Syllabus

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The goal is to understand the physics and technology of solar energy utilization, including thermal and electric applications, at a level adequate for needs found in practical or academic environments.

After the course, students will be able to

• Estimate the available solar radiation based on physical, geographical and atmospheric factors
• Explain the daily and seasonal variation of solar irradiance and how they affect the design of photovoltaic and solar thermal systems
• Evaluate the effect of solar tracking and concentration on the amount of collected radiation
• Explain the working principle of photovoltaic cells and solar thermal collectors (below devices) in terms of the underlying physical phenomena and device structure
• Name the most important performance loss mechanisms, and explain how they depend on the materials and structural properties of the devices
• Describe and analyze the performance characteristics and energy conversion efficiency of the devices through a physical model, and use it to interpret experimental results
• Design and size photovoltaic and solar thermal systems with or without local energy storage
• Use central tools of solar energy engineering, such as solar angle calculations, meteorological irradiance databases, solar collector performance models, current-voltage models of photovoltaic cells, optical and thermal models, etc., which solar energy utilization is often based on.

Credits: 5

Schedule: 06.09.2021 - 06.09.2021

Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Janne Halme

Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):

CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):

Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):

Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Physical foundations and practical applications of solar energy. Solar radiation and its attenuation, radiation components, measuring and assessing solar radiation solar angles, tracking systems, interactions with materials, wavelength selective materials, solar thermal collector, HWB equation, photovoltaic effect, solar cell, equivalent circuit, concentrated solar radiation, CSP plants, solar energy systems and their components, assessing performance.

DETAILS

Study Material

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Duffie, Beckman: Solar Thermal Engineering Processes. Selected E-books and online materials on photovoltaics. Lecture notes and other supporting material.

Substitutes for Courses

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Substitutes for Courses

Prerequisites

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Prerequisites

SDG: Sustainable Development Goals

6 Clean Water and Sanitation

7 Affordable and Clean Energy

8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Information

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Docent Janne Halme
  2 graduate students as course assistants.

  Teaching Period:

  (2020, 2021) - No teaching

  2021-2022 Spring III-V

  Course Homepage: https://mycourses.aalto.fi/course/search.php?search=PHYS-E6570

  Registration for Courses: In the academic year 2021-2022, registration for courses will take place on Sisu (sisu.aalto.fi) instead of WebOodi.

  Registration via WebOodi.

Description