Remote triggered photovoltaic solar cell lab: Effective implementation strategies for Virtual Labs

Remote triggered laboratories are an excellent way to provide access to costly labs and equipment for students in areas without such facilities. A novel remote triggered photovoltaic solar cell experiment is presented here. This experiment enables the student to learn in a hands-on, practical way about the fundamental characteristics of photovoltaic solar cells. The experiment has a web interface in which the student can turn a number of light bulbs on and off, adjust the load voltage of the solar cell, and view the experiment in real-time via a web-cam. In addition, the characteristics of the solar cells under these various conditions are measured and displayed on the web interface in a spreadsheet and are plotted in a novel and learning-effective manner. This experiment has been hosted on our Virtual Labs website for over a year, with a large number of students using the site. This paper presents implementation strategies and methods used which have proven effective for Virtual Labs, along with a technical description of the experiment and the system used to create and host the experiment.