Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

BETECK205E

2nd Sem
Module-2

Prof. Pranesh K G
Assistant Professor

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Acharya Institute of Technology
Bengaluru-107

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 1

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

Module-2

Solar Radiation

 Solar Radiation or sun light, is a general term for the electromagnetic radiation emitted by
the Sun
 Solar radiation can be captured and turned into useful form of energy such as heat and
electricity using various techniques
 The amount of solar radiation that reaches any one spot on the Earth surface varies
according to Geographic location, Time of the day, Season, Local landscape and Local
weather

Diffuse and Direct solar radiation

 As sunlight passes through the atmosphere, some of it is absorbed, scattered, and reflected
by Air molecules, Water vapor, Clouds, Dust, and Pollutants, this is called diffuse solar
radiation.
 The solar radiation that reaches the Earth's surface without being diffused is called direct
or beam solar radiation.
 The sum of the diffuse and direct solar radiation is called global solar radiation.
 Atmospheric conditions can reduce direct beam radiation by 10% on clear, dry days and
by 100% during thick, cloudy days.

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 2

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

Solar Angles
The angles used in solar radiation analysis are
 Latitude of location (ɸ)
 Declination (δ)
 Hour angle (ω)
 Solar altitude angle (αa)
 Zenith angle (θz)
 Surface azimuth angle (γ)
 Solar azimuth angle (γs)
 Slope (β)
 Angle of incidence (θ)

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 3

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

Latitude of location (ɸ)

The latitude of a location is the angle made by the radial line joining the location to the centre of
the earth with the projection of the line on the equatorial plane.

Declination (δ)

 The angle made by the line joining the centres of the sun and earth with its projection on
the equatorial plane.
 It varies from +23.45o (June 21) to – 23.45o (December 21)
 It is zero on the two equinox days (March 21 and September 22)

Hour angle (ω)

 It is an angular measure of time and its equivalent to 15o per hour

 It varies from +180o to -180o
 Being positive in morning and negative in evening

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 4

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

Solar altitude angle (αa)

The angle between the sun’s ray and its projection on a horizontal surface is known as the solar
altitude angle or inclination angle.

Zenith angle (θz)

It is the angle between the sun’s ray and the perpendicular (normal) to the horizontal plane.

Surface azimuth angle (γ)

It is the angle in the horizontal plane, between the line due south and the horizontal projection of
the normal to the inclined plane surface.

Solar azimuth angle (γs)

It is the angle on a horizontal plane, between the line due south and the projection of the sun’s ray
on the horizontal plane.

Slope (β)

It is the angle between the inclined plane surface under consideration and the horizontal.

Angle of incidence (θ)

It is the angle between the sun’s ray and the perpendicular (normal) to the inclined plane

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 5

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

Solar Radiation Measurement

 Measurement of solar radiation are important because of the increasing number of solar
heating and cooling applications and need for accurate solar irradiation data to predict
performance.
 Experimental determination of the energy transferred to a surface by solar radiation
required instruments which will measure the heating effect of direct solar radiation and
diffuse solar radiation.
 Measurements are also made of beam radiation, which respond to solar radiation received
from a very small portion of the circum solar sky.
 A total radiation type of instrument may be used for measuring diffuse radiation alone by
shading the sensing element from the sun’s direct rays.

Two basic types of instruments are used for solar radiation measurement

Pyranometer: Which measures the total hemispherical solar radiation

Pyrheliometer: Which contain collimates the radiation to determine the beam intensity as a
function of incident angle

Sunshine Recorder: It measures the sunshine hours in a day

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 6

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

Pyranometer

Fig. Pyranometer

 Pyranometer is a device that can be used to measure both beam radiation and diffuse
radiation. In other words, it is used to measure total hemispherical or global radiation (beam
plus diffuse on a horizontal surface).
 If a shading ring is attached, the beam radiation is prevented from falling on the instrument
sensor and in then measures only the diffuse component of the radiation.
 The sensing element is covered by two concentric hemispherical glass domes to shield it
from wind and rain. This also reduces convection currents.
 A radiation shield surrounding the outer dome and coplanar with the sensing element,
prevents direct solar radiation from heating the base of the instrument.
 The dome (glass hemisphere) on a pyranometer acts as a filter that transmits solar radiation
with wavelengths from roughly 0.3 to about 3 x 10⁻⁶ m, but blocks thermal radiation with
wavelengths longer than 3 μm.
 In most of pyranometers, the sun’s radiation is allowed to fall on a black surface to which
the hot junctions of the thermopile are attached.
 The cold junctions of the thermopile are located in such a way that they do not receive the
radiation.
 As a result, an e.m.f. proportional to the solar radiation is generated. This e.m.f. which is
usually in the range of 0 to 10mV ca be read, recorded.

