Yarmouk University

Hijjawi Faculty for Engineering Technology

Department of Power and Electrical Machines

Graduation Project one

Photovoltaic System Efficiency Improvement Techniques

Instructor: Eng. Nuha Radaideh

Name: Radi Issam Radi Al-Saqqa

Number: 2013975185

0
 Introduction
With increase in population and peoples way of life, there is an immense increase in
usage of electricity. So in these days Electricity is the main factor for social, economic
and industrial development. In the generation of electric energy, a generation can be
possible in two ways renewable and nonrenewable energy types that depend upon
generation resources. Renewable energy sources are replenished automatically time to
time like sun, wind or water. By the use of non-renewable energy resources such as
thermal power plants, there will be an immense increase in environmental pollution.
Also, there running cost is very high. So there is need for Renewable energy sources
provide a new area to generate energy by keeping the environment green.

Earth receives a huge total amount of solar energy which is approximately 6000 times
the whole global current energy consumption. Direct utilization of solar energy has low
initial and running cost. Effective utilization of this huge amount of solar energy will
have the positive impact on global power sector and avoids the emission of CO2 which
exits from burning different types of fuel in traditional ways to produce power into the
atmosphere.

Solar energy can be directly used for generating electrical power with the help of
photovoltaic (PV) panels. PV panels are devices which can convert the solar radiation
directly to electrical power. As there is no moving parts like wind mill there will not be
no mechanical losses. Because of these many reasons the solar energy system is most
efficient, available and useful renewable resource today.
Solar (PV) system is developed by number of solar cells which is connected in parallel
and series. They work on the principle that when light falls on an object, photon gets
energy higher than the threshold, it is emitted causing the generation of current. Which
is called photovoltaic effect.one of such material which exhibit photovoltaic effect is
silicon and solar cells now available in market is mainly made of silicon. PV panel cannot
be directly connected to a load. This is because of the fact that uneven distribution of
solar irradiance will result in variable power output. This will result in damage of the
output device to which the solar panel is connected. The variation in load and power
supply may lead to damage of battery and reduces its life time. Buck boost converters
are widely used devices for efficient operation of variable load and power supply. They
will boost the voltage when the radiation is low and it will buck the voltage to required
level when the radiation is high. As a result, maximum available power can be drawn
from the panel. According to the voltage and current that is sensed by the sensors, the
switching operation is controlled by PWM technique. Buck-boost converters make it
possible to efficiently convert a DC voltage to either a lower or higher required voltage.
Block diagram of PV system shown in figure number 1.
 Figure 1: Block diagram of PV system

Efficiency is one of the important parameters that are used to compare performance of
one system to another. Efficiency of a solar panel can be defined as the ratio of
electrical energy that is obtained from solar panel to the product of incident solar
irradiance, G (W/m2) and the area of solar panel, Ac (m2). Power that is obtained from
the panel is obtained from the product of open circuit voltage Voc (V), short circuit
current Isc (A) and the fill factor FF (The fill factor, abbreviated FF, is a parameter which
characterizes the non-linear electrical behavior of the solar cell.). The efficiency of solar
panel can be defined as:

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are used to convert sun radiation into electrical power that
could be used as a source of electricity to drive electrical loads. Typical efficiency of PV
systems that is used in commercial market is very low. Highest efficiency of solar panels
during various researches was found to be 40 % - 50 %.Due to their manufacturing cost
it cannot be commercialized to markets. This is due to the fact that the nature of PV
system has several losses that result in a poor efficiency, these losses are generally
classified into:

1- The full spectrum of solar radiation is not fully absorbed.

2- Energy obtained by the PV panel is not fully converted into electrical power.
 This research will present five techniques that assist in increasing the overall
efficiency of the PV system:
1- Reduction of PV cells temperature.
2- Maximum power point tracking (MPPT).
3- Microinverters.
4- PV panel tracking.
5- Mirror reflection.
Reduction of PV Cells Temperature
The temperature of PV cells during operation exceeds 30C, reaching during the summer
temperature values of more than 60C, since cells are left directly under the sun
radiation, is possible to heat them. In addition the electrical losses in cells itself
dissipated as heat.

Photovoltaic modules typically have solar conversion efficiency by 16%. This means that,
in fact, such modules produce heat that is 2-4 times greater than the electricity
obtained. This produced heat has a detrimental effect by increasing the operating
temperature of modules which lowers their operating performance which actually
lowers the PV cells efficiency significantly.

