Empirical Evaluation of Fixed and Single-Axis Tracking Photovoltaic System: Case of ASHRAE Solar Radiation Modelling for Medina, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The main problem in studying the feasibility of solar systems is the enormous gap between theory and experimental radiation intensity, so to get accurate results there is a need for studying energy production in the site of the system empirically. In this study, the energy production of both fixed PV panel system and the system with single-axis tracking were empirically evaluated in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The two systems had the same 270 Wp PV panel. The fixed system was tilted by 23.5 degrees, and the single-axis tracker was tilted by 26 degrees. Both systems had an azimuth angle of zero degrees. A closedloop three-points controller was used to control the tracker with 120 degrees rotation range. The two systems operated simultaneously in July, and the data were collected for 14 days. The empirical results showed that the tracker increased the generated energy by 48.5% during the testing period. As a comparing method, a modified ASHRAE model was used to estimate the increase in the panel's energy output with and without the single-axis tracker, and RMSE and MBE were calculated. It's been found that the experimental energy generation is 10%, 5% less than the estimation of the modified model for the fixed system and the tracking system, respectively. Finally, based on the analysis, it's been estimated that the singleaxis tracker will increase the generated energy by 22.5% yearly in Medina.