astronomy

The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field

The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field rather than just read about it. In short: The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field (OSOTF) is a project organized under open-source principles, which is a fully grid-connected test system that continuously monitors the output of many solar photovoltaic modules and correlates their performance to a long list of highly accurate meteorological readings. History As the solar photovoltaic industry grows, there is an increased demand for high-quality research in solar…

Key takeaways

The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field (OSOTF) is a project organized under open-source principles, which is a fully grid-connected test system that continuously monitors the output of many solar photovoltaic modules and correlates their performance to a long list of highly accurate meteorological readings.

History As the solar photovoltaic industry grows, there is an increased demand for high-quality research in solar systems design and optimization in realistic (and sometimes extreme) outdoor environments such as in Canada. To answer this need, a partnership has formed the Open Solar Outdoors Test Field (OSOTF). The OSOTF was originally developed with a strong partnership between the Queen's Applied Sustainability Research Group run by Joshua M. Pearce at Queen's University (now at Michigan Tech) and the Sustainable Energy Applied Research Centre (SEARC) at St. Lawrence College headed by Adegboyega Babasola.This collaboration has grown rapidly to include multiple industry partners, and the OSOTF has been redesigned to provide critical data and research for the team. The OSOTF is a fully grid-connected test system, which continuously monitors the output of over 100 photovoltaic modules and correlates their performance to a long list of highly accurate meteorological readings. The teamwork has resulted in one of the largest systems in the world for this detailed level of analysis, and can provide valuable information on the actual performance of photovoltaic modules in real-world conditions. Unlike many other projects, the OSOTF is organized under open source principles. All data and analysis when completed will be made freely available to the entire photovoltaic community and the general public. The first project for the OSOTF quantifies the losses due to snowfall of a solar photovoltaic system, generalizes these losses to any location with weather data and recommends best practices for system design in snowy climates. This work was accomplished by creating a synthetic day using empirical data from the OSOTF. This application of the OSOTF has been covered extensively in the media.

Partners This system has been made possible by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and contributions and collaborations from:

Advanced Solar Investments Ltd. AYA Instruments Calama Consulting Dupont Canada eIQ Energy Heliene Inc. KACO New Energy Inc. Nanofilm Michigan Technological University Photovoltaic Performance Labs Inc. Schueco Canada[link removed] Silfab Ontario Soventix Canada Inc. Sustainable Energy Applied Research Centre at St. Lawrence College Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd. Queen's Applied Sustainability Group Universidad Privada Boliviana Uni-Solar Ovonic LLC

Open Solar Outdoors Test Field The SEARC Open Solar Outdoors Test Field consists of two discreet test beds, the largest of which is located on the roof of the new Wind Turbine and Trades building at St. Lawrence College and which has room for 60 commercial PV panels, which are divided between eight angles of 5.10,15,20,30,40,50 and 60 degrees. Live video for the test field is openly available online. Full data access available here. The second test field is located on a flat rooftop at St. Lawrence College and consists of two commercial flat roof ballasted systems. Live video of this test field is also available online In addition, the Queen's Innovation Park Test Site, which was developed as part of a preliminary study on the effects of snow on photovoltaic performance funded by Sustainable Energy Technologies. It consists of 16 panels mounted at angles from 0 to 70 degrees, with two each at increments of 10 degrees. By monitoring panel output, solar influx, snow fall and meteorological factors, a loss due to snowfall can be determined for a general system at a variety of angles. In addition, thermal panel measurements lead to a better understanding of snow shedding mechanisms. A series of analysis algorithms have been developed which allow for constant data mining to determine factors such as snow coverage ratio using image analysis, performance ratio, and estimated losses/gains due to snowfall. A detailed description of the sensors and measurements used in the study can be seen below.

Specifications The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field is designed to be a state-of-the-art outdoors test facility, which makes this site one of the premier PV test beds in North America. The capabilities of this test bed are shown in the following table.

External links OSOTF at Appropedia SEARC OSOTF Design and Operations Manual

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field

In research: The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Photovoltaics, Solar energy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field in simple terms?

Why does The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Open Solar Outdoors Test Field.