The Lewis Research Center involvement in space photovoltaic research and development and in using photovoltaics for terrestrial applications is described with emphasis on applications in which the normal source of power may be a diesel generator, batteries, or other types of power not connected to a utility grid. Once an application is processed, technology is developed and demonstrated with a user who participates in the cost and furnishes the site. Projects completed related to instruments, communication, refrigeration, and highways, are described as well as warning systems, weather stations, fire lookouts, and village power systems. A commercially available photovoltaic powered electric fence charger is the result of Lewis research and development

Deyo, J. N.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

Solar Photovoltaics--Stand-Alone Applications
James N. Deyo
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Lewis Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio
The Lewis Research Center has been involved in space photovoltaic research and development
activities since about 1963. About 1970, we began to look at the feasibility of using photovoltaics for
terrestrial applications and worked with a number of small experiments in the early 1970's. Then in
1975 we entered into the National Photovoltaics program described earlier by Dr. Ferber. The
program started with the National Science Foundation, was transferred to the Energy Research and
Development Administration and then later to the Department of Energy (DOff). About 1977 we
entered into an agreement with the Agency for International Development (AID) to carry out a
project in Upper Volta, West Africa. This project and other activities of the AID program are
described in this paper in addition to our work for DOE.
For DOE, Lewis' role is the Stand-Alone Applications project. "Stand alone" means applications
that are not associated with a utility grid or with central power. They are applications in which the
normal source of power may be a diesel generator, batteries, or other types of power not connected to
a utility grid. Our purpose is to accelerate penetration of photovoltaic systems in both near-term and
intermediate markets for these applications and to work especially in the international sector. In that
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Figure 1
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sector we are working primarily with developing countries. These countries represent the first major
market for photovoltaic applications at this time.
Lewis' activities involve both development and implementation of applications as well as
development of the technology for systems, subsystems, and components as needed. Figure 1
describes the process that is involved. The process begins when an application is identified by any of
the methods shown. We then determine what technology developments are needed to carry out that
application. We also begin to define an experiment that can be developed to demonstrate the
application. In our experiments we always involve a user. That user participates in the cost and
provides a site for the experiment that is part of the user's operation. We instrument the experiment
to gain as much information as possible and of course study the effects of the application. We also
conduct testing at all levels here at the Center to ensure that, when systems begin operation in the
field, they will work as well as we can reasonably expect. And of course the purpose of all this activity
is not to keep the information here, but to transfer it to industry, to the public, to other Government
agencies, and to people who will make use of it and apply photovoltaics in other applications. This
conference is one example of how we transfer this information.
Figure 2 shows the Lewis photovoltaic system test facility. Presently there are about 30 kilowatts of
solar cells installed in this facility. In it we can breadboard systems and determine their
characteristics, their interactions, and how they are going to operate before they go to the field.
Lewis has worked with quite a variety of applications over the last 5 years. Table I lists the smaller
applications Lewis has fielded in which the power was used for a single purpose. The variety of
categories shown includes instruments, communications, refrigeration, and highway. In all cases we
have worked with a user such as the Coast Guard, the National Park Service, the Department of
LEWISPHOTOVOLTAtOSYSTEMTESTFACtLITY
Figure 2
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TABLE I.--LEWIS SINGLE PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS
Application Use User Date Location Power
category operational level,
Wp
Instrument Weather data USCG Dec. 1972 Cleveland, Ohio 30
Instrument Weather data NOAA Aug. 1973 Mammoth Mountain, 60
California
Communications Radio repeater USFS July 1974 White Mountain, 16
California
Communications Educational television Govt. of India July 1976 (1) Ahmedabad, India 55
(2) Sambalpur, India 55
Refrigeration Food preservation USNPS June 1976 Isle Royale, Michigan 220
Refrigeration Medical Village residents July 1976 Sil Nakya, Arizona 330
(Papago Tribe)
Instrument Weather data NOAA Apr.-Sept. (1) New Mexico 75-150
1977 (2) New York
(3) Hawaii
(4) Alaska
(5) Maine
(6) Florida
Highway Dust storm warning DOT-AZ Apr. 1977 Casa Grande, Arizona 116
sign
Instrument Insect survey traps USDA May 1977 College Station, Texas 23, 163
Refrigeration Water cooler Interagency Oct. 1977 Lone Pine, California 446
visitor center
Instrument Air pollution monitor NJ-DEP Nov. 1979 Liberty Park, 360
New Jersey
Instrument Seismic monitors USGS Jan. 1980 Kilauea Volcano, 18, 18
Hawaii
Transportation, the State of Arizona, and the Department of Agriculture. Many of these experiments
date back a number of years. Locations and power levels for these experiments are also shown.
