A new methodology to optimise solar energy extraction under cloudy conditions

The orientation and tilt position of the solar panel affect the amount of solar radiation that falls on the panel surface over the course of the day and indeed the year. The choice of tilt angle for a solar panel is fundamental to its efficient operation because incorrectly positioning the solar panel leads to an unnecessary loss in potential power. In the past, much work has been done by authors to determine the optimum tilt angle by applying existing models to their locations. This approach has been successful in climates with the most favourable solar potential, where greater than 90 percent of the solar radiation arrives as direct beam radiation. The accuracy of these models in these locations has been attributed to the low presence of cloud cover and the consequential dominance of the beam radiation portion of the global radiation. Countries located above 45 degrees N however, (Northern Europe), require a different approach to optimising the tilt angle as they receive the least amount of direct radiation with approximately half arriving as diffuse radiation, due to frequent, heavy cloud cover. This paper reviews existing methods and describes a means of predicting the solar radiation in a frequently overcast climate and proposes a method for choosing the optimum tilt angle in such a climate. The effect of different load profiles on the optimum tilt angle is also investigated. The solar radiation model is then used to predict the solar radiation for Cairo, Egypt to show that the model has a global application and is not limited to frequently overcast climates. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.