The new solar power lab from Christiani is another impressive system for teaching photovoltaics along with its popular solar power case. The solar power lab provides students with practical understanding of bothh off-grid and on-grid technology.

Working with the individual modules, students gain a clear insight into the circuits commonly used in photovoltaics. The modules are made of stable, shatter-proof material and have replaceable sides, fronts and backs. In addition, the rear wall is transparent, so that the students can clearly see the technology inside.      

Both theory and practice of the following topics can be investigated using the solar power laboratory off-grid tech-nology:

• Measurements with the solar power circuit:  Open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current at various light intensities, angles of incidence and temperatures
• Identifying the IV characteristic and the MPP
• The battery is the energy accumulator in the PV off-grid technology: Discharge protection and charging regulator; current distribution during charging and draining; internal-resistance measurements of module and battery, exhaus-tive discharge protection
• Electric circuits possible with the PV off-grid technology: Individual overvoltage protection functions; fuses, splitters and consumers
• Separate inverters: Voltage and current measurements; effi ciency and AC voltage waveforms
• Project: Develop a back-up power supply for safety lighting
• Transfer: Design, construct and test solar power off-grid technology

• Photovoltaic module 12 V
• Halogen spotlight, dimmable, 230 V, 500 W
• Generator connector with voltmeter 15/150 V DC
• Overvoltage protection, 12 V
• Discharge protection diode
• Charging regulator 12 V, 4 A
• Exhaustive discharge protection 12 V, 15 A
• Lead gel battery 12 V
• Safety light (maintained operation) 12 V, 5 W
• Safety light (non-maintained operation) 12 V, 15 W
• General light 23 V, 15 W
• Relay 12 V, 30 A
• Resistor 10 Ohm, variable
• Load resistor, 2 kOhm, variable
• Supply connection unit
• Consumer, 12 V, E27; low-voltage socket
• Circuit breaker
• Relay 2 x 230 V
• Network monitoring relay 230/400 V
• Residual current protective device
• Digital multimeters (2 units)
• Safety divider 1, 3, 5 A
• Luxmeter (measurement device), 0 to 100,000 Lux
• Plug-in charging device for lead-gel battery
• Connecting lines with safety plugs  (multi-contact), in various lengths and colours
• Energy-saving lamp 12 V, 11 W, E27
• Filament lamp 230 V, 15 W, E27
• Set of small electrical spare parts (storage box, automo-tive blade-type fuses, blade-type fuse withdrawing device, miniature fuses, festoon lamp)