Introduction

The basic principle behind both solar panel – solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal – is the same.
They absorb raw energy from the sun and use it to create usable energy. In solar PV systems this is through
the creation of electricity, whereas thermal systems are used directly for heating water or air. The amount of
solar radiation on the earth surface can be instrumentally measured using Pyrheliometer, Pyranometer,
Photoelectric sunshine recorder and many instruments. Solar thermal power plants collect and concentrate
sunlight to produce the high temperature heat needed to generate electricity. Thermal energy storage (TES) is
a technology that stocks thermal energy by heating or cooling a storage medium so that the stored energy can
be used at a later time for heating and cooling applications and power generation. A photovoltaic module
consists of multiple PV cells connected in series to provide a higher voltage output. A photovoltaic array is a
system composed of multiple PV modules. They can be connected in one or more series circuits, which are
connected to a combiner box to provide a single direct-current output.

Scattering is caused by interaction of the radiation with molecules, water and dust particles in the air.
The amount of light scattered depends on the number of particles in the atmosphere, particle size and the total
air mass the radiation comes through.
Absorption occurs upon interaction of the radiation with certain molecules, such as ozone (absorption
of short-wave radiation - ultraviolet), water vapour, and carbon dioxide (absorption of longwave radiation -
infrared).
Due to these processes, out of the whole spectrum of solar radiation, only a small portion reaches the
earth surface. Thus most of x-rays and other short-wave radiation is absorbed by atmospheric components in
the ionosphere, ultraviolet is absorbed by ozone and not-so abundant long-wave radiation is absorbed by CO2.
As a result, the main wavelength range to be considered for solar applications is from 0.29 to 2.5 μm.

Fig.2.Different types of radiation at the earth surface: short wave; long wave

Insolation is the incident solar radiation onto some object. Specifically, it is a measure of the solar
energy that is incident on a specified area over a set period of time. Generally insolation is expressed in two
ways. One unit is kilowatt-hours per square meter (kWh/m2) per day which represents the average amount of
energy hitting an area each day. Another form is watts per square meter (W/m2) which represents the average
amount of power hitting an area over an entire year.
It is important to have values for insolation at certain positions on the Earth as these figures are used
to help determine the size and output of solar power systems. Values for insolation can help to determine the
expected output for solar panels and determine where on Earth solar panels would be most effective.
Radiation Measurement
The amount of solar radiation on the earth surface can be instrumentally measured, and precise
measurements are important for providing background solar data for solar energy conversion applications.
There are two important types of instruments to measure solar radiation:
1) Pyrheliometer 2) Pyranometer

1
 Pyrheliometer is a device used for measuring direct beam radiation at normal incidence. Its outer
structure looks like a long tube, projecting the image of a telescope and we have to point the lens to the sun to
measure the radiance.

The lens is pointed towards the sun and the radiation will pass through the lens, tube and at the end
falls on to the black object present at the bottom. A simpler diagram is shown in the Fig.4

Fig.4. Simple diagram of Pyrheliometer

In the circuit, it can be seen that the black body absorbs the radiation falling from the lens and a perfect
black body completely absorbs any radiation falling on it, so the radiation falling into the tube gets absorbed
by the black object entirely. Once the radiation gets absorbed the atoms in the body gets excited because of
the increasing temperature of the entire body. This temperature increase will also be experienced by the
thermocouple junction ‗A‘. Now with junction ‗A‘ of the thermocouple at high temperature and junction ‗B‘
at low temperature, a current flow takes place in its loop.(Thermocouple action) This current in the loop will
also flow through the galvanometer which is in series and thereby causing a deviation in it. This deviation is
proportional to current, which in turn is proportional to temperature difference at junctions.
The deviation in the galvanometer can be reduced by adjusting the rheostat to change the current in
the Metal conductor. Now by adjusting the rheostat until the galvanometer deviation becomes completely
void. Once this happens we can obtain voltage and current readings from the meters and do a simple
calculation to determine the heat absorbed by the black body. This calculated value can be used to determine
the radiation, as heat generated by the black body is directly proportional to the radiation.
Pyranometer working and Construction
Pyranometer is a device that can be used to measure both beam radiation and diffused radiation. In
other words, it is used to measure total hemispherical radiation (beam plus diffuse on a horizontal surface).
The device looks like a saucer which is the best shape suited for its purpose. This device is more popular than
the others and most of the solar resource data nowadays are measured using it. The original picture and internal
structure of the Pyranometer is shown in Fig.5.

