Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Renewable Energy (SSS-NIRE), Kapurthala (Punjab) is an autonomous Institution of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. The objective of the Institute is to carry out and facilitate research, design, development, testing, standardisation and technology demonstration eventually leading to commercialization of R&D output.
SSS-NIRE has three R&D Laboratories. Ecosense established Solar PV Lab at SSS-NIRE’s R&D Lab-III.
Under Solar PV Lab, Ecosense installed the following equipments:
1. Solar PV Training and Research System
2. Solar PV Emulator System
Solar PV Training and Research System enables user to learn about Solar PV standalone technology. Using this system, a user gains knowledge in three different fields of Solar PV standalone system:
a) Physical Characteristics of Solar PV Panels: I-V, P-V characteristics, series and parallel connections of solar panels, effect of irradiation, effect of temperature, effect of shadow, effect of tilting panels, effect of geographical locations etc.
b) Components and Assembly of standalone system: Use of blocking diode, use of bypass diode, use of charge controller, use of solar inverter, difference between MPPT and PWM charge controllers, AC load, DC load, battery charging/ discharging characteristics, assembly of several components and power flow calculations in each branch.
c) Research in PV systems: Ecosense separately provides a research unit along with standalone experimental system. User can initiate research in the area of maximum power point tracking using this unit. It has provision of providing automatic as well as manual gate signals to charge controller. User can use his/ her own MPPT algorithm with any of the controller to provide manual gate signals.
Ecosense’s Solar PV Emulator is a programmable power supply designed to emulate solar panels. With fast transient response, the emulator responds to change in load conditions and maintains the output IV characteristics of the user defined panel for a given ambient condition. It is a flexible instrument designed to emulate the output of solar panels, with adjustable parameters such as Voc, Isc, shading, coefficient of temperature etc.
The PV Emulator uses an internal algorithm to adjust Voc (Open circuit voltage) and Isc (short-circuit current) so as to match the solar panel selected by the user based on user defined parameters such as Irradiation, temperature, Voc, Isc, temperature coefficient etc. The Emulator makes sure the response matches that of the actual panel under all the load conditions within range. The user is presented with a complete set of information with tables and plots on user application. Using PV Emulator, a user is able to see the response of Solar PV Panel as per his/her own set of user defined parameters. User can select or change the following parameters as per his/her need and will be able to see results immediately:
Open Circuit Voltage, Short Circuit Current, Temperature Coefficient, Complete Shading, Partial Shading, Series Resistance, Area of Panel, Diode quality factor and Operating temperature.
Benefits of Solar PV Lab: • Solar PV Lab equips a user to test and analyse response of Solar PV systems under different environmental conditions. • It enables user to understand characteristics, assembly and installation of Solar PV power plants. • It enables user to conduct research in the field of Solar PV Technology
Masters Training Conducted
Ecosense also conducted a masters training program at R&D Lab-III. This Masters training program was focussed on educating and training the professors, scholars and technicians in Solar PV technology who will further train thousands of students and professionals to start their career or business in this very field.
Master's Training at NIRE
Program Outcome
The faculty members really appreciated our two-day training program and loved to work on our lab equipment. Professors will conduct experiments on the system to understand it more deeply and incorporate this lab setup as part of their regular curriculum.