Band Gap Solar Panels

Actually the energy converted is the energy corresponding to the band gap.

Band gap solar panels.

Solar cells operate on. So the result is a loss in efficiency. A module is a group of cells connected electrically and packaged into a frame more commonly known as a solar panel which can then be grouped into larger solar. Therefore increasing the temperature reduces the band gap.

The solar cells that you see on calculators and satellites are also called photovoltaic pv cells which as the name implies photo meaning light and voltaic meaning electricity convert sunlight directly into electricity. A semiconductor will not absorb photons of energy less than the band gap. Photons with energy less than the band gap will not separate electron pairs and simply pass through the solar cell. The inability to fully utilize the incident energy at high energies and the inability to absorb low energies of light represents a significant power loss in solar cells consisting of a single p n junction.

When the band gap energy is met the electron is excited into a free state and can therefore participate in conduction. The optical band gap see below determines what portion of the solar spectrum a photovoltaic cell absorbs. In the bond model of a semiconductor band gap reduction in the bond energy also reduces the band gap. The most popular solar cell material silicon has a less favorable band gap of 1 1 ev resulting in a maximum efficiency of about 32.

Limiting efficiency of solar cells. Band gap energy differs from one material to another. Traditional single junction cells with an optimal band gap for the solar spectrum have a maximum theoretical efficiency of 33 16 the shockley queisser limit. In a solar cell the parameter most affected by an increase in temperature is the open circuit voltage.

It has been estimated that about 1 1 loss occurs for every 1 c rise in temperature of the cell. Rest of the photon energy is simply a waste in the solar cell as heat. Any energy above the band gap energy is not utilized by the solar cell and instead goes to heating the solar cell. This maximum occurs at a band gap of 1 34 ev.

The band gap determines how much energy is needed from the sun for conduction as well as how much energy is generated. Solar cells with multiple band gap absorber materials improve efficiency by dividing the solar spectrum into smaller bins where the thermodynamic efficiency limit is higher for each bin. Photons with more energy than necessary to separate an electron pair do generate an electron and a hole with the balance of their enegy being dissipated in the form of heat. And the energy of the electron hole pair produced by a photon is equal to the bandgap energy.

The band gap is the minimum amount of energy required for an electron to break free of its bound state.