looking for advice regarding solar pannels?!

I have a small project at my university concerning renewable energy sources , especially soalr energy. ,ore specifically i am concerned with photovoltaic solar cells. i stumbled upon a question i could no answer!
i was wonderinf if anyone can help me figure out how much power (watts) can a 0.05m x 1.5m solar cell provide?
in a ddition, i would also like to know other specifications related to a solar cell of this dimension! like efficiency , or even the loads it can feed(number of appliances it can provide with electricity)

Thank you arduino community!

You need to get the manufacturer's data. There are different types of solar cell used in solar panels. You could make measurements of voltage and current in bright sunshine but you need to have a suitable load to ensure that the solar panel is working at its most efficient voltage. And it is much easier to figure that out when you have the manufacturer's data :slight_smile:

...R

Robin2:
You need to get the manufacturer's data. There are different types of solar cell used in solar panels. You could make measurements of voltage and current in bright sunshine but you need to have a suitable load to ensure that the solar panel is working at its most efficient voltage. And it is much easier to figure that out when you have the manufacturer's data :slight_smile:

...R

what are some P.V solar cells manufacturing companies that i can check out ?
also, i heard that there are different types of solar cells (sillicon , moncrystalline , polycrystaline...) i gues i should choose a specific type of cells to make inqueries about. right?
i mean i cant go to a manufacturer and just tell him give me the specs of a solar cell with these dimensions , without telling him the type of solar cell in my mind!
right??

The figure usually specified for the available insolation at ground level with the sun directly overhead (full sun) is 1000W/m^2. Therefore the available insolation at the panel would be approximately 0.051.51000 = 75W. Unless you are prepared to spend lots of money, the conversion efficiency of the cells will probably be on the order of 10% which means that, at best, you'll maybe get 7.5W in full sun from the 0.05m X 1.5m panel. Then there's the question of how the panel will be oriented - fixed and laid flat; fixed at some angle towards the sun; tracking the sun (one axis or two?) - which affects the amount of insolation actually intercepted and thereby reduces the true output further.
Even if you get the full 7.5W from it, that's not going to power many appliances!

Pete

el_supremo:
The figure usually specified for the available insolation at ground level with the sun directly overhead (full sun) is 1000W/m^2. Therefore the available insolation at the panel would be approximately 0.051.51000 = 75W. Unless you are prepared to spend lots of money, the conversion efficiency of the cells will probably be on the order of 10% which means that, at best, you'll maybe get 7.5W in full sun from the 0.05m X 1.5m panel. Then there's the question of how the panel will be oriented - fixed and laid flat; fixed at some angle towards the sun; tracking the sun (one axis or two?) - which affects the amount of insolation actually intercepted and thereby reduces the true output further.
Even if you get the full 7.5W from it, that's not going to power many appliances!

Pete

ohh i see. there are a lot of variables that must be taken into consideration!!
what i have noticed is that you did not mention how the type of the solar cell affects its performance. is this intentional or you simply forgot?

We're not the free tutorial people. That's something you could easily learn just by doing a little searching with Google. When you've got some specific questions then we're here for ya. But if you just want someone to write you whole tutorial article just special for you then this is the wrong place.

you did not mention how the type of the solar cell affects its performance

I sort of did when I wrote "Unless you are prepared to spend lots of money, the conversion efficiency of the cells will probably be on the order of 10%". But if you can get 20% then you now have about 15W from your module. Whoopee!

The thing that you seem to be (perhaps willfully) ignoring is the hard physical fact that I pointed out. The absolute maximum solar input to the module (i.e. "available insolation" under ideal conditions) is about 75W. Even if the cells have a miraculous 100% conversion efficiency, you will only have 75W from that module - it is still not going to power any device that most of us would understand as being described by your word "appliance" . You will also have to conveniently ignore such inconveniences as cloudy weather, dust on the module and other factors which reduce the efficiency of the conversion and the availability of the insolation in the first place.

Pete

I meant the manufacturer that made the panel that you have.

...R

Commercial solar panels seem to run about 14-16% efficiency, with "top" brands getting up near 22%.

High-priced and "researchy" cells can get much higher, up past 45% for multi-junction exotics.