Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology 3(12): 1384-1390, 2011 ISSN: 2040-7467 Maxwell Scientific Organization,

, 2011 Submitted: July 11, 2011 Accepted: September 25, 2011 Published: December 26, 2011

Influence of Orientation on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Conversion System in Nigeria

M.S. Okundamiya and 2A.N. Nzeako Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ambrose Alli University, P.M.B. 14, Ekpoma-310006, Nigeria 2 Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka-410001, Nigeria
1 1

Abstract: This study investigates the effects of orientation of photovoltaic surface and proposes the optimum tilt angle for a photovoltaic array oriented due south in three cities in Nigeria (Abuja, Benin City and Katsina). Three optimization methods (monthly based, seasonal based and annual based) are implemented. The inclination of the surface is assumed to be varying from 0 to 90 with an increment of 1, and the total global solar radiation on the tilted surface is estimated using the Hay-Davis-Klucher-Reindl (HDKR) Model. Analysis indicates that the photovoltaic (PV) surface positioned at monthly optimized tilt angles will generate an increase exceeding 10% of its annual total irradiance. Key words: Global solar irradiance, HDKR model, Nigeria, optimum tilt angle, orientation, photovoltaic INTRODUCTION The present day climate change problems have led to the search for renewable energy sources in order to maintain a green environment (Cetin et al., 2009). The problems are caused by emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, which are generated by intensive burning of fossil fuels in order to satisfy the growing energy needs of humanity. Global emission reduction targets and the growing anxiety on the impeding scarcity of fossil resources make a transition of the energy system towards a carbon free electricity supply necessary (Aboumahboub et al., 2010a, b; Borghesi, 2010). Renewable energy technology is capable of alleviating the already over stretched ecosystem. It is capable of supplying the energy needed for rapid developments, especially in rural areas. One of the applications of the renewable energy technology is the installation of photovoltaic (PV) systems that generate power without emitting pollutants and requiring no fuel. This application is well-known in both developed and developing countries (Kurokawa and Ikki, 2001). It involves Building Integrated PV (BIPV) or stand-alone PV systems that absorbs solar radiation and converts it to electricity. Global solar radiation varies with geographical latitude, season, and time of the day due to the various sun positions in the sky. This creates the problem of designing the orientation and optimum tilt (inclination) angle of a PV module in order to optimize the global solar radiation collection at fixed latitudes. The performance of the PV Conversion System (PVCS) is highly dependent on its orientation, optical and geometric properties, macro- and micro-climatic conditions, geographical position, and period of use (Yang and Lu, 2007; Gunerhan and Hepbasli, 2007). The orientation of the PV surface is described by its tilt angle ($) and the azimuth ((), both related to the horizontal. The orientation is considered to be optimal when facing south (in the northern hemisphere) or when facing north (in the southern hemisphere), as suggested in previous works (Calabro, 2009; Ahmad and Tiwari, 2009). A prior requirement for the design of fixed PVCS is the knowledge of its optimum tilt angle that maximizes its collected solar radiation (Kern and Harris, 1975). This depends on latitude (L ), solar declination (*), and days of the year. Qiu and Riffat (2003) suggested that the tilt angle of the PV surface set within the optimum tilt angle of 10 as an acceptable practice. Yang and Lu (2007) recommend that the tilt angle exceeding 40 should be avoided. Other recommendations for optimum tilt angle are based only on the latitude (Gunerhan and Hepbasli, 2007; Ulgen, 2006). In previous studies, the authors (Okundamiya and Nzeako, 2010; 2011a) developed correlations between monthly mean daily global solar radiations on a horizontal surface and monthly mean daily ambient temperatures (minimum and maximum), and between the monthly mean daily diffuse and global solar radiations on a horizontal surface as a function of the clearness index for selected cities in Nigeria (Okundamiya and Nzeako, 2011b). This study examines the influence of orientation of a south-facing photovoltaic surface and proposes the optimum tilt angles for harvesting solar electricity in three cities in Nigeria (Abuja, Benin City and Katsina). The

Corresponding Author: M.S. Okundamiya, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ambrose Alli University, P.M.B. 14, Ekpoma, Nigeria

