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School of Aerospace Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering

Assignment Title:

Photovoltaic Array Laboratory Experiment

Course Name:
Course Code:

Renewable Energy Systems
MIET 2032

Experiment Date:
Submission Date:

7th September 2017
1st October 2017

Professor Name:
Lab Group:

Dr Vipin Dube
5

Assignment Group:

14

Student Name 1:
Student ID:

Hong Qian Zhou
s3560298

Student Name 2:
Student ID:

Abdul Ali Mohammadi
s3480258

Table of Contents
1
...
2

2
...
3

3
...
4
3
...
4

3
...
4

3
...
5

3
...
6

4
...
7

5
...
8

6
...
10
6
...
2

Calculating Output Power & Identifying Point of Maximum Power
...
3

Maximum Power Output & Tilt Angle
...
4

Solar Array Efficiency
...
5
7
...
10

Comparing Manufacture’s Specifications to Experimental Results
...
21

1|Pa g e

1
...
To measure and analyse the performance of multiple photovoltaic arrays
2
...
Demonstrate the effect of tilt angle on PV modules
4
...
By measuring the array temperature and ambient temperature, verify the effect of
temperature on the PV system’s efficiency

2|Pa g e

2
...
When harnessing the
solar radiation that is produced from the sun, free energy is obtained creating an environmentally
friendly setting
...
These solar cells are linked together by electrical
wires and arranged strategically on a panel with non-conductive materials, this is called a solar
module
...

This lab report will demonstrate further on the performance and best usages of PV panels
...
Equipment
3
...
Each panel is measured to be 1170mm x 512mm
...
2

Voltmeter & Ammeter

The photovoltaic array voltage and current may be measured using a DC voltmeter and DC ammeter,
as shown in Figure 2
...
3

Electronic Load

The resistance within an electrical circuit may be varied by adjusting the electronic load as shown in
Figure 3
...
Furthermore, the electronic load display can more precisely measure and
display the voltage and current better than a voltmeter and ammeter
...


Figure 4 - Electronic Load Display

5|Pa g e

3
...


Figure 5 - Pyranometer

6|Pa g e

4
...


Figure 6 – PV System Electrical Circuit

The experiment will follow the following procedures:
1
...

2
...

3
...

4
...

5
...
1

Measure the voltage and current using a voltmeter and ammeter of the current
setup
...
2

Measure the inclined solar radiation of the current setup using a handheld
pyranometer
...
Repeat step 4 by adjusting the resistance until the short circuit current is obtained
...

7
...


7|Pa g e

5
...
02
0
...
75
0
...
14
3
...
28
4
...
49
5
...
23
7
...
66
8
...
10
9
...
68
8
...
08
8
...
02
8
...
12
8
...
94
8
...
69
8
...
36
8
...
90
0
...
72
0
...
05
3
...
21
5
...
00
6
...
31
7
...
69
9
...
52
9
...
29
10
...
11
10
...
87
10
...
93
11
...
02
10
...
06
11
...
41
10
...
04
0
...
07
0
...
17
1
...
05
4
...
11
5
...
06
7
...
01
8
...
03
10
...
81
11
...
78
12
...
31
15
...
52
12
...
69
13
...
10
13
...
73
13
...
45
14
...
81
0
...
69
0
...
84
1
...
65
4
...
61
5
...
71
7
...
62
8
...
49
11
...
43
12
...
67
12
...
13
11
...
20
13
...
81
11
...
75
11
...
47
11
...
Discussion Questions
6
...

By referring to Figure 7, Figure 8, Figure 9, Figure 10, there are a few things that can be deduced:
• All graphs decrease in current as voltage increases
• The maximum current I(sc) of each graph tends to stay between 10 – 19 amps which varies
inconsistently regardless of change in tilt angle
• The maximum voltage V(oc) of each graph is around 18 – 19 volts, which stays relatively
consistent despite the change in tilt angle
• It also shows that voltage is directly proportional to the resistance and inversely
proportional to the current (Ohm’s law)
• Since Melbourne latitude is 37
...
64 watts
...
This is one of the reasons as to why the graphs are
increasing in solar radiation, as the solar radiation from tilt angle of 20 degrees to 60
degrees seems to be increasing
...
In order to obtain more accurate data
points, 4 separate solar modules of the same specifications should be used at the given 4
different tilt angles, with all data recorded at the same time
...

• Since the data was recorded in Melbourne, Melbourne is known to have inconsistent
weather patterns, with some days having at least 4 seasons in a day, hence there will be a
certain margin of error in the data set
...


