Experimental Investigation of Solar Panel Performance at Various Environmental Conditions

Mechanical Engineering

The main aim of this paper is to experimentally investigate the solar panel performance at various environmental condition. As the photovoltaics are fixed outdoor exposed to external meteorological conditions, which vary from one area to another, the atmospheric condition can be considered as the major factor in impressive performance of cells, therefore the efficiency and productivity of photovoltics cells vary from one location to another. The output of the solar cells depends upon the intensity of sunlight and the angle of incidence. It means to get maximum efficiency; the solar panels must remain in front of sun during the whole day, and must be placed under different environmental conditions. The Automated Solar Tracking System (ASTS) was made as a prototype and it is completely automatic and keeps the panel in front of the sun until it is visible during summer and various environmental changes. Due to the changes in the environment the solar radiations being obtained would be changed, there would be variations in power and efficiency obtained. This investigation is being done to find the parameters under different environment and differentiate between them.

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