Enhancement of power generated by solar panels using reflected sunlight

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 09 Issue: 07 | July 2022 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072
© 2022, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.529 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 1489
Enhancement of power generated by solar panels using reflected
sunlight
Shounaq Pandit, Hemant Pardeshi, Yashraj Shinde, Suhel Sanade
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Abstract - The enhancement of energy generated using
solar photovoltaic panels in a limited space is important in
urban areas due to increased land cost in the recent years.
Although there exist different procedures, technologies and
methodologies to focus the sunlight on solar panels, we have
suggested a new approach to enhance the energy generation
from the photovoltaic panels, i.e., by keeping two solar panels
facing each other to make use of the sunlight reflected off
panels. Furthermore, inclusion of a self-cleaning technology
for solar panel setup can promote efficiency in terms of
electricity produced, reduce manual maintenance required
and protect the solar cell.
Due to high land cost in urban areas, the present study is
significant for reducing costs when setting upapowerplantor
even solar panels for domestic use. Wehaveshownanincrease
of over 100% in the output. The present modeling results are
limited to 10-watt, 12-volt polycrystalline solar panels. Our
result is more applicable to roof tops of the houses or small-
scale plants. However, the justification of the installationcosts
associated with solar panels must be considered. Thus, one
needs to have an optimal cost when designing the number of
solar panels required for a certain power requirement. It
should also be based on the site location.
1. Problem Statement
Today, the whole world uses electricity, it has become an
integral part of our lives. We rely on it for many important
services that maintain our way of life. The main sources of
power that we utilize are coal and oil, both of which produce
pollutants that are harmful to the atmosphere and the
environment. By relying on non-renewable energy sources,
the price of energy rises exponentially, and eventually
becoming too expensive to incorporate into a power plant.
Recognizing this urgent issue, we have decided to focus our
study on improving the state of solar energy generation as
an alternative to non-renewable resources. With
improvements in technology and more sophisticated solar
panels being designed each year, solar energy is slowly
becoming as cost-efficient as coal and oil. However, thisnew
field has many challenges that must be overcome before it
can be established as a major source of energy. We want to
assist in solving one of solar energy’s pressing issues faced
while considering switching to solar power generation, the
high initial investment cost and large area required for
setting up a solar power plant. If the power generated per
solar panel is increased this inevitably leads to a decrease in
number of solar panels required to reach targeted output of
the power plant and hence reducing the total land and solar
panel acquisition costs hence greatly reducing the
investment required.
Objectives:
1. To use methods to enhance energy generation such
as developing a model consisting of solar panels
facing each other which make use of sunlight
reflected off either of the panels.
2. To develop a feasible solar panel model for both
domestic and commercial use.
2. Methodology
After a lot of brainstorming sessions and consulting various
research papers, we concluded thatthetwopanelsshouldbe
placed at 24° tilt towards either side to ensure maximum
absorption during both halves of the day (before and after
noon) in case of cloudy weather during either time and to
avoid either of the panels casting a shadow over the other
one as reflected in the model.
A setup with a single 10-watt, 12-volt polycrystalline silicon
solar panel was made with complete circuitry and readings
of voltage and current at different times were taken to
calculate total average output of a single solar panel with
same specifications as the solar panel used in projectdesign.
A prototype model of the design was fabricated and was set
up along a circuit consisting of a DC-AC converter box,
energy meter and a LED bulb for providing an output to
complete the circuit. The energy meter alongside a digital
multimeter were used to determine and recordtheoutputof
the designed model. Two solar panels identical to the solar
panel used in single panel system were used for greater
accuracy.
A comparative analysis of the results from both of these
systems was done to determine and experimentallyvalidate
the effects of the changes in design on efficiency of solar
panels.
3. Theory:
Absorption and reflection of incident sunlight
One of the main reasons for the low efficiency provided by
solar panels is that when sunlight is incident on a panel, not
all of it is absorbed by the panel due to reflections fromboth,
the photovoltaic cells as well as the dust resistant protective