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Fig. 1: Map of study locations in Nigeria

locations of these three cities in Nigeria are shown in Fig. 1, where Abuja is located on latitude 9.08 and longitude 7.53, Benin City on latitude 6.34 and longitude 5.63, and Katsina on latitude 13.00 and longitude 7.60. MATERIALS AND METHODS A ten-year (1996 - 2005) data set of monthly mean daily minimum and maximum ambient temperatures are obtained from the archives of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, 2011) for the study locations. These data sets are applied to the temperaturebased (Okundamiya and Nzeako, 2010) and diffuse solar radiation (Okundamiya and Nzeako, 2011b) models. The computation of the global solar irradiance on the tilted PV array is based on the Hay-Davis-Klucher-Reindl (HDKR) model (Duffie and Beckman, 2006), with the ground reflectance (albedo) assumed to be 0.2 and the azimuth has been fixed at 0 in this study. The detailed analysis is presented in the Appendix. In order to achieve maximum global solar radiation on the PV surface, three optimization methods: monthly based, seasonal based and annual based, are implemented. The monthly based optimization method uses a fixed monthly average tilt angle, while the seasonal and annual methods utilize a fixed seasonal average tilt and fixed annual tilt angles, respectively. This study was carried out in Benin City between January and July 2011. SIMULATION AND RESULTS The study made use of a computer program written in MATLAB programming language. The program computes the global solar irradiance on the tilted PV array

using the data discussed above. The angle of inclination varies from 0 to 90 with a step of 1. The relations used for simulating the global solar irradiance are presented in the Appendix. Table 1 shows the results of the analysis of global solar radiation for the different optimization techniques at optimum tilt angles for selected cities in Nigeria. Figure 2 shows the influence of orientation on the optimized global solar radiation using different techniques for the study locations, while Fig. 3 shows the variation of optimum tilt angles with months of the year for which global solar radiation is maximum. Figure 4 illustrates the variation of monthly global solar irradiance with tilt angles. Figure 5 shows a comparison of the optimal annual irradiance at different optimum tilt angles for the study locations. DISCUSSION The results presented in Table 1 indicate that global solar irradiance varies with geographical locations, and it increases with increasing latitudes. The monthly based optimization shows that during rainy season (April August), the global solar radiation on the PV surface is optimum if oriented due south in the horizontal direction (with zero tilt), and decreases with increasing tilt ($) angles (Fig. 4). In March (the end of dry season/ commencement of rainy season) and September (the end of rainy season/commencement of dry season), the global solar radiation on the PV surface increases with increasing tilt angle until a maximum irradiance is attained at approximately L + 4 ($opt . L + 4) and L 3 ($opt . L - 3), respectively. The optimum tilt, however, exceeds 4 L during the climax of the dry season. The annual based optimization method generates a maximum annual global solar radiation at optimum tilt angle ranging

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Table 1: Results of the analysis of the influence of orientation at optimum tilt angles for selected cities in Nigeria Monthly based optimization -------------------------------------------------------------------------Global Irradiance (kWh/m2/month) Optimum Tilt (o) ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------Months Abuja Benin city Katsina Abuja Benin city Katsina Jan. 228.4 204.0 224.9 40 38 44 Feb. 193.2 168.4 211.7 31 27 35 Mar. 198.4 167.8 222.4 13 10 17 Apr. 181.4 151.2 216.0 0 0 0 May 172.9 147.0 220.7 0 0 0 Jun. 151.6 126.8 209.8 0 0 0 Jul. 137.7 110.6 196.8 0 0 0 Aug. 129.7 110.6 180.7 0 0 0 Sep. 141.9 114.2 182.6 6 3 10 Oct. 176.9 141.2 211.4 25 20 30 Nov. 221.2 171.3 225.4 39 34 42 Dec. 237.1 198.5 223.3 43 39 47 Yearly 2170 1812 2526 Seasonal based optimization -------------------------------------------------------------------------Global Irradiance (kWh/m2/month) Optimum Tilt () ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------Months Abuja Benin city Katsina Abuja Benin city Katsina Jan. 226.4 201.8 223.0 32 29 36 Feb. 193.2 168.3 211.6 32 29 36 Mar. 190.2 161.1 213.4 32 29 36 Apr. 181.3 151.2 216.0 0 0 0 May 172.9 147.0 220.7 0 0 0 Jun. 151.6 126.8 209.8 0 0 0 Jul. 137.7 110.6 196.9 0 0 0 Aug. 129.7 110.6 180.7 0 0 0 Sep. 141.5 114.1 180.5 0 0 0 Oct. 175.8 140.1 210.5 32 29 36 Nov. 219.8 171.2 224.2 32 29 36 Dec. 233.3 196.0 219.9 32 29 36 Yearly 2153 1799 2507 Annual based optimization ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Global Irradiance (kWh/m2/month) Optimum Tilt (o) ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------Months Abuja Benin city Katsina Abuja Benin city Katsina Jan. 209.8 186.9 200.6 15 12 14 Feb. 187.1 163.9 200.7 15 12 14 Mar. 198.3 167.7 222.1 15 12 14 Apr. 172.5 145.7 207.3 15 12 14 May 156.2 136.4 198.9 15 12 14 Jun. 134.4 116.5 183.7 15 12 14 Jul. 125.1 103.8 176.0 15 12 14 Aug. 122.8 106.4 170.4 15 12 14 Sep. 140.5 113.2 182.1 15 12 14 Oct. 175.0 140.3 205.6 15 12 14 Nov. 205.0 162.3 203.7 15 12 14 Dec. 213.0 180.8 194.4 15 12 14 Yearly 2039 1724 2347
Monthly Seasonal
Monthly Global solar iradiance (kWh/m2/month)