Increasing the operating temperature of the PV panel will influence the material
properties of the semiconductors (i.e. Silicon, a-Si, CdTe, CIGS e.t.c) used in the making
of the solar cell. Mostly what is affected is the band-gap of the material. The increase in
temperature leads to a decrease in band-gap. The decrease in band-gap leads to a slight
increase in short circuit current and a decrease in the open circuit voltage. Since the
drop in voltage is rapid and the increase in current is very slight, the net result is a
decrease in efficiency which leads to a decrease in the power output . Therefore there is
a clear loss of power and loss of power conversion efficiency (). The Figure 2 shows the
curves for different operating temperatures, demonstrating the maximum power point
drop and the voltage drop due to the temperature increase in the panel.

Figure 2: Dependence of the Photovoltaic power output on panel

Efficiency of solar panel is dependent on the temperature of the solar panel. It can be
related by the equation as below.

Where, t,ref is efficiency at reference temperature, ref is temperature coefficient

which is equal to 0.004 K-1 and Tc and Tc,ref temperature at normal condition and
reference condition.

Therefore, to abate this phenomenon, the temperature is reduced by passing water

through the backside of a panel serving as a heat exchanger by transferring heat from
the panel to the water. Pipes that pass this water are generally made of copper and
water is passed by natural flow or through a pump resulting in a hot water outlet. This
outlet can be used in domestic residential or industrial applications as a hot water
supply.

Water is circulated through the back of panel by natural flow. It is obtained by

thermosiphon effect. Tank placed at a certain height above the inlet of copper tube will
produce a natural flow downward to the tube. With increase in temperature of water its
density will decrease and it will rise upward and reach back to the tank and the cycle is
completed. We can also use forced water circulation system by pumps if the
thermosiphone effect doesnt work for any reason. The following figure 3 summarizes
this technique.

Figure 3: water flow technique

Simulation Results
Based on mathematic model was achieved the numerical simulation, using MATLAB
software. Simulation presents IV characteristics graphs of USP 145 PV module at
different temperature values at constant value of radiation. We can see the big drop in
open circuit voltage compared with slight increase in short circuit current which lead to
significant power loss. The forward figure 4 shows simulation results.

Figure 4: I-V curves of USP 145 PV module at different temperature

Figure 5 shows the graphics of module efficiency made with PVSYS software. The
software provides information on the operation of PV. It has a database of the main PV
components marketed.

Figure 5: PV module efficiency for different temperatures

From the previous figure we can see the great significance of temperature on operating
module efficiency, since at lower temperature the system is more efficient. The figure
also shows that the maximum power point can have significant variations. We will
discuss that in the next technique.
Experimental Results

The PV panel made in the present study comprises a commercial PV module and a
cooling system (figure 6). A USP 145 mono, crystalline solar PV module (1600 mm x 800
mm) (rated 150Wp, 42 V peak voltages) was adopted to be combined with a water
cooling system.

Figure 6: section of cooling system

For better contact, below the heat collecting plate, a thermal insulation layer is attached
using a fixing frame.
The experimental system was built using the PV module and cooling system combined
with a water storage tank. We installed a DC pump to circulate the water from the tank
through the cooling system to enhance the heat transfer of cooling system. To ensure
water circulation DC pump is controlled by a microcontroller that collects information
on the panel temperature by two temperature sensors mounted on it. Figure 7 shows
experimental PV system.

Figure 7: experimental PV system

For view thermal processes in the system developed was used an infrared camera. In
captured images are seen in the maximum temperature attained on surfaces, as follows:
51C for front surface of PV module, 42C for back surface of PV module with
disconnected water pump, 39C for back surface of PV module with connected water
pump.
There is another experimental result which referring to another experiment according
to IEEE paper (Experimental Study on Efficiency Enhancement of PV Systems With
Combined Effect of Cooling and Maximum Power Point Tracking) shows the role of
cooling in efficiency enhancement. Table below shows these results.
Maximum power point tracking (MPPT)
Due to differences in solar radiation intensity and meteorological conditions, the
electrical power output of the PV panel oscillates greatly. This results in having an
output power that does not correspond to the maximum power of the PV panel.
Therefore, all methods of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) are used to enforce
the PV panel to operate at its maximum power level. MPPT is not a mechanical tracking
system that physically moves the modules to make them point more directly at the sun.
MPPT is a fully electronic system that varies the electrical operating point of the
modules so that the modules are able to deliver maximum available power. Additional
power harvested from the modules is then made available as increased battery charge
current. MPPT can be used in conjunction with a mechanical tracking system, but the
two systems are completely different. Different power levels at different radiation
intensity conditions and the PV module power delivered versus voltage summarized in
Figure 8 and Figure 9.

