Problem 2 You are trying to power a house 550W of power at 120V and you have a s

Question

Problem 2 You are trying to power a house 550W of power at 120V and you have a silicon solar cell with the area of 100cm2 Voltage output is 0.5V , QE-15%, thermalization loss -40%, and cost per panel is $20. ( Use ideal AM 1.5 solar spectrum from http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/spectra/am1.5/, plot this graph and clearly label all the related areas about absorption and losses) How much it is going to cost to power the house? How he needs to connect these solar cells? Would it be advantages to use GaAs based solar cells? List advantages and disadvantages.

Explanation / Answer

One cell output is 0.5 V, so we need to connect 120/0.5 = 240 solar cells.

Cost of 240 solar cells = 240*$20 = $4800

These solar cells should be connected in series.

Yes, it is better to use GaAs based solar cells, because of the following reasons.

Advantages of GaAs based solar cells:

1. higher electron mobility

2. higher saturated electron velocity

3. can function in GHz frequencies

4. less noise

5. it has direct bandgap, therefore can absorb and emit the light quite efficiently.

Disadvantages:

1. high price

2. low availability

3. little less stable structure

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