Solar Energy Yield for Three Mounting Systems

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This Demonstration compares daily solar energy yield obtained with five type of mounting systems: fixed (yellow) , horizontal (orange dashed), polar (blue dashed), vertical axis (red dashed), and two-axis tracker (green), based on solar data and latitude of the SunMine project in Kimberley, BC, Canada.

Contributed by: Michel de Spot (December 2013)
Open content licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


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This graphic is provided in the context of the SunMine project in Kimberley. It compares the solar energy captured by five different solar panels' mounting systems:

• fixed at at an angle normally set to optimize the yearly energy yield,

• horizontal (rotating around an east-west axis),

• polar (rotating around an axis more or less parallel to the Earth's axis),

• vertical axis tracker ( a fixed-slope panel rotating from east to west to follow the sun's azimuth),

• dual axis ( following the sun in both directions (azimuth and elevation).

The graphic shows the total daily solar energy yield for the five systems, based on a clear sunny day, every day. Solar energy is composed of a varying proportion of direct and diffuse irradiation. The efficiencies of the trackers are greater on days with clear skies than on cloudy days.



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