Determining seasonal optimum tilt angles, solar radiations on variously oriented, single and double axis tracking surfaces at Dhaka

The performance of a solar radiation conversion system is affected by its orientation and tilt angle with the horizontal plane. This is because both of these parameters change the amount of solar energy received by the surface of solar system. Three mathematical models- the Isotropic, the Klucher and the Perez model for the point source with parameters optimized for a variety of climatic conditions have been employed to determine hourly and seasonal optimum tilt angles. Theoretical optimum tilt angles (10° for Mar–Sep and 40° for Oct–Feb) were compared with measured data for Nov 2007 to Oct 2008 at Dhaka. The anisotropic Perez model showed least rmse of 0.09 for monthly tilt factor estimation. This model was also used for theoretical study of solar radiation on variously oriented, single axis and double axis tracking surfaces.