10 | P a g e

Figure 7 - Solar Cell I-V Curve, Tilt Angle 20 Degrees

Specifically, for tilt angle of 20 degrees, as shown in Figure 7, the current does not vary much
between 0
...
36 volts, showing about a drop of only 1 amp
...
10 volts, and then drops as voltage increases
...
10 volts, could be
due to the uncovering of clouds hence providing more solar radiation
...
36 – 12
...
Afterwards, the current drops as voltage increases
...
36 volts onwards
...


Figure 10 - Solar Cell I-V Curve, Tilt Angle 60 Degrees

For tilt angle of 60 degrees as shown in Figure 10, from 0
...
This could be due to
clouds interfering with the solar arrays
...
2

Calculating Output Power & Identifying Point of Maximum Power

To calculate the output power, the following formula must be used:
Where:
• 𝑃𝑃 = 𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 𝑂𝑂 𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 [ 𝑊𝑊 ]
• 𝑉𝑉 = 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 [ 𝑉𝑉 ]
• 𝐼𝐼 = 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 [ 𝐴𝐴]

𝑃𝑃 = 𝑉𝑉 × 𝐼𝐼

Sample calculations of output power for tilt angle 20 degrees @ data point #4
Given:
• V = 16
...
72 A

𝑃𝑃 = 𝑉𝑉 × 𝐼𝐼 = 16
...
72 = 76
...
e
...
84 watts

The above is iterated over a set of 15 to 16 data points for each tilt angle of 20, 30, 40 and 60
degrees, the

Tilt Angle: 20 Degrees
#
OC

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Array Voltage
(V)
19
...
75
17
...
28
15
...
23
13
...
10
10
...
08
6
...
12
1
...
69
0
...
00
0
...
35
4
...
96
7
...
54
9
...
03
8
...
16
8
...
51
8
...
84

Power
(W)
0
...
81
57
...
84
92
...
01
116
...
67
85
...
55
49
...
95
16
...
01
3
...
90
0
...
72
0
...
05
3
...
21
5
...
00
6
...
31
7
...
69
9
...
52
9
...
29
10
...
11
10
...
87
10
...
93
11
...
02
10
...
06
11
...
41
10
...
00
0
...
44
88
...
20
113
...
88
103
...
98
62
...
45
32
...
12
11
...
28

Table 3 - Output Power Tilt Angle 30 Degrees

Tilt Angle: 40 Degrees
#
OC

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Array Voltage [V] Array Current [I]
(V)
(A)
19
...
00
19
...
02
18
...
76
17
...
12
5
...
11
15
...
26
14
...
79
13
...
10
11
...
41
9
...
61
8
...
00
5
...
91
3
...
33
2
...
44
0
...
86
0
...
83

Power [W]
(W)
0
...
38
31
...
25
94
...
34
123
...
60
134
...
33
124
...
26
49
...
22
10
...
67

Table 2 – Output Power Tilt Angle 40 Degrees

14 | P a g e

Tilt Angle: 60 Degrees
#
OC

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Array Voltage [V] Array Current [I]
(V)
(A)
18
...
00
18
...
02
17
...
73
16
...
02
15
...
65
14
...
10
13
...
85
12
...
10
10
...
59
8
...
20
6
...
78
4
...
52
1
...
89
0
...
39
0
...
05

Power [W]
(W)
0
...
37
30
...
93
88
...
44
120
...
64
131
...
77
72
...
78
21
...
54
5
...

Tilt Angle
[Degrees]
20
30
40
60

Maximum Power
Output [W]
116
...
88
134
...
64

Table 5 - Maximum Output per Tilt Angle

15 | P a g e

6
...
Below in Figure 11, a graph is produced represented the maximum output vs each tilt angle
...
At tilt angle of 60 degrees, the power
output starts to converge and become steady
...
8º, anything above a tilt angle of 40
degrees should show a decline in maximum power output, which is inefficient
...
The errors were
discussed in part 6
...


