Solar Energy

The sun is an inexhaustible source of energy—unlike fossil fuels, its energy is available in unlimited quantities. Moreover, solar energy does not cause any climate-damaging CO2 emissions, which makes it an essential part of the energy transition.

While photovoltaic systems convert solar radiation into electrical energy, solar thermal power plants use the sun's heat for this purpose. Both PV systems and solar thermal power plants contain modules or mirrors that capture the sun's energy. The more precisely these are aligned with the position of the sun, the more electricity is generated. For this reason, tracking systems ensure optimal utilization of the sun's energy—with the help of powerful sensor technology from Pepperl+Fuchs. The automation expert's industrial sensors also support the automated production of photovoltaic systems.

Tracking Systems in Photovoltaic Plants

Photovoltaic systems generate climate-neutral electricity by converting solar radiation into electrical energy. Sensor-controlled tracking systems help to achieve the highest possible energy yield by aligning the individual photovoltaic modules according to the position of the sun. Pepperl+Fuchs offers powerful sensor technology for both single-axis and dual-axis tracking systems: inclination sensors and rotary encoders ensure optimal alignment of the PV modules and therefore maximize solar yields.

Monitoring the Inclination Angle

The F199 inclination sensor from Pepperl+Fuchs is the ideal solution for monitoring the inclination angle of single- and dual-axis tracking systems. The sensor's high-precision measurements enable exact alignment of the PV modules—and therefore efficient utilization of solar radiation. Due to its corrosion-resistant housing and encapsulated electronics, the inclination sensor withstands particularly harsh outdoor environments.

Product Overview of Incremental Rotary Encoders

Position Feedback for Moving Axes

In single- and dual-axis tracking systems, rotary encoders from Pepperl+Fuchs provide rotational position feedback on moving axes. Absolute rotary encoders deliver precise and reliable measurement results even in the event of a power failure. Pepperl+Fuchs magnetic incremental rotary encoders are also often used in PV plants. Due to the noncontact sensing method, they impress with a particularly long service life even under the harshest environmental conditions.

Reliable Position Feedback

Whether for end position feedback or for confirming night or stormproof positions: Inductive proximity sensors are used for multiple purposes in photovoltaic systems. Pepperl+Fuchs offers variants with an extended temperature range and increased resistance to environmental influences—designed for outdoor applications.

Production of Photovoltaic Systems

Efficient manufacturing processes and reliable quality controls are essential to ensure grid parity of photovoltaic systems. Pepperl+Fuchs offers the right industrial sensor technology for automated production of PV wafers, PV cells and PV modules—even when it comes to technical challenges such as solar wafer detection. Whether RFID solutions, barcode scanners, ultrasonic or photoelectric sensors: with the portfolio from Pepperl+Fuchs, all process steps in the production of photovoltaic systems can be automated.

Reliable Detection of Solar Wafers

Due to their special anti-reflection coating, solar wafers are difficult for photoelectric sensors to detect. The ML100 series diffuse mode sensors offer maximum precision for this demanding task: unlike conventional sensors, they work with BlueBeam technology instead of a red LED. For wafer presence detection in the smallest space, the miniature photoelectric sensors of the R3F series with a particularly small dead band are the optimal solution.

Double Sheet Wafer Monitoring

In the production of PV cells, it must be ensured that the wafers are processed individually. The IO-Link ultrasonic sensors of the UDC series are ideally suited for double sheet monitoring: They detect the individual solar wafers with maximum reliability, without being affected by their color or glossy surface.

Precise Presence Monitoring of PV Wafers, PV Cells and PV Modules

Ultrasonic sensor technology from Pepperl+Fuchs is also used to detect the presence of PV wafers, PV cells and PV modules. The UC-F77 ultrasonic sensor is characterized by its compact design and its particularly small dead band, which enables the detection of objects at short distances. Furthermore, the sensor easily detects colored, shiny and transparent objects.

Optical Identification of Photovoltaic Modules

In order to reliably identify PV modules during production, testing and sorting, Pepperl+Fuchs offers a wide range of solutions for optical identification. For example, the code readers of the VOS-Ident series are ideally suited for this task: they read all common 1-D and 2-D codes with high reliability—whether at standstill or at high speed.

Track-and-Trace Applications

RFID solutions from Pepperl+Fuchs ensure the traceability of PV modules or of containers on conveyor belts throughout the entire manufacturing process. The IUT-F190-B40 RFID read/write head can be integrated quickly and easily into IT and OT systems via its Industrial Ethernet interface and REST API.

Precise Detection of Machine Element Positions

As pioneer and inventor of the inductive proximity sensor, Pepperl+Fuchs offers a broad portfolio of inductive sensors in various designs. In the production of photovoltaic systems, proximity sensors detect the position of workpiece holders and other machine elements during automated assembly.

Speed and Position Feedback

Throughout the manufacturing process, incremental rotary encoders are used for speed and position feedback, for example on conveyor belts or when mounting PV modules. The ENI58IL incremental rotary encoder from Pepperl+Fuchs offers particularly high precision and tolerance to interference.

Solar Thermal Power Plants

The surface temperature of the sun is about 5,800 °C. Only a fraction of this reaches the earth, but still enough to convert this thermal energy into electrical energy. Mirror collectors in solar thermal power plants bundle the solar heat and reflect it onto an absorber. The resulting extremely high temperatures drive turbines with generators. In this way, climate-neutral electricity is generated from solar heat.

Whether in parabolic trough power plants, Fresnel systems or solar power towers: Powerful sensor technology is required to align the mirrors to the position of the sun and ensure efficient utilization of the solar heat. For this purpose, rotary encoders and inclination sensors from Pepperl+Fuchs are used. Inductive sensors for end position feedback are also frequently found in solar thermal power plants.

Because these power plants make use of the sun's heat, they are particularly suitable for deserts and desert-like landscapes with high solar radiation. These areas are characterized by extreme temperature differences between day and night, as well as by sandstorms or other deposits in the air. For these demanding environmental conditions, Pepperl+Fuchs offers sensors with high temperature resistance, tightness, and freedom from wear.

In CSP applications, there are countless mirrors reflecting sunlight onto a receiver.

Fresnel Systems

Fresnel systems consist of a large number of mirrors—also called heliostats—that reflect the sun's heat onto an absorber. A heat transfer medium inside the absorber is heated by solar radiation, driving a steam or gas turbine to generate electricity. To avoid stray losses due to inaccurate alignment, inclination sensors detect the horizontal orientation of the heliostats. With its robust housing and extended temperature range, the F99 inclination sensor from Pepperl+Fuchs is ideal for this application. The sensor not only withstands extreme temperatures, but also impresses with a highly precise measurement so that the mirrors can be optimally aligned with the sun.

Solar Power Towers

In solar power towers, a large number of movable mirrors reflect sunlight onto a specific field in a solar tower. Both horizontal and vertical tracking is necessary so that the mirrors can follow the position of the sun. For horizontal tracking, the MNI40 magnetic incremental rotary encoder is used: it has no mechanical wear parts and is suitable for extreme environmental conditions. The same applies to the F99 inclination sensor, which is responsible for the vertical alignment of the heliostats. Not only the immunity to environmental influences, but also the high precision of the sensor technology from Pepperl+Fuchs is essential in this application: the mirrors must be calibrated with maximum precision so that the temperatures in the solar tower do not become too high.

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