Optimal tilt angle determination of photovoltaic panels and comparing of their mathematical model predictions to experimental data in Kerman

Abstract

Performance of a solar radiation conversion system is affected by its tilt angle with the horizontal plane, thus photovoltaic array needs to be tilted at the correct angle to maximize the conversion efficiency of the system. In this study, a mathematical model is used to estimate the total (global) solar radiation on a tilted surface and to calculate the output energy of PV panels. An experimental setup, installed in Graduate University of Advanced Technology, is utilized to provide the real data. The photovoltaic panels were set to an orientation angle of 0° with tilt angles of 0°, 10°, 20°, 30°, 40° and 50°. Then, comparing output data of mathematical model and logged data, a suitable correspondence between mathematical model and logged data was found for tilt angles bigger than 10 degrees. The experimental data, however, revealed slightly different results for angles less than 10 degree. Because of dust effect, the measured output energy from experimental setup, was less than the model predicted energy .It is suggested that the effect of environmental parameters such as dust deposition be considered to determine the optimal tilt angle.