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    photovoltaic (PV) Energy

    PV (photovoltaic): light to DC electrical energy

    If solar thermal captures solar radiation as heat, PV systems convert this radiation into electrical flow in one direction (direct current, or DC, like batteries). This is convenient for battery storage, but to be used in most homes and businesses, AC (alternating current, 60 Hz) is needed. Inverters are electronic devices that turn DC from PV and/or batteries into AC for use.

    Since HPA is on one meter with HELCO, we are essentially a “micro-grid” meaning any electrical energy harvested from PV (or released from batteries) goes to slow down or reverse the HELCO meter. Since we do not presently get any credit for energy out, we want to make certain we can store any excess energy on campus for our night time use.

    Since the sun is brightest at noon, PV engineers use an estimation of a PV array output called “solar hours”, meaning the equivalent amount of energy harvested if noon lasted that many hours. This is like making a camel hump curve into a rectangle, adding the edges to the top.

    For example, our PPA (purchase power agreement) array behind the elab produces about 100 kW maximum. This is true at noon, but less so either side of noon, so we use “solar hours” to estimate energy harvest each day. For us, this is about 5.5 solar hours, depending on season:

    100 kW x 5.5 solar hours = 550 kWh or about $200 saved each day.

    Click for full-size image



    PPA arrangements usually charge us a fraction (about $0.20 per kWh) of the HELCO cost, but we have to pay for what it produces, not what it uses. If we are pushing energy out the door to HELCO using the PPA array, we are in effect paying to give this energy away, which happens during vacations (summer, winter, spring).

    Net zero energy is when we have effectively stopped the HELCO meter, meaning we are producing exactly how much we are using.

    We hope to harvest enough to reach net zero around 10AM each day until about 2 PM each afternoon. The extra energy during that time we hope to capture using battery and other storage systems (pumped storage hydro, hot water activation, etc.)


    Questions:

    1. Using the elab2.hpa.edu system, calculate the power harvested at the same time you measure the solar radiation for the PPA array above the elab.
    2. Measure the area of one solar panel in the PPA array and count the number of panels to get total area.
    3. Use the solar radiation in W/m2 to calculate the ideal power from the array
    4. Compare this with the actual power harvested from the array. What is the % efficiency?
    5. Using the graph above, count the squares to find the total energy for a day.
    6. If the total installed power is 210 kW, how many solar hours did we have on January 20?

    Comments

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You should be able to do the following after logging in with your account: To create a new page, click the ...Falseadmin2020-08-19T15:43:59+00:00adminadmin2013-02-05 02:24:03+00:002013-02-05 02:24:03updated4Added tag - hotadminadmin2013-02-05 02:24:02+00:002013-02-05 02:24:02addTag3adminadmin2013-02-05 02:05:35+00:002013-02-05 02:05:35updated2First createdadminadmin2013-02-05 02:03:35+00:002013-02-05 02:03:35created1wiki2013-02-05T02:24:03+00:00groups/apenvironmentalscience/wiki/394a8FalseEnergy notes/groups/apenvironmentalscience/wiki/394a8/Energy_notes.htmladmin4 updatesEnergy notes Week of 2.4.13: energy wrap-up e2 video: coal vs. nuclear in class AP exams: FRQ 2002.1 2004.2 2006.1 2007.2 2008.1 ...Falseadmin2013-02-05T02:24:03+00:00adminadmin2013-02-05 02:23:20+00:002013-02-05 02:23:20updated6Added tag - hotadminadmin2013-02-05 02:23:18+00:002013-02-05 02:23:18addTag5adminadmin2013-02-05 02:23:12+00:002013-02-05 02:23:12updated4adminadmin2013-02-05 02:21:48+00:002013-02-05 02:21:48updated3adminadmin2013-02-05 02:20:26+00:002013-02-05 02:20:26updated2First createdadminadmin2013-02-05 02:06:00+00:002013-02-05 02:06:00created1wiki2013-02-05T02:23:20+00:00groups/apenvironmentalscience/wiki/c360bFalseFeb-May plan/groups/apenvironmentalscience/wiki/c360b/FebMay_plan.htmladmin6 updatesFeb-May plan 1. conclusion of energy chapters (see previous wiki) 2. GCC AP questions FRQ: 2006.2 2005.3 2005.4 2007.3 ...Falseadmin2013-02-05T02:23:20+00:00adminadmin2012-03-07 05:53:55+00:002012-03-07 05:53:55updated14adminadmin2012-03-07 05:43:38+00:002012-03-07 05:43:38updated13adminadmin2012-03-07 05:41:35+00:002012-03-07 05:41:35updated12adminadmin2012-03-07 05:38:57+00:002012-03-07 05:38:57updated11Added tag - hotadminadmin2012-03-07 05:38:55+00:002012-03-07 05:38:55addTag10adminadmin2012-03-07 05:36:47+00:002012-03-07 05:36:47updated9adminadmin2012-03-07 05:22:26+00:002012-03-07 05:22:26updated8adminadmin2012-03-07 05:20:01+00:002012-03-07 05:20:01updated7adminadmin2012-03-07 05:18:58+00:002012-03-07 05:18:58updated6adminadmin2012-03-07 04:58:55+00:002012-03-07 04:58:55updated5adminadmin2012-03-07 04:57:33+00:002012-03-07 04:57:33updated4adminadmin2012-03-07 04:56:53+00:002012-03-07 04:56:53updated3adminadmin2012-03-07 04:54:20+00:002012-03-07 04:54:20updated2First createdadminadmin2012-03-07 04:53:33+00:002012-03-07 04:53:33created1weblog2012-03-07T05:53:55+00:00groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/de030FalseGreen Apple/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/de030/Green_Apple.htmladmin14 updatesGreen Apple Team, Please watch this video about NYC: Trailer: http://www.pbs.org/e2/episodes/101_the_green_apple_trailer.html On the server: http://physics.hpa...Falseadmin2012-03-07T05:53:55+00:00adminadmin2011-09-13 19:08:24+00:002011-09-13 19:08:24updated4Added tag - hotadminadmin2011-09-13 19:08:22+00:002011-09-13 19:08:22addTag3adminadmin2011-09-13 19:08:10+00:002011-09-13 19:08:10updated2First createdadminadmin2011-09-13 19:04:30+00:002011-09-13 19:04:30created1weblog2011-09-13T19:08:24+00:00groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/4ecddFalseQuestions for Wednesday, wiki adds/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/4ecdd/Questions_for_Wednesday_wiki_adds.htmladmin4 updatesQuestions for Wednesday, wiki adds Team, I'd like to try something for class tomorrow: each of you to create a question from chapter 3, and email it to me by this evening (Tuesday). 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