IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v15y2022i20p7516-d940139.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Influence of Seasonal Cloud Cover, Ambient Temperature and Seasonal Variations in Daylight Hours on the Optimal PV Panel Tilt Angle in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Essa Alhamer

    (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469, USA)

  • Addison Grigsby

    (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469, USA)

  • Rydge Mulford

    (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469, USA)

Abstract

A variety of variables influence the optimal tilt angle of a PV panel, including the characteristics of the panel, the local seasonal weather variations, the number of daylight hours the panel is exposed to and the ambient temperature of the surroundings. In this study, the optimal PV tilt angle and maximum energy output of PV arrays was calculated for every county in the United States and compared against the practice of setting the PV tilt angle to be equivalent to the latitude angle of the PV geographic location. A PVWatts API, implemented through Python, was used in conjunction with the SciPy optimization package to find the optimal tilt angle for each county using a direct line search algorithm. Most counties (95.8%) showed a difference between the location latitude and the optimal tilt of more than one degree. Many counties showed a deviation of 2–6° lower than the location latitude. The variation of daylight hours had the largest influence on tilt angle and seasonal cloud cover and ambient temperature had varying levels of influence. Generally, winter cloud cover decreased the optimal tilt angle whereas high summer temperatures increased the tilt angle.

Suggested Citation

  • Essa Alhamer & Addison Grigsby & Rydge Mulford, 2022. "The Influence of Seasonal Cloud Cover, Ambient Temperature and Seasonal Variations in Daylight Hours on the Optimal PV Panel Tilt Angle in the United States," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:20:p:7516-:d:940139
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/20/7516/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/20/7516/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dey, Sumon & Lakshmanan, Madan Kumar & Pesala, Bala, 2018. "Optimal solar tree design for increased flexibility in seasonal energy extraction," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 1038-1048.
    2. Rowlands, Ian H. & Kemery, Briana Paige & Beausoleil-Morrison, Ian, 2011. "Optimal solar-PV tilt angle and azimuth: An Ontario (Canada) case-study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1397-1409, March.
    3. Lave, Matthew & Kleissl, Jan, 2011. "Optimum fixed orientations and benefits of tracking for capturing solar radiation in the continental United States," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1145-1152.
    4. Kacira, Murat & Simsek, Mehmet & Babur, Yunus & Demirkol, Sedat, 2004. "Determining optimum tilt angles and orientations of photovoltaic panels in Sanliurfa, Turkey," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(8), pages 1265-1275.
    5. Ullah, Asad & Imran, Hassan & Maqsood, Zaki & Butt, Nauman Zafar, 2019. "Investigation of optimal tilt angles and effects of soiling on PV energy production in Pakistan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 830-843.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Natei Ermias Benti & Mesfin Diro Chaka & Addisu Gezahegn Semie, 2023. "Forecasting Renewable Energy Generation with Machine Learning and Deep Learning: Current Advances and Future Prospects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-33, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohammadi, Kasra & Khorasanizadeh, Hossein, 2015. "A review of solar radiation on vertically mounted solar surfaces and proper azimuth angles in six Iranian major cities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 504-518.
    2. Kafka, Jennifer & Miller, Mark A., 2020. "The dual angle solar harvest (DASH) method: An alternative method for organizing large solar panel arrays that optimizes incident solar energy in conjunction with land use," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 531-546.
    3. Oh, Myeongchan & Kim, Jin-Young & Kim, Boyoung & Yun, Chang-Yeol & Kim, Chang Ki & Kang, Yong-Heack & Kim, Hyun-Goo, 2021. "Tolerance angle concept and formula for practical optimal orientation of photovoltaic panels," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 384-394.
    4. Kwak, Younghoon & Mun, Sun-Hye & Park, Chang-Dae & Lee, Sang-Moon & Huh, Jung-Ho, 2022. "Statistical analysis of power generation of semi-transparent photovoltaic (STPV) for diversity in building envelope design: A mock-up test by azimuth and tilt angles," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 651-669.
    5. Chinchilla, Monica & Santos-Martín, David & Carpintero-Rentería, Miguel & Lemon, Scott, 2021. "Worldwide annual optimum tilt angle model for solar collectors and photovoltaic systems in the absence of site meteorological data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    6. Hafez, A.Z. & Soliman, A. & El-Metwally, K.A. & Ismail, I.M., 2017. "Tilt and azimuth angles in solar energy applications – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 147-168.
    7. Okoye, Chiemeka Onyeka & Bahrami, Arian & Atikol, Ugur, 2018. "Evaluating the solar resource potential on different tracking surfaces in Nigeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 1569-1581.
    8. Nicolás-Martín, Carolina & Santos-Martín, David & Chinchilla-Sánchez, Mónica & Lemon, Scott, 2020. "A global annual optimum tilt angle model for photovoltaic generation to use in the absence of local meteorological data," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 722-735.
    9. Gökmen, Nuri & Hu, Weihao & Hou, Peng & Chen, Zhe & Sera, Dezso & Spataru, Sergiu, 2016. "Investigation of wind speed cooling effect on PV panels in windy locations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 283-290.
    10. Nima Narjabadifam & Mohammed Al-Saffar & Yongquan Zhang & Joseph Nofech & Asdrubal Cheng Cen & Hadia Awad & Michael Versteege & Mustafa Gül, 2022. "Framework for Mapping and Optimizing the Solar Rooftop Potential of Buildings in Urban Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-32, February.
    11. Lau, K.Y. & Tan, C.W. & Yatim, A.H.M., 2018. "Effects of ambient temperatures, tilt angles, and orientations on hybrid photovoltaic/diesel systems under equatorial climates," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2625-2636.
    12. Bahrami, Arian & Okoye, Chiemeka Onyeka, 2018. "The performance and ranking pattern of PV systems incorporated with solar trackers in the northern hemisphere," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 138-151.
    13. Bakirci, Kadir, 2012. "General models for optimum tilt angles of solar panels: Turkey case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 6149-6159.
    14. Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis & Anna Moustaka & Panagiotis Kosmopoulos & Stelios Kazadzis, 2022. "Selecting Surface Inclination for Maximum Solar Power," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-16, June.
    15. Al Garni, Hassan Z. & Awasthi, Anjali & Wright, David, 2019. "Optimal orientation angles for maximizing energy yield for solar PV in Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 538-550.
    16. Liu, Yujun & Yao, Ling & Jiang, Hou & Lu, Ning & Qin, Jun & Liu, Tang & Zhou, Chenghu, 2022. "Spatial estimation of the optimum PV tilt angles in China by incorporating ground with satellite data," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 1249-1258.
    17. Yadav, Somil & Panda, S.K. & Hachem-Vermette, Caroline, 2020. "Optimum azimuth and inclination angle of BIPV panel owing to different factors influencing the shadow of adjacent building," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 381-396.
    18. Bahrami, Arian & Okoye, Chiemeka Onyeka & Atikol, Ugur, 2016. "The effect of latitude on the performance of different solar trackers in Europe and Africa," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 896-906.
    19. Chaianong, Aksornchan & Pharino, Chanathip, 2015. "Outlook and challenges for promoting solar photovoltaic rooftops in Thailand," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 356-372.
    20. Gardashov, Rauf & Eminov, Murad & Kara, Gökhan & Emecen Kara, Esma Gül & Mammadov, Tural & Huseynova, Xedce, 2020. "The optimum daily direction of solar panels in the highlands, derived by an analytical method," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:20:p:7516-:d:940139. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.