Vertical Solar Panels Are Better Than Horizontal Ones in 2024 (We Were Wrong!)
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Published 2024-04-28
A team of researchers uncovered the reasons behind the unexpected yield gains observed in vertical PV systems compared to horizontal arrays. Their findings reveal that vertical installations maintain significantly lower operating temperatures. These reduced operating temperatures positively impact the operating voltage, thereby enhancing total energy generation, especially in high irradiance conditions.
In standard systems, the increase in voltage due to light is counteracted by the decrease caused by higher operating temperatures under high irradiance conditions. However, in vertical systems, the researchers observed that operating temperatures don't rise as much, allowing the voltage to increase and decrease to balance each other out more effectively.
The group determined that the heat transfer coefficients of vertical panels are nearly double those of horizontal panels. Heat transfer coefficients dictate how heat energy moves between materials and are commonly used, for example, in home insulation.
The researchers also found that the vertical array operates at a temperature difference with respect to ambient that is almost halved, resulting in a 2.5% higher annual energy yield.
00:00 Intro
01:03 Vertical vs Horizontal PV?
01:45 How is Vertical better?
04:13 Extra Energy with Vertical PV
04:36 Vertical PV Challenges
𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 👍 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞: / @renewable_energy
All Comments (21)
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Vertical installation might also help with hail damage mitigation. Anybody experienced with using vertical installation in regions where hail storms are more frequent?
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just install vertical panels where you would put up a fence. solar panel fences are going to be cheaper than good wood fences. may not be in the best location, but since they are doing the job of a fence the installation is basically free.
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That is true. Horizontally fixed panels are less efficient for 2 reasons 1. They heat the surface below them which radiates back and 2. There is less air circulation under the panels.
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2.5% increase, based in The Netherlands research, is not HUGE. If you change the mounting of solar panels, the best increase in generation is to follow the sun mechanism, which is an estimated 40% increase. And the cost of those mechanisms is not really worth the investment, according to some other researchers.
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High wind speeds should also be considered
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There is a building on which the solar panels are vertical along the full height of the building. I noticed that other buildings were following suit soon after. They must have realized that they were more efficient and less maintenance costs. This must have improved their ROI. So instead of installing the panels on the roof, I may want to try placing them vertical in my yard. No need to worry about snow accumulation nor frequent cleaning nor bird droppings. As long as they get enough exposure to the sun, then I should see an improvement over the traditional methods.
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The importance of. Vertical installation is that produces less during peak hours but more earlier and late afternoon.
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More northern regions dont have the heat related issues and Solar performs much better in our cooler climate. Bifacial panels work very well for those dark winter periods when we are hoping for 2 solar hours a day. Chilled bifacial panels increase harvest when snow reflects light to the back of the panels. Here in South Central Alaska during the Winter Solstice, the ideal panel angle is 7 degrees of tilt. With our long summer days when the sun is high in the sky, we might use a 47 degree tilt.
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Just complimenting the duck curve of horizontal panels to capture more energy during dawn and dusk should be enough to push the optimum arrangement of new PV towards more vertical in areas where horizontal is already well established.
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I am experimenting with pv plates at my house and all the pv plates i have installed so far are vertically fixed.
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The comparison and angles precision of Wind Force in different locations, would have to be thorough. Sounds Good though, Thank you for the Video
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Latitude of Netherlands is 50-54 N. So being vertical there means the panels are at an angle of approximately 52 degrees to the Sun.
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2.5% annual gain? Worth the price for a small solar array?
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This might be a better approach especially for Floating Photovoltaics installation in Germany, where panels are allowed to cover a maximum of 15% of the whole lake and at the same time maintain a 40m distance from the shore. With vertical installation, it means that it will still be possible to install panels in small lakes and also compared to horizontal more panels will be installed in a small area.I’m just worried about shading effect that comes with such installation.
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Vertical mounts is 1000% cheaper than a top of pole mount so in snow country this is bigger than 2.5% because of the savings on mounting them
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As Panel prices drop then double sided vertical panels installed E/W could be a real help in peak hours!!
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hope more research in this topic
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Thanks
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The 2.5% advantage doesn't seem like much. Is this for fixed position operation, or for tracking operation?
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Installers are charging too much to install PV panels. They are pricing themselves out of business. Greed never wins.
