2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Abstract
There are multiple parameters to study when measuring the performance and efficiency of Photovoltaic solar cells. This paper is a part of one-year capstone project results for undergraduate students in Electrical Engineering major. This capstone project focuses on maximizing the efficiency of a 100-Watt, 12V solar panel and studying its implementation in a hybrid power source system. Solar cell efficiency can be checked by measuring the power output, voltage-current characteristics, and environment in which the cell is placed. In the hybrid system, the solar panel will charge a battery. This project explains the importance of using a controller between the battery and solar panel, mainly the risk of overvoltage. One solution explored is using a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller that can prevent overvoltage by lowering the voltage of the solar cell to match the voltage of the battery. The solar cell output power is measured with a Mega 2560 Arduino and an INA219 current sensor connected to a light bulb load, a 12 V DC motor, and a 2.2k resistor attached. This project develops a DC-DC converter to run the loads with the battery banks charged from the solar cell. This project will also identify the relationship between temperature and irradiance on the effect of solar cell power output.

This project is suggested for experimental learning for senior-level undergraduate students. Students conducting this project will be expected to present how their findings compare to theoretical examples via status presentations, professional writing papers, and other assignments that can assess multiple ABET student outcomes. Throughout this project, the authors have shown how experimental learning has increased their awareness in many areas of electrical engineering as they encounter various issues within their experiments. Student takeaways from this project included noting the disparity between researched theoretical results and actual collected results, which varied greatly depending on conditions, the gravity of the economic and labor impact caused by solar panel installation, and the importance of data collection and precise instrumentation to ensure their collected results reflected accurate recommendations.