How to make a solar power tree

 What is a Solar tree:-

A solar tree is a decorative means of producing solar energy and electricity. It uses multiple no of solar panels which forms the shape of a tree. The panels are arranged in a tree fashion in a tall tower/pole. 

Solar Tree

TREE Stands For 

            T    =    Tree Generating 

            R    =    Renewable  

            E    =    Energy &

            E    =    Electricity

This is like a tree in structure and the panels are like leaves of the tree which produces energy. 

Advantage of Solar Tree:-

1.  No air pollution
2. We wouldn’t have to worry as much about future energy sources
3. We can install anywhere like ground, roof & hilly areas ( Any type geographical location)
4. People can save money
5. Land requirement is very less
6. Easy Installation & Setup 

Application of Solar Tree:-

1.  Street light 
2. House supply
3. Industrial power supply

Now we are proceed on topic how to make & design solar power tree.

Design & Fabrication:-

The project deals with the designing of a solar tree which includes twelve branches each consisting of a solar panel of 10Wp. Design of the solar tree follows the principle of Spiralling Phyllotaxy which prevents the shadow of one panel to fall on the other thus, increasing the overall efficiency of the tree.

    Proposed design includes the following components: 

        a) Foundation base
        b) Mounting structure

        c) Solar module
        d) L-type nut bolts for the structure
        e)  Combiner box
        f) Solar LED indicator
        g) Voltmeter/Ammeter
        h) Charge controller
        i) Solar battery
        j) Inverter
        k) AC disconnector
        l) Timer circuit
        m) Solar cable
        n) Loads

Foundation base :-

        Base of the mounting structure is a cemented block made of grit and sand. It is made in square shape of size 45 cm*45 cm to accommodate the mounting structure over it and provide it height.

Mounting structure :-

        Mounting structure consists of a long pole structure of size about 6 ft made up of iron, coated with aluminium paint. Iron provides rigidity and strength to the structure and aluminium paint helps prevent it from corrosion and abrasion.

L-type nut bolts :-

        These are used in the structure for fixing the iron pole in the foundation base. Four L-type bolts are used to properly fix the solar tree into the base so that it remains erect and is unaffected by the physical conditions.

Solar module :-

This solar tree uses twelve polycrystalline solar PV modules each of 10Wp. Each of them is placed on different branches of the solar tree in a way that they do not cast shadow on one another. The solar module used in the tree is of size 30 cm*35 cm.

        Specification of Solar PV Module is Given In Table 

Specification of Solar PV Module
Module Brand - ELECSSOL
S.No.	Module Parameter	Module Rating
1	Max power (Pmax)	10Wp
2	Open Circuit voltage (Voc)	21.65V
3	Short Circuit Current (Isc)	0.69A
4	Voltage at Max. Power (Vmp)	17.85V
5	Current at Max. power (Imp)	0.62A

Combiner box:- 

        In a large solar tree photovoltaic (PV) array, multiple solar modules are connected in series or parallel to build the voltage up to proper level for the charge controller. Multiple outputs of the solar module are combined together in parallel to multiply the output currents to a higher level for input into the charge controller. These days combiner box may also house several other components for the site, such as a DC disconnect, surge protective device, fuse, etc. Combiner box should be IP65 protected, i.e., protection against rain and dust. The role of the combiner box is to bring the output of several solar strings together. Solar string combiners improve safety of solar panels and entire photovoltaic plant. The combiner box used in the project is of make Stronger.

Solar LED indicator:-

        Solar LED indicator is placed in between the DC output from the solar tree and the solar charge controller. An indicator is useful as it helps to determine whether DC output from the tree is available or not. LED indicator circuit operates by behaving as NC (Normally close) in the normal conditions, i.e., when DC output is available. If the DC output from the solar tree is interrupted, indicator circuit act as NO (Normally open) and lights up to show the fault.

Voltmeter/Ammeter:-

        Voltmeter and ammeter are the devices used to measure the voltage and current. They are used in the project at three points:

        1) In between the output from the solar tree and the solar input of charge controller

        2) In between the output of charge controller and the input of the battery

        3) In between the load output of charge controller and the input of the inverter

It lies in the range of: 

        Voltage: 0-99V 

      Current: 0-10A 

They are used to measure the actual voltage and current available at various points in the circuitry in between the input and the final output to check for the efficiency of the system. It also helps in maintenance and fault detection by showing the output if the system is properly working.

