POW3PART1:ResearchandCalculations

Youwillcompleteallyourworkinthisdocument,preferablywithapartner(1otherperson).Usenonboldtextto
answerthequestions.Insertdiagramsandexcelgraphswhereindicated.Havefunlearningaboutsolarpanels
andapplyingwhatyouknowabouttrig/mathematics!

PROBLEM:
Whatistheoptimalcombinationofazimuthandtilttomaximizesolargain(kWhperyear)froma5kW
photovoltaicsysteminLaPlataCounty,Colorado?

RESEARCH(10pts)

DosomeresearchonphotovoltaicsystemsusingtheNRELsiteandothersitesasindicated.Listyoursources.
Define/explainthefollowingterms:YoumaydirectlyquotetheNRELsite,butpleaseindicatethisinyourdefinitions,i.e.
AccordingtoNREL,thetiltis..

Whatare
Aphotovoltaiccell(PVcell)isaspecialized
semiconductor

diode
thatconvertsvisiblelightintodirect
photovoltaic
current(DC).SomePVcellscanalsoconvertinfrared(
IR
)orultraviolet(UV)radiationintoDC
cells(i.e.solar
electricity.Photovoltaiccellsareanintegralpartofsolarelectricenergysystems,whichare
panelcells)?
Brieflydescribe becomingincreasinglyimportantasalternativesourcesofutilitypower.
howtheywork.
Thedeviceisconstructedinsuchawaythatthejunctioncanbeexposedtovisiblelight,IR,orUV.
WhensuchradiationstrikesthePNjunction,avoltagedifferenceisproducedbetweenthePtype
andNtypematerials.Electrodesconnectedtothesemiconductorlayersallow
current
tobedrawn
fromthedevice.
SOURCEFOR http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/photovoltaiccellPVCell
ABOVEINFO:
WhatisNREL? TheNationalRenewableEnergyLaboratory(NREL),locatedinGolden,Colorado,istheUnited
States'primarylaboratoryforrenewableenergyandenergyefficiencyresearchanddevelopment.

Whatisthe
NREL'sPVWattsCalculatorisawebapplicationdevelopedbytheNationalRenewableEnergy
PVWatts
Laboratory(NREL)thatestimatestheelectricityproductionofagridconnectedroofor
Calcuatorby
groundmountedphotovoltaicsystembasedonafewsimpleinputs.Tousethecalculator,you
NREL?What
provideinformationaboutthesystem'slocation,basicdesignparameters,andsystemeconomics.
doesitdo?
PVWattscalculatesestimatedvaluesforthesystem'sannualandmonthlyelectricityproduction,

andforthemonetaryvalueoftheelectricity.
SOURCEFOR http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/pvwatts.php
NRELINFO:
Define/explainthedifferentSYSTEMINFOsettingsforthePVWattsCalculator(15sentencesforeach,use
moreifneededandincludediagramsifneeded):

SystemSize
AccordingtoNREL,
TheDCsystemsizeistheDC(directcurrent)powerratingofthephotovoltaic

arrayinkilowatts(kW)atstandardtestconditions(STC).PVWattscanmodelanysizeofarray,

fromresidentialrooftopsystemstolargegroundmountedpowergenerationsystems.
ModuleType
AccordingtoNREL,
Themoduletypedescribesthephotovoltaicmodulesinthearray.Ifyoudonot

haveinformationaboutthemodulesinthesystem,usethedefaultStandardmoduletype.Otherwise,

youcanusethenominalmoduleefficiency,cellmaterial,andtemperaturecoefficientfromthe
moduledatasheettochoosethemoduletype.

ArrayType
AccordingtoNREL,
ThearraytypedescribeswhetherthePVmodulesinthearrayarefixed,or

whethertheymovetotrackthemovementofthesunacrosstheskywithoneortwoaxesofrotation.

Thedefaultvalueisafixed,ornotracking.Usethefollowingdiagramstochoosetheappropriate

optionforyoursystem
SystemLosses AccordingtoNREL,
Thesystemlossesaccountforperformancelossesyouwouldexpectinareal

systemthatarenotexplicitlycalculatedbythePVWattsmodelequations.

Thedefaultvalueforthesystemlossesof14%isbasedonthecategoriesinthetablebelow,and
calculatedasfollows:
100%[1(10.02)(10.03)

(10.02)(10.02)
(10.005)(10.015)
(10.01)(10.03)]=14%
SystemLoss
Categories
(List)

Tilt*MOST
IMPORTANT!

Soiling

Shading

Snow

Mismatch

Wiring

Connections

.5

LightInducedDegradation

1.5

NameplateRating

Age

Availability

AccordingtoNREL,
Thetiltangleistheanglefromhorizontalofthephotovoltaicmodulesinthe
array.Forafixedarray,thetiltangleistheanglefromhorizontalofthearraywhere0=horizontal,
and90=vertical.Forarrayswithoneaxistracking,thetiltangleistheanglefromhorizontalofthe
trackingaxis.Thetiltangledoesnotapplytoarrayswithtwoaxistracking.

