Abstract
A key factor in the performance of PV panels is the tilt angle, adjustable via various tracking systems. Fixed tilt angle PV panels miss out on most of the solar radiation each day whereas continuous tracking systems are not always cost-efficient, rather impractical in some cases. Therefore, adjusting the tilt angle using a limited number of periods per year can be a good, compromised solution. In this paper, a new approach is proposed to maximize the impact of solar radiation on PV panels by adjusting their tilt angles. Based on a limited number of periods or intervals per year, the optimal duration (number of days) of each period or interval along with the optimum tilt angle corresponding to each interval are determined by solving two interlinked optimization problems. These two problems are solved using the Most Valuable Player Algorithm (MVPA) combined with the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. The case study for Yanbu, a western coastal city of Saudi Arabia has been investigated. The obtained results show that the enhanced solar power generation can be achieved by using optimal intervals and optimum tilt angle and provide a suitable benchmark for similar techniques to be used in the future to solve the problem of tilt angle adjustment for maximizing PV panels output.
Highlights
The world is leaning towards the use of renewable energy sources to fulfill the ever-increasing demand for electrical power
It is needed to find out the optimal tilt angle of the solar panel as it changes with the movement of the Sun, daily, weekly, and yearly
Two models of ascertaining PV panels tilt angles have been presented. Their results are compared with one another and with the base case of the fixed horizontal PV panel
Summary
The world is leaning towards the use of renewable energy sources to fulfill the ever-increasing demand for electrical power. Optimization of various solar parameters is considered indispensable in the process of solar energy exploitation One of these parameters is the global solar radiation and the appropriate selection of it may result in increased efficiency of solar system technologies like solar PV panels and Maximization of Solar Radiation solar collectors. The amount of incident radiation depends upon the orientation and tilt angle of the panel and collectors (El-Sebaii et al, 2010; Demain et al, 2013; Mawloud et al, 2020). Finding the optimal tilt angle for different time intervals of the year and orient the solar panels manually is a practical and energy-efficient solution to this problem. Factors like cloudiness (Armstrong and Hurley, 2010), flatness of the collector plate (Kern and Harris, 1975), location and clearness index (Elsayed, 1989), radioactive transfer properties (Smith et al, 2016) etc. are needed to be considered in the tilt angle calculation process since they affect the optimization of tilt angle and intervals directly
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