Photovoltaic Lab Course

The aim is to offer you an advanced practical course on solar cells and photovoltaic systems. The following areas of practical training will be part of the course:

1. The characteristics of artificial and natural light sources.

2. The characterisation of the performance of lab-scale solar cells.

3. The behaviour of photovoltaic modules in different temperature and shading conditions

4. The charge and discharge properties of batteries.

5. The performance of power electronic components (charge controllers, inverters, maximum power point trackers).

6. The operation of entire photovoltaic systems.

The assessment is based on reporting results from the individual tasks using an Excel template provided on Brightspace.

Two-person teams will be formed at the plenary session, the attendance of which is compulsory.

The final grade is per team. The final grade is the average of the six technical reports. A grade >= 5.0 in all six technical reports is required to complete the course successfully. The final grade is per team and is calculated as the average of the six technical reports. In case of failure of a technical report, you can use buffer sessions on weeks 1.7 and 1.8 to repeat the experiments.

A virtual version of this course is made available for students to attend in Q2.
Each of the six tasks of the on-campus course will run in the internet browser of your choice in the form of a web application accessible via Brightspace. The assessment of the online version is entirely automatic, using numerical exercises and multiple-choice questions. A grade >= 58/100 in all six tasks is necessary to pass the course. The final grade is the average of the six grades. A maximum of one retry session is allowed. Attending one of these instances of the course, no teams will be formed, and the final grade is individual.

In case of an insufficient final result, repair options may exist in accordance with Article 17A – Times and number of examinations, sub 1, of the Teaching and Examination Regulations.
Disclaimer: information may change depending on unforeseen circumstances or measures (see: TER Art 2, sub 5).