On the effectiveness of time and date-based sun positioning solar collector in tropical climate: a case study in Northern Peninsular Malaysia

• Main Authors: Ahmad, Salsabila, Shafie, Suhaidi, Ab Kadir, Mohd Zainal Abidin, Ahmad, Noor Syafawati
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2013
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/28684/1/On%20the%20effectiveness%20of%20time%20and%20date.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/28684/
• Institution: Universiti Putra Malaysia

This paper provides detailed information on the developed hardware and software for sun tracking mechanism and shows the effectiveness of utilizing time and date-based sun positioning solar collector system in tropical climate. The sun positioning system is based on the calculated azimuth and altitude at location E100°11′, N6°26′ in Northern Peninsular Malaysia where the climate is categorized as tropical climate. The system has two axes tracking with accuracy of 1° controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC). The field test has been done during a sunny and clear day, cloudy day and, heavy overcast and rainy day in which the results show that the improvement in the generated power of 91.97%, 122.71% and 90.42%, respectively, as compared with the fixed horizontal system.