PHOTOVOLTAICS TEST Chapter 3: The Solar Resource 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

NAME ___________________________________ Date _____________________________________

Even a small amount of ____________________ on a PV panel can reduce the panels performance significantly. The suns apparent location east and west of true south is called ____________________, which is measured in degrees east or west of true south. Photovoltaic rays work best when the suns rays shine ____________________ (90 degrees) to the cells. On a clear day, the total insolation striking the earth is about ____________________ watts per square meter. When the sun is at its highest altitude for that day, this time is called ____________________ ____________________. A compass aligns with the earths ____________________ necessarily aligned with the earths rotational axis. ____________________, which is not

When sizing a system, it is important to use the correct month. If the load is constant throughout the year, the ____________________ ____________________ will be the month with the lowest insolation. Once a day, the earth rotates on its ____________________, which is tilted approximately 23.5 degrees from vertical. In the northern hemisphere, solar collectors or photovoltaic modules should point towards the ____________________ sky to collect solar energy. An array that deviates 30 degrees from true south will collect a ____________________ percentage of the suns available energy on an average daily basis. For ____________________-____________________ ____________________, tilt angle equals latitude, to optimize a systems performance. The term for solar radiation striking a surface at a particular time and place is ____________________. As a general rule, an array should be free of shade from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. This optimum collection timeframe is called the ____________________ ____________________. The month corresponding to the ____________________ design current should be used as the design month. The deviation of magnetic south from true south is called __________________ __________________. The suns height about the horizon is called ____________________, which is measured in degrees above the horizon. Minimizing shading is much more important in PV system design than in ____________________ ____________________ system design. The ____________________ ____________________ is the average daily load for the month Page 2

divided by the monthly insolation. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. The earths northern latitudes are tilted ____________________ the sun from June to August, which brings summer to the northern hemisphere. If no long-term data exists for your specific site, the availability and amount of ____________________ must be estimated. The sites ____________________ (the distance north or south of the earths equator) determines whether the sun appears to travel in the northern or southern sky. ____________________ ____________________ signifies that at noon, the sun should be at its peak in the sky for the day. Correctly siting ____________________-____________________ systems is more critical than for utility interactive systems. ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ are the number of hours per day when the solar insolation equals 1,000 w/m2. A good resource for calculating annual energy production for grid-tied PV systems is ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ website.

PHOTOVOLTAICS TEST

Chapter 3: The Solar Resource ANSWERS and PAGE NUMBERS FOR REFERENCE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. shade azimuth perpendicular 1,000 solar noon magnetic field design month axis southern lesser year-round loads insolation solar window largest magnetic declination altitude solar thermal design current towards sunshine latitude Solar time stand-alone peak sun hours NRELs PV Watts Page Number 36 31 34 30 33 31 35 31 30 33 34 30 36 35 31 33 36 35 30 35 31 36 35 30 34