Abstract :
Semi-conductor devices used to convert solar energy into electricity are solar
panels. Improving the performance of solar panels can be done by reducing the
occurrence of power loss due to the conversion process to changing the material
that makes up the cells. Several previous studies have shown the effect of
increasing efficiency by reducing temperature drift, reflection and spectral
response. The method used by previous researchers was to submerge solar panels
in shallow water (4cm depth), the increase in efficiency can reach 15% to 21.6%
when compared to dry solar panels, but this method is not effective when the
irradiation value is less than 600 W/m2
. Based on this, the author makes an
automatic control system for underwater solar panels to improve its performance.
This control system can determine the condition of solar irradiation and water
level, so that when the irradiation value is low, the solar panel will be at 1 cm
above the water surface, while when the irradiation value is high, the solar panel
will be at a depth of 4 cm below the water surface. This method can increase
efficiency up to 18.9% with an average of 10.2% and can reduce the panel surface
temperature up to 17.1ºC. The control system consumes external electrical energy
of 21 Wh or 51.8% of the total electrical energy production of 10 Wp
pollycrystalline solar panels, so this system is more suitable for larger scale PV
grid applications.