Modelling the efficiency of terrestrial photovoltaic systems

A computer simulation capable of investigating the interrelationship of module packing densities and module inclination angles and their effects on overall energy yield for a given PV system installation area is presented. It is demonstrated that the simulation is a useful tool in the optimization o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Ian R. Cole, Ralph Gottschalg
Format:	Default Conference proceeding
Published:	2010
Subjects:	Shading Simulation Irradiance distribution Tracking PV array
Online Access:	https://hdl.handle.net/2134/8170
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id	rr-article-9559445
record_format	Figshare
spelling	rr-article-95594452010-01-01T00:00:00Z Modelling the efficiency of terrestrial photovoltaic systems Ian R. Cole (7201472) Ralph Gottschalg (1247661) Shading Simulation Irradiance distribution Tracking PV array A computer simulation capable of investigating the interrelationship of module packing densities and module inclination angles and their effects on overall energy yield for a given PV system installation area is presented. It is demonstrated that the simulation is a useful tool in the optimization of proposed system designs, the analysis of electrical performance and, moreover, the prediction of the occurrence of degenerative system effects such as hot-spots. In one case, it is shown that increasing the system height to module spacing ratio from 0.18 to 0.24 results in potentially severe shading effects. Results for Seville (Spain) and Loughborough (UK) are compared. The potential pros and cons of tracking systems are demonstrated, in that elevation only tracking results in an annual irradiance harvest reduction of 0.4% in Loughborough and increase of 3.4% in Seville. Varying module inclination angles shows how significant irradiance losses can occur when static PV arrays are not optimally mounted, reducing the inclination from 40 degrees to zero results in an annual irradiance harvest reduction of ~20% in Seville and ~14% in Loughborough. 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Text Conference contribution 2134/8170 https://figshare.com/articles/conference_contribution/Modelling_the_efficiency_of_terrestrial_photovoltaic_systems/9559445 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
institution	Loughborough University
collection	Figshare
topic	Shading Simulation Irradiance distribution Tracking PV array
spellingShingle	Shading Simulation Irradiance distribution Tracking PV array Ian R. Cole Ralph Gottschalg Modelling the efficiency of terrestrial photovoltaic systems
description	A computer simulation capable of investigating the interrelationship of module packing densities and module inclination angles and their effects on overall energy yield for a given PV system installation area is presented. It is demonstrated that the simulation is a useful tool in the optimization of proposed system designs, the analysis of electrical performance and, moreover, the prediction of the occurrence of degenerative system effects such as hot-spots. In one case, it is shown that increasing the system height to module spacing ratio from 0.18 to 0.24 results in potentially severe shading effects. Results for Seville (Spain) and Loughborough (UK) are compared. The potential pros and cons of tracking systems are demonstrated, in that elevation only tracking results in an annual irradiance harvest reduction of 0.4% in Loughborough and increase of 3.4% in Seville. Varying module inclination angles shows how significant irradiance losses can occur when static PV arrays are not optimally mounted, reducing the inclination from 40 degrees to zero results in an annual irradiance harvest reduction of ~20% in Seville and ~14% in Loughborough.
format	Default Conference proceeding
author	Ian R. Cole Ralph Gottschalg
author_facet	Ian R. Cole Ralph Gottschalg
author_sort	Ian R. Cole (7201472)
title	Modelling the efficiency of terrestrial photovoltaic systems
title_short	Modelling the efficiency of terrestrial photovoltaic systems
title_full	Modelling the efficiency of terrestrial photovoltaic systems
title_fullStr	Modelling the efficiency of terrestrial photovoltaic systems
title_full_unstemmed	Modelling the efficiency of terrestrial photovoltaic systems
title_sort	modelling the efficiency of terrestrial photovoltaic systems
publishDate	2010
url	https://hdl.handle.net/2134/8170
_version_	1797470592515964928

Modelling the efficiency of terrestrial photovoltaic systems

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