Economical and Technical Considerations for Solar Tracking: Methodologies and Opportunities for Energy Management: Methodologies and Opportunities for Energy Management

659 Pages·2017·21.222 MB·English

by  Soulayman, S.

Economical and Technical
Considerations for Solar
Tracking:
Methodologies and
Opportunities for Energy
Management
S. Soulayman
Higher Institute for Applied Sciences and Technology, Syria
A volume in the Advances in Environmental
Engineering and Green Technologies (AEEGT)
Book Series
Published in the United States of America by
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Soulayman, S., 1952- author.
Title: Economical and technical considerations for solar tracking :
methodologies and opportunities for energy management / by S. Soulayman.
Description: Hershey, PA : Engineering Science Reference, [2018] | Includes
bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017011949| ISBN 9781522529507 (h/c) | ISBN 9781522529514
(e-ISBN)
Subjects: LCSH: Solar collectors--Automatic control. | Automatic tracking. |
Sun--Rising and setting. | Solar energy--Economic aspects.
Classification: LCC TJ812 .S685 2018 | DDC 621.47/2--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017011949

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Table of Contents
Preface...................................................................................................................................................vi
Acknowledgment..................................................................................................................................xi
Chapter 1
SolarandCollectorAngles.....................................................................................................................1
Chapter 2
GeographicOrientations.......................................................................................................................67
Chapter 3
ExtraterrestrialSolarRadiation............................................................................................................91
Chapter 4
TerrestrialSolarRadiation..................................................................................................................191
Chapter 5
OptimumTiltAngleDetermine..........................................................................................................294
Chapter 6
SolarTracking.....................................................................................................................................453
Chapter 7
TechnicalConsideration......................................................................................................................518
Chapter 8
EconomicConsideration.....................................................................................................................596
Nomenclature....................................................................................................................................639
Index...................................................................................................................................................645

vi
Preface
SolarenergyistheSun’snuclearfusionreactionswithinthecontinuousenergygenerated.Earth’sorbit,
theaveragesolarradiationintensityis1367kW/m2.CircumferenceoftheEarth’sequatoris40000km,
thuswecancalculatetheenergytheEarthgetsisupto173,000TW.Atsealevelonthestandardpeak
intensityis1kW/m2,apointontheEarth’ssurface24hoftheannualaverageradiationintensityis
0.20kW/m2,orroughly102,000TWofenergy.Humansrelyonsolarenergytosurvive,includingall
otherformsofrenewableenergy(exceptforgeothermalresources).Althoughthetotalamountofsolar
energyresourcesistenthousandtimesoftheenergyusedbyhumans,butthesolarenergydensityis
low,anditisinfluencedbylocation,season,whichisamajorproblemofdevelopmentandutilization
ofsolarenergy.
Thetechnicalfeasibilityandeconomicviabilityofusingsolarenergydependsontheamountofavail-
ablesolarradiationintheareawhereyouintendtoplacesolarheatersorsolarpanels.Thisissometimes
referredtoastheavailablesolarresource.EverypartofEarthisprovidedwithsunlightduringatleast
onepartoftheyear.The“partoftheyear”referstothefactthatthenorthandsouthpolarcapsareeach
intotaldarknessforafewmonthsoftheyear.Theamountofsolarradiationavailableisonefactorto
takeintoaccountwhenconsideringusingsolarenergy.
DayandnightisduetotheEarth’srotationgenerated,buttheseasonisduetotheEarth’srotation
axisandtheEarth’sorbitaroundthesun’saxiswas23°27’angleandgenerated.TheEarthrotatesaround
the“axis”whichthroughitsownnorthandsouthpolesacircuitfromwesttoeasteveryday.Perrevolu-
tionoftheearthcausedayandnight,sotheEarth’srotationperhouris15°.Inaddition,theEarthgoes
throughasmalleccentricityellipticalorbitaroundthesunpercircuitperyear.TheEarth’saxisofrotation
andrevolutionhasalwaysbeen23.5°withtheEarthorbit.TheEarth’srevolutionremainsunchanged
whenthedirectionofspinaxisalwayspointstotheEarth’snorthpole.Therefore,theEarth’sorbitata
differentlocationwhenthesolarradiationisprojectedontothedirectionoftheEarthisdifferent,soit
causestheformationoftheEarth’sseasonschanges.Noonofeachday,thesun’sheightisalwaysthe
highest.Inthetropicallow-latituderegions(intheequatorialnorthandsouthlatitude23°27’between
theregions),solarradiationofeachyear,therearetwoverticalincidencesathigherlatitudes,thesunis
alwaysclosetotheequatordirection.IntheArcticandAntarcticregions(inthenorthernandsouthern
hemispheresaregreaterthan90°~23°27’),inwinterthesunbelowthehorizonforalongtime.