Fig.5. Pyranometer

2
 Here the radiation from the surrounding atmosphere passes through the glass dome and falls onto the
blackbody situated at the centre of the instrument. The temperature of the body rises after absorbing all the
radiation and this rise will also be experienced by the Thermocouple chain or Thermocouple module present
directly beneath the blackbody. So one side of the module will be hot and another will be cold because of the
heat sink. The thermocouple module generates a voltage and this can be seen at the output terminals. This
voltage received at the output terminals is directly proportional to temperature difference according to the
principle of a thermocouple.
Since we know that the temperature difference is related to radiation absorbed by the black body, we
can say the output voltage is linearly proportional to the radiation. Similar to the previous calculation, the
value of total radiation can be easily obtained from this voltage value. Also by using the shade and following
the same procedure, we can also obtain the diffused radiation. With total radiation and diffused radiation value,
beam radiation value can also be calculated.

Quantum Sensors
Quantum sensors are specialized devices which measure the quantity of photosynthetically active
radiation, or the portion of the visible spectrum which can be used by photosynthetic organisms, within a band
of solar radiation. Specifically, quantum sensors measure the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) of
sunlight. This measurement is useful in agriculture for choosing productive farmland locations or maintaining
growhouses and is also used in oceanography to calculate the boundaries of an ocean's sunlight zone. (For the
latter reason, quantum sensors are often built with waterproof housing.) Quantum sensors typically use
photovoltaic technology to generate a potential output.

Fig. 6. Quantum sensors

Solar Thermal Power Plant

Solar thermal power plant is a combination of solar energy and thermal energy. The sun‘s radiations is
used as fuel in the power plant. Solar energy is converted into heat or thermal energy which is further converted
to mechanical energy using turbine and electrical energy using generators. Further categories are based upon
the power cycles i.e. low, medium and high temperature cycles. These cycles are based upon the solar
radiations and type of collectors used for collecting the solar radiations. In low temperature cycles the
temperature is limited to about 100⁰ C in medium temperature, range varies from 150⁰ C to 300⁰ C whereas
in high temperature cycles temperature may go above 300⁰ C.
For different temperature cycle different thermodynamic cycles are used in the power plant. Generally,
for low and medium temperature ranges, Rankine cycle is preferred whereas for high temperature range
Brayton cycle is used. The cycle operation and different components of the solar thermal power plant are
discussed here;
• Solar pond
• Solar energy collectors
3
 • Working fluid
• Evaporator Boiler
• Turbine and Generator
• Condenser and Cooling tower

Fig.7. Solar thermal power plant

Solar pond: The solar energy coming from the sun is firstly absorbed by the solar pond. Solar pond is a
reservoir of water where sun‘s rays directly focus by using solar energy collectors. After that, solar energy
increases the internal energy and raises the temperature of solar pond. The fluid in the solar pond may be
directly used as the working fluid if its temperature reaches up to evaporating temperature or other way is to
use a secondary fluid known as working fluid. The fluid from the solar pond goes into cyclic process. The
detailed operation of solar pond is as follows.
Solar pond, also called solar ‗salt pond‘, is an artificially designed pond, filled with salty water,
maintaining a definite concentration gradient. It combines solar energy radiation and sensible heat storage,
and as such, it is utilised for collecting and storing solar energy. A solar pond reduces the convective and
evaporative heat losses by reversing the temperature gradient with the help of non-uniform vertical
concentration of salts.
The vertical configuration of ―salt gradient solar pond‖ normally consists of the following three zones:
1. ―Surface (homogeneous) convective zone (SCZ)‖- It is adjacent to the surface and serves as a buffer zone
between environmental fluctuations at the surface and conductive heat transport from the layer below. It
is about 10 to 20 cm thick with a low uniform concentration at nearly the ambient air temperature.
2. ―Lower connective zone (LCZ)‖- It is at the bottom of the pond and this is the layer with highest salt
concentration, where high temperatures are built up.
3. ―Concentration/Intermediate gradient zone (CGZ)‖- This zone keeps the two convective zones (SCZ and
LCZ) apart and gives the solar pond its unique thermal performance. It provides excellent insulation for
the storage layer, while transmitting the solar radiation. To maintain a solar pond in this nonequilibrium
stationary state it is necessary to replace the amount of salt that is transported by molecular diffusion from
the LCZ to SCZ. This means that salt must be added to the LCZ, and fresh water to the SCG whilst brine
is removed. The brine can be recycled, divided into water and salt (by solar distillation) and returned to
the pond.
The major heat loss occurs from the surface of the solar pond. This heat loss can be prevented by
spreading a plastic grid over the pond‘s surface to prevent disturbance by the wind. Disturbed water tends to
lose heat transfer faster than when calm.