P(max) vs Tilt Angle

P(max) vs Tilt Angle

140

Max Power [W]

135
130
125
120
115

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Tilt Angle [Degrees]
Figure 11 - Maximum Power Output vs Tilt Angle

16 | P a g e

6
...
28 [𝑉𝑉]
• 𝐼𝐼 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 4
...
84 [ 2 ]
•

𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝐴 = 1170 × 512 × 10−6 = 0
...
28 × 4
...
9%
76
...
6
𝐺𝐺 𝐻𝐻 × 𝐴𝐴

The above calculations are further iterated across the 4 different tilt angles at all data points, this is
represented in Table 6 to 9
...
02
18
...
14
16
...
49
14
...
66
11
...
68
8
...
02
4
...
94
0
...
36

Array Current [I]
(A)
0
...
47
3
...
72
5
...
59
8
...
52
8
...
36
8
...
24
8
...
71
8
...
00
8
...
42
76
...
32
108
...
66
105
...
76
67
...
12
33
...
51
6
...
18

Inclined Solar Radiation [Si]
(W/m^2)
597
585
647
560
547
584
614
631
496
500
481
475
484
483
487

A
[m^2]
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
514707
14
...
90617
28
...
87294
31
...
95598
28
...
55235
17
...
93095
5
...
077133
1
...
90
18
...
05
16
...
00
14
...
69
10
...
29
6
...
87
2
...
02
1
...
41

Array Current [I]
(A)
0
...
02
3
...
47
6
...
95
9
...
82
10
...
22
10
...
00
10
...
22
10
...
00
0
...
44
88
...
20
113
...
88
103
...
98
62
...
45
32
...
12
11
...
28

Inclined Solar Radiation [Si]
(W/m^2)
743
639
745
787
686
708
849
665
673
622
676
686
630
656
609

A
[m^2]
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
097809
12
...
80788
25
...
82364
24
...
93282
20
...
75892
10
...
842967
5
...
026489
1
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
121273
8
...
55657
17
...
47271
24
...
49607
24
...
01844
26
...
08967
9
...
642561
1
...
187668

Table 7 - Solar Array Efficiency, Tilt Angle 30 Degrees

Tilt Angle: 40 Degrees
#
OC

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Array Voltage [V]
(V)
19
...
07
18
...
05
16
...
06
14
...
03
11
...
78
8
...
52
3
...
10
0
...
45

Array Current [I]
(A)
0
...
02
1
...
12
5
...
26
8
...
10
11
...
61
15
...
91
13
...
44
13
...
83

Power [W]
(W)
0
...
38
31
...
25
94
...
34
123
...
60
134
...
33
124
...
26
49
...
22
10
...
67

Inclined Solar Radiation [Si]
(W/m^2)
489
525
642
865
921
850
842
1022
928
935
781
984
886
835
873
938

Table 8 - Solar Array Efficiency, Tilt Angle 40 Degrees

18 | P a g e

Tilt Angle: 60 Degrees
#
OC

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Array Voltage [V]
(V)
18
...
69
17
...
65
15
...
71
13
...
49
10
...
67
6
...
20
1
...
75
0
...
00
0
...
73
4
...
65
7
...
85
11
...
59
12
...
78
13
...
89
11
...
05

Power [W]
(W)
0
...
37
30
...
93
88
...
44
120
...
64
131
...
77
72
...
78
21
...
54
5
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60
0
...
60

n
%
0
0
...
516178
12
...
46497
21
...
99622
24
...
49484
19
...
31653
10
...
790086
1
...
263805

Table 9 - Solar Array Efficiency, Tilt Angle 60 Degrees

Furthermore, the efficiencies of each tilt angle at its maximum power output (highlighted in yellow
in Tables 6 to 9) is graphed to show the trends and changes in efficiency as tilt angle changes, this is
represented in Figure 12
...
Whether this is
correct or not is unknown as this highly depends on the accuracy of the data points
...


19 | P a g e

6
...
According to the
manufacturer’s specifications this particular solar module is able to produce the following:
• Max Voltage = 17 V
• Max Current = 4
...
4 V
• Short Circuit Current = 4
...


Figure 13 - Solar Module BP 275 Manufacturer's Specifications

As this experiment was conducted in Melbourne with latitude of 37
...
8º
According to the experimental data at tilt angle 40 degrees, the following parameters were shown:
• Max Voltage = 11
...
41 A
• Open Circuit Voltage = 19
...
83 A
By comparing the manufacturer’s specifications with the experimental data, it is clear that there is
an obvious problem with the experiment, as huge percentage errors were obtained
...
81
� × 100 = 30
...
45 − 11
...
4%
𝑀𝑀𝑎𝑎𝑥𝑥 𝐶𝐶𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝐸𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 = �
4
...
4 − 19
...
02%
𝑂𝑂𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝐶𝐶𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑉𝑉𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐸𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 = �
21
...
75 − 14
...
21%
𝑆𝑆ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐶𝐶𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝐶𝐶𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝐸𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 = �
4
...

20 | P a g e

7
...

By adjusting the solar array tilt angle to match the position of the sun results in the solar radiation
making greater contact on the PV panel, hence absorbing greater sunlight
...
As mentioned in part 6
...


21 | P a g e



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