EXPERIMENT NO.

OBJECT: (a) To study the I-V and P-V characteristics of solar PV panel by changing the
insolation and temperature:

(1) Mono-crystalline solar PV panel

(2) Poly-crystalline solar PV panel

(b) To study the effect of partial shading on solar PV panel (Mono-crystalline).

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM:

Fig.1 Equivalent circuit of solar cell

Fig.2
 Fig.3 Partial shading of solar cell using bypass diodes.

OBSERVATIONS:

(a) For insolation=740 W/m2

(1)Monocrystalline:

I(amps) V(volts) P=V*I(watts)

0.04 19.6 0.784
0.06 19.6 1.176
0.08 19.5 1.56
0.1 19.5 1.95
0.14 19.4 2.716
0.21 19.3 4.053
0.26 19.2 4.992
0.33 19.1 6.303
0.43 18.9 8.127
 0.57 18.6 10.602
0.94 17.8 16.732
1.16 17.2 19.952
1.94 13 25.22
2.09 5.6 11.704
2.11 1 2.11

25

20

15

10

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

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(2)Polycrystalline:

I(amps) V(volts) P=V*I(watts)

0.04 19.1 0.764
0.06 19 1.14
0.1 18.9 1.89
0.16 18.8 3.008
0.21 18.7 3.927
0.27 18.6 5.022
0.29 18.5 5.365
0.34 18.4 6.256
0.41 18.2 7.462
0.55 17.9 9.845
0.68 17.5 11.9
0.78 17.2 13.416
0.92 16.8 15.456
0.98 16.5 16.17
1.27 15.4 19.558
1.39 14.9 20.711
1.65 12 19.8
1.66 9.9 16.434
1.67 7 11.69
1.68 3.4 5.712
1.69 0.5 0.845

25

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15

10

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
 25

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(b) For insolation= 290W/m2

(1) Monocrystalline:

I(amps) V(volts) P=V*I(watts)

0.04 20.1 0.804
0.06 20.1 1.206
0.08 20 1.6
0.1 20 2
0.13 19.9 2.587
0.17 19.9 3.383
0.2 19.8 3.96
0.23 19.8 4.554
0.28 19.7 5.516
0.33 19.6 6.468
0.4 19.5 7.8
0.53 19.2 10.176
0.65 19 12.35
0.84 18.6 15.624
1.15 17.9 20.585
1.56 16.8 26.208
2.24 13.3 29.792
2.42 9.4 22.748
2.46 6.1 15.006
2.5 1.2 3
2.51 1.1 2.761

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25

25

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15

10

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

(2)Polycrystalline:
I(amps) V(volts) P=V*I(watts)
0.04 19.5 0.78
0.06 19.5 1.17
0.08 19.4 1.552
0.12 19.3 2.316
0.18 19.2 3.456
0.23 19.1 4.393
0.28 19 5.32
0.33 18.9 6.237
0.4 18.8 7.52
0.46 18.6 8.556
0.62 18.3 11.346
0.71 18.1 12.851
0.83 17.8 14.774
1.02 17.3 17.646
1.25 16.7 20.875
1.78 15.3 27.234
2.17 14.2 30.814
2.58 11.8 30.444
2.67 6.8 18.156
2.71 0.9 2.439

25

20

15

10

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
 35

30

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(C) Effect of partial shading (Monocrystalline):

Out of two panels connected in series, on one panel insolation is 1000W/m2 and on other
panel which is covered with sheet(transparent) insolation is 550W/m2.

I(amps) V(volts) P=V*I(watts)

0.1 39.5 3.95
0.12 39.4 4.728
0.15 39.3 5.895
0.18 39.2 7.056
0.2 39.1 7.82
0.25 39.1 9.775
0.26 39 10.14
0.31 38.9 12.059
0.37 38.7 14.319
0.41 38.5 15.785
0.5 38.3 19.15
0.56 38 21.28
0.64 37.8 24.192
0.71 37.5 26.625
0.79 37.2 29.388
0.86 37 31.82
0.96 36.7 35.232
1.06 36.3 38.478
1.16 34.9 40.484
1.22 30.3 36.966
1.28 23 29.44
1.3 18 23.4
1.39 17.6 24.464
1.46 17.4 25.404
1.61 17.1 27.531
2.06 16.4 33.784
2.64 15.4 40.656
3.64 13.6 49.504
4.64 11.1 51.504
4.95 0.8 3.96

45

40

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 60

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Report questions:

Q1. What are the different types of solar cells? Describe each in brief and Compare
them on the basis of their life, efficiency, etc. in tabular form.