Figure 8: different power levels at different radiations

Figure 9: output current and voltage

When a conventional controller is charging a discharged battery, it simply connects the
modules directly to the battery. This forces the modules to operate at battery voltage,
typically not the ideal operating voltage at which the modules are able to produce their
maximum available power. The PV Module Power/Voltage/Current graph shows the
traditional Current/Voltage curve for a typical 75W module at standard test conditions
of 25C cell temperature and 1000W/m2 of insolation. This graph also shows PV module
power delivered versus module voltage. For the example shown, the conventional
controller simply connects the module to the battery and therefore forces the module
to operate at 12V. By forcing the 75W module to operate at 12V the conventional
controller artificially limits power production to 53W. As shown in figure 10 below.

Figure 10: typical 76 watt PV module Power/Voltage/Current at standard test conditions

Rather than simply connecting the module to the battery, the patented MPPT system in
a Solar Boost charge controller calculates the voltage at which the module is able to
produce maximum power. In this example the maximum power voltage of the module
(VMP) is 17V. The MPPT system then operates the modules at 17V to extract the full
75W, regardless of present battery voltage. A high efficiency DC-to-DC power converter
converts the 17V module voltage at the controller input to battery voltage at the
output. If the whole system wiring and all was 100% efficient, battery charge current in
this example would be ( VMODULE VBATTERY x IMODULE) or (17V 12V x 4.45A = 6.30A) A
charge current increase of 1.85A or 42% would be achieved by harvesting module power
that would have been left behind by a conventional controller and turning it into
useable charge current.
There are seven different methods to achieve MPPT. These several methods include:
1. Constant Voltage.
2. Open Circuit Voltage.
3. Short Circuit Current.
4. Perturb and Observe.
5. Incremental Conductance.
6. Temperature.
7. Temperature Parametric.
 Microinverters

With the recent technological advances, a relatively new connection approach has been
proposed to overcome the traditional problems of inverter connections. This connection
suggests that each solar panel module incorporates its own inverter. Module-
incorporated-inverters, also known as microinverters, substantially improve safety, and
maximize the solar energy harvest. The improved harvested solar energy is due to the
fact that the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is performed individually on each
module.

In addition to that, microinverters improve system reliability by reducing converter

temperatures and removing fans. Therefore, the benefits of microinverters can easily
surpass any disadvantage that can be associated with it, mainly cost especially in small
plants.

Microinverters are power electronic devices that convert DC power from a low power
source (PV cells, batteries, etc.) to AC power, such as that used in homes. Therefore,
microinverters can be used not only for solar energy purposes but can further be
implemented to drive loads off a battery or any DC voltage source. The stages of a
microinverter are shown in Figure 11 below.

Figure 11: Stages of a Microinverter

PV panel produce (12-15) volts due to irradiance changing. In our simulation case let us
take 12 volt DC voltage source to implement the output voltage of PV panel in the first
DC/DC stage we used fly-back converter. Second DC/AC stage we used full wave (H-
Bridge) rectifier. Finally we used RLC filter to smooth the output AC signal. Output signal
is 220v/50Hz.

The fly-back converter is a buck-boost converter with the inductor split to form a
transformer, so that the voltage ratios are multiplied with an additional advantage of
isolation. The schematic of a fly-back converter can be seen in figure 12.

When the switch is closed (top of Figure 12), the

primary of the transformer is directly connected to
the input voltage source. The primary current and
magnetic flux in the transformer increases, storing
energy in the transformer. The voltage induced in
the secondary winding is negative, so the diode is
reverse-biased. The output capacitor supplies
energy to the output load.

When the switch is opened (bottom of Figure 12),

the primary current and magnetic flux drops. The
secondary voltage is positive, forward-biasing the
diode, allowing current to flow from the
transformer. The energy from the transformer core
recharges the capacitor and supplies the load.
Fly-back converter equation is below: Figure 12: Fly-back DC/DC converter

The main advantages of fly-back converter are low cost, simple design, simple equation
and it needs only one switching transistor this will reduce the whole model switching
losses. We used MOSFETs switches in our model because MOSFETs are better for high-
power applications because they can switch faster than BJTs, which increases efficiency.

The next two pages show MATLAB simulation and results.

Simulink Model

Output results

Dc converted voltage:
Output AC voltage:

Output current:
The main disadvantage of the microinverter concept has, until recently, been cost.
Because each microinverter has to duplicate much of the complexity of a string inverter
but spread that out over a smaller power rating, costs on a per-watt basis are greater.
As of October 2010, a central inverter costs approximately $0.40 per watt, whereas a
microinverter costs approximately $0.52 per watt. Like string inverters, economic
considerations force manufacturers to limit the number of models they produce. Most
produce a single model that may be over or under-size when matched with a specific
panel.

