Module 7: Solar Power PDF

QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY College of Agriculture, Forestry and Engineering Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering …setting trends towards sustainable development Module 7: Solar Power I. Module Overview This module deals with solar power and its appl...

QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY College of Agriculture, Forestry and Engineering Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering …setting trends towards sustainable development Module 7: Solar Power I. Module Overview This module deals with solar power and its application to engineering. It specifically discussed the thermodynamic pathway for solar energy conversion, solar pv and solar collectors. II. Intended Learning Outcomes After the module, you should be able to: 1. learn the paths of solar radiation 2. familiarize with the classification of solar energy applications 3. learn the different thermodynamic pathways for solar energy conversion 4. learn about solar pv and solar collectors and its applications in agriculture III. Take-Off IV. Content Focus 1. Solar Power/Energy The energy received from the sun, per unit of time, on a normal surface at the average distance between the sun and earth outside the earth’s atmosphere is equal to 1,353 W/m2. The radiation absorbed by the earth is about 690 W/m2. The figure shows the paths of the other portion of solar energy received by earth. Classification of Solar Energy Applications a. Thermal or heat based applications Rely on heat energy coming from the sun. The heat energy can be used directly to heat or cool systems or be transformed to other forms of energy such as mechanical or electrical. b. Photovoltaic applications QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY College of Agriculture, Forestry and Engineering Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering …setting trends towards sustainable development Rely on the illumination-spectrum intensity coming from the sun. With the aid of semi-conductor materials, e.g. solar cells, the illumination is transformed directly into electricity. Photovoltaic (PV) systems operate quietly and they can offer extremely high reliability, low maintenance requirements, and a long lifetime. 2. Thermodynamic Pathway for solar energy conversion 1) Solar Thermal Conversion – Solar space heating (drying and water heating) – Solar cooling (solar refrigerator) 2) Solar Thermo-Chemical Conversion 3) Solar Thermo-Mechanical Conversion 4) Solar Electric Conversion – Photovoltaics (PV or solar cell) 5) Solar Thermal Electric Conversion (STEC) 6) Solar Chemical Conversion – Photosynthesis (plant biomass conversion) 7) STEC+ Electrolysis 8) Solar Electrochemical Conversion Figure 1. Thermodynamic Pathway for Solar Energy Conversion QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY College of Agriculture, Forestry and Engineering Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering …setting trends towards sustainable development 3. Geometric Relationships of the sun and the Receiving Solar Collector Nomenclatures:  Ф – Latitude, the angular location north or south of the equator, north positive; -90° - < Ф