Question

For a given day of the year, and a given location, the optimum tilt of a fixed-tilt solar panel that maximizes the energy incident on the panel throughout the day is that tilt that results in the sun’s rays being perpendicular to the panel at solar noon (the hour angle HRA=0° at solar noon). What is the optimum tilt for a solar panel on SBU campus (40.9142° N, 73.1162° W) on Jan. 1 (d=0)? March 22 (d=81)?, June 21 (d=172)? If you could only choose one fixed tilt for the entire year, what angle would you choose to optimize the yearly electricity production?

Answer 1