Ans. PV cells can be manufactured in many different ways and from a variety of different
materials. The most common material for solar panel construction is silicon which
has semiconducting properties. There are three types of PV cell technologies that dominate
the world market: mono crystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, and thin film.
Higher efficiency PV technologies, including gallium arsenide and multi-junction cells, are
less common due to their high cost, but are ideal for use in concentrated
photovoltaic systems and space applications.

(1)Monocrystalline Silicon Cell:- The first commercially available solar cells were made
from mono crystalline silicon, which is an extremely pure form of silicon. Solar cells made of
mono crystalline silicon (mono-Si), also called single-crystalline silicon (single-crystal-Si),
are quite easily recognizable by an external even colouring and uniform look, indicating high-
purity silicon.

(2)Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells:-The first solar panels based on polycrystalline

silicon, which also is known as poly silicon (p-Si) and multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si), were
introduced to the market in 1981. Unlike mono crystalline-based solar panels, polycrystalline
solar panels do not require the Czochralski process. Raw silicon is melted and poured into a
square mold, which is cooled and cut into perfectly square wafers.
 (3)Thin-Film Solar Cells (TFSC):-Depositing one or several thin layers of photovoltaic
material onto a substrate is the basic gist of how thin-film solar cells are manufactured. They
are also known as thin-film photovoltaic cells (TFPV). The different types of thin-film solar
cells can be categorized by which photovoltaic material is deposited onto the substrate.

(4)Amorphous Silicon (a-Si) Solar Cells:- Because the output of electrical power is low,
solar cells based on amorphous silicon have traditionally only been used for small-scale
applications such as in pocket calculators. With a manufacturing technique called “stacking”,
several layers of amorphous silicon solar cells can be combined, which results in higher
efficiency rates (typically around 6-8%). Only 1% of the silicon used in crystalline silicon
solar cells is required in amorphous silicon solar cells. On the other hand, stacking is
expensive.

(5)Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) Solar Cells:- Cadmium telluride is the only thin-film solar
panel technology that has surpassed the cost-efficiency of crystalline silicon solar panels in a
significant portion of the market (multi-kilowatt systems). The efficiency of solar panels
based on cadmium telluride usually operates in the range 9-11%.

(6)Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIS/CIGS) Solar Cells:- Compared to the other thin-
film technologies above, CIGS solar cells have showed the most potential in terms of
efficiency. These solar cells contain less amounts of the toxic material cadmium that is found
in CdTe solar cells. Commercial production of flexible CIGS solar panels was started in
Germany in 2011. Many thin-film solar cell types are still early in the research and testing
stages. Some of them have enormous potential, and we will likely see more of them in the
future.

(7)String Ribbon Solar Cells:- String Ribbon solar panels are also made out of
polycrystalline silicon. String Ribbon is the name of a manufacturing technology that
produces a form of polycrystalline silicon. Temperature-resistant wires are pulled through
molten silicon, which results in very thin silicon ribbons. Solar panels made with this
technology looks similar to traditional polycrystalline solar panels. The manufacturing of
String Ribbon solar panels only uses half the amount silicon as mono crystalline
manufacturing.

Comparison of different types of solar cells:

Characteristics Mono Polycrystalline Amorphous CdTe CIS/CIGS
crystallin
e
Typical 15-20% 13-16% 6-8% 9-11% 10-12%
module cell
efficiency
Best research 25% 20.4% 13.4% 18.7% 20.4%
cell efficiency
Typical length 25 years 25 years 10-25 years - -
of warranty
Lowest price 0.75$/W 0.69$/W 0.62$/W - -
Temperature Performa Less Tolerates Relatively Relatively
resistance nce drops temperature extreme low impact low impact
10-15% resistant than heat on on
at high mono performanc performanc
temperat crystalline e e
ures
Area required 6-9m2 8-9m2 13-20m2 11-13m2 9-11m2
for 1kWp

Fig.4 Mono crystalline solar PV panel

Fig. 5 poly crystalline solar PV panel

Fig.6 Amorphous silicon solar PV panel
 EEC6900 (LABORATORY-I)

EXPERIMENT NO.
GROUPNO.
NAME
FACULTY NO.

OBJECT:

DATE OF PERFORMING THE EXPERIMENT:

DATE OF SUBMISSION OF REPORT:

GROUP PARTNERS INVOLVED:

Faculty No. Serial No. Name