Table II lists cluster applications Lewis has fielded. These are applications in which the power is
used for a number of purposes rather than a single purpose. The largest system--3500 watts--is the
village power system at Schuchuli, Arizona. This is the largest application that Lewis has dealt with
up to now. The final application listed was developed in cooperation with AID. It is installed in
Upper Volta, West Africa, and has a power level of 1800 watts.
Figure 3 shows the experiment that Lewis did with the Government of India. Here we provided a
small array of about 100 watts, with batteries housed beneath the array, to power a television receiver
that was set up with an antenna to receive signals from the NASA ATS-6 satellite. This experiment
was used to demonstrate the feasibility of using a satellite combined with solar energy to provide
education to rural communities that are without electric power in countries such as India. The system
performed quite satisfactorily.
Figure 4 illustrates an application involving a small portable array, about 220 watts, coupled to a
standard 4.5-cubic-foot recreational vehicle refrigerator. In the base are six automobile batteries to
provide power for operating the refrigerator at night. The box on the top provides instrumentation
and some of the control functions. This system has operated satisfactorily at Isle Royale National
Park during the summer seasons since 1976.
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TABLE II.--LEWIS CLUSTER PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS
Application Use User Date Location Power
category operational level,
Wp
Fire lookout Two-way radio, USFS Oct. 1976 (1) Pilot Peak, 294
refrigerator, California
lighting, (2) Antelope Peak, 294
potable water California
Village power Potable water, Village Dec. 1978 Schuchuli, Arizona 3500
lighting, residents (Papago Tribe)
refrigerator,
washing machine,
sewing machine
Village power Potable water, Village Feb. 1979 Tangaye, Upper Volta 1800
grain milling residents
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148
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Figure 5 depicts an application developed in cooperation with the Department of Transportation,
State of Arizona. Arizona operates 40 of these dust storm warning signs along Interstate 10 between
Phoenix and Tucson. We selected one of the signs and substituted the photovoltaic array and battery
system for the existing power system to provide power for the sign. The power of the array is about
116 watts. The array provides power to rotate the sign, to operate the radio communication link that
activates the sign, and to activate the lights mounted on the sign.
Another application category, shown in figure 6, involves remote weather stations operated by the
National Weather Service. Here Lewis has provided a small array to operate the weather instruments
and also to power the data communication link that transmits the data back to the National Weather
Service Headquarters. This weather station is off the coast of Maine. We have installed similar
systems at five other locations, including one each in Alaska, Florida, New York, Hawaii, and New
Mexico.
With the Department of Agriculture, Lewis has provided some small arrays to power insect survey
traps. These are shown in figure 7. The advantage of photovoltaics in this application is that it allows
much more flexible siting of these insect survey traps. Normally researchers have to use a long
extension cord to power these units from utility power. That becomes a little awkward when the
149
Figure 5
farmer plows the cord up with his tractor, and it also limits the locations where the traps can be
placed. Photovoltaics has provided a flexibility that the agricultural people did not have before.
One of the cluster applications is shown in figure 8. This experiment was carried out with the
National Forest Service. The application required a 300-watt array to provide power for operating
the lookout. These lookouts are manned 24 hours a day throughout the fire season, which lasts about
6 months of the year year in this area. The power is used to operate, for the tower operator, a
refrigerator, a small pump that pumps water to the sink in the cab from a holding tank in the base of
the tower, two-way radio, and lights in the tower. These have been very satisfactory applications.
They have been operating since 1977.
With the State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection, Lewis has provided a
360-watt array to power a standard high-volume air sampler, as shown in figure 9. This air sampler is
located at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, directly across from the Statue of Liberty. It is a new
park that the State of New Jersey is developing. The design for this system provides both a display for
the public and an operational system for powering the air sampler. With this setting we have the
150
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opportunity to inform the public about photovoltaics, to show an example of what can be done, and
to provide a source of power for a practical application.
The village of Schuchuli, Arizona, is shown in figure 10. This is a village of 95 people on the
Papago Indian Reservation. It is 17 miles beyond the end of the electric power line. Here Lewis has
installed a 3.5-kilowatt array. Power from the array is carried to the small building in the right
foreground of the figure. This building houses the controls and batteries for the system. From that
point part of the power is fed to an electric motor that drives the community water pump. The water
is pumped into a large storage tank for village use. The balance of the power produced by the
photovoltaic system is then distributed by pole line around the village and used for lighting,
refrigeration, and washing and sewing machines, as shown in figure 11. All the appliances are direct-
current (dc) powered, and the power is distributed as dc at 120 volts.