4
 Fig.8. Principle of Solar Pond Principle of Solar Pond
Due to the excessively high salt concentration of the LCZ, a plastic liner or impermeable soil must be
used to prevent infiltration into the nearby ground water or soil. The liner is a factor that increases the cost of
a solar pond. A site where the soil is naturally impermeable, such as the base of a natural pond or lake, or can
be made impermeable by compaction or other means, will allow considerably lower power costs.
The optical transmission properties and related collection efficiency vary greatly and depend on the
following factors:
i. Salt concentration.
ii. The quantity of suspended dust or other particles.
iii. Surface impurities like leaves or debris, biological material like bacteria and algae.
iv. The type of salt.
It becomes obvious that much higher efficiencies and storage can be achieved through the utilization
of refined or pure salt whenever possible, as this maximizes optical transmission.
The solar pond is an effective collector of diffuse, as well as direct radiation, and will gather useful
heat even on cloudy or overcast days. Under ideal conditions, the pond‘s absorption efficiency can reach 50%
of incoming solar radiation, although actual efficiencies average about 20% due to heat losses.

Applications of Solar Ponds:

1. Power generation.
2. Space heating and cooling.
3. Crop drying.
4. Desalination.
5. Process heat.

Limitations of Solar Ponds: 1.

Sunny climate is required
2. Need for large land area.
3. Availability of salt.
4. Availability of water.

adiations and focus the solar radiations at particular location to transfer the heat energy into the solar ponds or
fluid. Generally, two types of collectors are used first is non-concentrating or flat plate type solar collector
which is used for low temperature cycle and second one is concentrating or focusing type solar collector which
5
are used for medium and high temperature applications. Collectors make the solar energy more useful. Flat
plate collectors are very simple, the collecting area is equal to absorbing area where as focusing type collector
have several arrangements of mirrors and lenses for proper concentration of sun light. Due to this by using
focus type collectors we can capture 100 times solar radiation as compared to flat plate collector keeping the
area same. By using focusing type collector we can directly generate medium pressure steam. Solar collectors
are classified as
1. Non concentrating type
i) Flat-Plate Collectors ii)
Evacuated-Tube Collector
2. Concentrating type
i) Parabolic trough collector.
ii) Power tower receiver. iii)
Parabolic dish collector.
iv) Fresnel lens collector.

Flat-Plate Collectors
Flat-plate solar collectors are the most common ones. They consist of an absorber, a transparent cover
and insulation. The main use of the technology is usually in residential buildings where the demand for hot
water is big and affects bills. Commercial application of flat-plate collectors is usually seen in car washes,
laundromats, military laundry facilities or restaurants. The parts of a flat plate collectors are
• Black surface - absorbent of the incident solar energy
• Glazing cover - a transparent layer that transmits radiation to the absorber, but prevents radiative and
convective heat loss from the surface
• Tubes containing heating fluid to transfer the heat from the collector
• Support structure to protect the components and hold them in place
• Insulation covering sides and bottom of the collector to reduce heat losses
Flat-plate solar collectors show a good price-performance ratio and also give a lot of mounting options.

Fig. 9. Flat plate collectors

-Top 10 Solar Companies in India-
Adani Power, Tata Solar , Jinko Solar, Trina Solar, ACME Solar, Vikram Solar , Waaree Energies ,
EMMVEE, Goldi Solar, Canadian Solar