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 7

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

Pyrheliometer

Fig. Pyrheliometer

 Figure shows the pyrheliometer, it uses a long collimator tube to collect beam
radiation whose field of view is limited to a solid angle of 5.5o by appropriate
diaphragms inside the tube.
 The inside of the tube is blackened to absorb any radiation incident at angles outside
the collection solid angle.
 At the base of the tube a wire wounded thermopile having a sensitivity of
approximately 200 ohm is provided.
 The tube is sealed with dry air to eliminate absorption of beam radiation within the
tube by water vapor.
 A tracker is needed if continuous reading is desired.

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 8

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

Sunshine Recorder

Fig. Sunshine Recorder

 This instrument measures the duration in hours, of bright sunshine during the course of the
day. It essentially consists of glass sphere (about 10 cm in diameter) mounted on its axis
parallel to that of earth, within a spherical section (bowl).
 The bowl and glass sphere is arranged in such a way that sun’s rays are focused sharply at
a spot on a card held in a groove in the bowl. The card is prepared from special paper
bearing a time scale.
 As the sun moves, the focused bright sunshine burns a path along this paper. The length
of the trace thus obtained on the paper is the measure of the duration of the bright sunshine.
 Three overlapping pairs of grooves are provided in the spherical segment to take care of
the different seasons of the year

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 9

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

Burn path

Fig. Card used in sunshine recorder

 Long curve cards shown in Figure (a) are inserted on the lower groove in summer season
from 12th April to 2nd September
 Straight cards shown in Figure (b) are inserted on the middle groove during equinoxes from
3 rd September to 14th October and 1st March to 11th April.
 Short curve cards shown in Figure (c) are inserted on the upper groove in winter season
from 15th October to end of February.

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 10

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

Solar Thermal System

 A Solar Thermal system works by harnessing the sun’s energy and converting it into
heat.

Flat plate collectors

Fig. Flat plate collector

 In flat plate collectors the incident solar radiation is absorbed by the collectors surface
itself, which are usually coated with black paint (usually electroplated), covered with
transparent glass cover on top and insulated all around to prevent the heat loss from the
collector surface.
 The black collector surface gets heated up and then in turn transfers the heat to the fluid
passing through the tubes which are either welded or soldered or are integral part of the
collector plate.
 Flat plate collectors are usually sloped and oriented in one particular direction and are
capable of collecting both diffuse and beam radiation.

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 11

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

 Since there are no moving parts in it, the repair and maintenance cost is also nil or
negligible.
 A maximum of 70°C can be easily achieved using flat plate collectors and are more
popularly used in solar water heating applications and solar air heaters as they are relatively
cheaper as compared to the cost of concentrating collectors.

Solar distillation

Solar distillation is a process in which the energy of the sun is directly used to evaporate liquid to
generate the electricity.

Solar Pond

 A solar pond is a pool of saltwater which acts as a large-scale solar thermal energy collector
with integral heat storage for supplying thermal energy.
 A solar pond can be used for various applications, such as process heating, desalination,
refrigeration, drying and solar power generation.

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 12

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

 There are 3 distinct layers of water in the pond:

 The top layer: Surface convective zone (0.3 to 0.5m) which has a low salt content.
 An intermediate (Non convective zone) insulating layer (1 to 1.5m) with a salt
gradient, which establishes a density gradient that prevents heat exchange by
natural convection.
 The bottom layer (Storage zone), which has a high salt content.
 If the water is relatively translucent, and the pond’s bottom has high optical absorption,
then nearly all of the incident solar radiation (sunlight) will go into heating the bottom
layer.
 When solar energy is absorbed in the water, its temperature increases, causing thermal
expansion and reduced density.
 If the water were fresh, the low-density warm water would float to the surface, causing a
convection current.
 The temperature gradient alone causes a density gradient that decreases with depth.
However the salinity gradient forms a density gradient that increases with depth, and this
counteracts the temperature gradient, thus preventing heat in the lower layers from moving
upwards by convection and leaving the pond.
 This means that the temperature at the bottom of the pond will rise to over 90 °C while the
temperature at the top of the pond is usually around 30 °C.

