Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [solar-cell]

Solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect.

From Wikipedia: a solar cell (also called photovoltaic cell or photoelectric cell) is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect.

Assemblies of cells used to make solar modules which are used to capture energy from sunlight, are known as solar panels. The energy generated from these solar modules, referred to as solar power, is an example of solar energy.

1244 questions
11
votes
3 answers

Measuring output of solar panels for science fair project

I am in 7th grade and doing a science fair project using different solar panel arrays. I have 3 different configurations with 6 mini panels connected. For each configuration, I have all the positive wires connected and all of the negative wires…
dm4726
  • 111
  • 4
7
votes
2 answers

Why is it desired to divert the surplus PV power into a resistive load?

From wikipedia/Maximum_power_point_tracking: When the batteries in an off-grid system are fully charged and PV production exceeds local loads, an MPPT can no longer operate the panel at its maximum power point as the excess power has no load to…
ceremcem
  • 1,426
  • 18
  • 38
7
votes
2 answers

How to choose a Solar Panel

As per the title - How do i choose a Solar Panel? What are the criteria (Watt, Voltage, Technology etc) that I need to take into considerations when I choose a suitable solar panel for my project?
JeeShen Lee
  • 481
  • 3
  • 11
5
votes
3 answers

How to tell monocrystalline from polycrystalline solar panels

This is a very simple question, but I haven't found the answer yet. It seems to me that monocrystalline panels are always black (though I have seen some dark blue ones), and polycrystalline panels are bright with lots of patches of different shades…
Antonio Azuara
  • 81
  • 1
  • 4
4
votes
2 answers

Can a solar panel be used as a Light Dependent Resistor?

I have a small 1.5 volt useless solar panel. Is it possible to have the resistance change between two wires based on the amount of light? And what would the circuit look like?
skyler
  • 10,196
  • 28
  • 81
  • 132
4
votes
3 answers

Solar panel operating point?

I have a project to power a 12V well pump from a solar panel, no battery. My plan is to use a 270W panel and a 12V DC-to-DC converter. Under reasonable illumination the solar panel is overkill providing much more than the 100W required for the…
AI6MK
  • 79
  • 3
4
votes
7 answers

My Solar PV system correctly shuts off power during a blackout - I want to safely override that

For obvious safety reasons my residential PV system disconnects from the grid if it notes the grid is down. The thing is it also shuts itself off so that during a grid blackout rather than providing me power but detaching from the grid the inverter…
Ram
  • 150
  • 2
  • 9
4
votes
2 answers

IV curve on this solar panel datasheet

The IV curve of this solar panel looks okay, but the axes values don't seem to match up with the tabulated values. Datasheet states that 6.70 V, 36.6 mA at mpp. Can anyone tell me the relation between these and the…
555
  • 63
  • 5
4
votes
2 answers

Can solar panels be wired serially?

I have several small solar panels. I would like to configure them in series to build up enough voltage for a project. But some panels are much smaller than others. Is there a problem of connecting them in series if they have very different voltage…
Robert Deml
  • 3,252
  • 6
  • 30
  • 27
4
votes
5 answers

Solar Panel Dummy Load

I am trying to accurately measure the power a solar panel produces over a day as cheaply as possible. To accomplish this I am trying to build a "dummy load" that will hold the panel at its Vmp and immediately dissipate the energy via some load…
RKsquared
  • 43
  • 1
  • 5
4
votes
1 answer

Chaining up two solar panels of different wattage?

I have a 30 watt solar panel and I'm looking to add a 80 watt solar panel to help power an 85AH battery. I know I need to connect them in parallel (positive to positive, negative to negative) but I wonder if the difference between the wattage of the…
Mauvis Ledford
  • 655
  • 4
  • 8
  • 14
3
votes
2 answers

How do I make a small sample solar cell?

I want to know how to make a sample solar cell which can generate power of a very small magnitude. What material is required and how would I assemble it to make a simple solar cell?
abhi
3
votes
3 answers

How does field effect passivation work?

In the context of solar cells, some films such as aluminium oxide reduce recombination by "field effect passivation". I find this mentioned often, but can't find a definition or clear explanation of the mechanism anywhere. It seems to be something…
Bridget
  • 33
  • 1
  • 4
3
votes
4 answers

Solar Panels Series / Parallel Switching Circuit

I am an electronics know-not-much :) I do understand the basics of current/voltage/amps etc. I have an array of 10 x 15watt x 12v (max 17.5v) amorphous solar panels here in the UK. I want to arrange them in 5 banks of two (5 pairs) and when light…
Timbo
  • 133
  • 1
  • 3
3
votes
1 answer

solar cell area to gain 12V 40amps?

I want to put some solar cells on the roof of my van to powerup some stuff while the van is off. I would like to know how much area of blue solar cells (they look like cracked blue glass) I need to generate 12V 30-40amps in clear sky at noon?
user3792
1
2 3 4 5 6