Determination of the solar cell panel installation angle

The output power of the solar cell panel is highly affected by the sunlight incident angle. The efficiency can be improved if the solar cell panel is properly installed with the optimum angle. The relationship between the sunlight incident angle and the sunlight radiation intensity on the solar cell panel surface is presented in this paper. Genetic algorithms with climatic date are used to find out the optimum installation angle of the solar cell panel for different locations in Taiwan. The best monthly and annual installation angles obtained by computer simulations are presented. Hardware experimental results indicate that the actual best monthly installation angles are very close to the computer simulation results. A database information inquiry system based on the computer simulation results is developed by using the computer language C⁺⁺ Builder. It can provide the sufficient installation information for both the stand-alone and grid-connected photovoltaic power generation systems.