The effect of tilt angle and orientation of solar surface on solar rooftop miniature system in Bengkulu University

Abstract

The rooftop solar photovoltaic system is one of the potential methods vastly adopted to harness the abundant solar energy and to overcome land limitation. In our previous study, the rooftop solar energy potential has been investigated with a case study of buildings in the University of Bengkulu using drone technology. The estimation results of the study show that all buildings have the potential to be developed as the installation area of solar panels. Moreover, the optimum solar harvest is affected by the inclination of the rooftop. However, the results obtained were estimated power under ideal conditions. Therefore, in this research, the solar mapping potential results were examined using solar panels and current sensors. In the measurement system, the ability of the system to harvest solar energy was evaluated by placing a solar panel on miniature buildings. The placement of the solar panels was adjusted relative to the inclination and orientation of the building rooftop. This experiment was carried out for 24 h to obtain the optimum value for each tilt of the rooftop and orientation of the solar panel surface. The examination results show that the energy harvesting capacity of each solar panel is strongly influenced by the inclination of the rooftop and the orientation of the solar panel surface towards the sun. Solar panels with a smaller tilt angle are able to produce larger average power. Furthermore, the cloud coverage also affects the performance of solar panels in produce electricity.