Solarradiationonthehorizontalsurfaceiscomposedoftwoparts-directsolarradiationanddiffuse
radiation.Solarradiationgoesthroughtheatmosphereandreachestheground,duetotheatmosphereair
molecules,watervaporanddust,suchassolarradiationabsorption,reflectionandscattering,notonly
reductionoftheintensityofsolarradiation,butalsotochangethedirectionofsolarradiationandspectral
distributionoftheradiation.Therefore,theactualsolarradiationreachingthegroundisusuallycaused


Preface
bydirectanddiffusionoftwoparts.Directsolarradiationisthesolarradiationdirectlycomingfromthe
sunandthedirectionofthisradiationhasnotbeenchanged;diffusesolarradiationisthereflectionand
scatteringbytheatmospherechangedafterthedirectionofthesolarradiation,whichconsistsofthree
parts:theSunaroundthescattering(surfaceoftheSunaroundtheskylight),horizoncirclescattering
(horizoncirclearoundtheskylightordarklight),andotherskydiffuseradiation.
Inaddition,thenon-horizontalplanealsoreceivesthereflectionofradiationfromtheground.Di-
rectsunlight,diffuseandreflectedsolarradiationshallbethesumofthetotalorglobalsolarradiation.
Itcanrelyonthelensorreflectortofocusondirectsolarradiation.Ifthecondenserrateishigh,you
cangethighenergydensity,butlossofdiffusesolarradiation.Ifthecondenserrateislowitcanalso
condensepartsofthediffusesolarradiation.Diffusesolarradiationhasabigrangeofvariation,and
whenit’scloudless,thediffusesolarradiationis10%ofthetotalsolarradiation.Butwhentheskyis
coveredwithdarkcloudsandthesuncan’tbeseen,thetotalsolarradiationisequaltothediffusesolar
radiation.Therefore,poly-typecollectoriscollectingtheenergyusuallyfarhigherthanthenon-poly-
typecollector.Reflectedsolarradiationisgenerallyweak,butwhenthereissnow-coveredground,the
verticalreflectionsolarradiationcanbeupto40%ofthetotalsolarradiation.
Theobjectiveofthisbookistoprovideaplatformtodisseminatetheknowledgeregardingeco-
nomicalandtechnicalconsiderationsoflongtermandshorttermsolartrackingtoundergraduateand
postgraduatestudents,learners,professionalanddesignerswithfocusingonthemethodologiesand
opportunitiesforenergymanagement.Inordertoachievethementionedabovegoalitisimportantto
buildtheknowledgebasefortreatingthemosteffectiveparameters.Therefore,apparentSunposition
inrelationtotheEarth’scenteraswellastotheobserverontheEarth’ssurfaceshouldbedetermined.
Then,themaximumsunshinedurationonthesurfacewithdifferentorientationsshouldbecalculated.
Themaximalsolarirradianceonsurfaceswithdifferentorientationshouldbeprovidedaswellasthe
differentmodesofsolartrackingandtheresultingmaximalpossibleinstantaneousenergygainshould
begiven.TheinfluenceoftheEarth’satmosphereonthedifferentcomponentofthereceivedsolar
radiationisanimportantfactortobeconsidered.Severalmodelsareproposedfortreatingthisques-
tion.Therefore,itisreasonabletobrieflycommentthesemodelsandtosuggestsomeofthemforusing
withinthisbook.Solarreceiveroptimumtiltangleisoneofthemostimportantfactorstheaffectsthe
gainofsolarsysteminthelongtermtrackingaswellasintheazimuthalsingleaxistracking.Therefore,
thequestionofoptimumtiltfindingshouldbetreatedindetailswithgivingrealandpreciseresultsfor
differentusers.Solartrackingisoneofthemainpartsofthepresentbook.Therefore,itisimportantto
treatthisquestioninarespectablemanner.Ageneralformulawasproposedtodescribethemovement
ofthedualaxistrackers.Anotherformulawasalsodeducedforasingleaxistracker.Somecomments
wereprovidedontheeffectivenessofdualsolartrackinginrelationtolatitudetiltedfixedPVpanelsas
wellasinrelationtopanelsinstalledwithanoptimumearlytiltanglefromtechnicalpointofviewas
wellasfromeconomicpointofview.
Thus,thepresentbookhasbeenwrittenineightchapterstostudyabasicknowledgeofSun’sstruc-
tureanditsradiation.
