Optimum Tilt Angle and Orientation of Photovoltaic Thermal System for Application in Greater Toronto Area, Canada

Abstract

We present a study conducted to obtain optimum tilt angle and orientation of a solar panel for the collection of maximum solar irradiation. The optimum tilt angle and orientation were determined using isotropic and anisotropic diffuse sky radiation models (isotropic and anisotropic models). The four isotropic models giving varying optimum tilt angles in the range of 37 to 44°. On the other hand, results of the four anisotropic models were more consistent, with optimum tilt angles ranging between 46–47°. Both types of models indicated that the collector tilt should be changed four times a year to receive more solar radiation. The results also indicate that the solar panel should be installed with orientation west or east of due south with a flatter tilt angle. A 15° change in orientation west or east of due south results in less than 1% reduction of the total solar radiation received. For a given optimum tilt angle, the effect of photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) orientation west or east of due south on the outlet temperature was determined using a one-dimensional steady state heat transfer model. It was found that there is less than 1.5% decrease in outlet temperature for a PV/T panel oriented up to 15° east or west of due south from March to December. This result indicates that existing roofs with orientations angles up to 15° east or west of due south can be retrofitted with a PV/T system without changing the roof shape.

Standalone Photovoltaic Direct Pumping in Urban Water Pressurized Networks with Energy Storage in Tanks or Batteries

“…Although operators cannot control the water demands in urban WPN as they do in irrigation systems, this did not avoid the use of photovoltaic technology to supply pumping devices in many regions of the world such as the USA [27,28], India [29], Finland [30], Brazil [31], Malaysia [32], and Spain [33]. In areas with high potential (semi-arid regions and high irradiation levels), many practitioners implement this technology for sizing PV systems [34][35][36][37], minimizing the number of PV modules [38], optimizing the tilt angle [39,40], and comparing the environmental and economic impacts of supplying pumps with electricity grids or PV cells [41]. Photovoltaic systems may influence the voltage quality in electricity grids [42], affecting the voltage profile and harmonic distortion of the current and voltage, although some customer-side energy storage systems can make voltage management more economical [43], we proposed using the energy produced in pumping devices that may work as a standalone system.…”

Converting a Water Pressurized Network in a Small Town into a Solar Power Water System

“…In the water industry, many works have been performed in pressurized water networks [19,[29][30][31] and in pressurized irrigation networks [32][33][34] where the energy consumption profiles influence the PV installation [35][36][37]. Many approaches have focused on energy production optimizing the tilt angle [38][39][40][41], by analyzing the shadows' influence on this energy production [42][43][44], or obtaining the influence of cleaning in energy production [45], while others have focused on the viability of energy storage in batteries [20,44,46,47] or the maximization of the battery charge [48] or the influence of electric cost in the batteries' dimension and feasibility [49]. Battery storage methods have been shown to be the most effective choice for the cost study presented with the lowest payback periods, but we should also consider their management and replacement [48,50].…”

Estimation of the Optimum Energy Received by Solar Energy Flat-Plate Convertors in Greece Using Typical Meteorological Years. Part I: South-Oriented Tilt Angles

“…In the present study, the angle β varied in the range of 0-60° in steps of 5°, and φ° (0° implies a horizontal plane, for which Re,0S = 0) is the latitude of the location. Be,0S values were included in the TMYs-PV, while the rest of them (Be,iS, i ϵ [5-60, φ]) were calculated after Equation (6). In a similar way, De,0S = De was calculated as the difference Ge -Be, where Be = Be,0S.…”