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EE 362: Introduction to Solar Energy Engineering
(an edX supported course)
Dear All;
I am writing to inform you about the course that I will be offering during the Spring 2025 semester (EE 362: Introduction to Solar Energy Engineering, also known as EE4006).
The nature of education has been changing greatly in the last decades, and nowadays, online learning is quite popular. Inspired by this trend, around 2016 (before the corona incidence), I started to offer online courses at Antalya Bilim University. The online courses are based on EdX, a non-profit educational platform founded by MIT and Harvard in 2012. I offer two edX-based online courses at ABU, EE 361 (biomedical imaging) and EE 362 (solar energy). These two topics are selected based on student feedback.
As you might have noticed already, solar energy technology use (and, in general, renewable energy use) is expanding rapidly in the world. With the recent conflicts and increasing gas prices, we are seeing record growth numbers in renewable energy. In 2023, the global capacity of installed and grid-connected solar PV power will exceed 1 TW for the first time (around 1%, 10 GW of it is in Turkey). In 2050, some experts believe the world will reach a solar capacity of 100 TW level. Solar PV project costs, already below marginal fossil-fuel costs in global terms, are set to decline further in the decades ahead. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA) estimates a 68% increase in average annual solar PV investment until 2050. This will for sure open up many employment opportunities for engineers and scientists interested in this field.
The aim of EE 362 is to provide an introduction to this fascinating engineering field, which is also quite important for the Antalya region. Interested and motivated students from all engineering departments are welcome (basic math and physics knowledge at the level of Phys 102 and Math 102 will be assumed).
Due to the hybrid nature of my contract with Antalya Bilim University, during the semester, I will be at Antalya for 4-5 weeks only. At these times, I will potentially be giving some of the lectures, administering exams, answering your questions, etc.... When I am not around, you will be learning the topic yourself by studying the following online courses on clean energy and solar energy engineering:
Solar Energy, by Delft University of Technology
https://learning.edx.org/course/course-v1:DelftX+SE1x+3T2025/home
https://learning.edx.org/course/course-v1:DelftX+SE2x+3T2025/home
https://learning.edx.org/course/course-v1:DelftX+SE3x+3T2025/home
Hence, EE362 will mostly be a self-learning course, and my role will be mostly supervision, motivation tracking and grading. At the end of the course, you will (i) understand how solar cells generate electricity, (ii) know about semiconductor physics and optics required to design and manufacture solar cells, and (iii) have a feeling of the wide range of solar energy applications. You will have the chance to learn the course content anytime from anywhere. We will be in contact frequently via email. All the e-mail communication and more will be announced on the course web page:
https://sites.google.com/site/antalyalaserlab/ee-362
There will be rigorous face-to-face exams during the semester to test your level of learning. The exams will test your level of effort and will include general, simple questions as well as moderate questions that will test your theoretical understanding of the topic. The course is suitable for interested Sophomore, Junior, and Senior level engineering/science students from all areas (Phys 102 is the only prerequisite for this course). Please consider all of the above issues before registering for EE 362.
Umit Demirbas
Prof. of EEE at ABU
e-mail: umit.demirbas@antalya.edu.tr
PS: The exams for this course will be held during class time, so we do not recommend registering for this course if you have major schedule conflicts with other classes.
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EE362x: Introduction to Solar Energy Engineering, Week 2
Dear All,
First of all, I am sorry for this late e-mail, but I wanted to wait a little while for the registration process to settle (now we have >25 students registered for the course, and I am afraid the registration process is still ongoing). Note that, in general, for this course, we won't hold regular classes except for a few days ( I will email you earlier and let you know these days). My next visit to the campus will be on early March (I will send a separate email on that in the coming days).
Again, Welcome to EE 362: Introduction to Solar Energy Engineering. As I have written in the previous email, this is a self-learning course based on edX.
For the first week, please register for the following edX course and work on Module 1: Introduction to the Role of Solar Energy in the Energy Transition (this means watching all the content, taking notes, solving the exercises, etc...).
Solar Energy: Physics Foundations for Energy Conversion and Solar Cells
https://learning.edx.org/course/course-v1:DelftX+SE1x+3T2025/home
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me via e-mail. Please follow the web page for all the announcements:
https://sites.google.com/site/antalyalaserlab/ee-362
Best regards
UD
PS: I will arrange an online class on W3, to clearly outline how the course will work, hopefully once the registration settles down
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EE362x: Introduction to Solar Energy Engineering, Week 3
Dear All,
For the 3rd week, please study Module 2: Working Principle of a Semiconductor based Solar Cell
from the Solar Energy: Physics Foundations for Energy Conversion and Solar Cells course
https://learning.edx.org/course/course-v1:DelftX+SE1x+3T2025/home
Please follow the web page for all the announcements:
https://sites.google.com/site/antalyalaserlab/ee-362
Best regards
UD
PS: I will arrange an online class on W3, another email invitation will follow. On W4, I will be at the campus
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EE362x: Weekly Study Schedule and Exam Dates
Dear All,
As we discussed in the online class on W3, please find the course plan below. For example, for this week (W4), you should be studying Module 3 of the 1st edX course (topic: Optics for solar cells).
Course 1: Fundamentals of PV Energy (Solar Energy 1)
(W2) Module 1: Role of solar energy in the energy transition
(W3) Module 2: Working principle of a semiconductor-based solar cell
(W4) Module 3: Optics for solar cells (light management)
(W5) Module 4: Solar cell design rules
Course 2: Materials, Devices and Modules (Solar Energy 2)
(W6) Module 1: c-Silicon solar cells
(W7-W9, Midterm exam) Module 2-3: Thin-film PV technologies
(W10) Module 4: Comparing PV technologies
Corse 3: PV Systems and Applications (Solar Energy 3)
(W11-W12) Module 1-2: PV system components
(W13) Module 3: Design of a PV system
(W14, Final exam) Module 4: Economic and environmental aspects
Midterm 1: April 10
Final Exam: May 22
Midterm exam topics: W2-W6
Final exam topics: W7-W13
Please note the midterm and final exam dates and add them to your calendars. The only attendance requirement for this course is taking these two exams (of course, attendance in regular and online courses is recommended).
Best regards
UD
PS: Please follow the course web page, any changes to this plan will be announced by email, and the program in the web page will be updated:
https://sites.google.com/site/antalyalaserlab/ee-362
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