Abstract :
Solar panels are one of the most promising renewable technologies for energizing future buildings. For roof top solar panel installations,
knowledge of the optimum tilt angle is important to have the maximum annual or seasonal energy yield. The annual optimum tilt
angle is dependent on many factors such as the latitude of the location and the weather condition. In an urban application, the optimum
tilt angle can be affected by the surrounding obstacles. Consequently, new concerns such as shading or sky blocking effects have to be
taken into consideration. In this paper, a simple method is proposed based on a modified sky model to calculate the optimum angle of
installation for the urban applications. The obtained results demonstrate the dependency of the optimum angle of installation on the
latitude, weather condition and surroundings.
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