Evacuated-Tube Collector
This is a type of a vacuum collector. Its absorber strip is placed in an evacuated and pressure proof
glass tube. The heat transfer fluid flows directly the absorber into a U-tube or in a tube-in-tube system. The
heat pipe collector integrates a special fluid, which evaporates even at low temperatures, thus the steam rises
in the individual heat pipes and warms up the fluid in the main pipe, generating heat. Thermodynamic panels
are also based on such a refrigerant fluid but are exploiting the heat in the ambient air, and, therefore, are only
suitable for hot water.
The technology is very reliable as it has an estimated lifespan of 25 years. The vacuum that surrounds
the outside of the tubes greatly reduces the risk of heat loss, therefore efficiency is greater than it is with flat-
plate collectors.
6
 Fig. 10. Evacuated-Tube Collector Parabolic Trough Collector
• It is a line focusing type collector. In this type of collector, the solar radiations falling on the area of the
parabolic reflector are concentrated at the focus of the parabola.
• When the reflector is manufactured in the form of a trough with the parabolic cross-section, the solar
radiations gets focused along a line. An absorber pipe is placed along this line and a working fluid (usually
synthetic oil or water) flows through it.
• When the focused solar radiations fall on the absorber pipe, it heats the fluid to a high temperature. Then
the heat absorbed by the working fluid is transferred to water for producing steam.
• The focus of solar radiations changes with the change in sun‘s elevation. In order to focus the solar
radiations on the absorber pipe, either the trough or the collector pipe is rotated continuously about the
axis of the absorber pipe.

Fig.11. Parabolic Trough Collector Power

Tower Receiver
In this collector, the receiver is located at the top of the tower. It has a large number of independently-moving
flat mirrors (heliostats) spread over a large area of ground to focus the reflected solar radiations on the receiver.
The heliostats are installed all around the central tower. Each heliostat is rotated into two directions so as to
track the sun. The solar radiations reflected from heliostats are absorbed by the receiver mounted on a tower
of about 500 m height. The tower supports a bundle of vertical tubes containing the working fluid. The working
fluid in the absorber receiver is converted into the high-temperature steam of about 600oC – 700oC. This steam
is supplied to a conventional steam power plant coupled to an electric generator to generate electric power.

7
 Fig.12. Power tower receiver Parabolic
Dish Collector
• In these collectors, the receiver is placed at the focal point of the concentrator. The solar beam
radiations are focused at a point where the receiver (absorber) is placed. The solar radiations are
collected in the receiver.
• A small volume of fluid is heated in the receiver to a high temperature. This heat is used to run a prime
mover coupled with a generator.
• A typical parabolic dish collector has a dish of 6 m diameter. This collector requires two-axis tracking.
It can yield temperatures up to 3000⁰ C.
• Due to the limitations of size and the small quantity of fluid, dish type solar collectors are suitable for
only small power generation (up to few kW).

Fig.13. Parabolic Dish Collector

Fresnel Lens Concentrating Collector

• In this collector, a Fresnel lens which consists of fine, linear grooves on the surface of refracting
material of optical quality on one side and flat on the other side is used.
• The angle of each groove is so designed that the optical behaviour of the Fresnel lens is similar to that
of a common lens.
• The solar radiations which fall normally to the lens are refracted by the lens and are focused on a line
where the absorber tube (receiver) is placed to absorb solar radiations.

Fig.14. Fresnel Lens Concentrating Collector

Working Fluid: It is the fluid used in the cyclic operation. We use some other fluid as a working fluid because
sometimes solar energy is not capable to evaporate the water. We use working fluid which gains energy from
the solar pond and evaporate easily or having evaporation temperature less as compare to water. Generally,
brine or some organic fluids are used as the working fluid. After evaporation working fluid goes through cyclic
operations in turbine and then through condenser it goes again into the evaporator boiler. The cycle is
continuously repeated.
Evaporator Boiler: In this device, working fluid is kept and gains latent heat of vaporisation from the sun‘s
radiations or by solar pond. Working fluid is circulating throughout the cycle by evaporating boiler.
Turbine and Generator: Turbine and generators are the essential part of the power generation system.