Working of Solar Pond

 Thermal energy from the solar pond is used to drive a Rankine cycle heat engine
 Hot water from the bottom level of the pond is pumped to the evaporator
 Where the organic working fluid to vaporized
 The vapour flows under high pressure to the turbine and thereby expanding through the
turbine wheel and electric generator linked to it
 The vapour then travels to the condenser where cold water from the cooling tower
condenses the vapour back it to a liquid and the liquid is pumped back to the evaporator
where the cycle is repeated.

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 13

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

SOLAR ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION

Solar cell
A solar cell (also known as a photovoltaic cell or PV cell) is defined as an electrical device that
converts light energy into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. A solar cell is basically
a p-n junction diode. Solar cells are a form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose
electrical characteristics – such as current, voltage, or resistance – vary when exposed to light.

Individual solar cells can be combined to form modules commonly known as solar panels. The
common single junction silicon solar cell can produce a maximum open-circuit voltage of
approximately 0.5 to 0.6 volts. When individual solar cells are combined into a large solar panel,
considerable amounts of renewable energy can be generated.

Principle of Solar cell

Solar cell works on the principle of photovoltaic effect according to which free electrons are
produced when light of certain wavelength is incident on semiconductors.

Materials Used in Solar Cell

The materials which are used for this purpose must have band gap close to 1.5ev. Commonly
used materials are-

 Silicon.
 Gallium arsenide (GaAs).
 Cadmium Telluride (CdTe).
 Copper Indium Selenium (CuInSe2)

Criteria for Materials to be Used in Solar Cell

 Must have band gap from 1ev to 1.8ev.

 It must have high optical absorption.
 It must have high electrical conductivity.
 The raw material must be available in abundance and the cost of the material must be low.

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 14

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

Construction and Working of Solar cell

Anti reflective cover

glass

Construction

The principle layer of this cell includes an anti-reflective cover glass. This glass guards the semi-conductor
materials against the sunlight. In this cell, small grid patterns with slight metallic strips are available under
the glass. So that the top layer of this cell can be formed by using the glass, metallic strips and anti-reflective
coat.
The most important part of the cell is the middle layer where solar energy can be formed through the effect
of photovoltaic. It consists of two semiconductor layers which are made up of p-type and n-type materials.
The base layer of this cell consist of two parts. A rear metal conductor is beneath the p-type semiconductor
and it works with the metallic grid to generate an electric current in the layer. A reflective layer is the last
layer in this cell used to decrease the loss of light within the system. Based on the application, solar cells
utilize various materials based on their application and cost.
Working
When light reaches the p-n junction, the light photons can easily enter in the junction, through very
thin n-type layer. The light energy, in the form of photons, supplies sufficient energy to the junction
to create a number of electron-hole pairs. The incident light breaks the thermal equilibrium
condition of the junction. The energy of photons transfers to electrons and allows the flow of
electrons like an electric current.

Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 15

Renewable Energy Sources (BETCK205E)

The p-n junction will behave like a small battery cell. A voltage is set up which is known as photo
voltage. If we connect a small load across the junction, there will be a tiny current flowing through
it.

Advantages of solar cell

 Solar cells offer an excellent possibility to reduce power cost.

 Most importantly, solar energy is a completely renewable energy source.
 Low maintenance costs
 Solar cells generate cost-effective electricity.
 Environmentally friendly
 They have long life
 They have highly reliable
 They do not create pollutants
 They have high power to weight ratio
 They are easy to fabricate

Disadvantages of Solar Cells

 It has high cost of installation.

 It has low efficiency.
 During cloudy day, the energy cannot be produced and also at night we will not get
solar energy.

Uses of Solar Generation Systems

 It is used to generate electricity

 It may be used to charge batteries.
 Weather monitoring
 Roadway and Railway signaling equipment
 It is used to power calculators and wrist watches.
 It can be used in spacecraft (satellite)to provide electrical energy.
 Solar energy is used in cars. This solar power is created by photovoltaic cells. This
electricity is transferred to the storage battery or powers the motor.
 They also use in the field of water treatment, pumping and Street lighting
Dept. of Mechanical Engg. Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru-107 16