240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100

Annual

Mar.

Feb.

May.

Apr.

Jun.

Jul.

Aug.

Jan.

Sep.

(a)
Monthly Global solar iradiance (kWh/m2/month)

240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100

Oct. May. Nov.
Nov.

Sep.

Jan.

Feb.

Nov.

(b)
Monthly Global solar iradiance (kWh/m2/month)

240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. Jun. Aug. Jul. Sep. Oct. Dec.

(c)
Fig. 2 : Influence of orientation on the optimized global solar radiation using different techniques for the study locations (a) Abuja (b) Benin City (c) Katsina

from L+1 (in Katsina) to approximately L + 6 (in Abuja and Benin City). The seasonal based optimization method generates a maximum annual global solar radiation if the PV surface is positioned horizontally ($ = 0) during rainy season, and inclined at L +23 during dry season. Implementation of the annual average tilt angle improves the annual global solar radiation in Abuja,

Benin City and Katsina, respectively, by over 2.6, 1.7 and 2.4%, while the implementation of seasonal average tilt angles (0 and L+23) improves the annual global solar radiation for Abuja, Benin City and Katsina, respectively, by over 8.4, 6.1 and 9.4%. The implementation of the monthly average tilt angle gives the highest increase of

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Aug.

Mar.

Dec.

Apr.

Jun.

Jul.

Dec.

Oct.

Res. J. Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol., 3(12): 1384-1390, 2011

50
Opimum Tlt angle ( 0 )

40 30 20 10 0

solar iradiance Monthly global 2 (kWh/m /month)

Katsina Abuja Benin city

250 200 150 100 50 0 0 10 20 30

(b)

Jul.

Aug.

Nov.

Feb.

Apr.

Mar.

Sep.

Oct.

Jan.

Jun.

Monthly global solar iradiance (kWh/m2/month)

Fig. 3: Variation of optimum tilt angle with months of the year for monthly based optimization
250 200 150 100 50 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Inclination () 70 80 90 Jan. Apr. Jul. Oct.

May.

Dec.

40 50 60 Inclination (0)

70

80

90

250 200 150 100 50 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Inclination () 70 80

(c)

Monthly global solar iradiance (kWh/m2/month)

(a)

90

Fig. 4: Variation of monthly global solar irradiance with tilt angles (a) Abuja (b) Benin City (c) Katsina.

(a ) 1.0 0.8 I (k Wh /m2) 0.6 0.4 0.2 -0 24 16 8 0 H our 0 D ay 20 0 1 00 4 00 3 00

(b) 1.0 0.8 IT (kWh/m )

2

0.6 0.4 0.2 0 24 16 8 0 Hou r 0 Day 100 200 400 300

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(c) 1.0 0.8 IT (kWh/m 2) 0.6 0.4 0.2 -0 24 16 8 0 Hour 0 200 100 Day 300 400