8
 Fig.15. Operation of Central Receiver Power Plants Major sub-components of central
receiver system
• Heliostat field: The heliostat field comprises a large heliostat, structure, and control/tracking. The
heliostat typically utilizes a mirror, which can be oriented throughout the day to redirect sunlight along
a fixed axis toward a stationary target or receiver. The reflecting element of a heliostat is typically a
thin, back (second) surface, low-iron glass mirror. This heliostat is composed of several mirror module
panels rather than a single large mirror. The thin glass mirrors are supported by a substrate backing to
form a slightly concave mirror surface. Individual panels on the heliostat are also canted toward a
point on the receiver. The heliostat focal length is approximately equal to the distance from the receiver
to the farthest heliostat. Subsequent ―tuning‖ of the closer mirrors is possible.
• Storage: Central tower based systems typically use Molten salt, hot concrete storage, phase change
materials, saturated steam or pressurized air as storage media.
o Nitrate salt mixtures can be used as both a heat transfer fluid and a storage medium at
temperatures of up to 565°C. However, most mixtures currently being considered freeze at
temperatures around 140 to 220°C and thus must be heated when the system is shutdown.
They have a good storage potential because of their high volumetric heat capacity.
o Liquid sodium can also be used as both a heat transfer fluid and storage medium, with a
maximum operating temperature of 600°C. Because sodium is liquid at this temperature, its
vapour pressure is low. However, it solidifies at 98°C thereby requiring heating on shutdown.
The cost of sodium-based systems is higher than the nitrate salt systems.
o For high-temperature applications such as Brayton cycles, it is proposed to use air or helium as
the heat transfer fluid. Operating temperatures of around 850°C at 12 atm pressure are being
proposed. Although the cost of these gases would be low, they cannot be used for storage and
require very large diameter piping to transport them through the system.
• Receivers/absorber and power block: This includes the receivers, absorbers including heat collection
elements, and Power Block. The receiver, placed at the top of a tower, is located at a point where
reflected energy from the heliostats can be intercepted most efficiently. The receiver absorbs the
energy being reflected from the heliostat field and transfers it into a heat transfer fluid. There are two
basic types of receivers: external and cavity.
o External Receivers. These normally consist of panels of many small (20-56 mm) vertical
tubes welded side by side to approximate a cylinder. The bottoms and tops of the vertical tubes
are connected to headers that supply heat transfer fluid to the bottom of each tube and collect
the heated fluid from the top of the tubes.
o Cavity Receivers. In an attempt to reduce heat loss from the receiver, some designs propose
to place the flux absorbing surface inside of an insulated cavity, thereby reducing the convective
heat losses from the absorber. The flux from the heliostat field is reflected through an aperture
onto absorbing surfaces forming the walls of the cavity. Typical designs have an aperture area
of about one-third to one-half of the internal absorbing surface area. Cavity receivers are
limited to an acceptance angle of 60 to 120 degrees. Therefore, either multiple cavities are
placed adjacent to each other, or the heliostat field is limited to the view of the cavity aperture.
10
 The solar field which consists of solar collectors, balance of system and tracking constitutes 36% of
the cost followed by the power block at 24% which comprises the turbine, generator, heat exchangers etc. The
receiver is also a major component of this technology comprising 15% of the cost.

Thermal Energy storage system with PCM

Phase change materials (PCMs) are materials that undergo the solid-liquid phase transformation, more
commonly known as the melting-solidification cycle, at a temperature within the operating range of a selected
thermal application. As a material changes phase from a solid to a liquid, it absorbs energy from its
surroundings while remaining at a constant or nearly constant temperature. The energy that is absorbed by the
material acts to increase the energy of the constituent atoms or molecules, increasing their vibrational state.
At the melt temperature the atomic bonds loosen and the materials transitions from a solid to a liquid.
Solidification is the reverse of this process, during which the material transfers energy to its
surroundings and the molecules lose energy and order themselves into their solid phase. This can be seen in
Fig. 16.a. The energy that is either absorbed or released during the melting-solidification cycle is known as
the latent heat of fusion. Latent heat is unique in that it is heat that is absorbed into a material without the
material itself increasing in temperature.

Fig. 16.a. The melting solidification process b. Standard heating curve

It is easy to picture this process by considering the melting of an ice cube. You can heat the ice cube
by exposing it to ambient room temperature conditions, by heating it with a hair dryer, or by blasting it with a
blow torch, but no matter how much heat flux is supplied to it, that ice cube will not increase in temperature
until the melting process is complete. The latent heat absorbed during the melting process is referred to as the
latent heat of fusion, in order to distinguish it from the other form of latent heat, the latent heat of vaporization,
which characterizes the change in phase from a liquid to a gas. In contrast to latent heat, which does not
increase the temperature of a material, sensible heat is that heat which does result in a change in temperature
within the material.
A standard continuous heating process may begin with a subcooled solid, which is heated to the melting
point through sensible heating. As the heating process continues the solid transitions to a liquid through the
latent of heat fusion, and sensible heat then increases its temperature to the boiling point. Once the boiling
point is reached, the liquid transitions to a vapour through the latent heat of vaporization until the phase change
process is complete. Any additional heating is now in the form of sensible heat which acts to superheat the
vapour. It can be seen in Fig. 16.b that the latent heat of vaporization is a higher energy process than the latent
heat of fusion.
It is true that in general that the boiling/condensation process absorbs/and releases more energy, but
the density change from a liquid to a vapour is large, and working with boilers and condensers often requires
a significant amount of support equipment which is not always convenient. There are of course many
applications for boiling heat transfer, but here we will concentrate on the applications for which a solidliquid
phase change process is most advantageous. The amount of energy absorption or release during the melting-
solidification cycle is governed by the value of that material‘s latent heat of fusion. The latent heat of fusion
is commonly expressed in units of J/g or kJ/kg. Thus the process is a mass-based process. The amount of
energy absorbed by the material during melting depends solely on the mass of material present in the design.