glass cover on the panel. First, let us consider the reflections
due to the protective glass layer; The amount of sunlight
which can pass through the glass layer to be absorbed bythe
PV layer below is not constant. It varies with the angle at
which sunlight is incident on the glass surface.
If sunlight hits the plane in which the glass layer lies
perpendicularly, up to 99% of the sunlight can pass through
to the PV layer where it is absorbed by semiconducting
material to generate electricity. However, if it is incident at
an angle of about 10° then more than 90% of the incident
sunlight is reflected off the glass and a very small amount
makes it through to the PV layer. Secondarily, we must
consider the reflections by the PV layer itself. This factor
depends upon the type of PV cell technology used in the
model as each type of solar cell has a different baseline
efficiency.
In the design proposed by us, when the two panels are kept
facing each other, a portion the sunlight reflected off one
panel is then incident on the opposite panel where it is once
again, absorbed and reflected. The exactamountofabsorbed
and reflected sunlight varies according to the factors
mentioned above. This model also makes optimal use of the
total amount of sunlight received before sunset. The panel
facing east absorbs maximum sunlight from sunrise up to
noon (approx.) as sunlight is directly incident on it during
this period and the panel facing westmakesuseofmaximum
sunlight in the period after that up to sunset as sunlight is
directly incident on the second panel during this period.
4. Procedure
As mentioned in the preceding sections, two setups were
made for a comparative analysis to judge the benefit of the
prototype model. One setup with a single solar panel made
according to conventional means and other with two solar
panels facing opposite directions according to the results of
the study.
A digital multimeter was used to record voltage and current
across a resistive load (LED bulb) and open circuit voltage
across the same in both cases over a span of 5 days. Two
readings were taken daily,thefirstone being between9-9.30
AM and second one between 4.30-5 PM IST. All readings
were conducted at DY Patil Knowledge City [18.6211719,
73.9107659].
5. The Data
5.1 Formulae and notations:
V = Voltage across resistive load in volts measured using
digital multimeter [Constant load used in all cases]
I = Current in amperes across the circuit measured using
digital multimeter
P = Power in watts generated by the solar panel model
[Calculated value]
P = V × I
Table 1: Readings for project model with two solar
panels:
Table 2: Readings for setup with single solar panel:
Readings taken with the above setup are for a single solar
panel whereas the readings taken with the prototype model
used for our experiment are for two solar panels. Hence, for
an accurate comparative analysis of both the setups, we
must consider twice the amount of power for the single
panel setup.
Table 3: Calculations for two solar panels placed
according to conventional design:
Day Single panel
power (Watts)
Single panel power × 2
(Watts)
Day 1 2.92 5.84
Day 1 2.73 5.46
Day 2 1.254 2.508
Day 2 0.69 1.38
Day Voltage
(Volts)
Current
(Ampere)
Power (Watts)
[P = V × I]
Day 1 12.6 0.98 12.34
Day 1 12.1 0.95 11.495
Day 2 8.7 0.62 5.39
Day 2 6.3 0.47 2.96
Day 3 10.4 0.82 8.528
Day 3 11.8 0.88 10.384
Day 4 12.2 0.9 10.98
Day 4 11.4 0.9 10.26
Day 5 12.3 0.94 11.56
Day 5 12 0.96 11.8
Day Voltage (V) Current (A) Power (Watts)
Day 1 8.2 0.36 2.92
Day 1 7.8 0.35 2.73
Day 2 5.7 0.22 1.254
Day 2 4.1 0.17 0.69
Day 3 6.7 0.29 1.943
Day 3 7.7 0.31 2.387
Day 4 7.9 0.33 2.6
Day 4 7.4 0.34 2.52
Day 5 8 0.38 3.04
Day 5 7.8 0.35 2.73

Day 3 1.943 3.886
Day 3 2.387 4.774
Day 4 2.6 5.2
Day 4 2.52 5.04
Day 5 3.04 6.08
Day 5 2.73 5.46
Table 4: Comparative analysis of both cases to
determine increase in power generation obtained by
prototype of proposed project design:
6. Images of setup:
Image 1: Image of prototype model setup
Image 2: Single panel setup with standard orientation
used for comparative analysis
7. Concluding remarks and scope for future work
If the model proposed by our study is approved for
development and use, then it can provideanalternative with
higher efficiency to size ratio.
According to tests performed under natural environmental
conditions for both prototype of proposed model and
standard setup, the proposed model shows an average
increase of 109.73% in power generated according to
observations over a span of 5 days.
When integrated with a self-cleaning system proposed
design reduces the need for regular maintenance.Automatic
cleaning is proven to be most effective for a large solar farm
located in semi-arid areas, where frequent cleaning is
required due to sand deposition and can maintain efficiency
of panels which could otherwise drop by up to 60%
[According to data collected by the Thar Desert Solar Power
Plant].
A model which provides greater output while occupying the
same area as conventional solar panels has great
applicability in the public sector, especially so for domestic
usage.
In the future, this design can be used to advance research in
the portable solar panel sector as well for applications such
as charging of an electric vehicle.
According to the significant reduction of solar energy
electricity production cost, this source of energycanbeused
as a major source in the future.
Day Power
generated
by
prototype
model - A
Power
generated
by
standard
setup - B
Difference
– C = A - B
%
Increasein
power
generated
= C ÷ B ×
100
Day 1 12.34 5.84 6.5 111.3
Day 1 11.495 5.46 6.035 110.5
Day 2 5.39 2.508 2.882 114.91
Day 2 2.96 1.38 1.58 134.05
Day 3 8.528 3.886 4.642 119.45
Day 3 10.384 4.774 5.61 117.51
Day 4 10.98 5.2 5.78 111.15
Day 4 10.26 5.04 5.22 103.57
Day 5 11.56 6.08 5.48 90.13
Day 5 11.8 5.46 6.34 116.11
Average 9.5697 4.5628 5.0069 109.73

REFERENCES
[1] Solar panels cost: The Economic Times (May 2019).
[2] Solar cell panel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Updated 2021)
[3] Zhenling Liu (2018): What is the future of solar energy?
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[4] Impact of solar panels on global climate (2015). Aixue
Hu, Samuel Levis, Gerald A. Meehl, WeiqingHan, Warren
M. Washington, Keith W. Oleson, Bas J. van Ruijven,
Mingqiong He and Warren G. Strand
[5] Pyramid shape of polymer solar cells: a simple solution
to triple efficiency (2013). Yuxin Xia etal 2013J.Phys.D:
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[6] Effects of Natural Dust on the Performance of PV Panels
in Bangladesh- Md. Mizanur Rahman, Md. Aminul Islam,
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[7] An active self-cleaning surface system for photovoltaic
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mechanical vibration (2020)- Di Sun and Karl F.
Böhringer.

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