SLC21/WK5: Introduction to Basic Solar Power

Hi guys, it's week 5 in the Steemit engagement challenge and I'm delighted to share my entry in this topic today which talks about Introduction to Basic Solar Power. It was a wonderful lecture filled with many information and the tasks are also beautiful.

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After going through the course I feel it will be great to share my entry in the contest and that is why I have decided to attempt the questions given in the course below. Without further ado let's get started. I'm going to be using my knowledge from the class and a little research I carried out to perform this task.

A. Share your knowledge about solar power with us by reading our lesson.

Solar power as the name implies it is an energy source which comes from sunlight and this energy is converted into electricity or heat via some technology. Solar power is much more environmentally friendly when compared to fossil fuels and that is what makes it stand out among others.

Lets discuss more on solar power by looking at the key concepts, benefits, challenges and application. These and more are going to educate anyone reading through this post what solar power is all about.

Key Concepts of Solar Power

Solar Energy Conversion: When we talk about the conversation of solar energy we have two major ways and that is Photovoltaic (PV) Cells and the Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). Photovoltaic (PV) Cells convert sunlight directly to electricity whereas Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) focus sunlight into area generating heat.

Types of Solar Systems: Solar system is basically of three types that is the Grid-Tied Systems, Off-Grid Systems and the Hybrid Systems. Grid-Tied Systems are connected with utility grid to function whereas Off-Grid Systems doesn't require utility grid but needs battery and lastly Hybrid Systems combines solar panel and other energy source like wind.

Solar Thermal Energy: Here the energy is used for heating purpose. If you go to industries for instance water are heated in tanks and it is the work of the Solar Thermal Energy.

Benefits of Solar Power

There are many benefits associated with solar power and a few other is what I will be discussing here.

Environmental Advantages: It reduces the rate of gas emissions and uses minimal water compared to the traditional power plants we are using at the moment. Also reduces the dependence on non-renewable energy.

Economic Benefits: It reduces electricity bills and also provide job opportunity for those carrying out installation.

Sustainability: Since sunlight is natural and doesn't finish, it is more reliable for a long term usage.

Challenges of Solar Power

Intermittency: Since the generation of the energy depends on sunlight, there maybe no string energy during the night or on a cloudy day though we have battery now which stores energy that covers for the those situations.

High Initial Costs: The cost of installation of solar energy is always high because only a few has the money to purchase all the needed for the installation.

Space Requirements: The space for keeping the panels and battery are most times large and that may require additional land from the space you had and thus can lead to land dispute if the land is not your own.

Energy Storage: To store energy well, you will need enough money to buy more battery and all of these are very expensive.

Applications of Solar Power

Residential Use: You can use solar panels at the rooftop of your house to provide electricity to your home.

Commercial and Industrial Use: Factories and industries make use of solar panel to provide electricity for the factory

Agricultural Applications: Irrigation farming is one of the key aspect where solar energy is used to provide for the agricultural sector.

Transportation: Today we have solar cars, boat etc which is used for transportation.

B. Write three important differences between AC solar and DC solar systems. (as learned from our lesson)

There are three major important differences between the AC solar and the DC solar systems and I will like to share them in the table below.

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Difference	AC Solar	DC Solar
Inverter Placement and Power Conversion	Here the AC uses microinverters which is always attached to solar panel to convert DC to AC and send it to the grid and this means that AC will be available from panel	Here the DC uses central inverter to convert DC to AC and then panels here are connected in series or parallel which allows electricity here to flow in single inverter.
Efficiency and Performance	Since it makes use of the microinverters if there is a partial failure it still works effectively because each panel works independently	If there is a weak panel, the performance won't be effective since the central inverter works with the collective power from the different panels.
System Design and Scalability	Adding panels and upgrading here is easier because panels have their own microinverters	Adding panels and upgrading here is difficult because you will need to redesign the entire system because of the central inverter.

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C. Calculate your home's electrical load and share it with us. Follow our lesson as an example.

I stay in a very small home with little electrical appliances and below I will show you the basic things I used in my home and the calculation of the entire load. So the electrical load of my home is seen below.

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Assume 1000 Watt = 1 KW

Electrical Elements Name	Rating	Quantity	Total Power
Light	30 Watt	5 Pcs	150 Watt
Standing Fan	70 Watt	2 Pcs	140 Watt
Rice Cooker	1000 Watt	1 pcs	1000 Watt

From the above, the total electrical load is 150 Watt + 140 Watt + 1000 Watt which will give us 1,290 Watts or 1.290 KW. Recall that we assumed 1000 Watt = 1 KW.

D. Prepare a DC solar project specification for a customer's home to use four 5-watt lamps and three 20-watt fans.

DC Solar Project Specification for a Customer's Home

Electrical Elements Name	Rating	Quantity	Total Power
Lamps	5 Watt	4 Pcs	20 Watt
Fans	20 Watt	3 Pcs	60 Watt

From the above, the total electrical load is 20 Watt + 60 Watt which will give us 80 Watts

Then, I will purchase a DC solar power system according to the above load or specifications.

Solar Material Name	Quantity	Range
Solar Panel	1 Pcs	150 Watt (or two 80W panels).
Battery	1 Pcs	12V or 75Ah
Charge Controller	1 Pcs	20A
DC Lamps	4 Pcs	5 Watt
DC Fan	3 Pcs	20 Watt

Wiring and Accessories: DC cables, connectors, fuses, and a solar panel mounting are the accessories needed for this connection. Here the connection is made to the Charge Controller or directly to the battery.

E. Prepare specifications for a customer's AC solar system to drive a water pump motor of 1 HP or 746 W and write the function of each device.

AC Solar Project Specification for a Customer's water pump motor

Electrical Elements Name	Rating	Quantity	Total Power
Water Pump Motor Power	1 HP or 746 W	1 Pcs	1 HP or 746 W

The Water Pump Motor of above AC power load. The following AC solar system is to be constructed to provide 1 HP or 746 W of AC power. Assuming it works 5 hours/day then daily consumption will be 5 * 746 = 3,730 Wh/day

Solar Material Name	Quantity	Range
Solar Panel	1 Pcs	750W solar panel or two 375W panels
Inverter	1 Pcs	1200W pure sine wave inverter
Battery	1 Pcs	12V, 400Ah deep-cycle battery
Charge Controller	1 Pcs	12V, 75A MPPT charge controller

Function of each component

Solar panel: It convert sunlight into DC electricity.

Inverter: Convert DC electricity into AC electricity so as to.pwer the 1 HP water pump motor in this case.

Battery: Provide long term power storage for usage incase there is no sun.

Charge Controller: Increase efficiency in energy conversion based on how the sun light appears.

Finally, u wish to invite @josepha, @dove11 and @suboohi to also share their entry in this contest if they haven't done that already.

Cc:
@mahadisalim
@solaymann