In many cases the packaging can have a significant effect on price. With a central
inverter you may have only one set of panel connections for dozens of panels, a single
AC output, and one box. With microinverters, each one has to have its own set of inputs
and outputs, in its own box. Because that box is on the roof, it has to be sealed and
weatherproofed. This can represent a significant portion of the overall price-per-watt.

To further reduce costs, some models control two or three panels from a single box,
reducing the packaging and associated costs. Some systems simply place two entire
micros in a single box, while others duplicate only the MPPT section of the system and
use a single DC-to-AC stage for further cost reductions. Some have suggested that this
approach will make microinverters comparable in cost with those using string inverters.
With steadily decreasing prices, the introduction of dual microinverters and the advent
of wider model selections to match PV module output more closely, cost is less of an
obstacle so microinverters may now spread more widely.

Microinverters have become common where array sizes are small and maximizing
performance from every panel is a concern. In these cases, differential in price-per-watt
is minimized due to the small number of panels, and has little effect on overall system
cost. The improvement in energy harvest given a fixed size array can offset this
difference in cost. For this reason, microinverters have been most successful in the
residential market, where limited space for panels constrains array size and shading
from nearby trees or other objects is often an issue. Microinverter manufacturers list
many installations, some as small as a single panel and the majority under 50.

An often overlooked disadvantage of micro inverters is the future Operation and

Maintenance (O&M) costs associated with them. While the technology has improved
over the years the fact remains that the devices will eventually either fail or wear out.
The installer must balance these replacement and installation costs against the profit
margins for the installation. For homeowners, the eventual wear out or premature
device failures will introduce potential damage to the roof tiles or shingles, property
damage and other nuisances.

String inverters have generally lower efficiency than microinverters due to the fact that
every inverter / panel unit acts independently. In a string configuration, when a panel on
a string is shaded, the output of the entire string of panels is reduced to the output of
the lowest producing panel. This is not the case with micro inverters.

A further advantage is found in the panel output quality. The rated output of any two
panels in the same production run can vary by as much as 10% or more. This is mitigated
with a string configuration but not so in a microinverter configuration. The result is
maximum power harvesting from a microinverter array.

Monitoring and maintenance is also easier as many microinverter producers provide

apps or websites to monitor the power output of their units.
PV panel tracking

PV panels generally offer the most energy when it is directly facing the sun; therefore,
tracking systems are used to ensure that the PV panels are always directed towards the
sun as the sun changes its location due to changing in seasons or over the same day
rather it varies from morning to evening with a peak at noon. Also, if the panel is fixed
to receive maximum radiation in the noon, the morning and afternoon radiation will
again be reduced because of its incidence angle. For this reason it is desired that the
solar panels should be mounted in such a way that it faces the sun most of the time or
there should be a tracking system for the panel.
Since PV modules relatively have very low efficiency (up to 40 -50 % in laboratory
conditions) the biggest aim is to increase this efficiency to optimize the PV module
energy. One of the methods to optimize the most available solar energy is the sun
tracking systems (oriented systems). Experiments shows that the sun tracking systems
increase from 20% to 40% the amount of energy produced. The following figure 12
shows the difference between oriented solar systems and stationary solar systems.

Figure 12: oriented solar systems versus stationary solar systems

This approach is common in large-scale, commercial installations but can be used in

residential applications as well. But usually for residential applications we use fixed
panels tilted with specific angle which reach its maximum efficiency around 39C.

In practice there are two types of sun tracking systems:

1- Passive sun tracking systems.

2- Active sun tracking systems.
Passive orientation systems follow the sun without a motor drive. The system consists of
gasfilled tubes located on both sides of the panel. When the sun warms the gas found
in the first tube, it relaxes and empties into the second tube. System changes its
equilibrium position and the panel bowed to the sun automatically. Usually these
systems are used frequently in equatorial areas, since they have a structure with a single
axis orientation system, which leads to maximum efficiency only in those areas.

Active Sun-tracking systems are designed in a way to track the sun on a single axis
(based on azimuth angle) or on two axes (based on azimuth and altitude angles). The
figure 13 below shows these angles.

Figure 13: azimuth and altitude angles

Experiment found that Dual-axes sun-tracking system optimizes more energy compared
with tilted or horizontal fixed panel systems and single axis system. Because Dual-axis
trackers adjust the PV array to track the suns path from east to west and adjust the arrays tilt
to account for the change in the suns altitude. The output of PV modules utilizing tracking
systems is shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14: The output of PV modules using different ways of tracking

This experimental results was realize in location Craiova on 18.06.2009, between hours
11.00 and 16.00 with a two PV panel type USP 145.