Charge controller:-

        The charge controller used in the project is a PWM charge controller (Exide made) of the rating 12V, 10A with overload protection. A solar charge controller manages the power going into the battery bank from the solar array. It ensures that the deep cycle batteries are not overcharged during the day, and that the power does not run backwards to the solar panels over night and drain the batteries. PWM solar charge controllers stands for Pulse width modulation. These operate by making a connection directly from the solar array to the battery bank. During bulk charging, when there is a continuous connection from the array to the battery bank, the array output voltage is pulled down to the battery voltage. As the battery charges, the voltage of the battery rises, using more of solar power as it charges. As a result, we need to make sure that the nominal voltage of the solar array is matched with the voltage of the battery bank. PWM controllers are thus responsible for providing the actual voltage required by the battery from the solar panel. 

Solar battery:-

        Batteries accumulate excess energy created by the PV system and store it for use at night or when there is no other energy input. Three stages of solar battery charging as follows: 

        a) Balk charging 

        b) Absorption charging 

        c) Float voltage 

The battery must have following features:

        1) Battery should have DOD at least of 80%. 

        2) It should have C-10 rating. 

        3) It cools properly at temperature of 27 ⁰C. 

    

    The battery used in this project is Lead Acid battery (AB 40Ah) with battery cycle of 500-800 with rating 12V, 40Ah and make, Atlas Solar. The number of the battery used in the project is one which is connected to the charge controller. Battery is used for the storage of electrical power generated from the solar tree in the form of chemical energy which can be later used for other lighting purposes.

Inverter:-

        Photovoltaic array and battery produce DC current and voltage. If the load is driven by AC power, an inverter can be used to convert from DC to AC. Commonly available inverters generate power in single or three phase,50 or 60 Hz and 117V or 220V. Following is the list of important factors that needs to be considered in inverter design: 

        1) Sizing of inverter depends on the voltage of appliances. 

     2) The input rating of inverter should never be lower than the total voltages of the appliances. 

        3) It should have the same normal input voltage as that of the battery setup. 

      4) It is always better to have inverter wattage about 20-25% more than that of appliances connected.

        5) The inverter should be as efficient as possible, certainly above 90% over most of its normal operating range. In this project, we have used CFL inverter of rating 50W, 12V DC. Inverter is placed between the charge controller and the AC load.

Timer circuit:-

        Battery has a limited capacity to run the AC load for a specified duration based on its charging. If battery is used more than its capacity, it may cause deep discharging. Thus, to prevent deep discharging of the battery, load must be disconnected automatically when not required in order to have optimum utilization of power. We have used timer (Make: Frontier) to automatically power off the loads. It is operated on 220 V AC, 50Hz supply and can control both AC and DC load.

        1) It can be switched ON and OFF approximately 18 times a day. 

        2) It can store data for 7 days. 

        3) It operates in a closed loop based on the programming done.

Solar cable:-

        A solar cable is the interconnection cable used in photovoltaic power generation. Solar cables interconnect solar panels and other electrical components of a photovoltaic system. Solar cables are designed to be UV resistant and weather resistant. They can be used within a large temperature range and are generally laid outside. The project uses 4mm sq. single core DC solar cables (Unicab made) for the connecting the connection between the combiner box and the charge controller and 0.5mm sq. solar cable (BSEL made) for the circuitry and parallel connection of module to improve the system efficiency and prevent damage due to physical conditions.

Loads :-

                The project uses two LED T- bulbs (Make: Philips) of 10W each & 15 Watt mobile charger. It operates in the range 175V-220V AC. T-bulbs emit the light in wide range as compared to normal LED bulbs

        Design your own solar system with load calculation with equipment sizing 

    

    This Topic is too long so its divide in to two sections One is component required for make and design of solar tree & another second section contains Fabrication of solar tree, steps of components arrangement and connections of circuit board etc. 

Click here 👉 To go to Fabrication, Components arrangement, Design & Connection of circuit board

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