Parameters of Solar cell:
Short circuit current (Isc)
Open circuit voltage (Voc)
Maximum power point
Current at maximum power point
(Im)
Voltage at maximum power point
(Vm)
Fill factor (FF)
Parameters of Solar cell:
Short circuit current (Isc):
It is the maximum current a solar cell can
produce.
It depends:
Cell technology
Cell area
Amount of solar radiation falling on cell.
Angle of cell w.r.t to radiation.
Parameters of Solar cell:
Parameters of Solar cell:
It is the maximum voltage that a solar cell can
produce.
It depends:
Cell technology
Operating
Temperature
Parameters of Solar cell:
Maximum Power Point (Pm or Pmax):
It is the maximum power that a solar
cell can produce under STC.
It is also referred as Wp or Wpeak
Solar cell produce maximum power at
particular I & V
Pmax occur at knee point of a I-V curve
of solar cell.
Pm or Pmax = Im x Vm
Parameters of Solar cell:
Current at maximum Power Point (Im ):
The current which solar will produce when
operating at max power point.
Im will always lesser than Isc
Given in terms of Amps or mA.
Parameters of Solar cell:
Voltage at maximum Power Point (Vm ):
The voltage which solar will produce when
operating at max power point.
Vm will always lesser than Voc
Given in terms of Volts or mV.
Parameters of Solar cell:
Fill Factor (FF ):
The ratio of the areas covered by Im-Vm rectangle
with the area covered by Isc –Voc.
It indicates the square-ness of the I-V curve.
The higher is the FF better is the cell.
Cell with square I-V curve is a better cell.
⇒ ⇒
Parameters of Solar cell:
Efficiency (η ):
Defines as the maximum output power(Pm)
divided by the input power (Pin).
Pin = 1000W/m2 under STC.
⇒
Factors affecting Electricity generated by a solar cell:
The conversion efficiency (η)
The amount of light (Pin)
The solar cell area (A)
The angle at which day light falls
(θ)
The operating temperature (T)
Factors affecting Electricity generated by a solar cell:
The conversion efficiency (η):
Max power that can generate for a given input solar
radiation.
The conversion efficiency of solar cell is fixed.
It is based on material and manufacturing process.
The max power depends voltage and current.
The cell area also affect the power output.
⇒
Factors affecting Electricity generated by a solar cell:
The amount of light (Pin):
Current generated by solar cell is directly proportional
to the amount of light falling on it.
Ex: 1A during 1000W/m2 and 0.5A during 500W/m2
The output voltage is not affected strongly by change
in the amount of light.
Ex: 1V during noon and nearly same during morning
and evening hours.
Power = V x I
Power is directly proportional to the amount of light
Factors affecting Electricity generated by a solar cell:
The solar cell area (A):
Isc depends solar cell area.
Current generated by solar cell is directly proportional
to the solar cell area.
If cell area is large then current generated will be
large.
Ex: If 100cm2 cell area produces 2A then 200cm2 will
produce 4A
A solar cell having an area of 25cm2 gives a current of 0.85A and voltage 0.55V at
maximum power point.
The short circuit current is 0.9A and open circuit voltage is 0.65V. What is the fill
factor, maximum power point and efficiency of the solar cell? Consider STC.
A solar cell having an area of 100cm2 gives 3.1A current at maximum power point
and 0.5V voltage maximum power point at STC.
The cell gives 3.5A short circuit current and 0.6V open circuit voltage. What is the
maximum power point and efficiency of the solar cell?
Calculate the output power from a solar cell if its efficiency is 30%, 24%, 19%,16%
and 12%, input power density is 1000W/m2 and area of the solar cell is 100cm2.
Calculate the output power for solar cells of efficiency 16% when the input power is
say 1000, 800, 600 and 400W/m2 and area of the solar cell is 100cm2.
Calculate the output power from a solar cell if
its efficiency is 30%, 24%, 19%,16% and 12%,
input power density is 1000W/m2 and area of
the solar cell is 100cm2.
Cas Efficien Input power Area Output
e cy density power
1 30% 1000W/m2 100x10-4 m2 3W
2 24% 1000W/m2 100x10-4 m2 2.4W
3 19% 1000W/m2 100x10-4 m2 1.9W
4 16% 1000W/m2 100x10-4 m2 1.6W
5 12% 1000W/m2 100x10-4 m2 1.2W
Calculate the output power for solar cells of
efficiency 16% when the input power is say
1000, 800, 600 and 400W/m2 and area of the
solar cell is 100cm2.
Cas Efficien Input power Area Output
e cy density power
1 16% 1000W/m2 100x10-4
m2
2 16% 800W/m2 100x10-4
m2
3 16% 600W/m2 100x10-4
m2
4 16% 400W/m2 100x10-4
A solar cell having an area of 100cm2 gives 3.1A
current at maximum power point and 0.5V voltage
maximum power point at STC. The cell gives 3.5A
short circuit current and 0.6V open circuit voltage.
What is the maximum power point and efficiency of
the solar cell?
A solar cell having an area of 25cm2 gives a
current of 0.85A and voltage 0.55V at maximum
power point. The short circuit current is 0.9A and
open circuit voltage is 0.65V. What is the fill factor,
maximum power point and efficiency of the solar
cell? Consider STC.
