Tilted Photovoltaic Energy Outputs in Outdoor Environments

Siwei Lou, Wenqiang Chen, Danny H.W. Li, Mo Wang, Hainan Chen, Isaac Y.F. Lun and Dawei Xia
Additional contact information
Siwei Lou: School of Civil Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Wenqiang Chen: Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Danny H.W. Li: Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Mo Wang: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Hainan Chen: School of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Isaac Y.F. Lun: Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham, Ningbo 315100, China
Dawei Xia: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: The direction and environment of photovoltaics (PVs) may influence their energy output. The practical PV performance under various conditions should be estimated, particularly during initial design stages when PV model types are unknown. Previous studies have focused on a limited number of PV projects, which required the details of many PV models; furthermore, the models can be case sensitive. According to the 18 projects conducted in 7 locations (latitude 29.5–51.25N) around the world, we developed polynomials for the crystalline silicon PV energy output for different accessible input variables. A regression tree effectively evaluated the correlations of the outcomes with the input variables; those of high importance were identified. The coefficient of determination, indicating the percentage of datasets being predictable by the input, was higher than 0.65 for 14 of the 18 projects when the polynomial was developed using the accessible variables such as global horizontal solar radiation. However, individual equations should be derived for horizontal cases, indicating that a universal polynomial for crystalline silicon PVs with a tilt angle in the range 0°–66° can be difficult to develop. The proposed model will contribute to evaluating the performance of PVs with low and medium tilt angles for places of similar climates.

Keywords: photovoltaic efficiency; regression tree; polynomial; real-time estimation; universal model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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