A Solar Powered Bus Stop System

Important Considerations Solar collectors fall into two general categories: non-concentrating and concentrating. In the non-concentrating type, the collector area (i.e. the area that intercepts the solar radiation) is the same as the absorber area (i.e., the area absorbing the radiation). In these types the whole solar panel absorbs the light.

Background Information Rutgers University plans to construct a bus route for its new campus. In an effort to help the environment and potentially save money, the university asked for the six new stops to be powered by solar energy. The task requires enough energy to power four 20-watt light bulbs from 5:00pm to 7:00am every day for each bus stop. This is to ensure the safety of all of their students and bus riders in the late hours of the night. Extensive research according to these. demands was required to design these bus stops.

Solar thermal collectors A solar thermal collector is a solar collector designed to collect heat by absorbing sunlight. The term is applied to solar hot water panel, but may also be used to denote more complex installations such as solar parabolic, solar trough and solar towers or simpler installations such as solar air heat. The more complex collectors are generally used in solar power plants where solar heat is used to generate electricity by heating water to produce.

Choosing a Solar Panel Because a single solar panel can only produce a limited amount of power, many installations contain several panels. A photovoltaic system typically includes an array of solar panels, an inverter, may contain a battery and interconnection wiring.  a packaged interconnected assembly of solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells.

Future Work The cells must be connected electrically to one another and to the rest of the system. Cells must also be protected from mechanical damage and moisture. Electrical connections are made in series to achieve a desired output voltage and/or in parallel to provide a desired amount of current source capability.