Étiquette : PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM

The direct conversion of sunlight into electricity is a very elegant process to generate environmentally friendly, renewable energy. This branch of science is known as « photovoltaics » or « PV ». PV technology is modular, operates silently, is therefore suited to a broad range of applications, and can contribute substantially to our future energy needs. Although the basic principles of PV were discovered in the 19^th century, it was not before the 1950s and 1960s that solar cells found practical use as electricity generators, a development that came about through early silicon semiconductor technology for electronic applications. Today, a range of PV technologies is available on the market and under development in laboratories. Complete PV systems consist of two elements: Modules (also referred to as panels), which contain solar cells, and the Balance-of-System (BoS). The BoS mainly comprises electronic components, cabling, support structures and, if applicable, electricity storage or optics & sun trackers. The cost of BoS also includes the labour cost of installation.

In addition, it is worthy of remark to analyse LCC and LCA of various PV technologies. LCC (Life Cycle Cost) of an item consists of the total cost of owning and operating an item over its lifetime. Some costs involved in the owning and operating of an item are incurred at the time of acquisition, and other costs are incurred later. LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of PV systems is an important tool to quantify the potential environmental advantage of using solar technologies versus more traditional technologies, especially the ones relying on non-renewable fossil fuel sources.

Contents:

Part 1

• PV principles
• PV characteristics
• Types and conversion efficiency of solar cell
• PV cell modeling

Part 2

• LCC of some PV installations
• Principle of LCC calculation
• Principle of LCA
• Life cycle inventories
• Energy payback time of various PV types
• GHG emissions of various PV types

PV systems can be grid connected (work together with the local electrical grid) or work as stand-alone systems (autonomous). Grid-tied systems are the most common type of solar PV system. Grid-tied systems are connected to the electrical grid and allow residents of a building to use solar energy as well as electricity from the grid. Grid-tied systems do not need to produce 100% of the electricity demand for a home or business. When there is no demand for energy, the solar panels send excess electricity back out into the grid for use elsewhere. This course will introduce the design process for several complete self-contained PV systems and grid-tied systems. Contents:

Part 1: PV systems applications

• An overview of applications
• Stand-alone systems:
  • Components and conversion chain
  • MPPT
  • System design
• Grid-tied systems:
  • Integration of PV generators to the grid
  • Conversion chain
  • Power converters associated to grid-tied PV systems
  • Regulations and policies
  • Grid services
  • Hybridization of electrical energy storage for intelligent integration of PV in electric networks

Part 2: Simulation of a case study