An Algorithm to Determine the Optimum Tilt Angle of a Solar Panel from Global Horizontal Solar Radiation

Abstract

This paper proposes an algorithm to calculate the optimum tilt angle of solar panels by means of global horizontal solar radiation data, provided from Earth-based meteorological stations. This mathematical modeling is based on the maximization of the theoretical expression of the global solar irradiation impinging on an inclined surface, with respect to the slope and orientation of the panel and to the solar hour angle. A set of transcendent equations resulted, whose solutions give the optimum tilt and orientation of a solar panel. A simulation was carried out using global horizontal solar radiation data from the European Solar Radiation Atlas and some empirical models of diffuse solar radiation. The optimum tilt angle resulted was related to latitude by a linear regression with significant correlation coefficients. The standard error of the mean values resulted increased significantly with latitude, suggesting that unreliable values can be provided at high latitudes.