Investigation of solar tracking performance using isotropic and anisotropic models. Issue 3 (4th May 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Batayneh, Wafa; Bataineh, Ahmad; Soliman, Ibrahim
• Is Part Of: Advances in building energy research. Volume 15:Issue 3(2021)
• Page Start: 390
• Page End: 408
• Publication Date: 2021-05-04
• Subjects: Solar tracking -- isotropic model -- anisotropic model -- single axis -- dual axis -- system performance; Sustainable buildings -- Design and construction -- Periodicals; Architecture and energy conservation -- Periodicals; Buildings -- Energy conservation -- Periodicals; 696
• DOI: 10.1080/17512549.2019.1625810
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-2549

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This work presents a study in the theoretical and experimental performance of PV cells and tracking surfaces using the isotropic and anisotropic (HDKR) models' simulations for single and dual axis systems. The solar spatial and temporal coordinates are obtained for the experiment site during Julian days throughout the year. From there, further simulations are performed using Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data to evaluate various incident irradiance parameters on tracking surfaces. Experiments with different systems including fixed, single-axis, and dual-axis systems are conducted and compared with simulation results. The simulation outcomes show a gain in PV power generation of around 6% in the anisotropic system compared to the isotropic model prototype. However, experiments show no difference between both models in dual-axis trackers. By using TMY data for optimization of tracking angles, the dual-axis trackers performance gain is 8.5% in PV power generation compared to single-axis system, and a 37% gain is observed compared to fixed-tilted PV cell. Finally, the tracking systems' optimized angles are not a function of the model used (isotropic/anisotropic) during summer months.