Maximum Power Point Teacher Notes 1

Maximum Power Point (Teacher Notes)

(The Principles of Optimizing Photovoltaic Cell Power Output)

Notes on Part 1:

Basic Electricity Review
2

To understand photovoltaics, it is necessary to know something about electricity. There
are three very important concepts, Voltage, Current, and Power.
Voltage, measured in volts, is a measure of the electrical force between two
points. Voltage is the cost in energy required to move a unit of positive charge
from a more negative point (low potential) to the more positive point (higher
potential).
o A voltage potential can be though of as the potential energy released when
a unit charge moves downhill from the higher to lower potential. It is
important to think of a voltage potential between or across two points in a
circuit. Often a voltage potential is measured in reference to a single
common point referred to as ground, located on the - side of the
voltage source.
Current, measured in amperes or amps, is a measure of the number of electrons
flowing through a wire in a particular time. It is analogous to gallons of water per
second flowing in a hose.
*Note that voltage and current are totally different concepts. In an electrical
circuit, the number of electrons that are moving is called the amperage or the
current, and it is measured in amps. The "pressure" pushing the electrons along
is called the voltage and is measured in volts. So you might hear someone say, "If
you spin this generator at 1,000 rpm, it can produce 1 amp at 6 volts." One amp is
the number of electrons moving (1 amp physically means that 6.24 x 10
18

electrons move through a wire every second), and the voltage is the amount of
pressure behind those electrons.
The third concept is that of power. Power is simply voltage times current. It is
also the amount of energy that is delivered in a unit of time.
*Electric current always travels in a closed loop, a "circuit".
Circuits: a synopsis from howstuffworks.com
Whether you are using a battery, a fuel cell or a solar cell to produce electricity, there are
three things that are always the same:

2
The following review materials on electricity and the nature of PV panels used in the Junior Solar Sprint were
obtained from: http://chuck-wright.com/SolarSprintPV/SolarSprintPV.html, where Chuck Wright, renewable energy
expert and consultant for the Texas State Energy Conservation Office's Renewable Energy Demonstration Program,
Infinite Power, shares his wisdom and PV panel testing results for the panels recommended for use with the Solar
Sprint cars.
2
(If you are utilizing smaller PV panels, the included information will still be of great value.)

Maximum Power Point Teacher Notes 2
The source of electricity will have two terminals: a positive terminal (typically
represented in red) and a negative (typically represented in black) terminal.
The source of electricity (whether it is a generator, battery, etc.) will want to push
electrons out of its negative terminal at a certain voltage. For example, an AA
battery typically wants to push electrons out at 1.5 volts.
The electrons will need to flow from the negative terminal to the positive terminal
through a copper wire or some other conductor. When there is a path that goes
from the negative to the positive terminal, you have a circuit, and electrons can
flow through the wire.
You can attach a load of any type (a light bulb, a motor, a TV, etc.) in the middle
of the circuit. The source of electricity will power the load, and the load will do its
thing (create light, spin a shaft, generate moving pictures, etc.).
The basic circuit of solar panel and motor is shown below. For the purposes of the
investigation in this lesson, the resistor would represent the motor or load.

Figure 2: Solar Panel motor configuration

Source: http://eagle.chimacum.wednet.edu/middle/jss/Course_SolarPanel.htm
How Does A Solar Panel Work?
3

When you look at the diagram above, you might ask, "How does the solar panel turn the
sun's energy into electric energy?" The solar panel is made of a sandwich of two
materials called semiconductors. Each material is made of millions of atoms. As you
might already know, atoms have a positively charged nucleus, and negatively charged
electrons which spin around the nucleus. When these two materials are put together in a
sandwich, an interesting thing happens: electrons become pulled from the bottom half.
But there's a problem. The electrons are all attached to atoms, and the atoms won't let go
very easily. This is where the sun's energy helps out. If we shine sunlight on these

3
Chimacum School District Junior Solar Sprint Course.
http://eagle.chimacum.wednet.edu/middle/jss/Course_SolarPanel.htm, accessed 11 January 2006.
Maximum Power Point Teacher Notes 3
materials, the sunlight has enough energy to knock the electrons off of the atoms. The
electrons will then be free to be pulled to the top of the sandwich.

Figure 3: How a solar panel works

Notes on Part 2:
To be able to complete Part 2, students need to wire the circuit shown here:


Multimeter 2
Decade Box
Solar Panel
Multimeter 1
Voltage (V)
Current (A)

Figure 4. Solar cell circuit for use in Part 2.
4

In Figure 1, the resistor (labeled decade box) is in series with the solar cell but the
multimeter is in parallel with the resistor. In this condition the multimeter can measure V,
but not I. You cannot use one multimeter and measure both V and I at the same time.

