Solar System

SOLAR ENERGY

                           













Solar energy is the energy obtained by capturing heat and light from the Sun. The energy that solar panel collect from the Sun is called as a Solar Energy. Solar energy is often known as a large blue or black solar panels on rooftops or portable highway signs that have a small panel attached. These solar panels, also known as photo voltaic modules (or PV modules), convert sunlight into electricity, and they have been the backbone of renewable energy for decades. 

Here is the new product of solar panel.

Source : Google Images

Active Solar System is similar to passive solar system. It collect solar heat and convert into water or in fluid form. A solar hot water production system is consists of:

•  solar flat plate collectors, 
• heat storage vessel and
•  piping. 

Source: Google Images

                          The plate collector absorb heat from solar radiation and transferred into storage vessel. Active solar energy can be use for household use and anywhere low temperature where heat is needed.

Passive Solar Energy

Passive solar energy is an energy that collect from sunlight and direct use for lighting, heating, ventilation and other purpose. For this type of solar energy, the house will act as a solar collector and storage facility. It no need use any of the pump and fans. This system used to store and absorb the heat from the sun.

It has divide into 3 types which is attached greenhouse, direct-gain and indirect-gain.

·         Direct-gain

Ø  This direct-gain is a system which the heat collection, storage and distribution all occur in the same space.

Ø  Solar will pass through window into the room.

Ø  Thermal mass used to absorb the radiation.

Ø  Absorbed heat is radiated back into the living space at night.

Source: Google Images

·         Indirect-gain

Ø  A system that collects and stores the energy in one part of the structure and uses natural heat transfer to distribute the heat to other structure.

Ø  It normally use Trombe Wall which is a massive black masonry that acts as a solar collector and heat storage medium.

Source: Google Images

·         Attached greenhouse

Source: Google Images

Ø  Which is a combination of direct and indirect-gain system.

Ø  It used water drums and masonry floor as heat storage in the attached greenhouse.

How electricity generated? 

Photovoltaic method 

Photovoltaics (PV) is a term which covers the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry.
A typical photovoltaic system employs solar panels, each comprising a number of solar cells, which generate electrical power. PV installations may be ground-mounted, rooftop mounted or wall mounted. The mount may be fixed, or use a solar tracker to follow the sun across the sky.

Solar thermal energy / Concontrated solar power 

Concentrated solar power (also called concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal, and CSP) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight, or solar thermal energy, onto a small area. Electricity is generated when the concentrated light is converted to heat, which drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) connected to an electrical power generator or powers a thermochemical reaction. 

Technologies 

•  Parabolic trough
• A parabolic trough consists of a linear parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto a receiver positioned along the reflector's focal line.
• The receiver is a tube positioned directly above the middle of the parabolic mirror and filled with a working fluid. 
• The reflector follows the sun during the daylight hours by tracking along a single axis. 
• A working fluid (e.g. molten salt) is heated to 150–350 °C (302–662 °F) as it flows through the receiver and is then used as a heat source for a power generation system.

• Solar power tower
• A solar power tower uses an array of tracking refelctors to concentrare light on a central receiver atop a tower. 
• Power towers are more cost effective, offer higher effciency and better energy storage capability among CSP techonologies. 

• Stiring Solar dish 
• A dish Stirling or dish engine system consists of a stand-alone parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto a receiver positioned at the reflector's focal point. The reflector tracks the Sun along two axes. The working fluid in the receiver is heated to 250–700 °C (482–1,292 °F) and then used by a Stirling engine to generate power.
• Parabolic-dish systems provide high solar-to-electric efficiency (between 31% and 32%), and their modular nature provides scalability.

• Fresnel reflectors
• Fresnel reflectors are made of many thin, flat mirror strips to concentrate sunlight onto tubes through which working fluid is pumped. Flat mirrors allow more reflective surface in the same amount of space than a parabolic reflector, thus capturing more of the available sunlight, and they are much cheaper than parabolic reflectors. Fresnel reflectors can be used in various size CSPs.