Optimum Tilt Angles for Manual Tracking of Photovoltaic Modules

ABSTRACTThis article reports the investigation for the average optimal tilt angle of solar panels on a monthly basis (single axis tracking) for a wide range of latitudes in the northern hemisphere to collect maximum total solar irradiation. Based on experimentally validated modeling, a new set of empirical relations has been proposed to compute the optimum tilt angle on a monthly basis for the entire year. The accuracy of equations set is evaluated by standard statistical measures. The proposed set of empirical equations is compared with an existing set of empirical equations on various cities within the latitude and has yielded significantly better results. Solar Advisory Model (SAM) has been used to compare—with respect to a fixed Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) panel—the electricity predicted by (1) a new set of manual solar tracking equations, (2) an established set of solar tracking equations, and (3) data from an automated single axis tracking system by a Programmable Logic Controller or PLC. It is found ...