Wovs Solar

[Kemal Allan]

SolarikaEnergy is a Ugandan renewable energy Engineering, Procurement, and Construction company with a specialized interest in off-grid/on-grid energy solutions. Solarika Energy partners with several international and local producers of renewable energy solutions components as an EPC company. Solarika Energy Ltd is a company committed to providing reliable, quality, innovative solar solutions. We provide solutions for all sectors and applications, including residential, commercial, industrial, community, agriculture, education, health, and hospitality.

Our solutions are cost-effective and affordable for every household, community, and organization due to our optimized designs and flexible payment systems that are designed to increase accessibility to solar energy solutions. Solarika Energy is determined to power remote commercial buildings, industries, schools, health facilities, farming, as well as villages to improve the livelihood of rural communities.

In 1839, Edmund Becquerel discovered the process of using sunlight to produce an electric current in a solid material, but it wasn't until a century later that scientists eventually learned that the photovoltaic effect caused certain materials to convert light energy into electrical energy.

The photovoltaic effect is the basic principal process by which a PV cell converts sunlight into electricity. When light shines on a PV cell, it may be reflected, absorbed, or pass right through. The absorbed light generates electricity.

In the early 1950s, photovoltaic (PV) cells were developed as a spin-off of transistor technology. Very thin layers of pure silicon are impregnated with tiny amounts of other elements. When exposed to sunlight, small amounts of electricity are produced. Originally this technology was a costly source of power for satellites but it has steadily come down in price making it affordable to power homes and businesses.

A single PV cell is a thin semiconductor wafer made of two layers generally made of highly purified silicon (PV cells can be made of many different semiconductors but crystalline silicon is the most widely used). The layers have been doped with boron on one side and phosphorous on the other side, producing surplus of electrons on one side and a deficit of electrons on the other side.

When the wafer is bombarded by sunlight, photons in the sunlight knock off some of excess electrons, this makes a voltage difference between the two sides as the excess electrons try to move to the deficit side. In silicon this voltage is .5 volt

Metallic contacts are made to both sides of the semiconductor. With an external circuit attached to the contacts, the electrons can get back to where they came from and a current flows through the circuit. This PV cell has no storage capacity, it simply acts as an electron pump.

The amount of current is determined by the number of electrons that the solar photons knock off. Bigger cells, more efficient cells, or cells exposed to more intense sunlight will deliver more electrons.

A PV module consists of many PV cells wired in parallel to increase current and in series to produce a higher voltage. 36 cell modules are the industry standard for large power production.

The module is encapsulated with tempered glass (or some other transparent material) on the front surface, and with a protective and waterproof material on the back surface. The edges are sealed for weatherproofing, and there is often an aluminum frame holding everything together in a mountable unit. In the back of the module there is a junction box, or wire leads, providing electrical connections.

Single Crystalline

This is the oldest and more expensive production technique, but it's also the most efficient sunlight conversion technology available. Module efficiency averages about 10% to 12%*

Polycrystalline or Multicrystalline

This has a slightly lower conversion efficiency compared to single crystalline but manufacturing costs are also lower. Module efficiency averages about 10% to 11%*

Amorphous or Thin Film

Silicon material is vaporized and deposited on glass or stainless steel. The cost is lower than any other method. Module efficiency averages 5% to 7%*

*Check with manufacturer for module's accurate conversion efficiency.

PV panels include one or more PV modules assembled as a pre-wired, field-installable unit. The modular design of PV panels allows systems to grow as needs change. Modules of different manufacture can be intermixed without any problem, as long as all the modules have rated voltage output within 1.0 volt difference.

A PV Array consists of a number of individual PV modules or panels that have been wired together in a series and/or parallel to deliver the voltage and amperage a particular system requires. An array can be as small as a single pair of modules, or large enough to cover acres.

