Hi. Welcome to this video on measuring photovoltaic efficiency.

In this segment,
we're going to define the solar standard and solar test condition. We'll also learn
how to calculate electrical power. We'll determine and calculate the efficiency
using a photovoltaic specification sheet. So, let's begin by going back to the
solar resource or the sun. In a previous lesson, we discussed the sun as being the
largest fusion reactor in the solar system. It emits all forms of electromagnetic
radiation. So, we know the sun is bright, but how do we begin to relate that
sunlight in the sky to the efficiency of a photovoltaic module? Well, again, in a
previous lesson, we looked at the maximum efficiencies of laboratory grade
photovoltaic cells. We see efficiencies constantly going up and up and up. How is
that efficiency calculated and how can we use that to our advantage as we begin to
select a photovoltaic module? Let's begin by looking at how bright the sun really
is. If we look at the sun the sky on a general bright sunny day, around mid-
latitude on earth, it will be approximately 1,000 watts per square meter. Let's
dissect that definition a little bit. For that brightness, we consider a cloudless
sky without any humidity. We define an area on the ground that's at least one meter
by one meter, or one square meter. We measure the brightness within that one square
meter and it is 1,000 watts. Dividing the 1,000 watts by one square meter, gives us
this definition of 1,000 watts per square meter. It's an easy number to remember
and use and it's pretty close to the actual terrestrial brightness. So, we define
this value as the solar standard. We combine that brightness with the standard
temperature of 25 degrees celsius, which is around 77 degrees Fahrenheit and
another term called air mass to give a definition that combined solar and climactic
conditions. The chosen air mass value is 1.5. We will discuss the definition of air
mass in a following lesson, but suffice to say these three pieces, the brightness,
the temperature, and the air mass are what are going into determining the
efficiency of our photovoltaic modules. Now that we know how to measure the solar
input, let's begin to look at how we measure the electrical output from a
photovoltaic module. Photovoltaic cells produce electricity and we have to be able
to measure that in some way. There are two fundamental units that we measure for a
photovoltaic module to begin to figure out how much power it's producing. One of
those units is voltage and the other unit is current. Voltage is thought of as that
push of electricity. How hard the electrical motion is pushing from one side to the
other side of the module. Current is thought more of like a flow rate or how fast
the electricity is moving through the wire. When we take the voltage, that push,
and multiply it numerically by the current, the flow, measured in units of Amperes,
we get the power which is measured in watts. So, watts are equal to voltage in
volts, times current in amps. If we want to measure the efficiency of a solar
panel, we need to know what the power going out is, and divide it by the power
going in which is all based on the same unit of area. That's the general definition
of efficiency. For photovoltaic, we can measure the voltage and the current and
multiply them together to get the output power. Then divide that by the area of the
module. We then divide by the power of sunlight per square meter to yield the
efficiency. We can do that outside in real-time, or we could use the listed
efficiency on a manufacturer's specification sheet. So, how do we know a module's
efficiency without having to go out in the field and measure each one
independently? Well, manufacturers provide specification sheets for every
commercial solar panel they produce. They'll typically include five common terms.
Those terms are always measured under standard test conditions again which is 1,000
watts per square meter, 25 degree air temperature celsius and AM 1.5 sunlight. The
five terms of the voltage at maximum power, which is the voltage being put out by
the solar panel, the current at maximum power, which is the current that's being
put out under maximum power and the maximum power which is the power of the solar
panel which is actually calculation of the voltage and maximum power, multiplied by
the current at maximum power. The other two key terms are the Voc, or open-circuit
voltage, which is the maximum voltage that the cell will ever put out, and the Isc,
or short circuit current, which is the maximum current the cell will ever put out
or the module will ever put out. We'll look at these two terms more in another
segment. Now, once we know the voltage and the current list on the cell
specification sheet, we can also figure out the power. Remember again that these
are all under standard test conditions. If we look at a specification sheet like
the one shown here, all the terms are listed; Vmp, Imp, Voc, Isc, and maximum power
or Pmax. There's also typically the power per area and a few other guides that can
help you along, mostly tell you that your standard test conditions. Some
specification sheets will even show you what happens under different lighting
conditions. So, as you see here, the current will go down as the brightness of the
sunlight goes down. So, if you have a cloudy day, a photovoltaic module will still
work. It will just output less than its maximum power because the current has gone
down. There's also a temperature dependency value because solar panel voltage
decreases as the cell gets warmer. So, the efficiency goes down slightly from
standard test conditions. Now, this isn't a big deal for efficiency, but it can be
really important as we begin to choose proper wiring. We'll discuss that in the
next course. Other information that's usually included in the specification sheets
are the modules size, weight, the impact loading, the fusing, and a few other
electrical guidelines. So, now that we looked at the specification sheet, let's
begin to calculate efficiency. I've taken some voltage and current values from a
specification sheet. The voltage and maximum power, Vmp, and the current at maximum
power, Imp. If we want to calculate the maximum power, which is in the units of
watts, it's going to be equal to the voltage times the current. So, 30.1 volts
multiplied by 7.7 amps is equal to 232 watts, rounding up to the nearest watt. That
will be the output voltage of this individual panel, but that needs to be adjusted
for standard test conditions. The Vmp and Imp are based off of standard tests
condition light levels. However, the panel is not one square meter in size. So,
we'll have to adjust for the size of the actual photovoltaic panel. The dimensions
of the panel are listed on the specification sheet as well in units of length and
width, usually inches and millimeters. For this particular panel, the length is
1.47 meters by 1.1 meters wide. Multiplying these two together, gives an overall
module area of 1.62 square meters. So, now we know the area of the solar panel. If
we take the panel's maximum power of 232 watts and divide that by the area of the
panel of 1.62 square meters, we get 143 watts per square meter. We can then compare
that to our power from the sun which is also in watts per square meter. Efficiency
is always calculated as power out divided by power in. So, we take 143 watts per
square meter in electrical output and divide that by our standard test condition,
solar input, which is 1,000 watts per square meter. When we divide these two by
each other, the units cancel out and we get a decimal value of 0.143. Converting
that to a percentage, gives us 14.3 percent. So, this solar panel would have an
efficiency rating of 14.3 percent. The efficiency and the maximum power would also
usually be listed on specification sheet, but they're important concepts to
understand and be able to calculate as well as considering other important things
when selecting panels for system design. So, in summary, you should now be able to
define the standard test condition and brightness of full sunlight. You should also
be able to calculate electrical power using current and voltage measurements to get
wattage. You should be able to both determine and calculate photovoltaic efficiency
using a photovoltaic modules specification sheet. In previous segments, we
discussed the compounds inside a photovoltaic module like the individual cells and
the wiring. In the next segment, we'll be discussing the external architecture, the
pieces that connect the photovoltaic module to the overall electrical system.