Chapter1describesthedevelopmentofequationstocalculatetheanglebetweenacollectoraperture
normalandacentralrayfromtheSun.Thisdevelopmentisdonefirstforfixedandthenfortrackingcol-
lectors.Theseequationsarethenusedtoprovideinsightintosolaranglesmeasurementandgeographic
orientation.WedefinedfirsttheSun’spositionanglesrelativetoEarth-centercoordinatesandthento
coordinatesatanarbitrarylocationontheEarth’ssurface.Inthedesignofsolarenergysystems,itismost
importanttobeabletopredicttheanglebetweentheSun’sraysandavectornormal(perpendicular)to
vii
Preface
theapertureorsurfaceofthecollector.Thisangleiscalledtheangleofincidence.Knowingthisangle
isofcriticalimportancetothesolardesigner,sincethemaximumamountofsolarradiationenergythat
couldreachacollectorisreducedbythecosineofthisangle.
Chapter2describesaninstrument(magneticdeclinationdevice)whichcouldbeusedfordetermining
thegeographicnorthofthesitewhereasolarsystemwillbeinstalled.Theuseofthemagneticdeclina-
tiondeviceallowsdeterminetheazimuthangleofthesolarcollectorsinthesolarsystems.Thisangleis
requiredinchoosingthebestorientationofthesolarcollectoraswellasintheprocessofsolartracking.
Chapter3treatsthetopicsthatarebasedonextraterrestrialsolarradiation.Differentformulaefor
calculatingtheextraterrestrialsolarradiationonsurfaceswithdifferentorientationsareprovided.
ThisisbackgroundinformationforchapterIVwhichisconcernedwitheffectsoftheatmosphere,
radiationmeasurementsanddatamanipulation.Themainconceptsofthedirectgeometricfactorcal-
culationusingdifferentmodesoftrackingareprovided.Theshorttermsolarenergycollectionisalso
introduced.Chapter4describesmethods(andgivescommentsontheirapplications)fortheestima-
tionofsolarradiationinformationinthedesiredformatfromthedatathatareavailable.Thisincludes
estimationofaverageglobalsolarradiationonthehorizontalplaneusingsunshinehourdurationbased
methods,ambientairtemperaturebasedmethods,cloudcoverbasedmethods,satellite-basedmodels
andothers.Itincludesalsoestimationofbeamanddiffusesolarradiationfromtotalsolarradiationon
thehorizontalplaneaswellasonthetiltedsurfaces.
IntheChapter5,ageneralalgorithmisproposedfortreatingtheoptimumtiltanglesofsolarreceiv-
ers,β ,allovertheworld.Thetheoreticalaspectsthatdeterminetheoptimaltiltangle,regardingto
opt
maximumsolarenergycollection,areexamined.Thecomputerprogramisusedindeterminingthe
optimaltiltangleofanysiteattheEarth’ssurfacebetween66.45oSand66.45oN.Aregressionanalysis
usingsite’slatitude,solardeclinationangleanditscorrespondingoptimaltiltangleisconductedto
developamathematicalmodelthatallowsthedeterminationoftheoptimaltiltangleatwhichmaximum
solarradiationiscollectedusingonlythesite’slatitudeandthedaynumberoftheyear.Acomparison
withavailableexperimentalandtheoreticalresultsfromotherresearchersisprovided.Asetoftables
wereprovidedinchapterV,wherethedaily,β ,monthly,β ,seasonally,β ,biannually,β ,
opt,d opt,m opt,s opt,b
andyearly,β ,optimumtiltanglesareprovidedintheappendixofthischapter.
opt,y
Chapter6treatsthedifferentaspectsofshorttermtracking.InthischapterVI,ageneralformula
foron-axissun-trackingsystemhasbeenderivedusingcoordinatetransformationmethod.Thederived
sun-trackingformulaisthemostgeneralformofmathematicalsolutionforvariouskindsofarbitrarily
orientedon-axissuntracker,whereazimuth-elevationandtilt-rolltrackingformulasarespecificcases.
Althoughtherotationangleisanintermediatevaluefordeterminingtheincidenceangle,ithasapplica-
tionsofitsownforthecontroloftrackermovementandformodelingthesolarradiationavailablefor
acollector.Foramotorizedtrackerwithfixedgearing,thetrackerrotationisdirectlyproportionalto
thenumberofmotorrevolutions;consequently,thecalculatedrotationanglecanbeusedtodetermine
thenumberofmotorrevolutionstomovethetrackertoitsoptimumposition.Whenmodelingcollector
solarradiation,therotationanglecanalsobeusedtoaccountfornon-optimumtrackingthatmayoccur
whentheoptimumrotationangleexceedstherotationlimitsofthetracker.ChapterVIshedsalighton
theprocedureofrotationalangledetermination.
