Scientific Substantiation of Increase of Technical and Economic Efficiency of Use of Solar Energy

Abstract

The article is devoted to finding ways to improve the efficiency of using solar panels. In the mainstream of increasing the economic efficiency of solar stations' operation, methods of reducing the cost of generating electricity based on solar energy are considered. The purpose of the article is to study ways of more efficient use of solar energy and compare the types of installation of photovoltaic converters. The study's main focus is on solar tracking systems, which give the best price/efficiency ratio for solar stations. In particular, the economic feasibility of using a biaxial tracking system for solar panels has been investigated. The advantages and disadvantages of this approach are considered. The energy potential of solar radiation under terrestrial conditions is analyzed. A table of dependences of the angle of motion of the Sun in time for one light day for the conditions of the Sumy region was built. The maximum value of the intensity of solar radiation per year per 1 m2 is calculated. The graph of the average monthly electricity production was built. In the course of the work, an experiment was set up, within the framework of which four options for photoelectric converters' placement were calculated: with automatic guidance to the Sun; inclined type; vertical type; with a fixed angle. It has been established that for the city of Sumy a two-axis orientation system is most effective. According to the results of processing the experimental data, the system with the tracker provides almost 24% more power generation than the stationary installation option (fixed angle) of the photoelectric converter module. Energy organizations and enterprises can use the study results, authorities and other stakeholders in the field of alternative energy.