A Project-Based Learning on Solar Energy from Different Light Sources

Abstract

This paper presents project-based Learning on solar energy for undergraduate junior-level Electrical Engineering students. In this project, students conduct experiments to analyze and plot the impact of distance, incidence angle, and source brightness and shading on the given small solar panel. Second, they conduct experiments to investigate the effect of temperature on the solar panel. Third, students conduct experiments to analyze solar panel characteristics in series and parallel connections. Fourth, they design and build a circuit with different loads to explore solar panel characteristics by measuring a load's voltage, current, and power. Finally, they compare the electric powers produced by artificial and natural light sources in part of the measurement. The data collection utilizes an Arduino Uno, and an Adafruit DC sensor to ensure human errors are at a minimum.