11
Advantages of PCMs
• The use of PCMs for transient thermal management has the advantage of maintaining a constant system
temperature throughout the melt process regardless of applied heat flux.
• PCMs are lightweight, portable and highly reliable depending only on the characteristics of the
material itself, and do not depend on an external flow source such as a fan or pump.
• The main options available for thermal energy storage include sensible heat storage and
thermochemical storage.
• Latent heat storage has a much higher energy density than sensible heat storage, resulting in less
required material mass and/or smaller storage tank volumes.
• Latent heat storage systems are also easier to work with than thermochemical storage.
• The solid-liquid transition results in only a small density change, resulting in smaller system size and
less support equipment than when attempting to store thermal energy for long term use through the
liquid vapour phase change process. Limitations
PCMs, however, are far from perfect solutions. The detriment most commonly cited to their greater
utilization is that many PCMs do not have high thermal conductivities or diffusivities, preventing rapid system
transients.
Application of PCM in Concentrating Solar Power Plants
The use of phase change materials for thermal energy storage (TES) in solar applications can extend
the usefulness of the technology so that benefits can be provided even where there is low or no direct
insolation. Commercial solar power plants are designed using the concept of Concentrating Solar Power
(CSP). In these plants, sunlight is reflected and concentrated using mirrors and then used to heat a carrier fluid.
An example of parabolic trough technology is shown in Fig. 17. In this image, the thermal receiver is supported
above the concentrating mirrors. The receiver is a black pipe encased in a vacuum tube to reduce convective
losses.
A high temperature, high pressure heat transfer fluid (HTF) circulates through the receiver pipes.
Depending on the design of the system, the HTF fluid may serve as the heat source in an evaporator, creating
steam which powers a stream turbine which drives a generator, or the HTF may directly vaporize as it passes
through the solar field and then pass straight through the turbine without an intermediate heat exchanger
(known as Direct Steam Generation—DSG). In either design, during periods of high insolation, it is possible
to absorb more solar thermal energy into the HTF than is necessary to power the turbine. This
―excess‖ solar thermal energy can be stored using sensible or latent heat in storage tanks as shown in Fig.
17.

Fig. 17. Direct steam generation concentrating solar power plant with thermal energy storage

In the two-tank molten system a heat exchanger is located between the two tanks with the HTF flowing
on one side of the exchanger and the storage medium (molten salt) on the other side. During the energy storage
cycle, some of the HTF from the solar is diverted to this exchanger where it transfers energy to the molten
12
salt. In this case, the salt flow originates in the ―cold‖ tank and flows through the heat exchanger where it
absorbs solar thermal energy and then into the ―hot‖ tank where it is stored. During the energy discharge
cycle, the HTF and molten salt flow paths are reversed.
The salt gives up its energy to the HTF as it moves from the hot tank through the heat exchanger into
the cold tank, and the now hot HTF is used in the power cycle. While these systems have seen success, there
is significant cost inherent in using two storage tanks, and the energy density of these storage systems is low
as the salt remains in the liquid phase at all times. The use of PCMs in these applications can thus reduce tank
number (to one), size and installation costs, creating an economic benefit. Molten salts are commonly used in
these applications because of their high operating points. These materials have melting points from around
300 °C to over 800 °C. The HTF in parabolic trough and linear Fresnel system can reach around 300–400 °C
in the receiver, while heliostats receivers can operate in excess of 2000 °C. Salts are well suited for these
operational ranges, but suffer from a few drawbacks including high corrosiveness and low thermal
conductivity. The primary issue with low thermal conductivity is the need for quick charge and discharge of
energy as the HTF flows through the storage medium. In a few cases, liquid metal alloys may be used instead
of molten salts.
The PCM used in the Rankine cycle system was 60 % NaNO 3/40 % KNO3, known as solar salt while
the PCM used with the s-CO2 power cycle was KCl/MgCl2. The typical PCMs used in these applications are
inorganic salts which melt in the range from 300–800 °C. These PCMs tend to be corrosive and have low
thermal conductivities but it was shown that this can be offset with the use of embedded heat pipes or
thermosyphons. In certain applications liquid metals may be used instead.
Domestic Solar Applications
While the large CSP plants certainly have significant technical and economic incentives to implement
PCM thermal energy storage systems, smaller scale solar systems can also reap some benefits from TES. For
example, solar thermal systems can be used by small businesses and homes for hot water production and for
heating systems. A small scale solar hot water system with energy storage can be seen in Fig. 18. These systems
feature a flat plate solar collector, typically mounted on the roof, which features a heat transfer fluid passing
through the receiver tubes.
The receiver tubes are isolated within an enclosure with a glass cover plate. The enclosure may be
evacuated to prevent convective losses. In many ways this is similar to the CSP solar field, but without the
concentrators. The lack of concentrators means that the HTF will not reach the high temperatures characteristic
of CSP. As such the fluid can‘t be used to create vapour and drive a power system, but is hot enough to provide
the heat source for a domestic hot water tank. As with CSP, the effectiveness of the system is limited to daylight
hours, but the solar thermal system can be designed to store extra heat using PCM in the storage tanks for the
overnight hours, greatly reducing dependence on supplemental natural gas or electrical heating.

