Installation Design of Solar Panels with Seasonal Adjustment of Tilt-Angles

In this work, a mathematical procedure was developed for estimating the annual collectible radiation on solar panels with different mode of tilt-angle adjustment based on the monthly horizontal radiation. Calculation results show that, for solar panels with seasonal adjustment of tilt-angles, the optimum date of tilt-angle adjustment is 22 days from the equinoxes, and the optimum value of tilt-angle adjustment from the site latitude is in between 23-25° for maximizing the annual energy collection. Compared to fixed solar panels inclined at an optimal tilt-angle, the annual collectible radiation on solar panels with such tilt-angle adjustment mode, depending on solar resource in site, is increased about 3-5%. A comparison shows that solar panels with seasonal adjustment of tilt-angle receive annually slight less radiation than those with monthly adjustment of tilt-angles, indicating that monthly adjustment of tilt-angle of solar panels is meaningless in practical applications.

[1]  Ari Rabl,et al.  Active solar collectors and their applications , 1985 .

[2]  A. Hepbasli,et al.  Determination of the optimum tilt angle of solar collectors for building applications , 2007 .

[3]  Yaow-Ming Chen,et al.  Calculation of the optimum installation angle for fixed solar-cell panels based on the genetic algorithm and the Simulated-annealing method , 2005 .

[4]  C. Dey,et al.  Cooling of photovoltaic cells under concentrated illumination: a critical review , 2005 .

[5]  Björn Karlsson,et al.  Design of concentrating elements with CIS thin-film solar cells for facade integration , 2003 .

[6]  Tapas K. Mallick,et al.  Experimental characterisation of an asymmetric compound parabolic photovoltaic concentrator designed for building integration in the UK , 2004 .

[7]  R. W. Bentley,et al.  The development of small concentrating PV systems , 2002, Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2002..

[8]  Robert McConnell.  Concentrator photovoltaic technologies , 2005 .

[9]  K.G.T. Hollands,et al.  A concentrator for thin-film solar cells , 1971 .

[10]  Chetan Singh Solanki,et al.  Experimental evaluation of V-trough (2 suns) PV concentrator system using commercial PV modules , 2007 .

[11]  H LiuBy,et al.  Daily insolation on surfaces tilted toward the equator. , 1961 .

[12]  V. H. Morcos.  Optimum tilt angle and orientation for solar collectors in Assiut, Egypt , 1994 .

[13]  Chetan Singh Solanki,et al.  Enhanced heat dissipation of V-trough PV modules for better performance , 2008 .

[14]  P. Koronakis,et al.  On the choice of the angle of tilt for south facing solar collectors in the Athens basin area , 1986 .

[15]  S. Klein,et al.  An Algorithm for Calculating Monthly-Average Radiation on Inclined Surfaces , 1981 .

[16]  H.M.S. Hussein,et al.  Performance evaluation of photovoltaic modules at different tilt angles and orientations , 2004 .

[17]  R. Tang,et al.  Optimal tilt-angles for solar collectors used in China , 2004 .

[18]  Lars Stolt,et al.  CIGS thin film PV modules for low-concentrating systems , 2001 .