Optimization of Tilt Angle of a PV System to Get Maximum Generated Power: a Case Study

Harwan Mohammed Taha; Sipan Hameed

doi:10.24017/science.2020.2.7

Authors

Harwan Mohammed Taha Energy Engineering, Technical College of Engineering, Duhok Polytechnic University, Duhok, Iraq
Sipan Hameed Energy Engineering, Technical College of Engineering, Duhok Polytechnic University, Duhok, Iraq

Abstract

The amount of solar irradiance falls onto photovoltaic (PV) panels depends highly on the tilt angle between the panels and the horizontal plane. Therefore, this angle must be chosen carefully so that the panels can absorb the largest possible amount of the solar beam. It is more convenient for the panels to be installed with the fixed tilt angle once a month or year as the cost and complexity of the solar tracking systems are high. This research determines monthly and yearly optimum tilt angles for 50 KWp solar system in Duhok city, Duhok Polytechnic University campus (Latitude/Longitude: 36.862, 42.980). Moreover, this work examines the performance of the system with different PV technologies which are Crystalline Silicon, Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), and Copper Indium Selenide (CIS) to determine which one is more convenient for Duhok weather. This work uses the PVGIS simulation tool, and the result shows that the 32.7 degree is the optimum tilt angle for fixed annually adjustment for the mentioned city. While the monthly optimum tilt angles were different for each month (the lowest tilt angle was 1.5? observed in June and the highest tilt angle was 63.9? recorded in December). Regarding PV technologies, the CdTe types generated more annual PV energy than other mentioned types, followed by CIS which produced more output PV energy than Crystalline Silicon.

Keywords:

Solar energy, solar radiation, monthly optimum tilt angle, yearly optimum tilt angle Duhok city, PVGIS.

References

[1] A. A. K. Al-Waeli, K. A. Al-Asadi and M. M. Fazleena, "The impact of Iraq climate condition on the use of solar energy applications in Iraq: A review," International Journal of Science and Engineering Investigations, vol. 6, pp. 64-73, 2017.
[2] Arabic, B., 2020. ?????? ???????? ???? ????????? ??????? ? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? 3300 ???????. [online]. Basnews.com. Available at:https://www.basnews.com/ar/babat/650227 [Accessed 3 December 2020].
[3] R. Mubarak, M. Hofmann, S. Riechelmann and G. Seckmeyer, "Comparison of modelled and measured tilted solar irradiance for photovoltaic applications," Energies, vol. 10, p. 1688, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.3390/en10111688
[4] Q. A. Khasawneh, Q. A. Damra and O. H. Bany Salman, "Determining the Optimum Tilt Angle for Solar Applications in Northern Jordan.," Jordan Journal of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, vol. 9, 2015.
[5] A. Karafil, H. Ozbay, M. Kesler and H. Parmaksiz, "Calculation of optimum fixed tilt angle of PV panels depending on solar angles and comparison of the results with experimental study conducted in summer in Bilecik, Turkey," in 2015 9th International Conference on Electrical and Electronics Engineering (ELECO), 2015.
https://doi.org/10.1109/ELECO.2015.7394517
[6] G. Hailu and A. S. Fung, "Optimum tilt angle and orientation of photovoltaic thermal system for application in greater Toronto area, Canada," Sustainability, vol. 11, p. 6443, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226443
[7] M. Guo, H. Zang, S. Gao, T. Chen, J. Xiao, L. Cheng, Z. Wei and G. Sun, "Optimal tilt angle and orientation of photovoltaic modules using HS algorithm in different climates of China," Applied Sciences, vol. 7, p. 1028, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.3390/app7101028
[8] H. Darhmaoui and D. Lahjouji, "Latitude based model for tilt angle optimization for solar collectors in the Mediterranean region," Energy Procedia, vol. 42, pp. 426-435, 2013.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2013.11.043
[9] M. Jamil Ahmad and G. N Tiwari, "Optimization of tilt angle for solar collector to receive maximum radiation," The open renewable energy journal, vol. 2, 2009.
https://doi.org/10.2174/1876387100902010019
[10] N. Al-Messabi, C. Goh and Y. Li, "Heuristic grey-box modelling for photovoltaic power systems," Systems Science & Control Engineering, vol. 4, pp. 235-246, 2016.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21642583.2016.1228485
[11] R. A. Messenger and A. Abtahi, Photovoltaic systems engineering, CRC press, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315218397
[12] I. J. Khadim, E. J. Mahdi and A. H. Ubaid, "Determining Tilt Angle for Fixed Solar Panel Tosites of Iraq's Provinces by Using the Programs on NASA and Google Earth Websites," Engineering and Technology Journal, vol. 32, pp. 498-506, 2014.
[13] S. Na'man, H. Y. Yacoob and O. S. Omar, "Optimum Tilt Angle for South Facing Flat Solar Collectors in Duhok City," Science Journal of University of Zakho, vol. 1, pp. 405-413, 2013.
[14] A. K. S. Al-Sayyab and M. K. Taher, "Optimum Tilted Angle Of Photovoltaic Cell located in northern Iraq Cities to get maximum generated electric power," in National Renewable Energies Conference and Their Applications, 2013.
[15] A.-S. T. Hussain, "Measuring PV Module Performance at Different Tilt Angles in Southern Iraq Based Simulation," International Journal of Engineering & Technology, vol. 7, pp. 84-88, 2018.
https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i2.34.13918
[16] A. K. S. Al-Sayyab and M. K. Taher, "Optimum Yearly Tilted Angle of Photovoltaic Cell to Receive Maximum Solar Radiation in Southern Iraq Cities," Thi-Qar University Journal for Engineering Sciences, vol. 5, pp. 1-14, 2014.
[17] A. M. A. Morad, A. K. S. Al-Sayyab and M. A. Abdulwahid, "Optimisation of tilted angles of a photovoltaic cell to determine the maximum generated electric power: a case study of some Iraqi cities," Case studies in thermal engineering, vol. 12, pp. 484-488, 2018.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csite.2018.07.001
[18] H. Muslim, "Solar Tilt Angle Optimization of PV Systems for Different Case Studies," EAI Endorsed Transactions on Energy Web, vol. 6, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.13-7-2018.157038
[19] A. Kumar, N. S. Thakur, R. Makade and M. K. Shivhare, "Optimization of tilt angle for photovoltaic array," International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, vol. 3, pp. 3153-3161, 2011.