What is Solar panel: Definition and 98 Discussions

A solar panel, or photo-voltaic (PV) module, is an assembly of photo-voltaic cells mounted in a framework for installation. Solar panels use sunlight as a source of energy to generate direct current electricity. A collection of PV modules is called a PV panel, and a system of panels is an array. Arrays of a photovoltaic system supply solar electricity to electrical equipment.

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  1. F

    Power output of a solar panel if a complete row of cell is shadowed

    Homework Statement I have to analyse the power output of a solar panel using a basic electrical engineering circuit analysis of a solar module if a complete row of solar cells in it is shadowed (For example, such shading might be caused by dust that slides down the surface of inclined panels.)...
  2. S

    Info required about working principle of solar panel.

    Hi; Normally, the solar panel charges a 12V battery and battery provides backup to load via an inverter. The solar panel produces voltage which is directly proportional to sun light. So early in the morning and in evening, solar panel produces less voltage which is insufficient to charge the...
  3. I

    Manufacture of solar panel, display, lithium ion battery and PCB

    I am interesting to know about the manufactures of these products: crystalline silicon solar cells, thin-film solar modules, display screens like: Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), touch panel and plasma, thin film rechargeable lithium ion batteries, lithium ion batteries for electric car, fuel...
  4. G

    How to calculate solar panel hourly power output?

    I'm trying to think of a way to calculate the power output of a solar panel by taking in information from hourly weather data from weather.com (e.g. sunny or cloudy?, temperature, etc.) and basic characteristics of the location and panels, but i cannot find or think of a way to do so. Basically...
  5. G

    Solar Panel Charger Project: How Do Modern Smart Chargers Work?

    The Maker Greetings, I saw a slew of discount solar panels and I want to use one to power my iPhone or possibly netbook. I’ve researched this but it seems the more I learn the more I realize how little I actually know. There appears to be a wide variety of charging circuits and methods...
  6. J

    Any methods to connect 20W solar panel?

    Hi all, I am planning to connect a 20W solar panel on my services bank (via a regulator). I have made a little diagram that hopefully will make things easier. As you can see, I have two separate banks, using a common negative. In the services bank I have a NASA BM1 battery monitor connected...
  7. O

    I on how to build an inverter with solar panel

    i want to build an inverter with solar panel can someone assist me on how to use thyristor to buffer it,and how to connect it to the solar which is 500wattts.my inverter is 5kva
  8. P

    Generate 12VDC using solar panel

    Hi everyone,can anyone show me how the circuit looks like to generate 12VDC using solar panel from around 3 - 5V?
  9. Drakkith

    Solar Panel Efficiency and Temperature

    What affect does the temperature of a solar panel have on it's efficiency? I know they become less efficient at higher temperatures, but is this effect linear? Would decreasing the temperature sub-freezing temperatures do anything? On a related note, apparently they have invented a transparent...
  10. G

    Math involved in finding the optimal angle of placing a solar panel

    I want to write a 3500 - 4000 word research paper on the best angle to place a solar panel to optimize solar collection throughout the year. I was thinking of using planes in 3D and probability distribution for the cloud amount for different times of the year. There has to be a primary focus on...
  11. M

    How Is Solar Panel Efficiency Calculated?

    Sorry I was unsure where to submit this thread. I am doing a school project on designing a solar system for my home and I was wondering how the efficiency of a cell is calculated. The way I calculated it, which i read of a website is... 1. calculate area of cell (in meters) 2. divide watt...
  12. OtherRealm

    Solar Panel Wattage: Altitude Effects Explored

    At what altitude does a solar panel see a noticeable increase in wattage/cubic meter if it is lifted into the air? I understand the maximum is a bit over 1 kilowatt/meter2 at sea level (not actually converted to usable energy, this is much less and depends on the technology) but that this...
  13. R

    Solving the Solar Panel Debacle: Powering a 6V Battery with 4V Cells

    We are creating a solar device that locates the optimal position to gather sunlight, and then stores the light in an AGM battery that we have. We have a 6v battery and we ordered 4 6v solar cells. Unfortunately the 6v solar cells did not come in. There are 4v solar cells in one of the labs at...
  14. N

    Moving solar panel produce more power than a stationary one

    Let us have a photo-voltaic circuit. The amount of emf induced in the photo-voltaic material is in direct proportion to the amount of photons(intensity) falling at it. Hence if we move the photo-voltaic material in a direction towards the source of the light, it must generate an increased emf...
  15. B

    Engineering Dc motor + battery + solar panel

    i would like to design a solar assisted driving mechanism for my bicycle? What is the compatible battery specifications to power 24v 1hp dc motor and the necessary solar panel specification to charge the battery? I'm kinda clueless in this so any help would be deeply appreciated. Thanks
  16. S