4
Graphic created by Professor Andy Lau of Penn State Universitys College of Engineering.
Maximum Power Point Teacher Notes 4

Multimeter 2
Decade Box
Solar Panel
Multimeter 1
Voltage (V)
Current (A)
Construction of the Gnomon Stand
To allow students to experiment with solar orientation and angle of incidence without the
hassle of trigonometry, Penn State Professor Andy Lau has devised the following set-up
that is easy to make and reusable from year-to-year. A piece of 2 X 3 cardboard and a
nail are all that you need to get going.
1. Attach a 2 gnomon of your choice to the cardboard.
2. Trace 8 circles onto the cardboard with the radii listed in the table below (The radii
listed are for a 2 gnomon.)
3. Label the circles for each angle of incidence beginning with 10 at the smallest circle.




















Figure 5. Gnomon Stand Diagram.

Table 1. Derived Circle Radii for a Two-Inch Gnomon

Angle of Incidence tan of angle Approximate Radius (inches)
10 0.176 0.325
20 0.364 0.728
30 0.577 1.154
40 0.839 1.678
50 1.192 2.4
60 1.732 3.5
70 2.747 5.5
80 5.671 11.4

This strategy works with the help of a little trigonometry. The gnomon acts like a normal
that we would draw to the solar panel. Therefore, the length of the shadow cast by the
gnomon can be our indicator of the angle of incidence as the attached panel is tilted.
When the tip of the shadow created by the gnomon is on one of the circles, sunlight is
Gnomon 80
Attach solar panel with duct
tape.
Cardboard sheet: 2 X 3
Maximum Power Point Teacher Notes 5
striking the panel at the corresponding angle of incidence. See Figure 6 below for the
visualization of the relationship, tan(angle A)=X/h.
















Figure 6. Diagram supporting the relationship used to derive circle radii.

Data Collection and Analysis: A suggested way for students to analyze their data is to
plot two curves from the data collected in Part 2. The idea that orienting the panel
towards the sun is intuitive for the most part; however, an important point to make,
especially if students are trying to maximize the power output from the solar cell, is that
there is a Maximum Power Point at which the cell operates.
The following graph from Chuck Wrights Solar Panel exploration represents the
behavior of a solar cell at particular intensities of solar radiation. Students will be
creating one of these curves using data from Table 1. The explanations of short circuit
and open circuit are included below the graph.
Note the point at which
a curve intersects the
vertical axis. This is
known as the short
circuit condition, and it
defines how the cell
operates if a wire is
connected between its
terminals, shorting it
out. The current flow
here is known as I
sc
.
Because there is no
voltage, the cell
delivers no power.
Now note the point at
I
sc

V
oc

Normal
Angle
Of
Incidence
Height of
gnomon
A
X-(radius)
Solar Panel
Gnomon
V
oc

Maximum Power Point Teacher Notes 6
which a curve intersects the horizontal axis. This is where the cell operates if it is
unconnected. This is known as the open circuit condition, and the voltage produced is
denoted V
oc
. Because the current is zero, no power is delivered.
These following sample graphs were obtained from a minisolar panel rated for 1V, 400
mA illuminated by a 150 watt floodlight positioned 16 cm above the solar panel.
5


I-V Curve
0.000
0.050
0.100
0.150
0.200
0.250
0.300
0.350
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Voltage (V)
C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
A
)

Power Curve
0.000
0.050
0.100
0.150
0.200
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Voltage (V)
P
o
w
e
r

(
W
)

Source:
http://www.powernaturally.org/Programs/SchoolPowerNaturally/InTheClassroom/kitlessonsdocs/Solar_Kit_L
esson_11_Measpowermax.doc


5
School Power Naturally. Solar Kit Lesson 11. Accessed 5 January 2006,
http://www.powernaturally.org/Programs/SchoolPowerNaturally/InTheClassroom/kitlessonsdocs/Solar_Kit
_Lesson_11_Measpowermax.doc

Maximum Power Point Teacher Notes 7

Note that the power is maximum at a single operating point. This is known as the
"Maximum Power Point", or MPP. An important point to remind students is that, If one
is to get the most out of their solar cells, it is essential to operate around the MPP.
6
This
is particularly of interest if students may be utilizing a solar panel them to build a solar-
powered car as a next step.

6
Wright, Chuck. Solar Sprint PV. Accessed 7 January 2006, http://chuck-
wright.com/SolarSprintPV/SolarSprintPV.html.
MPP