Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [solar-energy]

Form of renewable energy emitted by the Sun, coming in two flavours: photovoltaic and thermal. The former, especially, relates closely to electrical engineering since it is traditionally harnessed through semiconductor devices and converted to AC in order to feed the electric grid or individual users' homes.

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Using clothesline steel core wire rope for AC and DC

As I am currently in a war zone, I don't have many options for cabling. I found this clothesline (steel core plastic wire rope) that appears to be one mm of diameter (steel core diameter.) 13 meters of it measured 7 ohms resistance. Edit: It is 3.8…
USER249
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What is the failure mode of a solar panel?

I have understood that solar panels don't last forever. Warranties are typically a couple dozen years, and you can expect your panel to last for perhaps twice the warranty period. But what does exactly happen when the panel is failing? Does it fail…
juhist
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Do power plants supply their own electricity?

I tried looking it up but there's no answer for this. This is mainly concerning nuclear power plants or natural gas plants, where they would have other buildings attached on site to operate the plants. When they run the plants does it go to the grid…
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Why does inverter synchronization with the grid take 5 minutes?

We had some solar panels & an inverter installed recently. Every time the inverter is turned on (after maintenance or with the first light of the day) it has to synchronize its generation phase with the grid, and it is easy to understand. But why…
dvdmn
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Why are off grid solar setups only 12, 24, 48 VDC?

I am looking to produce 50kW for an off grid solar project. Ideally, I'd like to have a high voltage DC battery system with a high power battery inverter and charge controller. I have only found a couple high VDC (384V) inverters and charge…
Lost Puppy
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Do solar inverters dump excess generated energy as heat?

I have a off-grid solar system and it got me curious, how is my inverter able to know how much excess energy is being produced? I could not show the actual graph from the app but it's really close to this one: Looking at it with my limited…
Jake quin
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Australia–ASEAN Power Link - why not build the solar farm near Singapore?

World's Largest Solar Farm to Be Built in Australia The 10GW, 120 square km solar farm in Australia is connected to Singapore via a 4,500-kilometre high-voltage direct current (HVDC) network. The Australian desert might be a good location for the…
Keith McClary
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Does a solar panel's lifespan depend on usage?

I see numbers about the lifespan of solar panels in units of years, but that got me wondering: Is the lifespan of a solar panel dependent on actual power generation, or just a finite number from the year of manufacturing? For example, if the solar…
Sittin Hawk
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How do/can I charge a Li-po battery without a fancy charger (just using a current)?

I am designing a model airplane that flies using solar cells on its wings. I have a 7.4 V, 2200 mAh battery I want to use for it in case it flies in a cloudy area and needs more power, but everywhere I look you need to use an expensive, bulky…
Elliot Chapman
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Purpose of using diode with solar panel

I have been working on a design based on solar power. While browsing through some circuits on the Internet I came across these designs below In these designs, why was a diode added between the solar panel and the voltage regulator chip? I understand…
Frank Donald
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Modeling a solar panel for simulations

I need to simulate a power conversion system (using SIMetrix/SIMPLIS) in which solar energy is captured by a solar panel, which is then connected to an inverter for supplying current to the grid. Since I need to simulate this, I am struggling in…
DavideM
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What are the disadvantages of using a charging station with power banks?

I want to have good power system for my van. I liked Jackery Explorer 240 . Price is good: $219.99. But the problem is that its capacity is only 16.8Ah and only 2 USB ports. I can buy a more expensive option: Jackery Explorer 500. But its capacity…
Tamila Ambeon
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Is the duck (curve) still a duck?

In 2013 the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) published this image, dubbed it "the duck curve", and took the internet by storm (or, at least the part of the internet that tracks trends in renewable electricity generation): Here's an…
LShaver
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Understanding the working of an MPPT solar charger

I am trying to understand the working of an MPPT charger for a Li-po battery (3.7 V nominal) and a 6 V, 2 W solar ‎panel so that I can select the right charger for my project. After searching and reading a lot of related material on the net, my…
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Achieving MPPT of a solar panel with an LM2596

I'm having some trouble with DC converters in a solar power system. I have a solar panel of 21 V (Voc) and 1.33 A (Isc). I have reaf that using a DC buck converter with input regulation (feedback loop taken from the input) would result in a fixed…
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