Published on Sep 05, 2023
The objective:
As fuel prices go up, solar cells can be used as an alternative source of energy. My objective was to find out the best direction and tilt angle to place a set of solar cells to maximize the voltage.
I used a few solar cells connected in a series, a volt meter to measure the volts, a protractor to measure the angle, a compass to find the direction, and a wooden stand where the solar cell was placed. First I gathered all my materials.
After that I placed my solar cell on a stand. I used a protractor to set the angle of the solar cell, and a compass to set the direction of the solar cell.
After that I took the reading of my voltage meter at various angles and directions. I then repeated this procedure at different times of the day. Finally I collected the data and compared.
My results were that the solar cell captured the most sunlight facing South at a 60° vertical angle at noon. The highest reading was 4.3 volts. The highest readings were mostly recorded in the south direction.
The conclusion I reached was that the solar cell would capture the most sunlight if the solar cell was facing South and if it was at a vertical angle of 40° to 70° at 2:00 PM. The combination of a direction facing south and a tilt angle of 40° to 70° provides the best set-up for maximum power generated in the solar cell.
According to some research, the tilt angle should be different during different times of the year. I took readings every hour from 11 AM to 4 PM for different tilt angles and sun directions. The directions used varied from South East 60° to South West 60°.
I performed this experiment in December. At this time of the year, the sun is in the southern hemisphere. During the summer months, when the sun is in the northern hemisphere, I expect slightly different direction and tilt angle.
I would also like to experiment on cloudy days. This experiment was done in San Francisco Bay Area at latitude of 37° N. I expect the different results if the experiment were performed in a different location such as Los Angeles or in Seattle.
This project was to find out the best direction and tilt angle to place a set of solar cells to maximize the voltage.
