Comparison of optimum tilt angles of solar collectors determined at yearly, seasonal and monthly levels

• Optimum yearly, biannual, seasonal, monthly, and daily tilt angles were found.
• Energy collected per square meter is compared for ten different scenarios.
• Four seasonal scenarios and two biannual scenarios were considered.
• It is sufficient to adjust tilt angles only twice per year.

The amount of energy that is transformed in solar collector depends on its tilt angle with respect to horizontal plane and orientation of the collector. In this article the optimum tilt angle of solar collectors for Belgrade, which is located at the latitude of 44°47′N is determined. The optimum tilt angle was found by searching for the values for which the solar radiation on the collector surface is maximum for a particular day or a specific period. In that manner the yearly, biannual, seasonal, monthly, fortnightly, and daily optimum tilt angles are determined. Annually collected energy per square meter of tilted surface is compared for ten different scenarios. In addition, these optimum tilt angles are used to calculate the amount of energy on the surface of PV panels that could be installed at the roof of the building. The results show that for observed case study placing the panels at yearly, seasonal and monthly optimum tilt angles, would yield increasing yearly amount of collected energy by factor of 5.98%, 13.55%, and 15.42% respectively compared to energy that could be collected by putting the panels at current roofs’ surface angles.