The first PV panel is mounted an optimum yearly fixed angle. The second PV panel has a
dual axis orientation system. The figure 15 shows the graphs of power deliver by PV
panels for the two cases analyzed. To study the influence of the orientation for PV panel
on the process of converting solar energy was calculated the conversion efficiency of
the PV panels for the two cases analyzed. Figure 16 shows the difference between
conversion efficiency for the two cases analyzed.

Figure 15: Power delivered by PV panels

Figure 16: Conversion efficiency of PV panels

Mirror Reflection

Some PV systems incorporate a mirror reflection technique that assists in improving the
efficiency of the system by reflecting the sun rays and spreading them almost uniformly over
the panel through diffusion of the reflected sun beam. This method is especially useful on
sunny days, since this substantially improves the performance of the solar system, and at the
same time, minimizes the risks of heated spot formation due to the concentration of the
reflected beam over a portion of the panel only, and thus improves the performance and also
the life span of the panels. The diffusion reflector method which used in mirror reflection
technique has many advantages such as its low costs and very light weight, also it is easy to
erect. On the other hand this technique has main disadvantage is that, because of its low
mechanical strength, it is subjected to damage due to gusty winds.

Reflection by mirrors is the simplest form of reflection, yet, it appears to be the most effective
one. Even for the performance enhancement of solar panels, it plays a very promising role. First
of all, the field data obtained, show that the improvements of the output currents using plane
mirror reflectors is even higher than that of sun tracking. And secondly, these reflectors are
very cheap and are easily available in the market.

According to IEEE paper, we have an experimental setup in Bangladesh Owing to the

sun-earth geometry and the location of Bangladesh, the solar panel was kept inclined at
an angle of 23.5 with the horizontal. The length of the panel was aligned along the
north-south direction. The mirrors were then attached at the two edges of the panel as
shown in figure 17. The orientations of the mirrors were kept in accordance with the
direction of the sun rays, so that the maximum possible amount of light was reflected
on to the panel.

Figure 17: Mirror reflection technique

The mirrors were placed at an angle of approximately 120 degree with the panels
horizontal surface. Two pieces of plane mirrors were used to reflect sun-light effectively
at any time of the day. The size of each of the mirror reflectors used was 1.0m x 0.25m.
This experiment was carried out under bright and sunny weather.

It can be seen from the graphs of figure 18 and figure 19 respectively that the ISC
obtained by using plane mirror is much higher than the ISC using sun tracking, during
the mid-day. Even during the remaining hours, the enhancement in output of the panel
with mirror is quite close to that of sun tracking. In case of an average sunny day, the
percentage Improvement with mirror is about 30% higher than that of sun tracking
during the mid-hours of the day.

Figure 18: ISC obtained by the panel Figure 19: Percentage improvement
References
[1]Experimental Study on Efficiency Enhancement of PV Systems With Combined Effect of
Cooling and Maximum Power Point Tracking for Sreejith C S M.Tech Student, Department of
EEE Nehru College of Engineering and Research Centre Pampady, Thrissur, India.

[2]Performance Comparison of Mirror Reflected Solar Panel with Tracking and Cooling Sheikh
Md. Shahin Alam1, Dr. A.N.M. Mizanur Rahman*2 1UG Student, 2Professor Department of
Mechanical Engineering Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Khulna-9203,
Bangladesh.

[3] Performance Evaluation of a PV Panel by Rear Surface Water Active Cooling Gabriel Col PhD
student, Electrical Engineering Faculty University Politehnica of Bucharest Bucharest,
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[4]Methods for Increasing Energy Efficiency of Photovoltaic Systems Ionel Laurentiu

Alboteanu1, Florin Ravigan2, Sonia Degeratu3 Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of
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[5] Electrical performance evaluation of PV panel through water cooling technique Calebe
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[6] Experimental Study on Efficiency Enhancement of PV Systems With Combined Effect of

Cooling and Maximum Power Point Tracking Sreejith C S M.Tech Student, Department of EEE
Nehru College of Engineering and Research Centre Pampady, Thrissur, India.

[7] What is Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and How Does it Work? / Blue Sky electrical
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[8] Introduction to Photovoltaic Systems Maximum Power Point Tracking /Texas Instruments /
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[9] Performance Comparison of Mirror Reflected Solar Panel with Tracking and Cooling Sheikh
Md. Shahin Alam1, Dr. A.N.M. Mizanur Rahman*2 1UG Student, 2Professor Department of
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[10] Performance Enhancement of PV Solar System by Mirror Reflection Rizwanur Rahman1,

and Md. Fayyaz Khan2 Department of EEE, United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
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