Numerical and experimental investigation of the effect of tilt angle on the performance of PV systems

Abstract

The photovoltaic (PV) panels and system performance is affected by the tilt angle and orientation, as these factors investigate the total amount of irradiation intensity received by the related surface of a panel. This research conducts an experiment with the variation of tilt angle under certain operating conditions. In addition, the impact of surface tilt angle with various irradiation levels on PV performance is analyzed numerically using Finite Element Method (FEM). The effect of varying the tilt angle from 0° to 80° on PV performance is studied under both variable and constant irradiation conditions. For every 100 W/m2 irradiation intensity increased, the solar cell temperature and power output increase by 5.34°C and 5.94 W for numerical as well as by 5.37°C and 5.83 W for experimental results, respectively. For every 5° increments in surface tilt angle, the average power output and solar cell temperature drop by 1.55 W and 1.12°C for numerical and by 1.59 W and 1.09°C for experimental case, while efficiency falls by 0.35% and 0.33% for experimental and numerical cases, respectively. The optimum tilt angle can maximize the irradiation on a panel and thereby the performance of the panel.