Fig.18. Domestic solar hot water heating system with PCM thermal storage

The average cost of installation of rooftop PV system without subsidy is around Rs 60,000 – 70,000.
After availing 30 per cent subsidy, people just have to pay Rs 42,000 – 49,000 for installing a rooftop
PV system.

13
Solar Photovoltaic systems: Basic Principle of SPV conversion
A photovoltaic (PV) cell is an energy harvesting technology that converts solar energy into useful
electricity (DC) through a process called the photovoltaic effect. It is made up of semiconductor materials
such as silicon, gallium arsenide and cadmium telluride, etc. These cells vary in size ranging from about 0.5
inches to 4 inches. There are different types of PV cells which all use semiconductors to interact with incoming
photons from the Sun in order to generate an electric current.

Fig. 19 PV cell and PV Cell symbol

Photovoltaic cell concepts: Cell Layers of a PV Cell

A photovoltaic cell is comprised of many layers of materials, each with a specific purpose. The most
important layer of a photovoltaic cell is the specially treated semiconductor layer. It is comprised of two
distinct layers of p-type and n-type, and is what actually converts the Sun's energy into useful electricity
through a process called the photovoltaic effect. On either side of the semiconductor is a layer of conducting
material which "collects" the electricity produced. Note that the backside or shaded side of the cell can afford
to be completely covered in the conductor, whereas the front or illuminated side must use the conductors
sparingly to avoid blocking too much of the Sun's radiation from reaching the semiconductor.
The final layer which is applied only to the illuminated side of the cell is the anti-reflection coating.
Since all semiconductors are naturally reflective, reflection loss can be significant. The solution is to use one
or several layers of an anti-reflection coating (similar to those used for eyeglasses and cameras) to reduce the
amount of solar radiation that is reflected off the surface of the cell.

Fig. 20. A diagram showing the photovoltaic effect.

Photovoltaic Effect
The photovoltaic effect is a process that generates voltage or electric current in a photovoltaic cell
when it is exposed to sunlight. These solar cells are composed of two different types of semiconductors—a p-
type and an n-type that are joined together to create a p-n junction. By joining these two types of
semiconductors, an electric field is formed in the region of the junction as electrons move to the positive pside
and holes move to the negative n-side. This field causes negatively charged particles to move in one direction
and positively charged particles in the other direction.
Light is composed of photons, which are simply small bundles of electromagnetic radiation or energy.
When light of a suitable wavelength is incident on these cells, energy from the photon is transferred to an
electron of the semiconducting material, causing it to jump to a higher energy state known as the conduction
band. In their excited state in the conduction band, these electrons are free to move through the material, and
it is this motion of the electron that creates an electric current in the cell.

• Cell: A photovoltaic cell is the most basic unit of a solar PV system - solar cells can be either
monocrystalline or polycrystalline, and their key characteristic is that they produce a voltage output
when exposed to light. It is important to note that although they are normally called "solar cells", they
14