Investigating the Effects of Solar Tracking Systems on Thermal Profile of Photovoltaic Modules

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5025
Author(s):  
David González-Peña ◽  
Ignacio García-Ruiz ◽  
Montserrat Díez-Mediavilla ◽  
Mª. Isabel Dieste-Velasco ◽  
Cristina Alonso-Tristán

Prediction of energy production is crucial for the design and installation of PV plants. In this study, five free and commercial software tools to predict photovoltaic energy production are evaluated: RETScreen, Solar Advisor Model (SAM), PVGIS, PVSyst, and PV*SOL. The evaluation involves a comparison of monthly and annually predicted data on energy supplied to the national grid with real field data collected from three real PV plants. All the systems, located in Castile and Leon (Spain), have three different tilting systems: fixed mounting, horizontal-axis tracking, and dual-axis tracking. The last 12 years of operating data, from 2008 to 2020, are used in the evaluation. Although the commercial software tools were easier to use and their installations could be described in detail, their results were not appreciably superior. In annual global terms, the results hid poor estimations throughout the year, where overestimations were compensated by underestimated results. This fact was reflected in the monthly results: the software yielded overestimates during the colder months, while the models showed better estimates during the warmer months. In most studies, the deviation was below 10% when the annual results were analyzed. The accuracy of the software was also reduced when the complexity of the dual-axis solar tracking systems replaced the fixed installation.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1074
Author(s):  
Raul Rotar ◽  
Sorin Liviu Jurj ◽  
Flavius Opritoiu ◽  
Mircea Vladutiu

This paper presents a mathematical approach for determining the reliability of solar tracking systems based on three fault coverage-aware metrics which use system error data from hardware, software as well as in-circuit testing (ICT) techniques, to calculate a solar test factor (STF). Using Euler’s named constant, the solar reliability factor (SRF) is computed to define the robustness and availability of modern, high-performance solar tracking systems. The experimental cases which were run in the Mathcad software suite and the Python programming environment show that the fault coverage-aware metrics greatly change the test and reliability factor curve of solar tracking systems, achieving significantly reduced calculation steps and computation time.


Author(s):  
Vinicius N. Kuhn ◽  
Frank Gonzatti ◽  
Diogo Franchi ◽  
Maicon Miotto ◽  
Miguel N. Camargo ◽  
...  

The paper presents a classification of solar tracking systems used in photovoltaic power stations (PVS) and their operating principles. A simulation model of a grid-connected 5-kW PVS has been developed in PVsyst, to which end the researchers selected PVS equipment and optimized the PV cell tilt angles. The paper further analyzes a grid-connected PVS in Orenburg Oblast in PVsyst under the following configurations: static PV cells, not tilted vs seasonally varied tilts; single-axis solar trackers with vertical and horizontal axes of rotation vs a dual-axis solar tracker. The analysis is based on solar insolation data for 2019 obtained from the research team’s HP-2000 weather station. Dual-axis solar tracker and single-axis vertical trackers are shown to have the best year-round generation, providing an increase of 13.2% and 11.5%, respectively, against the static PV cells (no change in tilt).


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 2863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen Jong-Woei Whang ◽  
Tsai-Hsien Yang ◽  
Zhong-Hao Deng ◽  
Yi-Yung Chen ◽  
Wei-Chieh Tseng ◽  
...  

Daylighting systems make daylight illuminance possible, and the development of prototype daylighting systems can provide more efficient daylight illuminance. The purpose of this article is to review the development and performance of prototype daylighting systems in the last decade. The passive and active daylighting systems are listed separately and divided into the four categories by the presence and absence of hybrid. Each prototype daylighting system was evaluated in terms of cost and daylight performance and as well as their novel optical design. We evaluated the architecture and daylighting principles of each system by reviewing individual prototype daylighting systems. The cost of prototype systems still poses a challenge to development. How to use passive or active systems in different environments and whether or not electrical lighting assistance is needed is a controversial issue. However, active daylighting systems equipped with solar tracking systems are still mainstream. This research is a valuable resource for daylight researchers and newcomers. It is helpful to understand the advantages of various prototype daylighting systems and commercial daylighting systems that have been developed for many years; moreover, it is also possible to know the research directions suggested by the prototype daylighting systems. These will be of further use in developing innovative and better daylighting systems and designs.


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