12 volt module is the industry standard for battery charging. Systems processing up to about 2000 watt-hours should be fine at 12 volts. Systems processing 2000 - 7000 watt-hours will function better at 24 volt. Systems running more than 7000 watt-hours should probably be running at 48 volts.

Follow the link below to see samples of complete photovoltaic-based electrical systems: Configured Solar Electric Systems

PV has been routinely used for roadside emergency phones and many temporary construction signs, where the cost and trouble of bringing in utility power outweighs the higher initial expense of PV, and where mobile generator sets present more fueling and maintenance trouble.

More than 100,000 homes in the United States, largely in rural sites, now depend on PVs as a primary power source, and this figure is growing rapidly as people begin to understand how clean and reliable this power source is, and how deeply our current energy practices are borrowing from our children.

PV costs are now down to a level that makes them the clear choice not just for remote applications, but for those seeking environmentally safer solutions and independence from the ever-increasing utility power costs.

Morningstar designs solar charge controllers, inverters, and accessories for off-grid and grid-tied battery backup systems through its Professional and Essential Series. Browse our product types below.

As shown in the chart below, PWM controllers tend to be smaller and they operate at battery voltage, whereas MPPT controllers use newer technology to operate at the maximum power voltage. This maximizes the amount of power being produced which becomes more significant in colder conditions when the array voltage gets increasingly higher than the battery voltage. MPPT controllers can also operate with much higher voltages and lower array currents which can mean fewer strings in parallel and smaller wire sizes since there is less voltage drop.

PWM controllers need to be used with arrays that are matched with the battery voltage which limits what modules can be used. There are many 60 cell modules with maximum power voltage (Vmp) equal to about 30V, which can be used with MPPT controllers but are simply not suitable with PWM controllers.

To answer the question: Which is better, PWM or MPPT? All things being equal, MPPT is a newer technology that harvests more energy. However, the advantages of MPPT over PWM controllers come at a cost, so sometimes a less expensive PWM controller can be the right choice, especially with smaller systems and in warm climates where the MPPT boost is not as significant.

Every Morningstar PWM and MPPT solar charge controller is listed on the Morningstar Product Series page. Each listed product is hypertext linked to its product page that includes datasheets, operation manuals, and other helpful information.

The preceding discussion of PWM vs. MPPT may cause some to wonder why a PWM controller would ever be chosen in favor of an MPPT controller. There are indeed instances where a PWM controller can be a better choice than MPPT and there are factors which will reduce or negate the advantages the MPPT may provide. The most obvious consideration is cost. MPPT controllers tend to cost more than their PWM counterparts. When deciding on a controller, the extra cost of MPPT should be analyzed with respect to the following factors:

1. Low power (specifically low current) charging applications may have equal or better energy harvest with a PWM controller. PWM controllers will operate at a relatively constant harvesting efficiency regardless of the size of the system (all things being equal, efficiency will be the same whether using a 30W array or a 300W array). MPPT regulators commonly have noticeably reduced harvesting efficiencies (relative to their peak efficiency) when used in low power applications. Efficiency curves for every Morningstar MPPT controller are printed in their corresponding manuals and should be reviewed when making a regulator decision. (Manuals are available for download on the Morningstar website).

2. The greatest benefit of an MPPT regulator will be observed in colder climates (Vmp is higher). Conversely, in hotter climates Vmp is reduced. A decrease in Vmp will reduce MPPT harvest relative to PWM. Average ambient temperature at the installation site may be high enough to negate any charging advantages the MPPT has over the PWM. It would not be economical to use MPPT in such a situation. Average temperature at the site should be a factor considered when making a regulator choice

3. Systems in which array power output is significantly larger than the power draw of the system loads would indicate that the batteries will spend most of their time at full or near full charge. Such a system may not benefit from the increased harvesting capability of an MPPT regulator. When the system batteries are full, excess solar energy goes unused. The harvesting advantage of MPPT may be unnecessary in this situation especially if autonomy is not a factor.

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