InChapter7,theconceptofenergygainisintroduced.Theenergygainisveryusefulinevaluating
theperformanceofdifferenttypesoftracking.Thisconceptallowstoevaluatetheeffectivenessofdaily,
weekly,fortnightly,monthly,seasonally,biannuallyandyearlyadjustmentofthesolarreceivertiltangle
viii
Preface
inrelationwiththeidealinstantaneousdualtracking,wherethesunraysarekeptpermanentlyperpen-
diculartotheflat-platesurfaceofthereceiver.Thus,theincidenceangleiskepttobezeroalloverthe
day.Thisevaluationdeterminestheoptimumtiltapplicationoveranyperiodofconsecutivedaysfrom
technicalpointofview.AsetoftableswereprovidedinchapterVII,wherethedaily,monthly,season-
ally,biannuallyandyearlyenergygainsinthecaseoflongtermtrackingareprovidedintheappendix
ofthischapter.
Sincethefutureofsolartrackingdependsonthecostofsolartrackersandofthegainedsolarenergy,
Chapter8shedsalightontheprinciplesoftheeconomicanalysisingeneral.Theseprincipleswereap-
pliedonthesolarthermalpowersystemofcommercialscale.Itshouldbenotedherethat,energyprice
isoneofthemostinfluentialfactorsinallcasestudies,yetitisamongthemostvolatileindexesinthe
worldmarketscale.Anydeviationinenergypricemaysignificantlychangethefinancialfeasibilityof
anyproject.Thecomparisonofdualaxistrackingsystemwithrelationtohorizontal,latitudetiltedand
yearlyoptimumtiltedfixedsolarsystemsofthesamekindofPVsolarpanelsfromeconomicpointof
viewisconsidered.Itisprovedthat,dualaxistrackingbecomesmoreeconomicthanlatitudetiltedfixed
PVsystemswithincreasingthePVpanels’area.Ontheotherhand,dualaxistrackingisnoteconomic
inthesunnybeltcountriesbecauseoftemperatureeffectontheperformanceofPVsystems.Moreover,
trackedandfixedPVsystemsoflargescalearenoteconomicwithrelationtotraditionalsourcesof
energy.Anyway,thediffusionofphotovoltaicsystemsishindereduntiltodaybyhighinvestmentcosts.
However,PVpowergenerationisjustifiedforspecialpurposes.Itisclearlydemonstratedthat,thesmall
scaleapplicationssuchastelecommunicationsystems,ruralelectrification,cathodeprotectionandwater
liftingareeconomicallyfeasible.
Inordertomakethebookuseful,theusefulrelationshipsinequations,graphicalandtabularform
weregivenwhereveritispossible.TherecommendedstandardnomenclatureoftheJournal of Solar
Energyisusedexceptsforafewcaseswhereadditionalsymbolshavebennneededforclarity.Forex-
ample,Gisusedforsolarirradiance(Wm-2),Iisusedforintegratedquantityoveranhour(MJm-2)and
H(MJm-2)isusedforintegratedquantityoveraperiodoftime(minimumonedayandmaximumone
year).Therefore,wehavedaily,H ,weekly,H ,fortnightly,H ,monthly,H ,seasonally,H ,bian-
d w f m s
nually,H ,andyearly,H ,solarradiation.Moreover,theunitsandsymbolsfollow,mainly,thosesug-
b y
gestedinSolarEnergyJournal.S.I.unitshavebeenusedthroughoutthebook.
Numeroussourceshavebeenusedinwritingthisbook.ThebookofDuffieandBeckman(2013)is
oneofthemostusefulbookswithregardtothesubjectsof1,3,and4chaptersofthisbook.Thebook
ofTiwari(2010)isfoundtobehelpfulespeciallyinpreparingChapter8.ThejournalsofSolarEnergy,
RenewableEnergy,EnergyandEnergyConversionandManagementareveryusefulforallchaptersof
thisbook.Theycontainavarietyofpapersondifferenttopics.ThepublicationsofNREL-thenational
laboratoryoftheU.S.DepartmentofEnergy-arealsoused.Inadditiontotheabove-mentionedsources,
thereexistsaverylargeandgrowingbodyofliteratureintheformofreportstoandbygovernment
agencieswhichcontainusefulinformationnotreadilyavailableelsewhere.
Thisbookhasbeenaimedtoprovideagreatinsightinthesubjectparticularlytothelearningstudents
andprofessionalsdoingself-study.Inspiteofmybestefforts,someerrorsmighthavebeencreptinthe
text.Iwelcomethesuggestionsandcomments,ifany,fromallreadersforfurtherimprovementofthe
bookinthenextedition.
ix