Last update: 22-03-2017
230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
Coordinating unit:
230 - ETSETB - Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering
Teaching unit:
710 - EEL - Department of Electronic Engineering
Academic year:
2017
Degree:
BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS ENGINEERING (Syllabus 2009). (Teaching unit
Optional)
BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES ENGINEERING
(Syllabus 2015). (Teaching unit Optional)
BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Syllabus 2010).
(Teaching unit Optional)
ECTS credits:
6
Teaching languages:
English
Teaching staff
Coordinator:
Luis Castañer Muñoz
Others:
Pablo Ortega Vilasclaras
Opening hours
Timetable:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Prior skills
Basic of electronic circuits and devices.
Requirements
Teaching methodology
The subject will be imparted in Spanish, although a part of the academic material could be in English. Due to the
experience of other years could be a high percentage of international students , for which, the subject (or a part of it)
could be imparted in English if it is the best option for everybody.
The students can communicate in class and in the written and oral exercises in Catalan, Spanish, English or French.
Learning objectives of the subject
Provide the fundamentals of solar energy, solar cells and photovoltaic systems.
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
Study load
Total learning time: 150h
Hours large group:
52h
34.67%
Self study:
98h
65.33%
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
Content
1. Introduction to photovoltaics (9,6 ECTS)
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
1.1. The photovoltaic system.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
1.2. Important definitions: irradiance and solar radiation.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
1.3. Modelling usin PSpice
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
1.4. Using Spice Subcircuits to simplify portability.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
1.5. Pspice Piecewise linear (PWL) sources and controlled voltage sources and
controlled voltage sources.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
1.6. Properties and definition of the Standard AM1,5G spectrum of the sun.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
1.7. Properties and definition of the Standard AM0 spectrum and comparison to black
body radiation.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
1.8. Energy input to a PV system: solar radiation availability in arbitrary surfaces.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
1.9. Problems.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2. Spectral response and short circuit current (19,2 ECTS).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.1. Introduction.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.1.1. Absorption coefficient.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.1.2. Reflectance
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.2. Analytical solar cell model.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.2.1. Short circuit spectral current density.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.2.2. Spectral photon flux.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.2.3. Total short circuit spectral current density and units.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
2.3. Spice model for the short circuit spectral current density.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.3.1. Absorption coefficient subcircuit.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.3.2. Short circuit current subcircuit model.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.4. Short circuit current.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.5. Quantum Efficiency QE.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.6. Spectral Response SR.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.7. Dark current density.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.8. Effects of solar cell material.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.9. Superposition.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
2.10. DC sweep plots and I(V) solar cell characteristics.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
2.11. Failing to fit to the ideal circuit model: series and shunt resistances and
recombination terms.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3. Electrical characteristics of the solar cell (28,8 ECTS).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.1. Ideal equivalent circuit.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.2. PSPICE model of the ideal solar cell.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.3. Open Circuit Voltage.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.4. Maximum Power Point.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.5. Fill Factor (FF) and Power Conversion Efficiency (h).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.6. Generalized model of a solar cell.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
3.7. Generalized SPICE model of a solar cell.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.8. Effects of the series resistance on the Short Circuit Current and on the Open
Circuit Voltage.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.9. Effect of the series resistance on the Fill Factor.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.10. Effects of the Shunt resistance.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.11. Effects of the recombination diode.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.12. Temperature Effects.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.13. Effects of solar radiation concentration.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.14. Effects of the space radiation.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.15. Behavioral solar cell model.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
3.16. Use of the behavioral model and PWL sources to simulate the response to a
time series of irradiance and temperature.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.16.1. Time units.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
3.16.2. Variable units.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4. Solar cell as a circuit element (19,2 ECTS).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4.1. Introduction.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4.2. Series Connection of Solar Cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4.2.1. Association of identical solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4.2.2. Association of identical solar cells with different irradiance levels. Hot spot
problem.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4.2.3. Bypass diode in series of solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
4.3. Shunt connection of solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4.3.1. Shadow effecs.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4.4. The scaling rules of the I_V characteristics.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4.5. Conversion of the standard characteristics to arbitrary irradiance and
temperature values.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4.5.1. Transformation based in normalized variables (ISPRA method).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4.6. Behavioral Spice model.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
4.7. Hot spot problem in a PV module and Safe operation area (SOA).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
5. Solar energy properties (9,6 ECTS).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
5.1. Summary.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
5.2. Celestial coordinates, equatorial and horizontal.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
5.3. Solar energy components.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
5.3.1. Direct.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
5.3.2. Diffuse.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
5.3.3. Albedo.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
5.4. Integration of the solar energy components.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
5.5. Irradiance-Radiation correlations.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
5.6. Effects of the elevation and azimuth angles in solar energy collection.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6. Solar Cells Technology (28,8 ECTS).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
6.1. Introduction.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.2. Solar cell materials and modelling.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.3. Ideal photovoltaic efficiencies.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.4. Cristalline Silicon solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.4.1. Silicon: manufacture and properties.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.4.2. Industrial manufacture of crystalline Si solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.4.3. Thin silicon solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.4.4. High efficiency silicon solar cell concepts.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.5. Thin film Solar Cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
6.5.1. Amorphous silicon solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.5.2. Microcrystalline Si Solar Cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.5.3. Cadmium telluride thin-film PV modules.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.5.4. Cu (In, Ga) Se2 thin-film solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.6. GaAs and high-efficiency space cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.6.1. High-efficiency concentrator silicon solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.7. Organic & dye sensitized solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.7.1. Photoelectrochemical solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
6.7.2. Organic and plastic solar cells.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
7. Introduction to PV systems (19,2 ECTS).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
7.1. Interfacing PV modules to loads.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
7.2. Stand-alone PV systems.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
7.3. The concept of the Equivalent Peak--Solar-Hours (PSH).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
7.4. Energy Balance in a PV system: Simplified PV-array Sizing procedure.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
7.5. Simplified sizing procedure fot the battery in a Stand-alone-PV system.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
7.6. Stochastic radiation time series.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
7.7. Loss of Load Probability (LLP).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
7.8. Grid connected PV Systems.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
8. Supervised Activity (SA): concept to device expertise (6,1 ECTS).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
8.1. Find solar energy radiation data for your birth place, for all months, all elevation
angles.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
8.2. Find solar cell I-V characteristics of a technology of your choice and convert to a
given set of temperature and radiation values.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
8.3. Compute the energy produced by the same solar cell as in OA.2 for one year long
in your birth place for a inclination angle equal to the latitude.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
8.4. Devise/find suitable technology process for this solar cell and evaluate the
resistive losses.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
8.5. Describe the main equipment required to produce such solar cell.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
9. Other activities (OA): PV world awareness (10 ECTS).
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
9.1. Find relevant information on solar cell world production.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
9.2. Find relevant information on cost per wat/peak for several solar cell
technologies.
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
9.3. Find relevant information on commercial efficiencies of several solar cell
technologies.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
9.4. Write a summary report according to specific guidelines.
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
9.5. Give a power point presentation of your findings
Degree competences to which the content contributes:
Qualification system
Exam 1: 30%
Exam 2: 30%
Course exercises: 20%
Homework assignements: 20%
Regulations for carrying out activities
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230102 - IESF - Introduction to Photovoltaic Solar Energy
Bibliography
Basic:
Castañer Muñoz, L.; Silvestre Berges, S. Modelling photovoltaic systems: using PSpice. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2002.
ISBN 0470845287.
Complementary:
Markvart, T.; Castañer, L. Solar cells: materials manufacture and operation. Oxford [etc.]: Elsevier Science, 2005. ISBN
1856174573.
Others resources:
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