Solar Cell Lab

In our solar cell lab experiment, Gianna and I used the Labview software and a NXT light sensor to measure the voltage output of the solar cell and the light intensity output of the light sensor. Light intensity is a measure of the energy of the light and the higher the intensity, the more photons generated, hence greater current and voltage. 

Photovoltaics (PV) is the method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into electricity. Photovoltaic technology has been around for many years and this experiment that we conducted in class gives us a better understanding of the relationship between light intensity and the voltage output of the solar cell.

Our first test involved changing the light intensity. We varied the distance between the solar cell and the light source. To do this, we started by measuring the intensity at 0 cm with no light which resulted in 0 intensity. From there we used a ruler and held our light source at 0, 4, 8, 12, and 16 cm away from the senor to calculate the affects during a 10 second time interval. We predicted that a higher voltage would be produced with the light source closer to the sensor which would meant that the father away the light source is, a lower voltage would be produced. Below is a chart and graph displaying our results.

Distance	Average
0 cm (No Light)	0.053309
0 cm	0.469001
4 cm	0.250891
8 cm	0.426662
12 cm	0.386889
16 cm	0.386889

Next, we tested the affects of different color filters on the voltage output. We used four different colored filters, green, yellow, blue, and red to compare to our data without a color filter at a 0 cm distance at a 10 second time interval. Below is a chart and graph displaying those results.

Filters (0 cm)
Color	Average
None	0.469001
Green	0.272702
Yellow	0.385606
Blue	0.385606
Red	0.352248

Our results show that at 0 cm and without a filter we had the greatest intensity and the green colored filter produced the lowest intensity and that could have been due to the fact that it was a darker color which could have prevented the light to reach the sensor.

Taking a look at the bigger picture, photovoltaic energy provide benefits to our environment and allows us to become less dependent on damaging fossil fuels.