Lecture 5: Photovoltaic systems and components

5.1. Types of PV systems:

• Photovoltaic power systems are generally classified according to their functional and operational
requirements, their component configurations, and how the equipment is connected to other power sources
and electrical loads.
• The two principal classifications are grid-connected or utility-interactive systems and off-grid systems.
• Photovoltaic systems can be designed to provide DC and/or AC power service, can operate interconnected
with or independent of the utility grid, and can be connected with other energy sources and energy storage
systems.

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1. Grid-connected or utility-interactive PV systems

are designed to operate in parallel with and interconnected with

The vast majority of residential solar energy systems are connected to the
electricity grid (or “grid-tied”). When your panels are producing more electricity
than your home needs, the excess is fed back into the power grid. Conversely,
when your home needs more electricity than your solar panels are producing, you
can draw power from the electric grid. In most cases, you receive a credit on your
utility bill for the electricity you send back to the grid. Later, when you are using
more electricity than your solar panels have generated, you can use those credits
instead of having to pay more to your utility. This process is known as net
metering.
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 2. Stand-alone PV systems

designed to operate independent of the electric utility grid, and are generally designed and sized to supply certain DC and/or
AC electrical loads.. The simplest type of stand-alone PV system is a direct-coupled system, where the DC output of a PV module
or array is directly connected to a DC load (Figure 2). Since there is no electrical energy storage (batteries) in direct-coupled
systems, the load only operates during sunlight hours, making these designs suitable for common applications such as ventilation
fans, water pumps, and small circulation pumps for solar thermal water heating systems.
Matching the impedance of the electrical load to the maximum power output of the PV array is a critical part of designing well-
performing direct-coupled system. For certain loads, a type of electronic DC-DC converter, called a maximum power point
tracker (MPPT), is used between the array and load to help better utilize the available array maximum power output.

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In many stand-alone PV systems, batteries are used for energy storage. Figure below shows a diagram of a typical stand-
alone PV system powering DC and AC loads.

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 3. Hybrid PV systems

These types of systems may be powered by a PV array only, or may use wind, an engine-generator or utility power as an
auxiliary power source in what is called a PV-hybrid system

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4. Solar water pumping systems 5. Solar street light system

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5.2. PV systems components

PV panels : PV panels consist of a number of individual cells connected together to produce electricity of a desired voltage.
Photovoltaic panels are inherently DC devices.

Charge controller: is the fully automatic electronics to which the photovoltaic panel, the battery, and
the equipment receiving solar electricity are connected. Its main function is to check the condition of
the battery. It allows full charge of the battery by eliminating any risk of overcharge and
interrupts the power supply to the load if the state of charge of the battery falls below the
triggering threshold of the anti-deep discharge safety device. Thus extending the lifetime of the
battery which is the only fragile component of the photovoltaic system.

Batteries: Solar batteries work by storing energy produced by your solar panels for later use. The higher your battery's
capacity, the more solar energy it can store. (LEAD ACID, LITHIUM, NICAD (NICKEL CADMIUM, NIFE (NICKEL IRON), GEL)

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Generator : The diesel generators are used to steadily fill in the gap between the load and the power generated by the
PV system. They are used in hybrid solar system.

Electric meter : Regardless of the solar PV system, there is in each household a power meter, which measures the
consumption per house or apartment (Power meter (consumption meter), Bi-directional meter)

Inverter : An inverter's basic function is to “convert” the direct current (DC) output into alternating
current (AC). AC is the standard used by all commercial appliances.

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 Maximum power point tracker (MPPT)

An MPPT, or maximum power point tracker is an electronic DC to DC converter that optimizes the match between the solar
array (PV panels), and the battery bank or utility grid. To put it simply, they convert a higher voltage DC output from solar
panels down to the lower voltage needed to charge batteries. (These are sometimes called "power point trackers" for short -
not to be confused with PANEL trackers, which are a solar panel mount that follows, or tracks, the sun).

without
with
Solar cells have a complex relationship between temperature and
total resistance that produces a non-linear output efficiency which can
be analyzed based on the I-V curve. It is the purpose of the MPPT
system to sample the output of the PV cells and apply the proper
resistance (load) to obtain maximum power for any given
environmental conditions. MPPT devices are typically integrated into
an electric power converter system that provides voltage or current
conversion, filtering, and regulation for driving various loads,
including power grids, batteries, or motors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnrEy_st7W8&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3VvU4Wc1R_l34JRpu58AzGDjDGSW-bn_5G8XJHop8XsBYjUSGY_pPXiqs 12
MPPT vs. PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation) controller

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