Effect of Branch Inclination on Power output from Solar PV Tree: A flexible Testing Method

Abstract

Solar PV tree has emerged as a solution by using only 1/10th of the space required to the issues of large space requirements for conventional solar panel arrangements for power harvesting. But pre-design and testing is not possible on prototype. Hence, in the present work one such flexible solar PV tree model is designed, fabricated and used for testing a special panel arrangement and the effect of various angles of inclination of the branches on which panels are arranged for higher power outputs. This model is also used for testing the effect on output by changing the connection between panels in series or parallel. The effect of inclination of the branches on power output is tested at an angle of 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°. The experiments reveal that when the panels are facing either east or west, maximum output is obtained at 30° (or 120°) and at 0° during mid-day. This testing model can be used for any design of the panel arrangements before making a prototype.