Bydefault,PVWattssetsthetiltangleto20degreesforafixedsystem.Ifarraytypeisswitchedto
aoneaxistrackingsystem,thetiltangleissettoadefaultof0degrees.Often,userssetthetiltangle
tothelatitudeoftheselectedlocation.However,settingthetiltequaltothelatitudedoesnot
necessarilymaximizethenetannualoutputofthesystem,aslowertiltanglesfavorpeakproduction
inthesummermonthsandhighertiltanglesfavorlowerirradianceconditionsinthewintermonths.
Designersoftenusealowertiltangletominimizethecostofrackingandmountinghardware,orto
minimizetheriskofwinddamagetothearray.
Azimuth
Whatisit?
Howsitrelate
totrueNorth?
*MOST
IMPORTANT!

DCtoACSize
Ratio

Inverter
Efficiency

AccordingtoNREL,
Forafixedarray,theazimuthangleistheangleclockwisefromtruenorth
describingthedirectionthatthearrayfaces.Anazimuthangleof180isforasouthfacingarray,and
anazimuthangleofzerodegreesisforanorthfacingarray.
Foranarraywithoneaxistracking,theazimuthangleistheangleclockwisefromtruenorthofthe
axisofrotation.Theazimuthangledoesnotapplytoarrayswithtwoaxistracking.
AccordingtoNREL,
TheDCtoACsizeratioistheratiooftheinverter'sACratedsizetothearray's
DCratedsize.Increasingtheratioincreasesthesystem'soutputovertheyear,butalsoincreases
thearray'scost.Thedefaultvalueis1.10,whichmeansthata4kWsystemsizewouldbeforan
arraywitha4DCkWnameplatesizeatstandardtestconditions(STC)andaninverterwitha3.63
ACkWnameplatesize.
AccordingtoNREL,
Theinverter'snominalratedDCtoACconversionefficiency,definedasthe
inverter'sratedACpoweroutputdividedbyitsratedDCpoweroutput.Thedefaultvalueis96%.

SYSTEMPARAMETERSTOINPUT:
DCSystemSize(kW):
5
ModuleType:
Standard
ArrayType:
FixedRoofMount
SystemLosses(%):
18
*WewillvaryTiltandAzimuthbelowandlookathowthisaffectskWhperyearoutputfromthePVsystembygraphingthe
resultswefind.*

PLAYINGWITHTILT(10pts)

o
o
o
o
o
o
Step1:Chooseanazimuthtotest:45
,90
,180
,225
,270
,315

Whichazimuthdidyouchoose:_____90__________

Step2:Varythetiltofthesolarpanelsaccordingtothechartbelowandrecordthepoweroutputperyearinthe
tablebelow.

YOUMUSTCALCULATETHETILTUSINGTRIG.Explainyourstepstodeterminethetiltgiventhepitchbelow,
INCLUDEADIAGRAM.

Roofpitchasrise/run

Tilt(degrees)

3/12
4/12
5/12
6/12
7/12
8/12
9/12
10/12
11/12
12/12

14.0
18.4
22.6
26.6
30.3
33.7
36.9
39.8
42.5
45

kWhperyearoutput
foragivenazimuth
7291
7318
7343
7361
7372
7386
7399
7407
7412
7416

Step3:GraphthekWhperyearoutput(yaxis)versusTilt(xaxis)usingExcel.Labelyouraxesandscales.Use
alinegraphtoplot.Insertgraphbelow.

Step4:Answerthisquestion.Basedonthisgraph,whatistheoptimaltilt(maxkWhperyear)forthisazimuth?

7,415
kWhperhour

PLAYINGWITHAZIMUTH(10pts)

Step1:Chooseatilttotestfromthetableabove.


TiltKeptConstantat:______33.7_________

Step2:Varythetiltofthesolarpanelsaccordingtothechartbelowandrecordthepoweroutputperyearinthe
tablebelow.

Azimuth
0
45
90
135
180
225
270
315

kWhperyearoutput
foragivenazimuth
4406
5610
7386
8421
8648
8081
6947
5224

Step3:GraphthekWhperyearoutput(yaxis)versusAzimuth(xaxis)usingExcel.Labelyouraxesandscales.
Usealinegraphtoplot.Insertgraphbelow.

Step4:Answerthisquestion.Basedonthisgraph,whatistheoptimalazimuth(maxkWhperyear)forthistilt?

8,550kWhperhour

CONCLUSIONS:Basedontheabovecalculations,whatdoyouthinktheoptimalcombinationofazimuthandtilt
isforoptimizingkWhperyearoutputfroma5kWPVsysteminLaPlataCounty?Howcanyoutestthis?

Wefeelthatanazimuthof180degreeswithatiltof30degreeswillgiveyouthebestenergyforyourbuck.

CHALLENGEEXTENSION

1) Measurethepitchoftworooflinesonyourhouseorahouseyoucanaccess.Anddeterminetheazimuth
ofthesetworooflines.ThenusethecalculatorandtheparametersabovetocalculatethekWhperyear
outputforeachroofline.Whichroofwouldyouputthe5kWsystemon?
2) DosomeresearchonnovelPVcells.Writeaonepagesummaryofyourfindings.Citeyoursources.
3) Dosomeresearchonthecostofsolarpanels/PVsystems.Whatisthepayoffperiodforyouroptimal
system?Cite/referenceyoursources.