Fig. 5: Comparison of optimal annual global irradiance at different optimum tilt angles (a) Abuja (b) Benin City (c) Katsina

over 9.2, 6.8 and 10.2% respectively. Although the monthly based approach yields the maximum annual global solar radiation, the loss of energy when using the seasonal approach is less than 0.8% (which is negligible) as shown in Fig. 2. Figure 3 clearly indicates the unique $opt for each month of the year for which maximum global solar radiation is obtained. The variation of the monthly global solar irradiance for the study locations (Fig. 4) is almost uniform. The time variation of irradiance (Fig. 5) shows that global solar radiation is symmetrical about the solar noon. It is pertinent to note that the solar radiation reaching the earths surface follows an oblique path length in the early morning and in the late afternoon. The result of this oblique incidence through the atmosphere is a greater atmospheric attenuation and lesser intensity of solar radiation. At optimum tilt angles, global solar irradiance of 0.9348, 0.8139 and 1.0075 kW/m2 occurs in November 30, January 1 and February 1, in Abuja, Benin City and Katsina, respectively. CONCLUSION In this study, the effects of orientation of a southfacing photovoltaic surface and the optimum tilt angles for harvesting solar electricity in three cities in Nigeria is presented. The results indicate that the performance of the PVCS can be optimized if the surface is positioned horizontally ($ = 0) between April-August, and inclined at optimum tilt angle (between September and March). The monthly optimum tilt angles increase with increasing latitudes. During this period (between September and March), the minimum tilt angle of approximately (L-3) is obtained in September. In order to minimize the design and installation costs of the PVCS, the seasonal average fixed optimum tilt angles can be utilized since its total energy loss of less

than 0.8% can be neglected. For stand-alone PV systems, the annual optimum tilt angle for a south facing azimuth in Abuja, Benin City and Katsina are found to be 15, 12 and 15, respectively. The annual optimum tilt angle is considerably greater than the local latitude in this study. Appendix: For a tilted surface (surface with any orientation) at time t, the cosine of the angle of incidence is deduced (Liu and Jordan, 1962) as: cos2 = sin* sinN cos$ - sin* cosN sin$ cos( + cos* sinN sin$ cos( cosT + cos* cosN cos$ cosT +cos* sin$ sin( sinT (A1) where, 2 is the angle of incidence, * is the solar declination, L is the latitude, $ is the surface inclination (tilt) angle, ( is the surface orientation (azimuth) and T is the hour angle. All the angles are in degrees. For a plane surface with due south orientation (( = 0), the cosine of the angle of incidence is: cos2 = sin* (sinN cos$ - cosN sin$ ) + cos* cosT (cosN cos$ + sinN sin$) (A2a)

cos2 = sin* sin(N-$) + cos* cosT cos(N-$) (A2b)

For a horizontal surfaces, the angle of incidence is the zenith angle of the sun (that is, at 0 or 90 when the sun is above the horizon), hence, $ = 0 and (A2) becomes: cos2z = sin* sin(N) + cos* cos N cos(T) (A3)

where, 2Z is the zenith angle of incidence. When 2Z = 90, T = Ts and (A3) becomes: cosTs = - sin*sinN/cos*cosN Ts = cosG1 (-tan* tanN)

(A4)

where, Ts is the sunset hour angle in degrees. The geometric ratio (factor) is ratio of beam radiation on the tilted surface to beam radiation on the horizontal surface (Alam et al., 2005) given as:

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Rb = = cos cosZ

REFERENCES
(A5)

sin sin( ) + cos cos cos( ) sin sin + cos cos cos

The hourly diffuse and global solar radiation is respectively computed (Liu and Jordan, 1962) as:

Id =

Hd
24

cos cos s s cos s sin s 180

(A6)

I=

cos cos s s cos s 24 sin s 180

(A7)

And hourly beam radiation is:

Ib = I I d

(A8)

where I, Ib, and Id respectively is the hourly global, beam and diffuse solar radiation on a horizontal surface, while T and Ts, respectively is the hour angle and sunset hour angle. The anisotropy index, Ai is given as:

Ai =

Ib I0

(A9)

where I0 is the hourly extraterrestrial radiation on a horizontal surface defined as:

360d sin sin I 0 = I sc 1 + 0.033 cos 365 + cos cos cos

The horizon brightening is given as:

(A10)

f =

Ib I

(A11)

The global solar irradiance on the tilted PV array is (Duffie and Beckman, 2006):

1 cos I T = Rb ( Ib + I d Ai ) + I d g + 2 1 + cos 3 I d (1 Ai ) 1 + f sin 2 2

(A12)

where, $ is the inclination of the surface and Dg is the ground reflectance or albedo.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This study was partially funded by ETF 2009 AST&D Intervention (Reference no. AAU/REG/ ETF.560/475).

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