For AID, Lewis' activities have involved management of the Upper Volta project, mentioned
earlier as an initial effort with AID. Since then the Center has been asked to manage the AID
Photovoltaic Development and Support project. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the
suitability of photovoltaic technology to provide energy for development applications in countries
that AID works with. The approach is to design, develop, and deploy these systems in a number of
real settings. Some of the application categories involved are health delivery, communications,
education, and water pumping.
Figure 12 shows the Upper Volta project. Upper Volta, located in the western part of Africa, is at
the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. In the village of Tangaye, a photovoltaic system has been
installed to provide power for pumping water and grinding grain. The photovoltaic array produces
1.8 kilowatts peak of power and is coupled to a lead-acid storage battery through a control panel that
automatically controls and monitors the system. In addition to operating the water pump, located on
top of the well, power is carried into the building to drive a grain mill. A light in that building is also
powered by the array. This system has been in operation since March 1979 and is operating quite
satisfactorily.
151
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Figure 7
In conclusion, the development of photovoltaics has been proceeding for several years without
much awareness by the public. But gradually more and more cost-effective applications are surfacing
as the cost of photovoltaics comes down and the costs of other sources of energy go up. As these
applications further develop and are noted in the news, the public will begin to realize the potential of
photovoltaics. There are a lot of business opportunities developing--not just in making modules, but
also in assembling systems. That area has not yet been penetrated very much by industry. The job of
producing photovoltaic systems is a relatively straightforward engineering job. It involves providing
batteries for storage (if the application requires it) electronic or electrical controls, wiring,
connectors, enclosures, and the mechanical structure to support the array. These are tasks that many
companies can readily adopt.
One example showing that some commercial interests are watching this technology carefully and
are beginning to become involved with it is the case of Sears Roebuck. In Sears 1980 farm catalog you
can buy a photovoltaic-powered electric fence charger. When a company such as Sears adopts a new
technology, you know it must have some commercial potential to it.
152
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154
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Introduction to Materials Processing in Space
John S. Foster, Jr.*
TR W, Inc.
Cleveland, Ohio
This conference has been discussing ground-based energy and transportation both on the ground
and in the atmosphere, areas in which we as a society have become dependent and areas which are
also now highly industrialized. In the next paper, we are going to space. And we should recognize
that, although we have been in space technology only a couple decades, we have already become quite
dependent on it for information and knowledge. The information and knowledge come to us by
means of communication satellites, weather satellites, reconnaissance satellites, and soon by
navigation satellites. In addition, space technology is becoming industrialized.
Satellites have become indispensable servants for us in just a short time, and NASA is now
experimenting with the possibility of manufacturing items in space and bringing back material that is
unique because it has been processed in that unique environment. This idea of making special
materials in the near zero-gravity environment of space has been a dream for more than a decade,
and preliminary experiments were begun about 10 years ago. These were what you might call
weightlessness experiments and were tried first on Apollo, then on Skylab, then on Apollo-Suyez,
and more recently on small sounding rockets.
The preliminary results of the experiments are promising; they give indications that what people
thought might happen seems to be happening. In order to undertake this kind of early research
program on materials processing in space, NASA has, it seems to me, used a sensible approach, and
done things in a balanced way. As a sometimes bureaucrat, I find that rather uncommon. In
particular, it seems to me that the NASA approach in providing an opportunity for industry and
universities and NASA in-house laboratories to work closely together from the outset on a common
set of national pursuits is rather unique. NASA is also constructively using the peer review as a
mechanism for assuring a sensible balance at the various phases of the program. I find the entire
approach to be well structured and productive.
TRW, my organization, became committed in the 60's to an effort of pursuing the technology of
materials processing in space. We would like to become an industrial user of space, and to do so we
want to participate in the initial experimental stage. For the last 2 1/2 years we have been looking at
the opportunities and have been functioning as a marriage broker between the NASA organization
and a number of industrial organizations that have possible interests in using space for materials
processing. TRW is also involved with TDRSS, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System for
operation with Space Lab and the Shuttle, which will play an important role in future experiments.
*VicePresident, Scienceand Technology,TRW, Inc.
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Solar photovoltaics: Stand alone applications

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