CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Solar power is a renewable source of energy, which has become increasingly popular in modern times. It has obvious advantages over nonrenewable energy sources, such as coal, oil and nuclear energy. It is nonpolluting, reliable and can produce energy anywhere that there is sun shining, so its resources are not going to run out anytime soon. It even has advantages over other renewable energy sources, including wind and water power. Solar power is generated using solar panels, which do not require any major mechanical parts, such as wind turbines. These mechanical parts can break down and cause maintenance issues and can also be quite noisy. Both of these issues are virtually nonexistent with solar panels. Also, the solar cells, that connected together make up the solar panel, can last up to several decades without replacement. However, there is a drawback to solar power energy can only be produce when the sun is shining. To overcome this, usually solar panels are coupled with back up rechargeable batteries, which can store excess power generated during the day and use it to provide energy to systems when there is no sun shining. In this way solar power can be used to power houses and other large scale systems. In these systems DCAC conversion is needed. This is because the solar panel produces an output that is DC (Direct Current) and the power supply in homes usually runs off AC (Alternating Current), so conversion is required. For this project, however, the load to be connected only requires DC input, so DCAC conversion is not needed.

MATERIALS USED

Photovoltaic Cells
A photovoltaic system uses one or more solar modules or panels to convert solar energy to electrical energy. Basically, its components include solar panels, mechanical and electrical connections and means of modifying the electrical output we get. PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL: Solar cells are the building blocks of a PV array. These are made up of semiconductor materials like silicon etc. A thin semiconductor wafer is specially treated to form an electric field, positive on a side and negative on the other. Electrons are knocked loose from the atoms of the semiconductor material when light strikes upon them. If an electrical circuit is made attaching a conductor to the both sides of the semiconductor, electrons flow will start causing an electric current. It can be circular or square in construction. A solar cell is an electronic device which directly converts Sun light into electricity. Light shining on the solar cell produces both a current and a voltage to generate electric power.Uses semiconductor materials in the form of a p-n junction.

Electrons flow from the n-side contact through the load back to the P-side

Short circuit current Isc Open Circuit Voltage Voc

Pn Junction diode equation

Id= Io[exp(qVd / kT)1]

Where Id = diode current Io= Reverse saturation current q = electron charge =1.602x10-19 C k=Boltzmanns constant =1.381x10-23 J/K T = Junction temperature (K)

1. Solar Panel: The heart of the circuit. It has the following specifications: i) Voc= 17.4V ii) Isc= 0.33A iii) Vmp= 17.4V iv) Max Power= 5W This is our power supply. It is responsible for charging the battery 2. LM 317: It is an adjustable voltage regulator IC which means it provides Line Regulation (irrespective of The changes in the input voltage, the output voltage remains constant) and Load Regulation (Irrespective of the changes in load the output voltage is fixed). We can adjust the output voltage by varying the resistance across the adjust pin. This is needed to have a fixed voltage across the battery (to limit the current and charge it at constant voltage). Directly connecting the solar panel to the battery may even explode it due to The varying output from it. The voltage across R1 is maintained to be 1.25 V using an internal circuit. The Vout is also then

obtained to be constant and given by: Vout = VR1*(1+R2/R1)+Iadj*R2. This Iadj is of the order of micro A so can be neglected to have a regulated output voltage.

Battery: This circuit is designed for a 6V, 5Ah battery. This means 5A current will charge the battery in 1hour. Lead acid batteries are not the best available options in rechargeable batteries (unlike portable and easy to use Li-ion batteries). But for small applications like our solar lamp, they are good enough. Care must be taken while handling acid batteries. 3. Diode(1N5812): These are simply blocking diodes which ensure that the current flows only in one direction.

One way so that the battery doesnt discharge when the output from solar panel is low.

Background: Semiconductor diodes, real an ideal

To understand how Zener diodes are different from other diodes, lets first review the properties of regular diodes. And, while there are many different types of diodes see here for a long list were going to focus on so-called normal semiconductor diodes, most commonly constructed with a p-n silicon junction.

Diodes usually come in glass or plastic cylindrical packages, marked with a stripe on one side to indicate polarity. In a perfectly ideal diode, current flows in one direction only, from the anode (positive side) to the cathode (negative side) which is marked with the stripe. The schematic symbol is a triangle pointing towards a bar, where the current flows in the same direction, towards the barred (striped) end. Surface mount versions of diodes tend to follow the same labeling convention, where the cathode is marked with a broad strip

e.

Current through the diode

4. Zener Diode (1N4736) and the Transistor (BC548): This part of circuit ensures that once the charging cut off voltage is reached by the battery, the charging stops. The Zener is rated at 6.8V as breakdown. This allows all the voltage to drop across the Zener and the transistor switches on due to biasing of the Base-Emitter junction. The transistor acts like a switch and once the battery is charged, it draws all the current thus protecting the battery.

Background: Semiconductor diodes, real an ideal

To understand how Zener diodes are different from other diodes, lets first review the properties of regular diodes. And, while there are many different types of diodes see here for a long list were going to focus on so-called normal semiconductor diodes, most commonly constructed with a p-n silicon junction.

Diodes usually come in glass or plastic cylindrical packages, marked with a stripe on one side to indicate polarity. In a perfectly ideal diode, current flows in one direction only, from the anode (positive side) to the cathode (negative side) which is marked with the stripe. The schematic symbol is a triangle pointing towards a bar, where the current flows in the same direction, towards the barred (striped) end. Surface mount versions of diodes tend to follow the same labeling convention, where the cathode end is marked with a broad stripe.

Current through the diode

Zener diode
Zener diodes are a special type of semiconductor diode devices that allow current to flow in one direction only that also allow current to flow in the opposite direction, but only when exposed to enough voltage. Zener diodes are semiconductor diodes which have been manufactured to have their reverse breakdown occur at a specific, well-defined voltage (its Zener voltage), and that are designed such that they can be operated

be operated continuously in that breakdown mode. Commonly available Zener diodes are available with breakdown voltages (Zener voltages) anywhere from 1.8 to 200 V.

The schematic symbol for a Zener diode is shown above it is very similar to that of a regular diode, but with bent edges on the bar. The Zener still conducts electricity in the forward direction like any other diode, but also conducts in the reverse direction, if the voltage applied is reversed and larger than the Zener breakdown voltage. Zener voltage references The fixed voltage property of Zener diodes makes them extremely handy as quick voltage references. The basic circuit looks like this:

There are a couple of requirements to consider. First, the input voltage has to be higher than the Zener voltage. Second, the resistor value must be chosen such that there is always current flowing through the Zener.

Using a transistor as a switch

When a transistor is used as a switch it must be either OFF or fully ON. In the fully ON state the

voltage VCE across the transistor is almost zero and the transistor is said to be saturated because it cannot pass any more collector current Ic. The output device switched by the transistor is usually called the 'load'. The power developed in a switching transistor is very small:

In the OFF state: power = IC VCE, but Ic = 0, so the power is zero. In the full ON state: power = IC VCE, but VCE = 0 (almost), so the power is very small.

This means that the transistor should not become hot in use and you do not need to consider its maximum power rating. The important ratings in switching circuits are the maximum collector current Ic(max) and the minimum current gain hFE(min