Have you ever wondered what or why the solar panel angle calculator I required?
Your solar panels must be positioned toward the sun to maximize performance. The solar angle calculator determines the ideal angle for your solar panel system. In this article, I will tell you about the solar tilt angle and how to find the optimal tilt angle for your solar farm. There are many benefits of solar farm if the panel place at perfect angel.
As the sun moves throughout the day, you need to have your solar panels angled to track the sun minute by minute to get the most out of your solar system. For this task, you are required to have a tilt-angle calculator.
This calculator illustrates the change in the sun’s angle daily. The ideal angle for your panel varies throughout the year, depending on the seasons and location.
4 Methods to find Angle using solar panel angle calculator:-
Below are the methods to calculate the optimal tilt angle for your solar panel according to your location.
- Solar Panel Tilt Angle Calculator
- Simple Rules of Thumb
- The PVWatts Calculator
- A Stanford Research Team’s Tilt Angle Formulas
Let’s discuss them in detail.
1. Solar panel tilt angle calculator
Different websites use tilt angle calculators differently. But most of the time, there is a box on the sites where you are asked to enter your location in the form of an address, city, or zip code.
Then you have to select one of the given locations from the drop-down menu according to your search. As soon as you press enter, it will show your location’s optimal solar panel tilt angle for the year.
Alternatively, you can also use the “use your location option.”
2. Simple rules of thumb
There are 2 simple rules of thumb for calculating your optimal tilt angle.
- Set your solar panel tilt angle equal to your latitude.
- Subtract 15° in the summer. Add 15° in the winter.
As I live in Atlanta, according to Google Maps, the latitude in my area is 33.7°. To use the rule of thumb, I’ll take my optimal tilt angle for a year to be 33.7°. To find it according to the summer seasons, I’ll subtract 15° from the optimal grade, i.e., 33.7°-15°= 18.7°. So, 18.7° will be my optimal tilt angle for summer.
Likewise, for winter, I’ll add 15° to my optimal tilt angle, i.e., 33.7°+15°= 48.7°. This will be my optimal tilt angle for the winter season. For spring and fall, it will be the same as 33.7°.
3. The PVWatts calculator
It is a solar energy calculator by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). To use this calculator, you must go to its official website PVWatts Calculator, where you are asked to enter your address. After entering the sermon, click on “go.”
Then check if the map has found your correct location or not. If it did, click “Go to system info.” On that page, try entering different values in the “Tilt” field until you find the tilt angle that generates the most electricity. Start typing any number, then click “Go to PVWatts results.”
There is no way for the PVWatts Calculator to tell you the optimal tilt angle. You have to try again and again for the best result.
4. A Stanford research team’s tilt angle formulas
This is based on Stanford’s research paper. The researchers analyzed optimal tilt angles for all countries worldwide using PVWatts. After that, they compute two formulas to find the optimal fixed-tilt PV angle for any location based on the latitude.
If you live in the northern hemisphere (latitude > 0):
Optimal tilt angle (northern hemisphere) = 1.3793 + Φ(1.2011 + Φ(-0.014404 + Φ0.000080509))
If you live in the southern hemisphere (latitude < 0)
Optimal tilt angle (southern hemisphere) = -0.41657 + Φ(1.4216 + Φ(0.024051 + Φ0.00021828))
Here, (Φ = latitude).
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Frequently Asked Question:-
- What is the optimum tilt angle?
The solar panels’ optimum tilt angle is the angle at which they will receive the most sunlight over a longer duration. Instead of following the sun every hour or month, we should install solar panels in the ideal position for a specific period.
- What are the optimum tilt angles for twice-adjusted solar panels?
For twice-adjusted solar panels, the first half-year is from March to August the optimum tilt angle for this time will be 16°. While the second half-year is from September to February, the optimum tilt angle for this time will be 59°.
- Why optimize your solar panel tilt angle?
We need to optimize our solar panel tile angle because of the changes in the direction of sun rays and seasonal changes. We require the maximum absorption of solar radiation for energy generation. So, we have to incline our solar panels at such an angle that the panels can harness a large amount of solar energy.
Conclusion
As you have read about the solar panel tilt angle calculator for your solar system, I have also explained the different methods you can use to find the optimal tilt angle throughout the year and for every season. Now, you can find the ideal tilt position for your solar panel to achieve higher efficiency.
Ray is an avid reader and writer with over 25 years of experience serving various domestic and multinational private and public energy companies in the USA.