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Solar Power Primer: Panel Tilt

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Solar Power Primer: Panel Tilt

Dec 03 2010 Published by Patrick Newell under Renewable Energy Technology If you have attended a Civitas Energy free solar seminar (hint, hint!), then you have heard Tw eet us stress the importance of panel tilt as it pertains to solar energy efficiency. To summarize, a solar panel at its optimum tilt can produce 22% more energy than the same panel laid flat on the ground (using the assumptions described shortly), which means you would need 22% fewer panels to offset your energy needs. But why, exactly, does the tilt of a solar panel impact its output? Is there an optimum tilt? Does it vary by location? The quick answers: 1) thats complicated, so continue reading; 2) there sure is; and 3) it sure does. Optimum Tilt & Location NJ Bright Future

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The prime tilt for a solar panel results when the face of the module is perfectly perpendicular to sunlight. Creating a perpendicular surface reduces the chance of the protective glass coating reflecting light away from the panel. Additionally, when a surface is not perpendicular, it has a smaller effective surface area. Heres an example: take the nearest book, piece of paper, or even your keyboard. Hold it up so that it is perpendicular to your line of vision. Now start tilting it away from you; it appears smaller to more you tilt it, right? The actual ideal measurement varies by location; it varies by time of day; and it varies by time of year. Lets make a few assumptions before discussing what the optimum tilt is going to be: 1. Our solar PV array is located in Princeton, NJ 2. Today is the Vernal Equinox (when the sun is directly above the equator) 3. It is noontime Given these assumptions, the optimal tilt for our solar panels is 40.3 degrees from the horizon. That was easy, right? Ok, ok, here is the explanation: our assumptions were carefully chosen such that the result is exactly equal to the line of latitude on which Princeton lies, 40.3. So for those of you in Princeton with pitched roofs of 40.3, congratulations, you have the perfect site for solar energy! Lets clear this up with the image below. Photons of light are emitted from the sun on very close to parallel paths. At the equator, these photons hit the horizon a perpendicular angles, which is ideal (remember, we are assuming that it is the equinox). In Princeton, however, light hits at an angle, so we tilt our solar panels to create a perpendicular surface.

at its optimum tilt, a solar energy system may be 22% smaller than a system installed parallel to the ground

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Solar Power Primer: Panel Tilt

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For the geometry teachers out there, the rules of alternate and consecutive angles dictate that if we tilt the panel by the same amount as our latitude angle, we will create the desired surface perpendicular to the rays of sunlight. For the rest of us, careful measurements, which have been done many times over, reveal that an angle equal to the latitude reading is ideal. Tracking the Sun Lets revisit our assumptions. First, we are in Princeton. Unless you are installing a PV array on the roof of your RV, this assumption is not going to change. The second and third however, change constantly. Equinoxes occur twice per year, so there are 363 other days to consider, and noontime is actually a very brief moment in time, so there is more than 99% of the day to consider as well. To get the maximum energy efficiency from solar panels, they would need to be set in motion. To account for the daily movement of the sun relative to our Solar PV array, modules must rotate side to side in order to maintain a face perpendicular to the rays of the sun. As for the seasonal effect think about how much higher in the sky the sun is positioned in the summer than in the winter a second axis, one that allows the panels to increase or decrease tilt, is required. We rarely ever recommend the dual-axis tracking system because it introduces a host of new problems (e.g., increased cost, moving parts, additional shading remember what you learned about shading from our free solar seminars?? and additional space, which most roofs do not have), but it is worth pointing out that some solar energy arrays do in fact account for the movement of the sun. Generally speaking, the roof pitch of standard NJ homes is adequate for flatmounted solar panel arrays which means you do not have to worry about the problems inherent to a tracking system. For more, please take a minute to read a the page on our website describing renewable energy technology. Check back soon, or follow us on your favorite social media site (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) to be alerted of similar articles on renewable energy as they become available. Welcome Googler! If you find this page useful, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.
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Tags: En ergy Effi ci en cy , N J, Pri n ceton , PV , Ren ewabl e En ergy , Sol ar En ergy , Sol ar Pan el s, Sol ar Power, Ti l t

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