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== The Solar Panel ==
Solar panels are basically diodes with n-type silicon on top and p-type silicon layer on bottom. These are some common solar cells:
[[File:SolarCell.png|frame|thumb]]
* '''Monocrystalline silicon:''' Monocrystalline silicon solar cells are the most efficient ones. They are made from wafers (very thin slices) of single crystals obtained from pure molten silicon. The efficiency of these cells is around 15-18% and the surface needed to get 1 kW in Standard Test Conditions is about 7 m.
* '''Polycrystalline silicon:''' These cells are also made from wafers of pure molten silicon. However, the crystal structure is random: as the silicon cools, it crystallizes simultaneously in many different points producing an irregular structure. Efficiency is lower, around 11-15%.
The solar panel can modelled as a circuit with a current emitter whose current is proportional to the irradiance on it, a diode and some resistors to account for the losses from contacts in circuit (To understand the modelling, you can visit: -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjLd6eJYMsI&t=84s ). Circuit and current law are given below:
[[File:SPCircuit.png|frame|center]][[File:SolarIV.png|frame|thumb]]
== The purpose of MPPT ==