Good morning,

I would like to know if Pvsol incorporates a formula to calculate the energy losses associated with a slope and azimuth not optimal. If the answer is yes, could you tell me the mathematical equation.

Thanks.

Esteban.

Hi Esteban,

in PV*SOL we calculate the irradiation on the module (tilted plane) for every simulation time step (one hour or one minute) of the year. The model we use for that is the one of Hay & Davies, see here for more details:

https://help.valentin-software.com/pvsol/2018/calculation/irradiation/

You'll also find a very good collection of models in the recently published paper by Loutzenhiser, the model of Hay & Davies is also mentioned there:

http://www.physics.arizona.edu/~cronin/Solar/References/Irradiance Models and Data/LMF07.pdf

 

If you want to know the loss in electrical energy due to a not optimally inclined module, you would have to first simulate your PV system with optimally oriented modules, write down the PV energy, and then simulate with your other tilt angle and compare the results.

In order to get the optimal tilt angle, you'll have to click the small calculator button next to the inclination input on the PV module page.

Hope that answered your question, kind regards,

Martin