PV Systems Mounting Types | AE 868 - Dutton Institute

So here we have the scenario of an array of photovoltaic that are set up one row behind the next. They're each going to have a certain tilt. That tilt is represented by beta and each one is going to have a common collector azimuth of gamma, represented down here. And that gamma again, is that plane or rotation. In this case, the array that you're seeing is rotated 9 degrees towards the east. So minus 9 degrees of rotation or 9 minus 180 degrees to give us our azimuth.

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The distance between the panels, right now it's just specified as D. And the panels themselves are going to have a shadow. And that shadow is going to change over the course of the year, as the sun is high in the sky, and low in the sky.

And what we'd really like is for these panels to be spaced appropriately. Such that, they do not block each other. Because this is one of our goals, one of our mechanisms for the goal of solar design. You want to maximize the solar utility for the client or stakeholders in a given locale. And in this locale, want to know how far apart we can space these to collect the energy to basically avoid, or remove shading from the spacing of these panels.

So what you're seeing is a system that we're going to define in terms of critical points. We're going to take those critical points, and we're going to plot them on a diagram. So the first thing is, how do we list these critical points. Well now we don't have a central point X.

Now we actually have three points for each one of the panels across the top and across the bottom. This guy is going to be behind here, you won't see it. But you're going to have three points along the bottom, three points along the top. The points along the top are ultimately going to shade these critical points along the bottom.

So I'm going to name these critical points A, B, and C. And the points that we will be referring to in terms of what kind of shading are we expecting, we're going to label 1, 2, and 3.

So now going into this, you're looking at this from the side, and you're seeing a system like this, there's going to be a certain tilt beta. The beta is going to be the same for both collectors and they're going to be separated by a certain distance D. That's either going to be the spacing from top to top or from bottom to bottom, that's the same spacing with D.

So looking at this, we want to basically compare any point 1. And what we really like to see is, how does 1 compare to point C, point C is down here. One to point C, 1 to point B, and 1 to point A. That's one of our first questions.

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And then after we've done that, we're going to look at how this point 2 compares to critical point C, critical point B, and A. And then we'll finally finish that with 3 C, 3 B, and 3 A. And what we should be able to see is that because of similar geometries we're going to find some kind of similar responses, in terms of all of these geometric relationships.

And I can show you that, again this is in the textbook, but if I bring this up right here, you're going to see that I've got a table of points 1.A, 2.A, 3.A, just like what we were talking about. And 1.B, 2.B, 3.B, 1.C, 2.C, 3.C. They each have their own set of altitude angles and you're going to notice that there are certain 21 degree common altitude angles. Just due to common geometries. Similarly, you're going to see common 41 degree angles and two 12 degree angles.

Looking at the azimuth angles, the 0 degree azimuth corresponds to 180 degree in the meteorological standard, and so on down. So we're seeing that 76 degrees is equivalent to 250 degrees. And minus 64 degrees is equivalent to 116 degrees.

So we're going to take these points this 180, 244, 256 for the azimuth angles of the collector. And we're going to plot those in the next block, and we'll plot the alpha angles. And what we're going to come up with is basically something that looks like the cross section of a loaf of bread. It's going to have two vertical sides and it's going to have an arch in the middle.

Solar mounting systems are components largely made of steel, or aluminium, and hold solar panels in place and secure them against weather and environmental conditions. Mounting systems determine the angle, orientation, and contribute to the durability of a solar installation. They can be unmoving ‘fixed-tilt’ systems or trackers following the path of the sun. In Europe, industry estimates see a rough 50-50 split between these fixed or tracking systems for utility-scale projects. 

Mounting systems are increasingly playing a role in stretching the abundant solar generation midday peak to the morning and evening, easing pressure on the grid and supporting the business case for solar. 

‘Solar Mounting Structures Explained’ details the large EU ecosystem of mounting system providers: upwards of 40 companies in the EU develop mounting solutions across the rooftop, ground-mount segments, as well as façade, Agri-PV, solar carports, and all kinds of solar PV applications. This includes recognised global market leaders for trackers, fixed ground-mount and rooftop mounting. 

In this new study, SolarPower Europe makes a number of recommendations to reinforce the solar mounting systems segment in Europe: 

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Solar PV Mounting Systems.