavelength of
(or a frequency of ) is

where h is Plancks constant
Gap

E
g
Conduction band
(partially filled)

Forbidden band

Filled band

Filled band

E
l
e
c
t
r
o
n

E
n
e
r
g
y

Gap

E
g
Conduction band
(Empty at T = 0K)

Forbidden band

Filled band

E
l
e
c
t
r
o
n

E
n
e
r
g
y

Metals

semiconductors

hc
E hu
= =
if the last equation is plotted we obtain that

Hence, there is a theoretical limit to a PV cell power output which depends on
the semiconductor material being used. For different semiconductors we have
that:

From the courses recommended book
Lost in heat
Efficiency limit can be understood by comparing the following two figures:

So for an air mass ratio of 1.5 the efficiencies are (see next slide)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:EffectiveTemperature_300dpi_e.png
Insufficient
energy
Excess
energy
For silicon and an air mass of 1.5 the maximum efficiency is about 50%

As the band gap energy decreases the efficiency improves somewhat.
However, the cost increases significantly.

Next class: PV cells electrical characteristics and technologies.
PV Cells Technologies
Characterization criterion:
Thickness:
Conventional thick cells (200 - 500 m)
Thin film (1 10 m). Tend to be less costly than conventional
(think) cells but they also tend to be less reliable and efficient.

Crystalline configuration:
Single crystal
Multicrystalline: cell formed by 1mm to 10cm single crystal areas.
Polycrystalline: cell formed by 1m to 1mm single crystal areas.
Microcrystalline: cell formed by areas of less than 1m across.
Amorphous: No single crystal areas.

p and n region materials:
Same material: homojunction (Si)
Different material: heterojunction (CdS and CuInSe
2
)

BP SX170B Polycrystalline BP SX170B Monocrystalline
Mitsubishi PV-TD 190MF5
Polycrystalline
Uni-Solar Laminate PVL-136
Amorphous
Uni-Solar solar shingle
PV Modules at ENS
Thick film fabrication techniques:
Czochraskis (CZ): for single-crystal silicon. Costly.
Float zone process (FZ): also for single-crystal silicon. Costly
Ribbon silicon
Cast silicon: for multicrystalline cells. Less costly.

Thin film
Can be used embedded in semitransparent windows.
Techniques:
Amorphous Silicon: can achieve higher efficiencies (in the order of 42%
thanks to the multijunction (different multiple layers) in which each layer absorb
photons with different energy.
Gallium Arsenide (GaAs): relatively high theoretical efficiency (29 %) which is
not significantly affected by temperature. Less sensitive to radiation. Gallium
makes this solution relatively expensive.
Gallium Indium Phosphide (GaInP): similar to GaAs.
Cadmium Telluride (CdTe): Issue: Cd is a health hazard (it is very toxic).
Copper Indium Diselenide (CIS or CuInSe2): relatively good efficiency)
Silicon Nitrade (N
4
Si
3
)

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Distributed Generation Technologies

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