DETERMINATION OF SOLAR POSITION AND DAY LENGTH FOR PARTICULAR LOCATION

Abstract

Utilization of solar energy using solar photovoltaic (PV) cell is a promising and growing field. Energy utilization is optimum when the sun is directly overhead and sunrays fall perpendicularly on a solar PV module. Hence, exact position of the sun in sky throughout a day is an important factor to know while designing and installing a solar panel. In this paper, an algorithm to determine altitude and azimuth angles that specifies the sun’s position at Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh, (23.1815oN, 79.9864oE)) precisely has been developed. It takes latitude, longitude, date and deference of local time from Greenwich Mean Time as input and logically calculates the angle. These results can be incorporated in design to orient a solar panel automatically without requiring any complicated tracking mechanism.