Arrangement optimization of flat-plate solar collector arrays
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Abstract
To optimize arrangements of solar collector arrays for installations on limited horizontal roofs, the daily shading model and solar radiation model of a large-scale solar collector array were built. The relationships between the latitude, the daily shading factor, the floor space and the solar radiation intercepted by a collector array and the aspect ratio of the collector array were deeply studied using these models. The results showed that the daily shading factor on winter solstice day increased with the latitude and the aspect ratio increasing for a large collector array (occupied area≥500 m2). The daily shading factor rapidly increased when the aspect ratio was ∈1/10, 3/1) while it increased smoothly when the aspect ratio was ∈(3/1, 10/1. For the collector array with occupied area∈50, 1000 m2, the smaller the floor space, the faster the increase of the daily shading factor with the aspect ratio increased. The distribution of the horizontal daily solar radiation on the representative day in winter months had influences on the optimum aspect ratio responding to the maximum solar radiation intercepted by the collector array. In view of the influence of solar radiation distributions and convenience for engineering applications, the aspect ratios of 5 different floor space collector arrays used in 13 different latitude cities in China were obtained. The results provide data support for arrangement optimization of the solar collector arrays.
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