How the morning-afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affects the energy-maximizing azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panels
In the Northern Hemisphere, south is the conventional azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panels, because this orientation may maximize the received light energy. How does the morning-afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affect the energy-maximizing azimuth direction of such solar panels? Pro...
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| Format: | Article |
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The Royal Society
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211948 |
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| author | Péter Takács Judit Slíz-Balogh Ákos Horváth Dániel Horváth Imre M. Jánosi Gábor Horváth |
| author_facet | Péter Takács Judit Slíz-Balogh Ákos Horváth Dániel Horváth Imre M. Jánosi Gábor Horváth |
| author_sort | Péter Takács |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the Northern Hemisphere, south is the conventional azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panels, because this orientation may maximize the received light energy. How does the morning-afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affect the energy-maximizing azimuth direction of such solar panels? Prompted by this question, we calculated the total light energy received by a fixed-tilt monofacial solar panel in a whole year, using the celestial motion of the Sun and the direct and diffuse radiation measured hourly throughout the year in three North American (Boone County, Tennessee, Georgia) and European (Italy, Hungary, Sweden) regions. Here we show that, depending on the tilt angle and the local cloudiness conditions, the energy-maximizing ideal azimuth of a solar panel more or less turns eastward from south, if afternoons are cloudier than mornings in a yearly average. In certain cases, the turn of the ideal azimuth of such solar panels may be worth taking into consideration, even though the maximum energy gain is not larger than 5% for nearly vertical panels. Specifically, when solar panels are fixed on vertical walls or oblique roofs with non-ideal tilt, the deviation of the energy-maximizing azimuth from the south can be incorporated in the design of buildings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T06:56:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-87076a0c3743416ca8974c576721a59d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T06:56:15Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-87076a0c3743416ca8974c576721a59d2022-12-22T02:06:53ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032022-04-019410.1098/rsos.211948How the morning-afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affects the energy-maximizing azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panelsPéter Takács0Judit Slíz-Balogh1Ákos Horváth2Dániel Horváth3Imre M. Jánosi4Gábor Horváth5Environmental Optics Laboratory, Department of Biological Physics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány sétány 1, HungaryEnvironmental Optics Laboratory, Department of Biological Physics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány sétány 1, HungaryMeteorological Institute, Universität Hamburg, Bundesstrasse 55, D-20146 Hamburg, GermanyEnvironmental Optics Laboratory, Department of Biological Physics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány sétány 1, HungaryMax Plack Institute für Physik Komplexer Systeme, Nöthnitzer Strasse 38, D-01187 Dresden, GermanyEnvironmental Optics Laboratory, Department of Biological Physics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány sétány 1, HungaryIn the Northern Hemisphere, south is the conventional azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panels, because this orientation may maximize the received light energy. How does the morning-afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affect the energy-maximizing azimuth direction of such solar panels? Prompted by this question, we calculated the total light energy received by a fixed-tilt monofacial solar panel in a whole year, using the celestial motion of the Sun and the direct and diffuse radiation measured hourly throughout the year in three North American (Boone County, Tennessee, Georgia) and European (Italy, Hungary, Sweden) regions. Here we show that, depending on the tilt angle and the local cloudiness conditions, the energy-maximizing ideal azimuth of a solar panel more or less turns eastward from south, if afternoons are cloudier than mornings in a yearly average. In certain cases, the turn of the ideal azimuth of such solar panels may be worth taking into consideration, even though the maximum energy gain is not larger than 5% for nearly vertical panels. Specifically, when solar panels are fixed on vertical walls or oblique roofs with non-ideal tilt, the deviation of the energy-maximizing azimuth from the south can be incorporated in the design of buildings.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211948fixed-tilt solar panelmonofacial photovoltaicssolar energyclouds |
| spellingShingle | Péter Takács Judit Slíz-Balogh Ákos Horváth Dániel Horváth Imre M. Jánosi Gábor Horváth How the morning-afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affects the energy-maximizing azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panels Royal Society Open Science fixed-tilt solar panel monofacial photovoltaics solar energy clouds |
| title | How the morning-afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affects the energy-maximizing azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panels |
| title_full | How the morning-afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affects the energy-maximizing azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panels |
| title_fullStr | How the morning-afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affects the energy-maximizing azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panels |
| title_full_unstemmed | How the morning-afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affects the energy-maximizing azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panels |
| title_short | How the morning-afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affects the energy-maximizing azimuth direction of fixed-tilt monofacial solar panels |
| title_sort | how the morning afternoon cloudiness asymmetry affects the energy maximizing azimuth direction of fixed tilt monofacial solar panels |
| topic | fixed-tilt solar panel monofacial photovoltaics solar energy clouds |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211948 |
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