    Electrical Solar panel thickness to avoid breaking DIY

    Hello I am currently building DIY solar panel.I have a problem regarding the build up of the panel. My question is can I attach the cells on to a normal transperant glass of about 5mm thick by a transperant silicon? My concern is if the cell will break or not, by the outer environment ...
  17. T

    Boiling Water via New Solar Panel Method

    For a science project, I plan to come up with a reliable way to produce clean water from the sun. I've toyed with ideas of using fresnel lenses and parabolic concentrators, but none of them solved all the problems I had. Then, I thought of using multiple—and when I say multiple I mean about...
  18. J

    Optimizing Solar Panel and Battery Setup for a 24/7 Pump System

    Right now I am working on a small pump that is capable of running on solar power for 24 hours a day. So far, I have solar panels with specs at typical irradiance/temp of 1000Wm^-2 and 25C: Pmax = 135 W Vpmax = 17.7 V Ipmax = 7.63 A Voc = 22.1 V Isc = 8.37 A Area = 1m^2 and batter(ies) with...
  19. mcodesmart

    Solar Panel Efficiency: Temperature Effect

    Does the temperature of a solar panel decrease its efficiency?
  20. H

    Solar panel powered fountain HELP

    Hi I am senior in Electronics Engineering Technology and for my senior project my professor suggested a solar panel/water fountain but I am not sure on where to start exactly or how it operates. Please HELP .. :'(
  21. T

    Help Needed for Solar Panel Project

    need help please hi all i need hulp on my project Im a senior electronic engineer student . my project is about heliostat skylight which use a mirror to reflect sun light to spacefic target. I'm going to use 8051 microcontroller to interface btween inputs which they are 4...
  22. Z

    Solar panel charging a 12volt battery

    what will be the difference if the solar panel will be directly connected to the 12 volt battery or the solar panel is connected to a switching regulator before connected to the battery..which is faster to charge?..and what will be the difference in terms of power transfer?
  23. K

    Can Mirrors Boost the Efficiency of a Portable Solar Panel Sphere?

    (I would've put this in the homework section except it didn't follow the template.. :P I'm really sorry) For a Science Fair project I want to make a portable energy source with solar panels. I'm thinking of making a cube of panels with the deep cycle battery within the cube. Then to make it...
  24. T

    What is the best set up for a safe solar panel system?

    So I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to electrical connections and the like but I tend to have a fair idea. I'm currently planning on building a solar panel with the hope that it will power appliances throughout my house. My planned set up is as follows: >> 36 0.5V 3.6A...
  25. J

    Save me automatic measurement system for solar panel

    [b]1.I need to create an electronic system that automatically can measure and derive the IV and I-P characteristics (graph) and it must show maximum power point on the graphs. [b]2.The system must include a homemade voltage controlled electronic load that can load the solar cell with a well...
  26. Artlav

    What causes the dimming effect in an LED with solar panel and mirror setup?

    The ideas setup is this: There is a LED with solar panel and a battery, from one of the sun-charged nightlights, and an optic fiber (the "mirror") that routes the light from the LED onto it's own solar panel. The effect is that the light dims about half way down. Question: What...
  27. C

    Charging 12V Batteries: Solar Panel and Electric Motor Q&A

    Hi, I have some questions please... Can I use a 9 watt solar panel to charge a 12v battery directly? Do I need a rectifier or is the loss back into the solar panel too small to worry about? Also, can I use a 24v electric motor (permanent magnet generator) to charge a 12v battery - or is...
  28. B

    Solar declination / solar panel array design

    I need some help, I am planning on installing a 10 kilowatt solar panel array in the next couple of months. I will not be using a solar tracking device. The plan thus far is to determine the solar south bearing and face the panels in that direction and work out an appropriate angle for the...
  29. L

    How Does Solar Panel Temperature Change During an Eclipse?

    Homework Statement Consider what would happen to the temp of a solar array when a solar spacecraft gets into an eclipse. Distance to the Sun is 1 AU and Fs = 1368 W/m2 Consider an infinitely thin flat panel thermally isolated from the spacecraft . Assume the Specific Heat Capacity is 8.0...
  30. D

    Need help wiring a solar panel to electric motor

    Hi everyone, i want to make sure that when i wire this all up I am not going to start a fire :) So, I've got a 4W 12V solar panel the unit produces up to 333mA a 12V battery and a 12V DC 15 RPM High Torque Gear Box Electric Motor. I'm a newbie so don't much about electronics. All i want...
  31. S

    Calculating water flow over a solar panel

    Hi all, firstly I'm sorry because don't know which thread category should I ask from, but here goes: I'm doing my final year project about cooling solar panel with water film.basically it's flowing water over the panels. how can I calculate the water flow? does this have got to do with the q=...
  32. A

    Solar boat having solar panel power problem

    i have made solar boat having 4V 400mA rating solar panel. when i put under sunlight there is no problem but i have to run it under helogen light so when i put it undet bulb then it gives me only 200mA current at 25 cm distance i can't decrease distance i m using 1381 solar engine using 5.5V/1F...
  33. M

    6V 300mA solar panel or 4v 430mA panel

    Please help me... I need to make a solar boat for a project. the problem is this that i have two options of buying the solar panel which suits my max. dimension of solar panel. one is 6V 300mA and other one is 4V 400mA. Now i am a bit confused about which one to buy.as i need both the...
  34. H

    Design Problems- Solar Panel design

    Hi All I am designing the solar panel deployment mechanism using torsion springs for a satellite. I have a few questions to ask here and appreciate if someone could help: 1. How can I calculate the Force required by torsion spring to open the panel? ( mass of panel= 92.35 grams and...
  35. hagopbul

    Transform DC to AC with a Solar Panel Circuit

    Hello guys Does anyone know how to change from DC [Direct current] to AC [Alternating Current]? Which circuit did I need to use? I will use it for my solar panel … it only generate a DC and I need to change it to AC A web sit …blue print of the circuit … any thing will be good is it possible
  36. K

    Engineering Solar panel tester circuit?I really

    hey there.. I was asked to design a circuit using multisim software of a solar panel tester.. I know I need an operational amplifier.. a diode pehaps.. but I don't have a background concerning the way operational amplifiers work... The lecturer wants us to construct this kind of circuit...
  37. G

    Build a Solar Panel with TIO2 for Your Science Fair Project

    I am interested in making solar panel with TIO2 dye-sensitized solar cells for science fair. Can anyone help me?
  38. S

    Need wiring help for mini solar panel to fan

    Hello, I was wondering if anyone could help me wire up a solar panel to a 12v fan. At first i thought it would work if you were to hook up the solar panel straight to the fan but it didn't. I'm not much of an EE, but i ask for anyone's help and understanding. What i have is...
  39. Z

    LM339 comparator as solar panel switch

    Hello folks, I have been trying to make a circuit that would light up an LED when a small solar panel develops a certain voltage. My LED does not light up no matter how I hard I think about the circuit design. I would appreciate any help and suggestions. Thanks to all.
  40. Q

    Electrons colliding with solar panel

    This may be a silly question, but what if electrons collided with a solar panel instead of photons? Would the panel collect the energy of the electrons or would they be ignored?
  41. T

    Calculating Efficiency of Solar Panel with Light Bulb

    Homework Statement First of all I apologise if this is in the wrong place. Anyway we have been given the task of finding out the efficiency of a solar panel, where energy from a light bulb is used to heat the water in the panel. I was just wondering if someone would just check that my...
  42. T

    Calculating Solar Panel Power Output: Shortfall by Factor of 1000

    Im trying to get to grips with factors? and want to check my methodology, so: It all about solar panels..I've calculated how much power the cell will produced @ AM1.5 this is 73 mW cm-2 . Now my question is, i have to calculate the short fall by a factor of 1000 due when its used indoors...
  43. M

    Solar Panel to Recharge Hybrid batteries?

    Solar Panel to Recharge Hybrid batteries? I'm considering buying a hybrid vehicle (Ford Escape) and wanted to get the forum thoughts on an idea I have had bouncing around in the old nogen for a awhile now. What type of effeciency gain could I pick up over a typical Houston year (very hot...
  44. S

    Using 45W Solar Panel to Charge Battery for Laptop & Lights

    I recently acquired a 45 Watt solar panel and am now curious about how best to use it. I am currently connecting it to a 60 amp hour battery, on which I would like to store electricity to run small lights and a laptop computer. How can I figure out if this setup will be enough for my small...
  45. D

    How Large Should Your Solar Panel Be to Power Your Home?

    Homework Statement Your house requires 2000 kWh of energy per month and you want to power it using sunlight which has an average daylight intensity of 1 kW/m2. Assuming that sunlight is available 8 hours per day, 25 days per month (only 5 – 6 cloudy days per months!) and that you have a way...
  46. G

    Simulating Solar Panels Under Sunlight

    I have an interesting question: Could we simulate the solar array operating under sunlight, by covering the solar panel with dark paper and using a constant current source to pass rated current INTO the solar panel (e.g. using a bench power supply on constant current mode with a DC link...
  47. S

    Solar Panel Q&A: Charging 12V Battery with 24V Solar Panel

    I have a 24Volt solar panel trickle charging a 12volt Battery My question is when the sun goes down and the solar panel isn't producing any power. Does the battery then try power the solar panel? and if so is this bad for the solar panel? --Shawn
  48. K

    Solar Panel Deployment for Satellites: GFRP Composites

    What is the best suitable ,easy to manufacture and accessibile process of solar panel deployment mechanism for Satellites... The Solar cells are mounted on Honeycomb Sandwich Panels of GFRP Composites... Plz give me some useful link regarding this matter...
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